“I like people who get excited about the change of seasons, the sound of the ocean, watching the sunset, the smell of rain and starry nights.”

Brooke Hampton

If you have read my post How do I do it all?, you know that I get excited about life. Not money or material things; the important things that make life meaningful and deep; the things that make you light up from the inside out. Those are the kind of people I want to spend life with. Those are the kind of people I want to raise my children to be.

There is just something magnetic about people who still marvel at the little things. The ones who stop to breathe in the smell of a coming rain, who pause to admire a sky splashed with colorful hues, who laugh with unbridled joy at the dancing of a butterfly passing by. They remind us that joy doesn’t always live in the big milestones – it is woven into simple, everyday moments.

In a world that constantly urges us to hustle harder, buy more, and keep moving, noticing the small wonders feels almost rebellious. But there is something sacred about noticing these things. When our hearts stir at pristine, sparkling fresh snow, when we pause to hear the spring peepers in the pond, or we lift our eyes to the twinkling stars, we are doing more than admiring creation – we are worshiping the Creator.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Psalm 19:1

Every sunset, every butterfly, every snowflake is God’s handiwork, painted fresh each day as a reminder of His presence. Those who live in wonder remind us that faith is not only found in church, but in everyday moments where we can see a glimpse of heaven on earth.

Those who delight in life’s simple gifts tend to carry a lighter spirit. Their gratitude makes them radiant. Their wonder keeps them childlike, even as years go by. They inspire us to slow down, to put down our phones, and to remember that beauty surrounds us constantly – if only we look up and notice.

This is the heartbeat of simple living: finding contentment not in more, but in enough. Recognizing that joy is not hidden in what we buy or achieve, but in what God has already given us. The turning of the seasons, the beauty of the wildflowers, the hush of twilight, the singing of the birds. The buzzing of the bees in the garden, the smell of the earth when you’re planting, the taste of a home-grown tomato, the giggles of your children playing in the grass.

May we be people who pause, who notice, who praise. People whose excitement for sunsets and butterflies and wildflowers points back to the One who made them. Because when we learn to see Him in the simple, we begin to live life that is truly full.