I love today’s Blog-tember prompt: five things that bring you joy. I’m starting to realize how important it is to recognize what brings you joy, and to make time in your schedule to enjoy those things. It’s so easy to rush from one thing to the next, crossing items off our to-do lists. That is good and necessary, but what fun is life if you can’t experience some joy while you’re at it? So here are five things that bring me joy.

1. Reading outside on a cool morning. I love to read anywhere, any time, but I especially love those cool mornings in the spring and fall when I have time to sit out on the porch with my coffee and a good book.
2. Candles. There’s just something so peaceful about having a candle burning, especially one in a mason jar 😉
3. Fall/autumn. I love pretty much everything about fall. Cooler weather, colorful leaves, pumpkin everything, fairs, football…not to mention my birthday! Last year, I was working at Hobby Lobby, and seeing all the fall decor was one of the highlights of my day at work 😉 Plus, it includes Thanksgiving and the lead-up to Christmas, which are two of my favorite holidays.
4. Coffee. I don’t think that needs much of an explanation!
5. Stationary and notebooks. Whenever I’m at Target or TJMaxx, I head straight for the stationary aisle. I don’t know what I’ll ever do with all those notecards and notebooks, but I’m sure they’ll come in handy someday, right?

Honorable mentions (no less important than the other things I’ve mentioned, but I had to pick five!): road trips with my family (even just to church), going on adventures with my sister, and going to sleep listening to the rain. There really are a lot of joy-filled things and moments in life, if we will just stop to look for them!

What brings you joy?