Week One-What's Your Routine??

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."  -Vincent Van Gogh

UPDATE AUGUST 2017

I am so grateful YOU are here! This is my most pinned and viewed class....so THANK YOU for being here! I PROMISE the next 52 weeks you will GROW so much!! I invite you to my on-line Facebook Group...Brave Heart Sisterhood Mixed-Media Art.  Stop by, introduce yourself and let me know you are taking this class!! Use the hashtag #braveheartsisterhood and #wordsofmeproject so I can see what you are up to. Thanks again!!

Leslie 

Welcome Girls to my year long gift to you and to myself..."Being Me"!! This class has come at a time in my life where I am done living from day to day with just enough "happy" in me to barely get by. I am ready for some full-time JOY and energy to enjoy my family, my art and to fulfill all my dreams. The time is NOW to get my groove on and I intend on giving you and myself everything in my heart.

Each topic I have chosen comes with much thought and love. This is something I am taking very seriously and it's important to me that you know that. Several of you have asked me if you have to do the art part. Of course not. You take this class and do what inspires you!! For me...the art is very healing so most weeks I will be creating something in my art journal and sharing here with you. But if that's not your thing...then please know it's not necessary.

Okay...are you ready?? Are you as excited as I am to add more JOY and LoVE to your life and to BE the TRUE YOU???

I am SOOOO READY!!!


Week One ROUTINE

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."  -Chinese Proverb

Ahhhh...how many times have you started a new fitness program or eating program or art challenge and told yourself that this time...no matter what...you would do it and never, ever mess up or give up?!! I have done this nearly every Monday for the past 2 years. I have...I admit it. I am slightly embarassed by it...but I have done that. I start out with the best of intentions but usually by the third day or so (or heck sometimes later that same day) somehow I make a mistake, I eat too much or I don't get the art challenge finished or something and I just quit.

That is NOT gonna happen in the next 52 weeks. You wanna why?? Because THIS TIME, girls...we are gonna give ourselves some slack. We are gonna take our mistakes and our failures and learn from them. We are gonna learn why we mess up and why we sometimes just don't do as good as we want to do. This time we have each other, too!! And that is huge!! It. is. HUGE. Support is everything and just knowing we all have each other and we all are stronger in some areas than others...well, that just makes it all easier somehow ya' know? We are gonna lift one another up and cheer each other through the difficult times.

The past year and a half has been the hardest of my life. I won't go into any details today...but I will tell you that I have let myself go...majorly go. I just don't have that spark in my day. I drag myself out of bed, I eat waaaaay to many bad things and my creativity has been stagnant. I KNEW I needed a boost of energy so I decided to go to something that had worked in the past...a morning routine.

Looking back...I realize just how much of an effect a morning routine has had on my life. And I realized the past year and a half...I haven't had one...at all. Not even a glimpse of one.
Sooooo...a few weeks ago I decided to map out my routine and start doing it.

I knew I needed to add quiet time to my days and art and scripture study. I also knew that all of these would be the perfect way to begin my day. So I told myself to just do it!! So each morning as soon as I wake up I head to the kitchen for a tall glass of ice, lemon and water. I bring it upstairs to my art studio and get quiet. No music allowed during this half-hour. Then I take out my planner, something spiritual to read and anything else I think I need. I begin my Morning Routine with a prayer thanking my Father in Heaven for all my blessings and then asking Him to bless my day. I read something spiritual either from my Scriptures or a church magazine or book. I'll jot down any thoughts that touch me that day in a special journalI have just for this time. After 15 minutes or so I am ready to think about what I intend on doing for the day. I look at my calendar and make a list. Sometimes it's too long...but I write everything down that's in my head. I figure it's better on paper and will eventually get done that way:)

I am finding the more I do my routine the more I am crossing off my To-Do list and the more I am creating!! I mean seriously, girls...my creativity has gone from a 1 or 2 to a 5 or 6...it is growing by leaps and bounds just because I am doing something everyday. The art part isn't always in the morning...sometimes its just when I can fit it in...and it's not one loooong session but rather a bursts of 3 or 4 a day. It may be as simple as painting one layer in my journal...but one layer at a time adds up to a finished page by the end of a day:)

The second part of my new Morning Routine happens after my quiet time....I head out the door for a walk. Honestly I am still working on being consistent with this. It's taking time and I am not beating myself up over it. Little changes daily add up to big results over time. I am truly a believer in that. (it only took most of my life to figure that one out).


I LOVE this quote by artist Jennifer Lee...

"I know that by simply sticking with the process and being open to the unexpected, I create a channel to creative inspiration and that's a mighty powerful thing."

I would like to add my thoughts to this quote and say that by sticking with a Routine, whether it's for creativity, exercise, eating healthy...whatever...it's a mighty powerful thing.

Girls...I want you to take this week and come up with your own ROUTINE. For some of you mornings may not work...and that's ok. Just come up with a 30 minute ROUTINE that helps your day go better. Routines keep us in control of our time. And isn't time one of the most valuable commodities there is? This Routine is the most important part of our journey over the next 52 weeks. It is our foundation. It is sacred time spent with yourself each and everyday.

Time well spent.

"When you SHINE, you light the way."  -Jamie Ridler

Girls, it is our time to SHINE!!

Remember to share your pages, thoughts, ideas, etc in our FB group Mind.Body.Soul.