Dog Days Already?

Woof.

Wow, I can't believe how quickly the weather seems to have changed.  We went from extremely wet and cool to August heat and a welcome dry spell.  There is a saying in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and I'm sure every other state that goes, " just wait five minutes and the weather will change".  Well, that's certainly been true lately!  I'm not complaining, though; I do like the hot, humid summer weather.  It reminds me of when I was young and loved to play outside during the summer vacation.  We didn't have central air, just a window air conditioner in the upstairs where the bedrooms were located, and that was turned on at night only when it was too uncomfortable to sleep.  What fun it was to spend all day outside playing with the neighborhood kids!  We'd ride bikes, roller skate, play games, swim, or play on the swing set in the back yard, and it never seemed to get old.  I never wanted to come inside for the night, and I couldn't wait to get outside again in the morning.  I was probably dubbed the "smelly kid" because I didn't even want to waste time bathing.  Just let me go out and play!  It's too bad that we tend to lose that playful nature as we mature, and the pressures of being grown-up seem to swallow what adventurousness we might have otherwise had if we were still carefree.  Happens to all of us, I know; but wouldn't it be great to have that back again?  If you had one week out of your life, where money, time, physical fitness, fear of the pain of injury, and all of the other concerns of an adult were just completely forgotten, what would you do with that blissful innocence?  I know what I would do--everything I am too old and out of shape to do now!  I would play on the jungle gym, and swing on the swings, and run through the sprinkler, and eat a tuna sandwich at the picnic table.  Then I would run around, and get a cramp from eating, and not let it bother me; I would go get the biggest, shiniest kite I could find and fly it all afternoon.  After that, I'd come back and have a grilled hamburger, because it's not summer if there is no grilled meat, and then I would jump in the pool that had been warmed all day by the sun and swim around until the mosquitoes were too much to bear and the fireflies were putting on a spectacular light show.  Only then would I resign myself to the confines of my home's four walls, although gladly would I fall exhausted into bed for the night.  Those would be the days!

I hope others have the same type of memories that I do.  It was great to have the freedom to have fun!  There are truly days where fun is a very elusive notion, and if I'm not careful, I'll find it to be a distant memory.  Every day is a gift from God Himself, and should be treated as such!  So why is it so easy to let life weigh down so heavily on our hearts that we lose the freedom our spirits long for?  As long as we look at the blessings that God gives us on a daily basis, we should find our hearts full of joy and gladness.  Blessings of family, love, stability, comfort, rest, relaxation--James 1:17 says perfectly what I'm describing: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  Not every gift is tangible, but every gift--every blessing--can be felt in our hearts.  What blessings are you thankful for today?