Heart Revolution Week Six:Friends and Gratitude

                                   

"Years may come and go, 

here's one thing I know...

all my life 

you're a friend of mine."

-Clarence Clemmons

I have never been one to have a ton of friends...but the friends I DO have...they are oh so special to me and I am so GRATEFUL for each and everyone!!

I remember when this song came out...I was a Freshman at Northwest Missouri State University, working on our college radio station...KDLX. I played this song all the time and ALWAYS thought about my friends I had left at home. This song is our theme for our last week of Heart Revolution.

This sweet girl right here is one of my DEAREST and most CHERISHED friends from high school...

This is Mirjam. She was a foreign exchange student from Hamburg, Germany my Senior Year at Fort Madison High School. We had newspaper together and seemed to hit it off immediately. We spent many days and nights laughing, listening to Madonna and going to school dances. Mirjam holds a special place in my Heart for ALWAYS! 

In the past two years I have been VERy fortunate to see her not once but TWICE! She and her darling family have visited my hometown which is only four hours from Maryville. This photo was taken less than a month ago...it was such a pretty day!

                                    Friendship is born at that moment 
                                     when one person says to another:
                                                  ‘What! You too? 
                                          I thought I was the only one.                              
                                                      -C.S. Lewis 

What surprises me most about my friends is WHERE I have met them. Through the years I have learned that it's not how long you know someone that makes them a friend....

  
But rather the matters of the HEART. These group of lovelies are my Sisters from Brave Girl's Camp. Each one of them sassy, sweet, amazing, charming, silly, honest, beautiful, layered and LOVING in their OWN, unique way. These women are REAL. And I am honored to call them friend.

'I'm gonna stand right by your side through thick and thin..." -Clarence Clemmons

I met these sweet girls at Art Beach in South Carolina....talk about a gift! Sherri, Christy and Sherry. All so talented and AMAZING!!!!!

This girl right here...Sherry. Let me tell you...she is a KEEPER! WE just started talking and didn't stop. Sherry lives in Upstate New York....looking forward to hanging out in her art studio one day soon!!!

Good friends are like stars. 
 You don't always see them,
but you know they are always there.

When you live in the Unites States and you have never been to Australia...then the odds of having a Bestie that not only is FROM Australia but LIVES there, too....is pretty slim. Unless of course you go to an Art Retreat and are so blessed to meet your TRIBE and that one person you meet is FROM Australia and LIVES in Australia and just GETS you. And you really, really hope you get to meet again one day...and YOU DO! Not only do you get to meet but you get to spend most of September with them!!! YAY!  Sandy is wonderful, FUNNY, a good dancer (Blue Jeans On and dancing around our hotel room!!), artist, an AMAZING Mama and the BESTEST friend a girl could ask for! 

Friends are so IMPORTANT...and sometimes I just FORGET how incredibly fortunate I am to have the friends I do!! WOW!!!! And with this being the week of Thanksgiving I want us to focus on our beloved FRIENDS and GRATITUDE...cause, honestly they go hand in hand.

When I think about Gratitude and Friendship this gal almost ALWAYS pops in my mind...

...this is Yma...or Amy as most people know her by. We met FORTY YEARS ago at a motel swimming pool in St. Louis, Mo. We have been pen pals ever since. I mean we are talking before Facebook people. We WROTE actual letters!!! This past June we met up in St. Louie and spent three days together. She is my friend for life!

"Here's one thing I know...all my life...you're a friend of mine..." Clarence Clemons 

So this week I want YOU to think about YOUR friends. I want you to create a journal page or two celebrating your friendships. One of my goals is BE A BETTER FRIEND. Seriously, I need work in that area of my life. I mean when I see all these souls together....WOW, yeah, I need to be a better friend!!!! 

Make a list of ways YOU can be a better friend. Are you bad about keeping in touch? Can you do something nice for them just because?? Whatever it is I want you to list your friends then write down ONE SPECIFIC thing you can do to nurture your friendship with that person.

Along with thinking about our FRIENDS...let's be GRATEFUL.

 I have one more friend I want to tell you about...you know, sometimes we become friends with someone that we never, ever would have imagined...that is what happened here and it's been one of the BIGGEST BLESSINGS of my life!!
  That's me on the left (ugh, I must lose weight!!) next to me is Teresa Collins from Teresa Collins Designs. She is such a SWEET gal and so full of LIGHT!! Right next to her is my friend Lisa Bearnson.

I LOVE and Cherish this woman and her friendship. She is such a BEAUTIFUL Soul!! And if you would have asked me ten years ago if I was friends with Lisa I would have said...NO, I haven't even met her....but I WANT to!!!

Some of you may recognize Lisa from her Creating Keepsake days...

   She started this magazine in her garage and she along with her magazine became the LEADER in the Scrapbook Industry. I was a HUGE fan....subscribed to her magazine, bought every book and watched all her shows on QVC. So the fact that I am now friends with this person I followed for all those years has been such a GIFT. Lisa is REAL and AMAZING and I am HONORED to be her friend!! Not only is she smart and talented and kind but her FAITH is so inspirational. VERY PROUD to call her my friend!!!
And by the way...Lisa is STILL the leader in all things crafty! She has her company Anthology AND you can catch her on HSN...

So have a WONDERFUL time this week, girls!! What special friendships have YOU made? Who did you think you would never be friends with but now are? Where did you meet your friends?

Friends play a HUGE part of our Heart Revolution...they can help us SEE. They listen and comfort us. They "get" us. I love my friends all so much!!!!

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 
"Pooh!" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Enjoy your week, girls. I hope you get the chance to see some of your friends over the Thanksgiving Holiday. I plan on contacting a few of MY friends just to tell them how GRATEFUL I am for their love and support of me and my Heart!!!

Stop by our FB group Mind.Body.Soul 
Heart Revolution All Six Weeks