Big Joy in Little Things

Dear Readers,

I just want to start out with a thank you- thank you for reading and being a part of my journey through my blog. I’m so excited about this and your excitement brings me motivation, thanks.

-- Every good and perfect gift is from above --

James 1:17

The world we live in today is far from fair, and it is so hard to find the things and hobbies that define us. So often what we enjoy doing is defined by our culture and not our personalities. We’ve forgotten the meaning of happiness and accepted the world's definition of happiness instead. When reaching for simplicity, we have to be reaching for the kind of simplicity that makes us happy.

While I was in school, I remember my second hour, AP U.S History, being the hardest class I’ve ever taken. Read a chapter each night, take notes, analyze what you’ve read, finish eight worksheets over the material the next day, and take a test worth pretty much all of my grade by the end of the week,and then repeat next Monday. My history class was stressful, tear provoking, overwhelming, and created doubts and priorities I didn’t want. It became the thing I did every morning, afternoon, and night, and quickly my number one priority for school. Now, doesn’t that sound appealing? I was beginning to lose a part of my identity and wasn’t making time to do what made me happy. I hadn’t written a journal entry in weeks, hadn’t taken time to sketch something out, or even get through a chapter of a book that wasn’t about American history. It was a quite depressing and unhealthy time for me. I knew something had to change. Going back to my square one opened my eyes to the things that truly made me happy.

I’ve taken the time to realize the things that put a smile on my face. There are the big things, such as: my family, seeing God work miraculously or answer a prayer, a blessing, my best friends, and inspirational and motivational talks. But what about the little things? There are so many little things in our everyday lives that also put smiles on our faces. Things such as: packing for a vacation I’ve been waiting to go on for weeks, getting my braces off, staying up late, waking up late, homemade pancakes, and cool weather in Arizona ( which is rare for those of you who have yet to experience Arizona). One of the key elements to a simple life is finding joy and happiness not only in the big things but also in the little things. We have to be present in every moment and find joy in every moment. Why should we do this? When we live simply and indulge in things that bring smiles to our faces we see that they are important and we feel more productive. We become a solution to this ongoing problem which is the world stressing us out by telling us what we need and want. When I realized what I wanted and what made me- Emma, and not anyone else -truly happy, my perspective and attitude changed. I choose to see the goodness in all things and the joy in even the little things. It has changed my life, I feel my eyes are wider and my opportunities more open. Just realizing the things that are important to my life and make me who I am is more important than anything a history book or social media site could tell me.

When you’ve identified those little things that just make your day, hold tight. And having something so small like homemade pancakes put a smile on my face puts me one step closer to the simple life because I’m focusing on what makes me happy and not others. We have to be present in every moment because every moment (even the little ones) goes to the glory of God and when we cheerfully live in the moments He’s blessed us with we gain a whole new perspective on life. Every gift, every good gift, is from above, hold on to that thought through out this week.

I have thought of the top ten little things that put a smile on my face every time. So, here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Writing in notebooks with No. 2 pencils
2. Big hugs and smiles
3. Massive clouds of varying colors
4. My best friend’s laugh
5. Taking pictures
6. Hand writing a letter
7. Day-dreaming
8. Roadtrips
9. Breakfast
10. Sweaters

These are only ten out of many more things that fill my tank. So, for our challenge this week, I encourage all of you to stop for a minute and look around you, find the top ten little things that fill your cup of tea. Write down your list (Don’t just stop at ten- keep going) and put it somewhere where you can see it as a daily reminder to find big joy in the little things. I would love to hear what puts smiles on your faces, so let me know your number one little thing in the comment section below. Remember friends, don’t wait for your joy to appear, go looking for it everywhere.

XOXO-Em

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