the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in! 

1. How would you define 'the good life'? I love this question!

I would define the good life as a non-perfect life. It's not about having everything I want, avoiding every hardship, or always feeling "happy". For me, the good life is learning to find meaning in the life I have right now. This would mean learning to love people well and letting myself be loved in return. 

For me, gathering around a table with family, laughing at stories I've heard or shared a hundred times, and realizing I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world would be the good life. 

The good life would be having work that matters, even when it's difficult or stressful. 

The good life would be finding beauty in ordinary days—a sunrise, a good book, a favorite song, a quiet conversation, the person I love curled up next to me.

It would be knowing what truly matters and not letting the urgent crowd out the important.

The good life isn't measured by what I accumulate, but by what I cultivate: gratitude, faith, kindness, peace, resilience, and connection. Perhaps most of all, the good life would be able to look back and say:

"I loved deeply. I was present. I trusted God through the highs and lows. I paid attention to the gifts hidden in ordinary days. And I didn't let life pass me by while I was waiting for something better."

That's the good life—not a life without storms, but a life with purpose, love, and gratitude while the storms come and go.

2. What's the most used app on your phone, and are you proud of that? Another great question! (I texted Joyce and told her how much I loved the questions this week.) I was going to answer this by what I thought it would be, but when I pulled up the stats on my phone, I was very pleasantly surprised. I would have guessed social media would have been my number one, but it was text messaging! And look at that usage; I am great with these numbers. I was down 43% from the previous week. 

I love stats like this! It inspires me to do even better next week, so here's to a week of choosing my book over my phone and real people over looking at someone's social media feed. What I wouldn't give for a nineties or early two thousand's summer! 

3. 'Every rose has its thorn', 'everything's coming up roses', 'looking through rose-colored glasses', 'it's no bed of roses', or 'stop and smell the roses': which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently? Explain. At this present moment, I would say of these that 'stop and smell the roses' stands out to me. I feel a bit like a broken record saying this, but I am loving my current phase of life. I am wanting to savor the days and soak up all these magical moments. Can I be honest for a few minutes?

I'm not used to life feeling this good. I almost feel like I'm waiting on the bubble to burst and for things to come crumbling down around me. I'm used to that, after the last couple of years. I'm not used to a man like Chris; I will never get used to the way he treats me, the way he adores me. I hope I do half as good a job as he does. I'm not used to having someone around who loves to cook with me and who is so adept in the kitchen. I'm not used to being wholly loved, treasured, and valued. I'm not used to someone being so open to do all the things I want to do, and who goes along with all of my crazy ideas. I'm not used to this level of calm, of peace...I've read all of these things about what it feels like when your nervous system regulates, and I'm experiencing all of them. 

And you know what? I'm grateful for this life, for how it has turned out. I never thought I would be able to say that and mean it, but here I am making that known. It's true! 

4. How do you feel about floral flavorings in your food or drink (hibiscus, rose, elder flower, or lavender)? Since I've been so wordy today, I'll try to shorten this a bit. I love floral favors in tea drinks, or specialty drinks from Starbucks. My sister Debi introduced me to something floral from Starbucks in Denver last summer; it was so good! It seems like it was hibiscus something or other. 

Cheers!

5. Over the course of your life, what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? I think maybe I've spent a lot of time pondering the many ways of God. I don't understand how He works, and never will, but I know that He loves me and that He is trustworthy. I always wonder what His plan is for my life, too...and how that will play out. It's nice to be in a position of being able to trust Him and His plan. I know that things will happen exactly as He intended. For now...I'll sit back and enjoy life knowing that He's got it all in His hands. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I have a favorite song of the moment once again! This is I Choose You, by Sheffield.

I guess I'm feeling sappy in this current phase of life. I sent this to Chris one day last week, and he admitted that he listened to it over and over again. I love when he sends me songs in return, which he does sometimes. For the moment, I have more time on my hands than he does. 

I can't wait to read your answers to these prompts! Thanks for being here to read my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

ps. I work two days this week, starting today! I'm praying and hoping that it goes well and expect to be in training most of the day. Maybe say a prayer for me, if you think about it at some point? Thanks in advance!