To Enjoy Life Sounds Like...

    To enjoy life sounds like... heaven on earth. To sit in a park with my book or journal and maybe an iced coffee with the sound of nature all around me sounds like heaven on earth. To just sit and rest in the fresh air. To feel my anxiety just fade away and my heartbeat settles down. To hear birds in the trees around me and children enjoying their summer vacation on the play set. While they laugh and play, scream and yell among themselves. All while I enjoy the passion, talent and creativity that my beloved authors bring to each of their books. Or my Creator Himself brings to mind while I journal.

    For my husband, it means hanging out with friends, while they eat good food and play games. It's researching a topic and learning new things that challenge his thinking. Playing fetch with our dog and giving her belly rubs. It's spontaneous ice cream dates after work and movie nights with Blessing and me on our couch.

    For teenage girls (yes, I'm stereotyping) its going to the mall with their friends and picking out a new outfit and getting their nails done. Or finding that hair accessory that you have been looking for.

    For others, like my husband, it's curling up on the couch with your family and watching a good movie with your favourite snacks and building memories that will last a lifetime.

    It sounds like walking through nature while listening to your favourite podcast. It's hosting a dinner party and trying a new recipe. It's so many different things to different people because God created every one of us differently and gave us each our own things to enjoy.

    John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." God does not want us to simply go to work, pay bills and clean our homes. He wants us to enjoy our lives. To enjoy His creation and use the skills, gifts and talents that He has given every one of us.

    For a long time, I have struggled with "enjoying" life. For years I had the mindset that I am on this earth to go to work, pay bills and exercise. I saw a meme about it one day saying how we are created for more than just that and it hit me between the eyes. Of course, it has taken me several years to accept that I do not have simply just work and pay bills. That I am allowed to enjoy life and all the blessings that God has given to me. I had the wrong mindset for years that I did not "deserve" to enjoy life and such. Thankfully that is not true. Thankfully what is true is that God loves me and wants me to enjoy the life that He has given to me. I had never really noticed John 10:10 until recently while reading a Joyce Myers book and she spoke on this topic for a moment and it all hit me.

    So now I'm trying to practice "enjoying" life more and giving myself "permission" to do so. Want to know what I have discovered friend? It's refreshing and relaxing. Last Sunday I spent the entire day laying on our couch reading a book. It was such a good book that I borrowed it from the library on Friday evening and finished it Sunday evening. I'm not a fast reader, so this is an impressive feat for me. At one point in the afternoon on Sunday my hubby came out of his office for a snack and walked through the living room. He stopped and we talked for a few minutes. I told him that I hadn't felt this relaxed in ages and was so grateful that we stayed home that day. Yes, we enjoy attending church regularly and believe in the importance of fellowship and corporate worship, but laying on my couch that day and just reading my favourite author's work was soulful and such a blessing.

    So, friend, I hope that you have already learned this lesson long ago and are enjoying the blessing of enjoying the life that God has given you. If not, I hope you learn alongside me that it is not just good to enjoy life through various activities, but that it is a blessing from God.

Happy Sunday All

I pray that this post finds you well and blesses you.

~Hannah