Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow more bewildering and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities.
Woman’s Home Companion
Dec. 1935

I thought I would share a few of the Joyful Simplicities from my own life today. These are some of the daily, weekly, even seasonal delights that have kept me going through the many difficult trials that have come our way over the last several years. I hope they will encourage your hearts and cause you to pause in remembrance of how truly good is our God and how glorious are His gifts if we just take the time to notice them~

Some Joyful Simplicities I enjoy are~

  • Kisses from Allen.
  • Hearing my son Matthew laugh out loud.
  • Crocus popping through the earth, lifting their curious heads to the sun and adding color to the brown/gray landscape of late winter and early spring.
  • The purr of our barn cat Hunter as I scratch his jet black ears.
  • Having deep, passionate discussions with my son Tyler about the things that matter most to us in life.
  • Playing volleyball in our back yard on a hot summer evening.
  • Milking our does; Belle, Emma, Kate and Holly.
  • The smell of the barn during the changing seasons.
  • Hearing Matthew’s violin “sing” to me as he plays magical, beautiful music.
  • Reading my Bible in the dark, quiet, early morning hours by the warm glow of an oil lamp, while sipping a steaming cup of fresh brewed coffee.
  • The smell and feel of soft, fertile dirt.
  • Snapping fresh picked green beans with my family under the shade of our huge peachcot tree.
  • Chatting and giggling about the non-essentials of life with my mother-in-law who lives next door.
  • Reading “Pooh” stories out loud. Especially the chapter entitled “Pooh Invents a New Game” from “The House at Pooh Corner”. I laugh and laugh and laugh.
  • Walking to the library on a cool, crisp, moonlit evening.
  • Freshly fallen snow.
  • Snuggling on the couch with Allen and watching a sweet, sentimental love story together.
  • Listening to the tune of “Amazing Grace” resonating across our property at sunset, while Tyler plays his bagpipes.
  • Assisting in the birth of a baby goat - watching a miracle happen before my very eyes.
  • Weeding herbs and enjoying their pungent fragrance as I do.
  • Hanging fresh washed laundry on the clothesline.
  • Sunlight streaming through the windows.
  • Sitting on the back step with Maggie Mae (my canine counterpart) and watching the stars come out as the crickets serenade us.
  • Bouquets of daisies.

I could go on and on, but I thought I’d leave some space for some of you to share your own Joyful Simplicities. Hope to hear from you soon!

Janis

Recommended Reading ~ Winnie the Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner
By A.A. Milne