Enjoying the Simple Things

Life is busy.  There are so many things to do, places to go, and projects to complete (or start!).  March is looking to be a super busy month for me as I realized this morning over breakfast when I wrote out a very long list of projects that I needed to accomplish soon.  Looking at everything as a whole, it can be rather easy to start to view it as too much to get done.  And in the attempt to get it all done, I, for one, am apt to stop having an attitude of joy in my life.  I stop taking time to relax and enjoy what I am doing at the moment because…I'm too busy doing it.  

Stress and worry do not make me more productive.  In general, they make me less productive because they increase an inward fear that I might not be able to get everything done, which will often lead to just ditching the project completely.  (They also make me irritable…and I can't recall anywhere in the Bible where being a grump is perceived as a good thing.)  ;-)

Scripture does says, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice….Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:4, 6)

A few "simple" things I am enjoying (or rejoicing in) today:

My freedom in Christ - In the bustle of daily life, it is easy to forget why I have the ability to live the life I do in the first place.  John 8:26, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Sunshine - This one really is a biggie for those who live in the Northwest.  :)  For those of us who keep animals and have to deal with a high water table (= Mud) 6-7 months out of the year, it's even more of a blessing!
Fresh air - I got to breathe in a good deal of it on my ride today!  Thanks to this one semi-truck, I also got a mouthful of grit…but that is not relative to this discussion… ;)
A hot cup of tea. :)
Playing the piano. - Making music is such a great way to get rid of stress. 
"Visiting" my little sister who's come down with the chickenpox.  - Even though she's only 5, Iona has a lot of thoughts on the things that go on around her.  She's got a lot of opinions too…and quite a memory!  A conversation with her is never boring, that's for sure. ;)

Take time to enjoy the blessings God has given to you.  Life isn't so long that you can afford to use up any of your time stressing out.  Just because you cannot manage to squeeze and cram every big and little thing into your day, week, or month, doesn't mean you've failed.  You have really failed when you are so busy doing the things you love or would love to have done, that you stop enjoying doing them.