Continually Feasting

Two days after I started my first blog, I included Proverbs 15:15 in a post about the simple joys of life.  That's been over six years ago, but the verse is just as meaningful to me today.

For the despondent, every day brings trouble;
for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

I've learned that feasting comes in many forms.  Here are some that I've been blessed with recently...

A feast for the eyes: uncluttered surfaces, especially ones that had been piled high with things but then got cleared off and are now either empty or neatly organized.  Emptiness is beautiful.  :)

Another feast for the eyes: David at gymnastics.  It is a delight to see him do so well with it and know that, out of all the activities we could choose for him to do, gymnastics was a perfect fit for him!

A feast for the ears: Moriah's soft, steady breathing at night when I quietly open her door and peek into her room to check on her.

Another feast for the ears: violin students who actually sound good--namely, Josiah and David.  :)  Although of course they still produce some squeaks as they play, we're past the beginning phase which is characterized by such intense screeches; and now as they practice, it's actually enjoyable to hear them.  :)

A feast for the nose: line-dried clothes.  I am not a stickler for drying clothes out on the line, especially in the winter (although I do have a clothes rack in our laundry room and use that all the time, so I manage to cut our dryer use by nearly half, I would guess, and I feel good about that).  But once in a while, I hang something out to dry and, oh!, it smells good when I bring it in.  Today I hung out our sheets.  I can hardly wait to crawl into bed and inhale.  :)

Another feast for the nose: Moriah after a bath.  I'm sure my boys smell good after baths, too; but they might think it strange if I started sniffing them afterwards.  :)

A feast for the hands: Jed's fur as I pet him.

Another feast for the hands--but really, for the whole body: warmth from a fire in the woodstove to drive the chill from cold winter days and nights.

A feast for the tongue: fudge.  I made three different recipes of fudge last night--a plain chocolate one, a chocolate with walnuts one, and a peppermint fudge one.  I hadn't made fudge in so long that it had actually become intimidating to me, but last night I was reminded that it really is not difficult AT ALL.  Which is probably a dangerous thing because if it were hard to make, I might not do it again for quite a while.  As it is, I feel like I could whip up some any ol' time.  Uh oh.  ;-)

Fortunately, most of my continual feasting is the non-caloric kind!  :)