The Simple Things

Diamond rings. Luxury cars. Fur coats. Extravagant vacations. Sounds like the life of the rich and famous. Everywhere we turn today, society tries to sum up our success by the material possessions that we own. Every woman enjoys the occasional bling and everybody needs that occasional get away from it all vacation, but they don't bring happiness. If they did, you wouldn't see the Hollywood crowd overdosing and doing another stint in rehab. I have compiled a list of things that are important to me and never fail to put a smile on my face.Other than the first one, they are in no particular order.

1. Faith - no matter how bad things get in your life, if you have faith in who holds your future, you have hope.

2. Puppies - everybody loves puppies. They are just so darn cute! So cute that sometimes I have made a decision to get one when I really shouldn't have. That is the effect puppies have on me.

3. Flowers - every woman loves flowers. I am not a fan of getting them all the time, but those random unexpected delivery of flowers can make my day. Heck, they can make my week!

4. Friends - everybody needs a good friend. One that they can open up to without fear of ridicule or judgement. One that listens - sometimes over and over.

5. Good book - I love to read! I love to get hold of a book that I can't put down, but that I don't want to finish because I don't want it to be over.

6. Family - I was blessed with a great family. We are not perfect, but we are there for each other. Family will be there when everybody else walks out.

7. Bubble baths - nothing relaxes like a bubble bath. I love to get in the tub with a good book. I definitely don't do this enough.

8. Dessert - I have a huge sweet tooth. I have been known to sometimes eat dessert first and then supper.

9. Family get togethers - I love to have my family over to eat. Sitting around eating, talking and watching old family videotapes. Don't get much better than that.

10. Walks - Getting out and walking. Not walking as in exercise, but just getting out to walk and observe nature. Rex and I used to do that a lot when we were younger - before life got so busy.

11. Chick flick - I love me a good chick flick. I am a romantic at heart, so I love most all chick flicks - even the predictable ones panned by critics.

12. Sunset/sunrise - Don't have to say much about these, but they are just spectacular especially when the weather is just right.

13. Trust - every relationship is based on some element of trust. The bigger the relationship, the higher the trust should be. I love the fact that I can trust my husband. He has got my back and I take great comfort in that.

14. Kindness - never underestimate what the power of kindness can do. I have been on the giving and receiving end of kindness. When you receive it, you realize just how important it is to give it. Kindness is never a wasted effort even when it feels unappreciated at the time.

15. Romance - doing those little things for your significant other. The longer you are married, the easier it is to let this go by the wayside. Taking the time to do the little things for your mate is at least a way of letting them know you are thinking about them.

16. Grandparents - I was not blessed to really know my grandparents, but I have been able to witness the relationship my girls have had with their grandparents. Grandparents have the time and patience to slow things down and just enjoy the things at their level.

17. Dressing up - those occasional events that demand us to get in our Sunday best. While I am a casual dresser, I do like those occasions when we can step it up a notch. My husband doesn't care for this, but I do like to see him dressed in a coat and tie as well.

18. Wisdom - this may sound like a strange thing to put on my list, but I love hearing wisdom from someone who has lived life. There is a huge difference between advice and wisdom.

19. Self fulfilment - accomplishing that one thing that you thought you could not do. On my list, is learning to run. The feeling that we get when we accomplish it just can't be duplicated.

20. Understanding - I love to be understood. In most of mine and Rex's fights over the years, I have always told him that I didn't care to be right, I just wanted to be understood. Ha, I still don't think he understands me after 28+ years.

21. Memories - I have so many wonderful memories of my childhood and of my children's childhood. When my family gets together, the talk always seem to turn to the memories that we hold so dear.

22. Chocolate - need I say more? I sometimes think I can feel the endorphins explode when I finally have some good milk chocolate after a drought. I am not joking.

23. Contentment - I love that I am content. I have never really been the type to want bigger and better. I have never tried to keep up with the Jones. Sometimes you get what you want, but lose what you had. Not being content can be a curse!

24. Weekend getaways - I love to just get away for the weekend. Doesn't have to be far or fancy, just a change of scenery. When my kids were little, we would do this a lot more often.

25. Lazy days - I don't do these very often. The main reason is I have a hard time just sitting around being lazy, but somedays, it is just what is needed to get refreshed from the daily rat race.

26. I love you - it doesn't matter if I hear it from my husband, my kids, my family, church member, or my best friend - those three words make me smile.

27. Pictures - I love to take pictures! I love capturing a moment in time and forever having it on paper. I have a guy friend that jokes me about all my pictures are of the kids just standing there...yeah, what's wrong with that? My regret is that I didn't take even more when they were little.


I could go on and on with a million other things that make me happy. Maybe the reason we aren't satisfied with simple things is because we have them in abundance. All I know is the diamonds, furs, and other extragant things are nice, they really are just "icing on the cake."

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:21