What Makes You Smile?
Hello everyone! What is it that makes you smile? That's the topic of today's post. Proverbs 15:13 says, "A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed." I feel that, more than ever, we need to look for the things in everyday life that can make us smile. Some days smiling is harder for me to do than others, especially lately. How about you? So today, I'm sharing some things which have made me smile recently and my hope is that you will be prompted to look for things in your own life that make you smile. Let's all smile together, shall we?!
Flowers always make me smile and I have really been enjoying the store bought arrangement that I treated myself to a few days ago, as well as my beautiful zinnias planted on our back porch. I was able to separate out the flowers from the store and created two vases to display on our living room mantel. The colors are so vibrant and pretty and I find myself smiling each time I walk by and see them. Likewise, when I'm on the back porch the brilliance of these zinnias just cheers my soul! What a blessing pretty flowers are!
And just look at this cucumber growing! I smiled when I saw the little bud that was the beginning of this very pretty cucumber. The bees and butterflies have been buzzing about and I know that more cucumbers will be coming but this first one brings so much excitement! I see a little ladybug is visiting, also. Just don't bother my cucumber ladybug!!
And this was the first thing I saw when I looked out my kitchen window this morning. Two lovely deer stopping by for a beverage. There was a third deer, a fawn with spots, that stayed hidden in the woods but these two ventured out for me to see and photograph. How very beautiful they are! Yes, they can be pests, but I only see the beauty and gentleness of deer and they brought a smile to my face. The smaller one saw us taking pictures and just froze and its front legs were shaking. I felt bad for alarming it. I would never hurt a deer.
As you know, books often make me smile and when I find a book by a favorite author that I have not yet read the smile is really big! I thought I had read all the Miss Read books I own but when I pulled, "The Howards of Caxley," off my shelf and started reading I realized that I had owned this book for years and never read it. How did that happen?! Anyway, I am enjoying it immensely and, sadly, am almost finished. But, I'll enjoy it again in the future, I'm sure, and have an opportunity to smile some more!
And, oh yes, comfortable outfits can make me smile, and this dress/tunic continues to make me smile whenever I wear it. I am styling it a bit differently today than when I showed it to you the first time. Today, I am wearing a black nylon tunic underneath and also black leggings. I feel a bit more comfortable with this look as I feel I am covered more. I would definitely wear this outfit "out" with no hesitation.
I know we have all heard that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile and the science is still out on that, although what I read today says that our smile muscles may be stronger so that it may take slightly less effort to smile than to frown. But, whatever the science says, I know that personally it FEELS better to smile than to frown. So, I'm hoping that this post has brought a smile to your face and perhaps is leading you to think of some things that bring smiles to you. Let me know what some of them are in the comments, OK? And many, many thanks to all of you who read and commented on the 5th anniversary of my blog. Your comments surely made me smile and I cherish each and every one!
Until Next Time,
Debbie
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
Song of Solomon 2:12
6 comments:
Your entire blog post made me smile! You featured some lovely items such as flowers and books, which I also enjoy. I'm so glad you shared that picture of the deer. What a wonderful sight right in your own backyard!
I look forward to your posts/blog. I find it to be Peaceful and comforting. Keep up the good work and thank you.
I dearly love the Miss Read books but have never been able to get my hands on that particular book - lucky you!
xx
What an uplifting post Debbie!! The pictures of you are so pretty...they just look happy!! And the tunic and cropped pants is such a great look, I really like that! Loving all the flowers... How very cool that you got a picture with the lady bug in it! While bugs are on my list of horrors, for some reason lady bugs and lightening bugs and butterflies are different. Maybe because we associate them with happy memories or stories? That little lady bug is precious! And the deer - how sweet to see them drinking out of the bird bath!! I live close to a national park, and just across the street is one of the "legs" of that park so I do get deer in my yard too (usually munching on my flowers, but it kind of keeps them pinched back and growing, so it's a positive thing!) My vegetables are covered with netting though...not sharing...! Nature brings me joy too. If I'm having a down day, I try to get to the park to regroup. It has been my go-to solution for the blues ever since I was a little girl! Since I've stayed in the same city that I grew up in, that park has been a fixture in my life. I've had lots of things in my life that have crushed my spirit at times, to the point where I lost sight of who I was. God always brings me back to the realization that He hasn't let me go, He never left me even though I left Him, and I try to rest in that security. I honestly am not discouraged even with all the turmoil going on around us, and I try to keep my focus "up" and "out" and maintain as normal a life as possible. Takes a little more imagination at times, but it's working! (Sorry for taking up so much space here!)
Nice photos. Love the deer. That brought me joy. TFS
Love all the flowers, especially love the deer. I always feel so blessed when I'm able to see wildlife. I was just watching a deer out in my back yard earlier this afternoon.
Like your dress/tunic. I actually have one very much like that and just forget to wear it. Gonna have to change that.
Grace & Peace,Iris
www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
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