Sunday, January 31, 2010

Rejoicing! January Highlights!

I just knew January was going to fly by this year. When life is sweet, the days go by so much quicker. As I was talking with a friend, my thoughts this past month have been nothing but happiness and love. I have decided to take the last day of the month to REJOICE over the many highlights of this month. Every time I say the word REJOICE, my mind instantly kicks into the Christmas song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The chorus says "Rejoice! Rejoice!" Wait! Here is the first chorus to the song:


O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.


How this song has touched my heart so. I give you my REJOICINGS!


January 7, 2010 - Watching the Bowlers ride their horses and rope. Seeing Shae's big grin on her face as she rode a horse for the first time in her life. Having the nicest friends who do cool things like this that can give variety and entertainment on a cold January night. Brian admitting that he is a cowboy at heart. Ha!
I rejoice in God's creation of the horse. What a beautiful animal that gives a great service. I rejoice in friends that just like to hang out and laugh. I rejoice in the smell of horse manure because I know my sense of smell is alive and well!


January 9, 2010 - My life changing moment! I rejoice in having the right words said to me at the right time. Letting go of my ego and just wanting to be happy. Breaking out of the vicious cycle of negativity and trying to see things how God sees them. Having my eyes opened to all the beauty all around me and loving just because. I hope that the rest of my life is as sweet as this day! I rejoice in God's love for me!


January 20, 2010 - Writing out my wish list and trying to just focus on 3 at a time (it's a big list). I rejoice in setting goals and dreaming. I am beginning to redevelop the imagination within me again. To have a purpose and direction. To be able to sit down with Brian and say, this is what we want to do with our lives. Being grateful for everything that God has abundantly given me and chuckling over the little life amusements. I have to share that I wrote in my journal that I have found joy in flushing the toilet because I have found a way to pop my lower back at the same time. It's the little things some times!


January 22, 2010 - Having the opportunity to clean the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We served in the wee hours of the night, and it was AMAZING!! We cleaned, we disinfected, we dusted, we de-smudged and we did it all in white. Glorious sight for someone that enjoys cleaning! Afterwards, we were invited to go wherever we wanted to in the temple to enjoy the quietness and be still. We could stay as long as we wanted. He said we could stay all night! I would have, but the babysitter would have died! The temple is quiet, but at night, there is a strong spirit the resides in the stillness of the night. I rejoice in this opportunity to serve. Those that are close to us, know that we are NOT night owls at all! But I would do this again in a heart beat because my spirit was edified in a way that I have never thought before. AMAZING!


January 24, 2010 - I had a very long day and Shae had awoke that morning with a 103 degree temperature. Motherly concerns were kicking in and so when I laid her down for bed, I knew that I was in for a long night. At 9:00 pm, my door bell rings, and lo and behold it is my two favorite missionaries. They stopped by because they were following up with our next door neighbors and Elder Sinnette had to go to the bathroom in the worst way. So they ran over to our home. As the boys were making their "pit stop," Brian and I were having a conversation with Elder Blocher about his day. They had been out at the boys ranch and Brian was inquiring if they saw Shawn Bradley. It seems that Shawn Bradley works out there from time to time. Elder Blocher is looking bewildered at Brian as he did not know who Shawn Bradley was (extra tall BYU basket ball player who I believe played for Philadelphia as a pro), we hear echoing from the bathroom "I saw him, he had a really nice suite on." Elder Sinnette then proceeded to have a conversation from the bathroom with the rest of us. I could not stop laughing! I rejoice in that small moment of happiness right before the long night of medicating and dealing with Shae's illness. I love the missionaries. Those boys are doing God's work and we will do all that we can to assist them with whatever they need. In return, they give me great laughter.


January 28, 2010 - The song "Amazing Grace" sung by Cecilia with whale calls as back up. Enough said about that! I rejoice in a different perspective and giggling too!


January 30, 2010 - The best date so far for the year of 2010! Saturday, through the grace of Afrin, I was able to go on a date with my best friend. Our usual date night is temple, dinner and ice cream. Because we only had $17.00 left of our budget, we had a $5.00 Subway and blew the rest on ice cream at Leatherby's. Truly this man knows my heart well. I rejoice on obeying our budget. I rejoice in surrounding ourselves with positive, uplifting environments. I rejoice being able to feel the "welcome home" spirit of the Jordan River temple. I rejoice in being with my love at the temple. I rejoice having the privilege to be there. I rejoice in mint cookies and cream and regular cookies and cream scoops of ice cream. I rejoice on a sweet mother in law who is always willing to be the babysitter for such date nights.
Truly, I could go on and on, but these were the best days of my life in January of 2010. I hope that you too are finding the little things that bring great joy in your life. Life is beautiful, so go out and enjoy it!

6 comments:

heather said...

I really like how you recap the month with gratitude! What a good idea.

Kristen said...

whales...lol. I love you Suzanne! You are awesome!!!

Small House said...

OH...I liked this post. You are wonderful, I can tell.
Sandra

Miss Megan said...

O Come O Come Emmanuel is one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs as well. I remember the first time I heard it sung was by a BYU men's chorus. It was amazing! Thanks for sharing your moments of inspiration this past week!

P.S. Thanks for all your great comments and feeback on Cupcake Chowder. I love reading them! And while Lea Michele was my best dressed, it's true - her shoes sucked!

Heather said...

Yay! For you date night at the temple. The best things in life are free.

I hope all is well with Shealer that she is feeling better.

I would so love cleaning a temple. I bet that was a wonderful experience.

What a wonderful January. I think it is awesome you are finding joy in all the simple things.

JENNIFRO said...

You hooked me with that song. I love it so much. I read this post the other day and didn't comment from my phone. I wanted to come back to say that it really touched me. You are so positive and I loved reading about the simple things in life that bring you joy. I tend to overlook lots of them sometimes..it made me happy to read your thoughts and though I'm not explaining my feelings very well right now--just wanted to say thank you. You inspire me.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails