Life Is Good

Winter in Portugal is VERY different from winter in Chicago. First of all, there is no snow here and, secondly, it never drops to extreme temperatures that can kill you if you stay outside for too long!
Although I really enjoy the nice weather here, I do wish houses weren't so cold and damp...because of this, I often end up having to put on a jacket when coming inside my house! But I feel very blessed. I have a room that protects me from the wind and rain outside (and believe me, there are a lot of both out there!), I have my own bed, I have covers to keep me warm, I have layers and layers of clothes to put on, I have a water bottle to heat me up at night, and I always have hot tea available to make my insides nice and warm, too.
I do sometimes miss the snow when we have so many days of rain...but then when we have nice warm sunny days the nostalgia goes away very quickly and it is oh so nice to be able to go around without a big bulgy winter coat! Another thing that is also really pleasant about the Portuguese winter is that because of all the rain, the country is so green! And there is just something about vivid green nature that is good for my soul. And when you add the ocean and a blue sky to that....ah, it's a taste of heaven!

I really should go out to the ocean, take pictures, and write more...all three of these things are very good and enjoyable to me and I don't really do any of them that much lately...

Right now I'm reading Waking the Dead by John Eldredge and have been reading through the Bible with my mom. We both decided that we'd like to read through the whole Bible, so that's what we're doing. We're at different places at the moment, so we aren't really reading together, but it's nice to do something with someone else. I personally am enjoying it.
Anyways, I have a lot of thoughts going around in my mind because of what I've been reading lately, so be expecting posts on my reflections some time soon!

And with that, I bid you a good night and wish you a nice start of the week tomorrow!