Simple pleasures

1. Having someone to drive for you when your eyes start to droop.

2. Candlelight dinners of steak and corn on the cob.

3. A glass of wine while watching The Bachelorette (and the one you love loving you enough to watch it with you.)

4. Splitting a Hungry Hobo lunch with your mom and bringing it to your brother and dad at work.

5. Still being able to wear a dress I wore in high school and still impressing my boyfriend in it.

6. Looking at old pictures in my scrapbooks that I haven't seen in years.

7. Being close enough to walk to the grocery store.

8. A day that was supposed to be busy turning slow when interviews get postponed.

9. Ice cream sandwiches.

10. Crawling into bed over lunch break from work.

Lessons from a seemingly everyday moment

To some people this might be embarrassing, but to me it was just funny.

Nate and I were walking out of my parents house, and I was in a pair of sandals with about 2-inch heels. For a schooled heel-walker like me, no big deal.

The new porch my parents put in has a coarse texture, but since it’s some kind of faux wood, it’s still pretty slick.

I don’t know how it happened, but one of my heels caught on something on the entirely flat porch. I tried to catch myself, but my heel got hooked on the bottom of my dress. I felt myself falling forward and could do absolutely nothing to stop the tumble down the porch’s two steps.

Nate grabbed for me, but it happened so fast I was on the ground before he could reach me.

I laughed for a second, then tried not to let the tears well up in my eyes as I started to feel the couple burns and the soreness of my wrist from catching myself.

Nate grabbed me and set me upright after I had unhooked my heel from my dress.

I laughed at what a clumsy person I was, yet thankful that I’m still young so a tumble like that didn’t hurt me at all.

Dorky or not, I thought about two lessons from this situation - even though they don’t really apply to the situation itself.

One, catch each other. I’m not blaming Nate at all for not catching me. I’m glad he tried to catch me, but it was a random moment and happened quickly.

However, in other situations when you see a friend or a loved one falling down, don’t just watch. Step in and catch each other. (As I said, it doesn’t really apply, but made me think of this).

Two, be graceful.

Although I have been a dancer since I was 4 years old, I’m not a graceful person. Ask any of my friends. I trip all the time, and this is not the first time that I’ve fallen...even in the last year.

However, grace doesn’t only include gracefulness of foot. Grace is much more important when it is a quality you have on the inside. And that is something that you can control rather than how ungraceful you are on the outside.

Valuable pennies

I received this e-mail forward from a friend and wanted to pass along the story and add some of my own thoughts to it:

"Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

"The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

"As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

"Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

"He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

"Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at Arlene. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

"A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see.. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"'Look at it,' he said. 'Read what it says.'

"She read the words ' United States of America .'

"'No, not that; read further.'

"'One cent?'

"'No, keep reading.'

"'In God we Trust?'

"'Yes!'

"'And... ?'

"He explained, 'And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust is in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as my response to God, that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!'"

First lesson, everywhere God's name is written is holy. We should start revering even the little things that remind us of God.

Second, God uses even the little things to remind us to trust him. You think it is a coincidence that our forefathers put "In God We Trust" on our coins? I don't think so.

Third, in the Bible, Jesus told his disciples to give what was Caesar's to Caesar, the coins with Caesar's face on them. Well, we do owe our government, but we also owe God. Whatever we have has been given to us by God, and even our money has his name on it. We should remember that we should give to God what is God's - everything!

Needs? Check!

I passed a church the other day that had a "quote from God." It said "Imagine how much air would cost if I didn't provide!"

Seriously! The most expensive things we buy are things that humans create - technology. The cheap things? Usually what is provided by God in nature.

We really need relatively few things to live - air, water, food, shelter, clothing. Think about it. All of that is provided directly from the earth by God. That is why people survived for so long without any technology.

Air? Check! We don't even have to think about that.

Water? Check! We have bodies of water all over that we can get liquid from.

Food? Check! Look around, we have trees with fruit, bushes with berries and plenty of other plants that grow from the earth. Animals are everywhere that provide food for us, even the non-domesticated kind.

Shelter? Check! It might take a little work, but we still build with natural ingredients like wood. Even bricks and concrete are made from stuff right from the earth.

Clothing? Check! Yet again, it takes a little work but our cotton clothing comes from the earth. Even leather comes from animals that God provides.

I don't think we realize just how well God takes care of us. So, thanks God for covering all our basic needs so easily!

Lead your heart

In the movie "Fireproof," Michael Simmons said, "And don't just follow your heart, man; 'cause your heart can be deceived. But you gotta lead your heart."

Many people give the advice, "Follow your heart" or "Go with your gut."

I think there is a place for following your heart. Your heart can tell you your passions, your deepest desires. It can lead you to the person that you will spend all your life with.

However, your heart is only a start.

Your heart can point you in the right direction, but once you have chosen that direction, you sometimes have to lead your heart.

For instance: Let's say you fall in love with someone. You follow your heart and decide to marry them. However, you soon get used to them and see someone else intriguing in the work place.

Your sinful heart might tell you to follow that new attraction.

This is a time when you have to lead your heart. You have already chosen one path, it is time to make a decision to lead your heart down that path.

Going with your gut and following your heart can be a good place to start, if your gut and heart are in tune with God's, but it's just a starting point. Sometimes you have to lead your heart.

The right timing

Back to my reading in 1 Samuel.

In chapter 13, Saul is supposed to wait for Samuel to come and make a burnt offering. However, when Samuel doesn't show at the specified time, Saul decides to make the offering himself.

"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command." (NIV)

That really struck me. I didn't understand why Samuel and God were so mad that Saul made a burnt offering. Samuel was the one that didn't show up on time.

I am such a timely person that when people don't meet the right schedule, I have a hard time adapting. I tend to move on quicker than I probably should, not giving people enough leeway and grace in that area.

My Zondervan NIV Study Bible note said, "The foolish and sinful aspect of Saul's act was that he thought he could strengthen Israel's chances against the Philistines while disregarding the instruction of the Lord's prophet Samuel."

Then I understood. And I understood that is exactly what I tend to do in life.

When things don't go the way I plan them out, I will go ahead and do what I think is right in my own timing. I expect my actions to work out with God's blessing too, even though I haven't waited for him.

I guess I need to wait on the Lord a little, lot, more.

Just joking

"Bubba and Junior were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up.

A woman walked by and asked what they were doing. "We're supposed to find the height of the flagpole," said Bubba, "but we don't have a ladder." The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a few bolts, and laid the pole down. Then she took a tape measure from her pocket, took a measurement and announced, "Eighteen feet, six inches," and walked away.

Junior shook his head and laughed. "Ain't that just like a dumb blonde! We ask for the height, and she gives us the length!'"

"Ever wonder why you never seen the headline psychic wins the lottery?"

"What's the difference between chopped beef and pea soup? Everyone can chop beef, but not everyone can pea soup!"

"What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh."

"The fight we had last night was my fault, my wife asked me what was on the TV and i said dust."

(101funjokes.com)

I read today that children laugh 300-400 times per day and adults only 15. Maybe we all need to take life a little more lightly!