Joy is my middle name

Hello World,

And just like that, February is almost over. It's gone so fast, yet it feels as though I've been in India an age. I don't know what I was expecting in coming out here, in many respects I don’t think I had any expectations because I had no idea what to expect. In spite of this however, it is so different from whatever it is that I was expecting. Does that make sense?

I said in a blog before Christmas that I was struck by a quote Phil read me from a book called happiness by Randy Alcorn. The bit I quoted then was by C.S Lewis, saying there was a whole section on finding God and joy in the mundane that I wasn't going to quote yet. This is that. Randy Alcorn begins by listing seemingly small things that we find joy in, for example: "Ripe oranges straight off a tree. Chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven and a tall glass of milk (…) A comfortable recliner, the smell of leather and a dog's wagging tail". Alcorn then goes on to say "If we disregard these and thousands of other gifts, we don’t just fail to notice them, we fail to notice God."

I love Joy. You could quite literally say that it's my middle name. The idea of noticing God in the small, mundane things has always been really important to me. I am the type of personality that is very easily amused, and so have always been able to find joy in small, seemingly unimportant things. However since being in India, I have been challenged even more to find these small joyful things, as although I am having an amazing time, there are a lot of moments where everything just feels a bit big and overwhelming. Finding God in the small things always manages to give me joy, and makes things  seem less daunting. In light of this, here is a list of small things that I have found great joy in this month.

1. Sunlight peeping through the curtains after a good nights' sleep
2. The bright colours of the flowers
3. Gecko's darting across the wall away from noise
4. The smell of clean laundry
5. Picking a lime of the tree for pancakes
6. PANCAKES.
7. Squirrels chasing each other around the garden
8. Writing letters
9. Yellow butterflies
10. Finishing a whole book in an afternoon
11. The soothing sound of a fan at night
12. Facetime
13. Glass bangles
14. A conversation about lichens
15. How swishy long skirts are
16. A fascination with freckles
17. Jacket potatos
18. Dobble
19. Action songs
20. Friendly dogs

Until the next update!

All my love,

Lizzie 

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the almighty" Psalm 91 vs 1