Simple Pleasures

I seem to be in a rambling sort of mood tonight. Is there any better time to just start writing? Today was such a lovely day! I woke up and was able to just lay in bed for a bit. I started to get restless though. So I got dressed and went on a walk around town. I was able to go to a few different of my favorite stores and pick up a couple gifts. The weather was so perfect for a fall walk! I know it's getting to be winter, but the air was clear and crisp, the sun was shining, and it was just barely nippy enough to make my nose turn red. I got to spend the afternoon running errands with my sweet, darling husband. Then got to make a nice dinner experimenting with a new recipe. The whole day has just been so relaxed and happy. I am very blessed!
 
I'll be the first to admit that there are days that I start to feel sorry for myself. It's part of life that bad things happen, or that there will be struggles. Nobody can expect to find a way to escape them! Anyway...that's another topic altogether. Yesterday I started to be in one of those moods. I started dwelling on the struggles I have been dealing with lately: health issues, the friends who seem to have no interest in being my friend anymore, the money worries...before I knew it everything was starting to bother me! So my dear Alex, wonderful man that he is, held me and let me cry on his shoulder. After a few minutes I realized what a silly girl I was being. Why should I be crying when I have such a sweet husband who loves me and takes care of me? Why should I feel sorry for myself when I have a roof over my head, and not only the food to survive- but also extras, like egg nog or M&Ms? The answer was immediate: I shouldn't! I had to change my attitude. So as I drifted off to sleep hearing Alex's deep breathing beside me I thought about all those simple pleasures. All the little undeserved things that bring me happiness, if I just take the time to notice them! There are too many to try to list them all for you, and I don't know that you would like that anyway. But here are a few of my favorites!
* Good morning kisses shared with my husband
* Standing in line and having someone tell me to go ahead of them
* Getting to make someone else's day by telling them to go ahead of me in a long line
* The smell of warm, homemade bread
* Those ocassional moments when my cat wants to snuggle beside me
* Music, especially songs that start with the deep, rich tones of stringed instruments. 
* Warm oatmeal with brown sugar on a chilly morning
* Waking up while everyone is still sleeping, and enjoying a bit of quiet time reading my Bible and drinking a fresh cup of hot chocolate
* Scented candles
* Handwritten letters

Do you see what I mean? My list could go on for pages. How selfish of me to pout about my problems when I have been given so much!!

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Phillipians 4:11