As usual, I don’t have much time to write today, but the Faith Barista reminded me that sometimes we can share bits of our journey simply through photos and staying connected. Of course, those of you who know me know that I love taking pictures so pulling together a few that I could add to my blog post was not a hard task. The hard part, narrowing down the images, trying to focus on what made me happy recently and why.

If you read my last post, you know that “happy” is the word that I am focusing on for 2014. It is the word that God put on my heart, and it has come up in so many ways, in so many different situations in the last couple of months that I knew … this is not a coincidence. It is a calling. A wake-up call, if you will.

I have to remind myself sometimes that each day is a gift. We cannot waste a day, thinking things like, “I’ll call my mom tomorrow.” “All I need to do is get through this week, then I’ll take some time for myself.” “I need to put something on the calendar with [my friend] next month. She has been down lately.” But who knows what tomorrow, next week, or next month will bring. Most likely, something else will take up way too much real estate in your mind and your life and you won’t necessarily get around to the things that really matter. We need to find our focus and our happy each day. 

So, with that, here are a few happy images. The first is a picture of my husband Bart at his first store in Louisville. We moved up here about a year and a half ago to open up a new market for Mattress Firm, and we now have eight stores open with more growth coming for 2014. Bart has been promoted to District Manager, and he loves his job. I enjoy listening to him recruit people when he runs across someone he thinks has potential (even at the dog park) because he has a lot of passion for the company and his role in it. It always makes me smile.

Next, of course, is Bella. I’m pretty sure my Facebook friends think I have nothing else going on in my life other than hanging out with my dog (and sometimes that is true). But she is a real sweetheart and definitely contributes to my happiness (especially now that most of her destructive puppy months are behind her). I’m looking forward to better weather days so we can get back outside with her more.

Not that Bella doesn’t get out in the snow. She still enjoys being outside, even when it’s cold. But Bart and I don’t enjoy being out there quite as much when the temperature is 10 degrees or lower. Those are the days that I let her venture out there on her own.

However, I do love the beauty of the winter snows, and really enjoy the fact that we get such a gorgeous view from our dining room window. The trees, the creek, the wildlife … That makes me happy.

Okay, so I am already spending more time on this than I have, but I want to share one more thing that contributes to my happy days, and that is anytime I get to spend with family. I am so thankful that we got to go to Florida to celebrate this past Christmas with them. There’s no way I could show all the happy moments in this post, but here are a few:

 

Remember, life is good. Don’t miss out on it!