"Late Summer Musings"

This has been a great week.
When I woke up Sunday morning I could feel a difference in the air. The house felt almost chilly. I had to put on a sweatshirt to be comfortable.
Most of this summer it has been extremly hot, with many days topping out in the 90's. That is bad enough to deal with on it's own, but, when combined with humidity that has just been off the charts, being outside has been pretty much an option you would NOT want to choose. Going out has been like walking directly into a preheated oven. (Set on BROIL) Even very early mornings have been to hot to enjoy spending time outside.
But not this morning. The heat and more importantly, the sticky, hot air was gone. I opened the back door and a pleasant breeze touched my face. What a wonderful relief!
Wayne made coffee and we spent the early part of our day on the back deck reading the "Cresent News" and just enjoying the sunshine that felt gentle and warm instead of the strong stinging, heat that had kept us housebound for so many weeks.
I know I should not complain, it is a bad habit that needs changing, but, I have long had a love-hate relationship with air-conditioning. I so appriciate having it when the summer weather gets nasty, (refer to above paragraph) and I sincerely thank our great God for it, but, I am almost resentful when the time comes that we do have to close everything up and depend on electricity to keep from melting. On top of that, to make it worse, it always takes us at least a couple of weeks before we come to a reasonable compromise on where the thermostat should be set.
Thankfully, for once this was my absolute, favorite kind of summer day. There was a breeze in the air and for awhile I put my head back against my deck chair and closed my eyes, letting it caress my face. I said a silent thank-you for being blessed with such a morning.
Wayne read the forcast in the paper aloud to me and suggested we take the camper and go over to the state park closest to our home and camp for part of the week. I had previous appointments Thursday, Friday and Saterday so we decided that we would get ready after lunch and take off for Harrison Lake mid-afternoon.
Soon, it was time to go and eat something before heading to 10:30 church services.
I love listening to Pastor Rick when he preaches. Not only does he know the Bible extremly well, but, he can give a sermon without making you feel like you are being preached at. He is not boring or stuffy and has a wonderful sense of humor that everyone enjoys. He just finished a series of teachings he called "Close Encounters of the God Kind."
Now, for the next few weeks he is doing a series on what we need to have to be an effective church. Last week his sermon was on how to have Growth in the church. This Sunday it was on Love. I can't wait to hear what next week will bring. Also, coming the first week of October we will be starting, as a church body, to read the New Testament and study it together. The plan is to have small groups meet weekly or bi-weekly (we already have a number of groups in place). We will have discussions on the reading we did and that Pastor Rick is preaching on each week. That way, we can all come to a better understanding of what God's word is telling us and what He wants us to know. It should be an exciting time for our congregation.
Our son Kelly's family came over and ate lunch with us and after they left we packed up and left for the park which is a little complicated since the camper lives with our kids. We have to pack a cooler and wait till the next morning to use the fridge since it takes awhile to get cold. But though it isn't perfect it works out for us.
The weather stayed beautiful although it did warm up again mid week.
We still enjoy camping although we are not as active as we once were. We used to do a lot of hiking but, it seems like we have gotten lazy and do a lot of just sitting around. Some days we even sit inside and read or take naps if it gets too warm. We had campfires each evening since the temps were reasonable and several of our friends came over one night and we shared a wonderful meal with them.
Wednesday morning came too soon. We packed up and are now back home ready for what tomorrow will bring.
Perhaps to some this does not sound very exciting. But perhaps it will give you pause to think about the special things in your life.
Many times it is the little things that make life worthwhile. A babys smile the color or a sunset or the smell of fried chicken. I'm sure it is different for everyone but all of us need to remember and appriciate each of those moments for what they are. Too many times, sadly we let them slip by withour notice. Then they are gone, never to return.