Simple Joys

Yes, Rose is eating her cardigan in this picture. She likes chewing on her blanket but I guess her cardigan was just easier to get to at the moment. 

Lately, I've been trying REALLY hard to study my scriptures every day, and not just to read them every day, but to really study them, to pray before, to take notes, to write whatever comes to mind down, to think about what I read, to pay attention to what comes to mind, to talk about what I read, etc. One reason I'm putting so much emphasis on this is because lately I haven't felt as close to God as I did as a missionary. I was trying to figure out how to make Him a priority in my life again and one thing that came to mind was that I need to pay attention to tender mercies.

Here's my thought process:

The scriptures say to love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. > How do I love God with every part of me? > It's easier to love someone who loves  you. > How do I know that God loves me? > By the small things that show up and feel like they are just for me, the tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father. > Tender mercies feel like they tie into simple joys (which is what I'll write about next.)

So, anyways, I've been working on this for a few weeks now, and it's not easy, but I've been making progress. Something that helped me today was this blog post about simple pleasures. These simple pleasures are the little joys in life that bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. Some of the examples were: the smell of snow, a room with a view, baby belly laughs, etc.

After reading that, I wanted to make a list of simple joys for me.

• When the sun sets just perfectly to turn the sky and the mountains a hazy pink.
• When Rose wakes up in the morning and gives me a sleepy smile, OR when I'm watching her sleep and she smiles a little dream smile.
• When Ryan rolls over in the morning to cuddle with me instead of getting an extra 10 minutes of comfortable sleep. 
• When I have a conversation with a friend that I don't replay in my head for the next week thinking about all the dumb things I said.
• When the sink is empty.
• When there is leftover dessert that I can eat for breakfast.
• When my shampoo and conditioner run out at the exact same time (this hasn't happened yet, but I am hoping that one day it will, and I'm sure it will be glorious and joyful when it does happen.)
• When Rose falls asleep in my arms and I have time to just let her stay there for a while.
• When a book ends exactly the way I was hoping it would.
• When I find a super duper cheesy dad joke to share with Ryan and he laughs because he thinks it's so dumb but then tells me how much he loves me despite my poor taste in jokes. 
• When I go to drink out of my water bottle and there is still water left in it.
• The days when I have a chance to call and talk to my mom for as long as I want. 
• When a baby curls their teensy hands around your finger.
• When you come up with the perfect gift to give to someone you care about.
• Getting a real letter in the mail instead of the regular credit card offers.
• When your favorite snack is on sale at the store for a great deal. (Last week, peanut butter cap'n crunch was on sale for 99 cents a box. I got four boxes.)
• When Ryan get home from work earlier than I thought he would. 
• Using candles instead of light bulbs.
• When Ryan offers to let me choose a romantic comedy for us to watch at night.
• When I actually know what movie quote Ryan is quoting for once. 
• When you actually finish everything on your to do list in a day and have time to sit and relax.
• Those times that Pandora plays songs that you actually want to listen to.
• When we go on long car drives and talk the whole way without running out of something to talk about or being distracted.
• When Ryan grabs me a snack in the gas station because he knows how much I love eating, even though gas station snacks are way overpriced.

Wow! That went on way longer than I thought. There are so many things to be happy about! I could go on forever, but I won't because that would be a ridiculously long blog post. However, I would definitely recommend sitting down and writing a list of the simple joys that you recognize in your life! 

Also, if you have any other good ideas for how to love the Lord with ALL your heart, might, mind, and strength, please share. 

And, thanks for bearing with me and reading my whole list. I hope it helped you to feel a little more joy and a little more loved, as it did for me.