bits of happy

ohhhhhhhh, happy day!

guess what?

my friend, alicia, is hosting a new little link up.

and i think it's very sweet!

it's super timely for my life right now, too.

in her own words,

"Every Wednesday I'll be here to share a little bitty challenge with you. Just a little one. It won't cost a lot of money or time on your part. It will be fun. You will like it.

I realize that many of us have babies, LOTS of babies, home school, work, have just moved (ahem) but we need to bring ourselves a little bit of joy just the same.

I also realize that these things that I'm going to share with you over the weeks are silly, fun, and frivolous. I know that real true happiness come from a relationship with our Maker. But that being said, there's something to say about a Starbucks coffee break on a Tuesday morning between doctor's appointments and leftover mac and cheese lunchtime. Ya know??"

isn't that the truth? :)

the funny thing is, 

i have been thinking a lot about happy things, happiness, and where true happiness comes from.

the kids and i were reading in our devotions this morning, and it is SO like God to relate a story from His Word, to something that has been on my very heart and mind for days.

the scripture was from John 4

¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

 ¹¹The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

 ¹²Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

 ¹³Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

 ¹⁴But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

yes.  Jesus is the only One that can satisfy our true thirst in this life.

so often we  I try to bring things into my life to make me happy. things that bring happiness for a short season.  things that make me smile or feel fulfilled for a short time, but then the feeling fades.

but His joy is everlasting!

e.v.e.r.l.a.s.t.i.n.g.

that being said, i also believe that God is very detail oriented, 

and He has given us things on this earth to enjoy.

He delights in giving us good things, and He caters to us on such an individual basis.

it's totally amazing!  have you ever received a gift and you just knew that God's hand was in it, because He knows your deepest thoughts, desires and likes?

i have, and it's pretty incredible!

this candle has been speaking to me lately.

{and, no.  i'm not hearing voices.}

whenever i see it, i start to sing a little ditty that goes like this...

i love it!  a little candle{which makes me happy anyway} reminds me of where my TRUE happiness comes from.  it's sorta contagious, too, because now all of my kiddos are singing it.

and speaking of kids, they make me very happy.

especially seeing them laugh and scream and play outside in this gorgeous weather!

isn't it l.o.v.e.l.y?

opening windows, hearing the birds singing, and feeling the fresh air throughout my house=happy.

we have a cement slab on the side of our house that has a basketball hoop in it from the previous owners, but our kids love it for scootering and rollerblading.

sunlight streaming in my living room and a few bright spring colored pillows also make me happy!

don't you just love when you can see the suns rays reaching down from Heaven?

sometimes i think Jesus is going to descend right down on those rays and take His children home.

now THAT would be a happy day!

so, now you know that pillows make me happy.

i have a few too many, if that's possible.  :)

isn't this little chalkware chick adorable?

i bought him from my sweet antique dealer friend.

he needed a home and i had one available.

i just love this little guy, even if henry was using him to peck at the table the other morning and chipped off big pieces of chalk from the grass and beak.

since this post is about happy, we won't talk about that.

mooooving on...

madelyn is the QUEEN of projects around here.

someday, she is going to be an amazing activity director.

she is always dreaming up fun things to do, whether it be scrap booking, sewing, knitting or baking.

she also has a very sweet heart.  that makes me happy.

when she spotted this scone mix at world market, it was love at first sight.

she patiently anxiously waited until we got home from our road trip last weekend, and made these for us on Tuesday

{so her dad could have some, too}.

they were pretty good, and do you see her eyeing them up from the counter?

she loves to cook, bake, and sew.

seeing her happy makes me happy.

burlap, twill, birds, and love=happy.

i decided that since we take a weekly trip to the library, it was about time that i checked some books out!

duh.

i love hunting for recipes and looking at pretty things.

sadly, i don't read much, because i have super poor eyesight.

the kind of sight that my eyes start to cross and i get headaches from reading too long.

i recently started wearing very low power readers to make things bigger and brighter.

so these books, although i don't spend much time in them, make me happy.

and no, we are not vegetarians and we don't plan on becoming them.

i'm totally not against it, but i have to live here.  with other people.  and they would care.

i'm just trying to incorporate more vegetables into our lives, because i know we should.

happy!

what makes you happy?

there are so many things that i could list, but then this would be a real book,

and i wouldn't even be able to finish it. 

i'll stick with this for today, but my happy list grows and changes each and every day.   

just as it should, right?

the only thing that doesn't change is my Savior.

and that makes me the happiest of all.

isn't that hard to grasp?

HE NEVER CHANGES.

so head over to alicia's and get ready to take on her first project.

it's a fun one, and i totally plan on doing it.

it will be a bright spot in your day for sure.

click here to check.it.out.

i am secretly hoping that her next challenge will be to treat myself to starbucks.  hint. hint.  

hello! iced peppermint mocha!

:)

hope your day is filled with blessings from above!

xo,

mary




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