Simple Things.

(Photo found at http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com)

 

“I dream of simple things I can believe in, like the feeling this day brings. True love and the miracle of forgiving. I believe in simple things.”

 

Life has felt way too serious and intense lately. I feel like I’m in desperate need of a breather, a vacation, in desperate need of simple things. Do you ever feel that way?

 

Certain things have been weighing really heavy on my heart these past few months. I’ve been missing people who were once a part of my life everyday. Been scared of having to be away from my sister/best friend who might be moving away soon. Been angry and hurt by someone, and I know I have to forgive but I’m really struggling with it.

 

Though I am thankful that I feel and see God bringing healing into a certain situation that has been long over due.

 

So many changes are happening in my life right now. Some good and some not so good. I’m having to let go of old familiar things, and having to try and find a way to make room for the new. New stages of life scare me a bit. There’s a lot of losing, and readjusting, and hoping. And somehow I feel myself sinking beneath the emotions of the day and I start to wonder where the simple happiness has gone. Suddenly where the joy of my day is found starts to become a little unclear as the smoke of anger, hurt, pain, and fear cloud the air I breath. I’m craving the simple.

 

One thing I’ve been trying to remember is that I have to let the joy of the Lord be my strength. No one is responsible for my joy, I have to find it in Christ. I know that having Jesus in my life doesn’t mean I won’t experience pain but with Him I truly believe that even in the midst of pain, I can still have joy when I awake and peace when I go to sleep.

 

The lyric I posted at the top is from a song by Amy Grant called “Simple Things”. I feel like I need to be more aware of the simple joys of simple things in life. We can miss so much everyday if we aren’t paying attention. So in honor of hoping for simple things, I wrote a list of some simple things that make me very happy. :)

 

“I Dream Of Simple Things List”

~ Road trips with my family. I love traveling with my family, there’s just so much comfort in that. In just a couple weeks we are actually going on a road trip to Dallas for “The Rock And Worship Road Show”, a big concert with a bunch of awesome Christian bands. I’m so excited for our little mini vacation!

~Fresh & clean linens

~Fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

~Cooking dinner with my mom

~Baking brownies and listening to music, for some reason those two things go hand and hand for me.

~Late night convos with my sister. I always feel like I learn so much from our talks.

~Watching my Gilmore Girls dvds. Makes me feel happy and comforted. Odd but true.

~Amazing books you just can’t stand to put down.

~Music that makes you feel and think.

~Evening walks at the bay and car rides with my mom & sister, talking and laughing together.

~My precious little cat Daisy.

~Being creative. Writing, whether it be lyrics, poems, or blogs, it’s such a gift from God. To be creative is to be free for me.

~Afternoons spent playing the piano

~Getting magazines, catalogs (I can tend to be catalog obsessed), and packages in the mail.

~Old photos of my cousins and I. Looking at them makes me smile.

~Jazz music. I love listening to Mindi Abair & Diana Krall.

~Photos of my grandpa playing the saxophone in church

~Sunny, breezy spring days.

~Cute coffee shops.

~Spending hours browsing in bookstores

~Picnics. I have so been wanting to go on a picnic lately. It’s the perfect time of year for one.

~Early morning sunlight peaking through my blinds. 

~Reading blogs. This has become such a online past time of mine. There really are so many creative and inspiring blogs to read and learn from. If I let myself I can read blogs for hours at a time.

~Dr. Pepper. Especially with Vanilla. Yum!

~Cupcakes! Fun to make and fun to eat.

~Inspiring quotes. I love to read and collect quotes that inspire me.

~Journals. Big spiral notebooks and journals with pretty paper on the inside make me smile.