My Happy Places

Do you have happy places? You know...those places that make you feel alive and healthy and exhilarated? Where you know you could be happy living out the rest of your days? Where you know - you just know - that you were created to be? I would love to know about your happy places. Meanwhile, can I tell you about mine? Here is my list:
• Skiing a high glade on a blue sky day at Mary Jane (Winter Park Resort - Colorado).
• Biking next to the wide Sacramento River in Redding, California on a brilliant and colorful fall day.
• Being caught up with a boogie board on a big wave in Maui.
• Sitting in a quiet "fort" by myself with only a pen and notebook in a cove at Little St. Germain Lake in Wisconsin.
• Wading on the shore of Lake Michigan, letting the cold waves, the sand, and the lake air fill me.
• Hiking with family on Elliott's Ridge in the Eagles Nest Wilderness, Colorado, - the fresh, thin air, the sun on my face, the wildflowers abundant...
• Cross country skiing on Coyote Run at Latigo Ranch in Colorado.
• Fishing at Mesa Lakes on a crispy spring morning on Grand Mesa in Colorado.
• Riding my horse on the trails of Gore Pass north of Kremmling, Colorado.
• Walking my dog at sunset near our old family home on Gore Pass.
• Sitting in the cold and drinking hot coffee at sunrise, watching with my husband for that buck.
• Walking after a rainstorm and experiencing the scent of pine and sage, and spotting rainbows - again, Gore Pass, Colorado.
   I like the dusty old-time atmosphere of a rodeo and the sounds of our horses and cattle on a crisp morning cattle drive. I like the mustiness of a newsroom with the tap-taps of an old typewriter, and I miss the chemical smell of the darkroom. I like old George Strait songs and the wonderful invitation of cinnamon rolls from my oven. I miss warming my backside by a wood stove. I love the laughs of a baby and the happy squeals of children. I love the ring of a phone with a loved one on the other end. I love my mother's old letters that sit in my hope chest.
   As Rick and I look at another life change with new jobs and moving, it's nice to remember I have lived in places I have loved and I carry them with me still!
   I declare and decree I will find a new happy place soon, where I can breathe content in knowing I live right in its center.
   Thank you for letting me go on this journey with you today! What place makes you happy?

For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV