SO I GOT A MANICURE AND BOUGHT THE THROW PILLOWS AND WICKER CHAIRS

I listened to Joyce Meyer and she got me to thinking.

Well actually I got to thinking a couple of years ago but Joyce reminded me.

Two years ago when they told me they thought I had cancer and not just cancer but a lot of cancer .
Well that got me to thinking.

You know how when people  have something happen in life it  makes them consider life and how they are living?

Often they  say something like, I want to concentrate on family more.

Or they might say I want to stop and smell the roses.

They could even say they realize things don't matter people do.

Well with me it was the opposite.

I've always been a little things person.

I've always enjoyed and noticed the small things in life.

Family was always first with me.

Not because I had it figured out, I never knew to even figure.

God just did that for me.

I guess you could say seeing the little things and enjoying and being content was like a gift God gave me.  I didn't even think about it.

Not until two years ago.

Two years ago I saw that like most gifts, my gift was out of balance, I mean it wasn't God's fault it was me.

I had let my gift become a little bit of a curse.

I have always been the type who thought I didn't need anything. I always would tell myself it really wasn't necessary or that I could get along without it.

I mean I would put something in the cart and push it around and then put it back.

When we built our house I didn't know what I wanted.

I didn't really care.

I thought whatever I was going to get would be nicer than what I had so when they told us it was time to pick a shower and tub I didn't even go look.

I just told them to bring me a shower and bring me a tub and I would be happy and I was.

I didn't know about different counter tops, to me a counter top was a counter top and if I had known I would have thought others to fine for me.

Two years ago when I thought my time clock was running out you know what I thought?

I didn't think I should have slowed down and took time for family and smelled the roses.

I have spent every minute of everyday with my family and I have smelled the roses and I have loved it more than I can express.

Its how God made me and I praise him for that but you know what I thought?

I thought I should buy new kitchen appliances.

I should get my nails done.

I had never had my nails done.

Then I thought I should get a pedicure too.

So I did.

I thought I'm going to Dillards and Im buying an outfit.

So I did.

I got tw
o wicker chairs for the porch last year and just this week I got two more.

Now I'm not saying I did that all at once and I'm not saying I do it all the time but I'm saying I gave myself the freedom to do something.

I had to learn it was okay to think about what I might like.

I had to learn God was good with that.

I'm so thankful he made me simple.

I'm so thankful I think small.

But I'm also thankful God opened my eyes to enjoyment of big things, i guess you could almost say he let me get a little materialistic.

I needed too.

I needed to realize that I'm only going around once and all things are for me to enjoy.

At the end of the day it is going to be my husband and my children that matter more than anything.

They are always going to be my passion and have first place.

I'm just glad God more or less told me to eat the cookie and buy the shoes as they say.

Well okay, I guess I was always eating the cookies but I needed to know because of him it was okay for me to like the shoes and buy them.

The gifts of God are amazing.

So now I treat myself.

Now at 54 I will go get my nails done both finger and toes.

I will buy something for the porch just because I think it's pretty.

What about you?

What have you learned about yourself?

What do you give yourself the freedom to do that you wouldn't have done before?

God means for us to enjoy all he has and that's exactly what I intend to do, both the big and the small both the emotional and the tangible.

Savor today ladies, savor every little and big  part of it.