Dog Days of Summer
Well, we finally have some heat. My A/C at home worked so hard this last week that it started icing up. We are in that time of summer––the “Dog Days of Summer."The term is actually of ancient Greek origin. During this hottest and most humid time of summer, the star Sirius becomes prominent. Since that star is “Orion’s dog” in astronomy/astrology, this hot muggy season became known as the dog days of summer almost 3,000 years ago.But it is associated with some other things. In business, it’s linked with slumping sales, because historically, this was a slow business time of year. In people’s personal lives, it’s associated with inactivity, boredom, laziness, and even depression. When it gets really hot and muggy outside, people tend not to feel like doing anything. And for those prone to depression, that inactivity can become a downward spiral.Don’t let the dog days get you down!Here are some helpful things to remember:• You were longing for some heat less than a month ago. We had a high of 59 on July 2. Remember that? You wanted the heat then! So appreciate it.• You WILL long for this heat in a few months. When it’s -20 and 25 mph winds, you will talk about how weeks like this were the good ol' days. So appreciate it now.• It’s really not that hot. It’s not! I have family in Arizona and friends in Florida. They’d love to cool off in your back yard, even at 2 in the afternoon. So get outside. Go ahead. Sweating a little will not kill you. In fact, it will make you feel better.• This is the time of year to enjoy the outdoors and get some sun. If you don’t get to the park, the zoo, or the beach now, when will you?The trouble is this: we are people who are prone to complaining. And that complaining takes the zest out of life. In the winter it’s too cold. In the summer it’s too hot. In the spring it’s too wet. In the fall, it doesn’t last long enough and winter is coming. We’ve always got things to complain about. And you know the truth of it? It’s that tendency to focus on the negative, and letting those negative things keep us from living life, that puts us down in the dumps.So stop complaining about the heat and get outside and make the rest of this summer a memorable one. This will be your only August 2015. What are you going to do with it?“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life.” – Philippians 2:14-16 NLT