My Favorite Things

One of my all time favorite movies is "The Sound of Music". I know all the songs by heart and sometimes I catch myself singing or humming them in the most random moments. I love the song Maria sings to comfort the children during the storm, "My Favorite Things." She trills through a list of her favorite things: rain drops on roses, whiskers on kittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, and my personal favorite schnitzel with noodle. (I LOVE schnitzel! If you've never had it, you must put it on your "to-do" list. Quite tasty!) I have some favorite things, things that make me smile, my heart race, my toes tingle . . . things that put butterflies in my stomach, a spring in my step, and any other cliche about giddiness that you can imagine.

Gerber daisies, 1000 thread count sheets (heaven on earth!), peanut butter, roadtrips, internet shopping--nothing like coming home to that brown package on the doorstep with the Amazon logo on it, Google, the word "ukelele", real butter, Glasgow City Centre, singing to the radio in the car--I like to sing all parts of the harmony simultaneously, proper British tea, movie trailers--I love it when there are so many that I forget what movie I came to see in the first place, Rosa's Beef Fajita Nachos, Pride and Prejudice, pistachios, toast, double-decker buses, traveling by train, New Mexico sunsets, thunderstorms, the Gospel of John, old fashioned hymns, acappella singing, the smell in floral shops, purses that can hold a book + all the other junk I put in it, singing "Under Pressure" at the top of my lungs (I AM Freddie Mercury), laughing so hard I can barely breathe and tears are streaming down my face . . .

I could probably go on all day. These are just a few of my favorite things. Some seem trite, but I count them all blessings from God (yes, I'm certain God loves me when I taste nachos--He made them just for me). What makes them even more significant to me is that I have gotten to share in most of these things with dear friends. Friends have to be my most favorite blessings. Especially because "Under Pressure" is a duet and requires another voice to get the most enjoyment out of it. So until David Bowie gets back, I'm going to have to sing his part, too, even though it's a terrible strain on the old vocal chords, particularly after hitting that ridiculous high note. (Trust me, I sound ridiculous while hitting it.) I am so thankful for my friends. They love me, laugh with me, cry with me, pray for me, reproach me, sing with me, and help me better understand the nature of God's unending love for me--something I don't always comprehend on either count. That's how I truly know God loves me, He made friends just for me . . . oh, and schnitzel with noodle.