Another week has gone by in a blur, but I like to pause for a few minutes to remember God’s blessings of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Independence Day. We always enjoy having the family over for grilled burgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Jason and Mittu bring over some “pop-its” (they make a popping sound when you throw them to the ground) and some little devices that shoot confetti in the air when you pull a string. We’re not supposed to have fireworks where we live, so these are a fun substitute. I saw just a little of the coverage on TV about some of the big doings for America’s 250th birthday in New York.

2. Guys’ camping trip. Jim thought he was taking advantage of cooler temperatures this week to go camping, but the weather ended up being really humid. I think they had a good time anyway. When he first booked the camp site, the weather apps showed little rain. When the time came closer, the apps showed rain every day. But I don’t think they got any.

3. Good sleep. I often wake up after three to four hours of sleep, and then it takes me a while to get back to sleep. But I had several nights this week of sleeping five hours straight. It’s amazing what a difference that makes.

4. Air conditioning and ceiling fans. We were under a “heat dome” last week, and then, as I mentioned, it’s been really humid this week even though the temperatures have been a little lower.

5. Gas company relighting. The gas company was doing some work in our area and said when they were done, they would put a lock on our connection, and we needed to make an appointment so they could turn it back on and come in to relight whatever we had that used gas. I was envisioning not having hot water or being able to use the stove for a day or so. But the gas was only off briefly while they came out. And the relighting was more a matter of turning on the appliances til the air bubble in the lines seeped out. The guy said the hot water heater would relight itself, and it didn’t. Jim was miffed at that, especially since he had driven in from the camp site to be here when the utility guy was here. He called the gas company to ask them to send someone back out. But in the meantime, he found the manual for the water heater and restarted it, and that took care of the problem. But even with that, the whole thing was much less of an ordeal than I thought it would be.

I hope you’re staying cool in this muggy weather! Any special blessings this week?