Heart Revolution Week Three:Changing our Hearts

"I then awoke desiring to step anew."

The Seven Paths by Good Buffalo Eagle

This is my friend

Good Buffalo Eagle

aka

Ezekial Sanchez.

This man and his teachings 

changed

my 

Heart

FOREVER.

When I think about where I was 5 years ago compared to where I am today...

the difference truly amazes me.

I believe that EVERYTHING in my life has happened for a PURPOSE...

to grow my Heart in ways I never could have imagined. 

It's been the hardest, most sorrowful time of my life...

yet here I am today 

with 

TRUE

JOY

in my Heart.

Most days 

my Heart is full of Peace and Gratitude...

most days.

I still struggle

and am so grateful I can start anew whenever I need to.

It wasn't that long ago I felt like this drawing...

...alone with no life around me.

I would sit on my couch feeling 

scared

alone

angry

sad

empty

jealous

envious

hate

bitter.

I felt like giving up.

My Heart was dry.

No love left.

At one of the lowest points of my life I found my Beautiful Girl in her room.

an empty bottle of sleeping pills on the floor.

I thought my life was over.

But then, right when life was heavy...

oh

so 

HEAVY...

that's when the miracle happened.

That's when we found Anasazi.

That's when the Healing Began.

Before reading any further PLEASE watch this video. It's the ENTIRE basis for Week Three of Heart Revolution. It's not long...just 5 minutes...but it's 5 minutes that will touch your Heart...I PROMISE!!

Over the course of a year my daughter spent 

14 weeks in the Wilderness (7 weeks two different times). 

While she was walking and working on her Heart 

 I was working on MY Heart.

And if there is ONE thing I can pass along to YOU to Heal YOUR Heart it's this...

"Life's walking depends

 on how we feel about others

in our Hearts."

Did you read that right?? 

Our journey, our happiness,

the way we feel about ourselves...

depends on how we feel about others.

It's a hard concept to grasp...

yet so simple.

This was incredibly hard for me to get. The first time my daughter went out on the Trail I thought I was working hard and trying to understand not only HER but ME. Sadly for both of us I just didn't get it that first time. It wasn't until 6 months later when Em went back on the trail that this idea of Walking Forward and Changing my Heart towards OTHERS fully took hold.

OH the FREEDOM this concept gives you!!

When you begin to realize that what other's actions are, what they say, do and even FEEL has NOHING to do with YOU...everything changes.

You begin to realize, as I did, you have been living YOUR life based on what OTHERS are doing.

I used to believe the reason I sat on the couch 15 hours a day was my daughter's fault. 

I would tell myself...

"Well if she wouldn't stay out all hours of the night I wouldn't stay up and worry!" or "I don't know who she is with and she has made bad choices in the past so I feel just helpless I think I will sit on the couch and eat!" 

I didn't know it then but this was me Walking Backwards.

This was me with a Heart full of fear and anger and sadness.

This was me without a Heart of Peace. I was constantly at War with her and myself.

It's an AWFUL way to live.

Today,

after weeks of writing exercises and therapy and practice...

I am Walking Forward.

I know longer look at my daughter (or anyone) as an object that needs to be dealt with.

I try my best to SEE others as what they are...

a living, breathing person with all kinds of ideas and emotions.

I see People with my Heart now.

And THAT has made all the difference.

This is the BIGGEST Heart Revolution my Heart has ever had. 

When we start seeing others with our Heart...

THEY start changing.

It's true! If you don't believe TRY IT!

The next time you see someone on the street, a little worn around the edges...

instead of seeing him as homeless, a drug addict, someone that's lazy and doesn't want to work...

try seeing them as a PERSON. 

Go up to them. Say Hi. Smile. Ask them their name.

See them with your Heart.

That, sweet girls is Having a Heart of Peace.

That is how our Hearts CHANGE.

It's how we BECOME  

joyful

courageous

true

loving

gentle

kind

beautiful

peaceful

happy

remarkable

amazing

people.

This week start writing down people and the feelings you attach to them. 

Use my example of how I felt about my daughter for so long...

Do this exercise for as many people you have negative feelings towards. Be honest. 

Whew!

I know this is a lot to think about.

And maybe not what you thought a true Heart Revolution would look like.

But believe me...

this ONE thing will make a huge impact  on your Heart and your Life!

Heart Revolution: Week Two...One Step at a Time

"...the deepest cuts are healed by faith."

-Pat Benatar

Last week was hard.

I know.

It's not easy confronting our Heartbreaks and all the things we think we Can't do.

But there is no way possible to Heal...

really Heal...

without meeting our sorrows face to face.

And now they are out of our way!

Let' move on to a BRAND NEW week of

Heart Revolution!!

This week's song has special meaning to me.

Back in 1999 I ran my very first marathon...

(for those of you that don't know...that's 26.2 miles!)

It was tough BUT it taught me soooo much!

When I was training I had a positive mindset and NOTHING could get me off my path.

This song became my Anthem

"All Fired Up" Pat Benatar

"Living with my eyes closed...living day to day..."

Does that sound like you? Are you living with your eyes closed?

I hope last week's questions helped you realize it's time to WAKE UP and start LIVING!

When I was in the middle of what I call my 5 years of pain and suffering this is what my world looked like...

 Here is more of my story...

Jackson was active in Cross Country and Debate and Em was a soccer player

I had two pretty awesome kids...

Holiday traditions that reminded me my life wasn't all bad.

Our annual Halloween Harvest Dinner

 I was making art as often as I could. 

It was one of the very best gifts I gave myself during those bleak days.

Looking back most of my art during this time was filled with HOPE for a better day.

 I tried my best to put a happy face on.

It wasn't long after this photo was taken that I began to gain weight from all the stress eating.

I was so grateful to be offered a job during two years of the pain and suffering stage

at our local Art Studio. This was like a vacation for me!!!

Still one of my favorite art pieces during very difficult days

 Even though we were constantly juggling money around, living day to day, not seeing a whole lot of happiness in our future...my husband and I stayed very close to one another.

He was and is my ROCK!

When I see these photos I realize that even though the pain was almost too much at times...there were HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of brights spots...

of moments I will cherish deep in my Heart forever.

And if I am being real (and I am)...

I am GRATEFUL now for those pain and suffering years.

Those were the years my Truthteller was teaching me.

Those were the years He was shaping me into who I am today.

This week we are talking about GROWTH.

About learning from our Heartbreaks and turning our I can'ts into

I CAN.

There are so many things I want to discuss this week...it's going to be jam-packed with lessons, quotes, questions and journal pages!! 

My journal page celebrating one of this week's quotes

Here is our first quote for the week...

"The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than growing with them." -Bernard M. Barugh

Feel free to write in your journals any thoughts and/or feelings this quote brings up. I know from hearing from a few of you last week's MLK quote was an emotional one.

I also want you to pick out your very OWN Anthem! 

Of course you can use our song for the week...or maybe you already have a song! 

I would LOVE for you to post YOUR song in our FB group!! 

One more thing before Tuesday's prompt (I plan on posting nearly daily this week!)...

I invite you to spend some time answering this question...

"What five goals have I accomplished in my life I am most proud of?"

I am so GRATEFUL you are here!! 

It's NEVER too late to start!! 

You can find last week's prompts here.

Our FB group is here.

See you there!!!!

Heart Revolution Week One....Let's GO!

"Broken-Hearted I started climbing..."

-Hilary Weeks

If there is one thing I know...It's Heartbreak. 

We all do, don't we?

Each one of us carries a burden of sorrow and pain

that sometimes, no matter how hard we try to forget about it, to make it all go away...

it doesn't.

It remains, it seems

to torture and tear us down.

And when we are in the middle of all the pain

it's hard to see the Light that's within us.

Not so long ago I was in the Battle of my life. 

I thought everything I had ever known was gone...

for good.

I invite you to read my story before going any further in our class.

You must know my story and where I come from to fully 

appreciate where "Heart Revolution" came from

and how it not only changed my life

but 

can 

Change

YOURS.

My Story

More of the Story

While I was smack dab in the middle of all this chaos I would 

listen to this song by Hilary Weeks

every.

single.

day.

I encourage you to listen to this song everyday this week.

Seriously...

it CHANGED my Heart.

It reminded me that I WOULD get through this time in my life.

It gave me HOPE.

Now let me say before I go any further...

My story you just read...

that wasn't the end of my pain...heavens no.

I couldn't even imagine it at the time but it actually got WORSE...

so much pain was yet to come into my families life and I had no idea.

But isn't that the way it works? 

Just when we think things are bad...

they get worse.

Sometimes they get so BAD we don't think we can go on.

We want so badly to 

stop climbing.

That's what our class is ALL about for the next 6 weeks...

Climbing up that mountain.

Opening our Hearts to ALL that's good.

Realizing that, just like Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz says...

"You had the Power all along, my Dear."

Here's how "Heart Revolution" will work...

Each Monday I will share our Song for the week. I am a BIG believer 

in the power of music. There's few hours in my day when some kind of music isn't playing. 

Music is medicine for the Soul.

I will also share our first prompts of the week, photos, etc. each Monday. 

These will all be in one big blog post. 

Throughout the rest of the week you can expect more prompts,

journal page ideas, my thoughts on the subject, my pages 

AND

don't forget about our WEEKLY GIVE AWAYS!

These will mostly be in the form of posts in our FB group.

Each of you participating has a chance at winning an envelope of treasures to use in your journal pages!! There will be a specific FB post where you can add your name to the drawing each week.

You will want a notebook for sure to answer the prompts. 

You may also want an actual art journal.

I am using the YES YOU CAN composition book for most of my journaling along with the large blue art journal on the upper left. Both of these were found at Wal-Mart for under 10 bucks for both!

Here is what the inside of my notebook looks like using pens and a few pieces of ephemera.

You can also paint in these cheap notebooks and they turn out GREAT!

Using gesso to make the pages stronger is the best way to paint and add art journal type treasures in your notebooks. I will show you a step by step process later in the week!

This is the cover of my Faith journal...again just a 50 cent composition book!

Ok so it's time to get to work! 

Listen to our song of the week...and be sure and watch the video...it is sooo inspiring!! 

I have met Mariama Kolon...she is the african american lady in the video. Her story is INCREDIBLE!!!

And one that I will share later in the week.

Answer the following questions in your notebooks...

1. What Heartbreaks have you been through/are you going through? This can be as detailed as you want. I find when I just sit down with pen and paper and start making a list this is the best way. 

2. What comes to mind when you read this quote...

"If you can't fly then run, of you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to KEEP MOVING FORWARD." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Write this quote in your journals and just start writing all your thoughts, ideas and emotions that come up. This would make an excellent journal page as well. 

Ok, that's it for today! I will be posting MANY more prompts and ideas throughout the week in our Facebook Group Mind.Body.Soul.

The weekly blog post will be PINNED to the top and the rest of our prompts, photos, etc will be posted as well as in this file...

Heart Revolution.

Be sure and stop by every day to see what's posted!!

Thank you all so much for being here!!!!1

Heart Revolution Begins Monday!

Join me Monday, October 17th for "Heart Revolution"!

It's about finding the Power and the Love that's already inside your Heart.

Join me here.

Be sure and let me know if you are playing along for your chance to win 

a weekly treasure-filled envelope of love from me!!

Heart Revolution is ALMOST here!

What is Heart Revolution?

It's a FREE

art journaling class 

for 

YOU.

It's all about turning Inward...

learning to 

RECEIVE

LOVE.

Listening

learning

loving

yourself.

Join 

me 

October 17th.

I LOVE My Planner!

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” 
― Gloria Steinem

I have been a journal writer,

Dreamer

and 

planner

most of my life.

All those stickers

and papers

make me HAPPY!

I have used everything from simple notebooks

to Stephen Covey.

My Planner these days

is the 

Happy Planner from MAMBI.

I am on my SECOND one!!

I belong to several Facebook planner groups and I have noticed one thing....

I am NOT your traditional planner girl.

Nope.

I tend to treat my planner more like 

a diary/journal, adding little treasures

that make me SMILE!

One of my favorite things to use in my planners

are vintage images.

These girls just speak to me.

Along with the girls I use and LOVE the quote stickers from MAMBI.

I have every single one!!

Project Life cards work great in my planner, too

I started keeping my Happy Planner a year ago.

It's always SO FUN going back and seeing what we were doing a year ago.

Along with planning and journal taking

I use my planner for fitness, writing down my Dreams,

making lists and favorite quotes that inspire me.

Are you a planner? Be sure and let me know!!

The Power of Art Journaling

I have always been a writer.

Always.

It was my dream to write.

And still is.

But I am 

SO

grateful
Art Journaling

came into my life.

I think if you take the quote above and substitute art journaling for the word write...

it's the same thing.

Art Journaling does give me strength

to

see.

 Art Journaling does give me an outlet 

to

be

someone

else.

Art Journaling does allow me

to

face

my

fears.

I am so grateful for the POWER in Creating!

Art TRULY does Heal.

Leaving the Nest

“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” 
― C. JoyBell C.

After nearly 22 years of being a full-time Mama...my husband and I are Empty Nesters. Our 21 year old son lives in Utah and our 19 year old daughter just moved to Maine. And while each of them have a part of my heart...I am ready for this new chapter in my life. I am ready to explore what's in my heart...my ART... my WRITING....spending precious time with my darling husband.

Life is an Adventure...and the past 21 years have been the BEST and HARDEST years of my life. From the time my kids were born I made it my mission to be the BEST Mama...I spent nearly every single day with my children. I chose not to work outside my home but instead spent time playing with Jackson and Emma. We went to the park, rode bikes, had movie nights, days at the pool, read books, used our imaginations, sat on our porch swing playing the "car game", walked to Sonic for ice cream and Big Drinks. There were thousands of hours spent taking them to football, baseball, softball and soccer practices. Our weekends were filled with ball games rain or shine. There were Birthday parties and sleepovers and play practices.

There were also times of great sadness and frustration. Nights spent worrying when they were sick. Times I didn't know where they were and if they were safe.

Nothing can prepare you for being a Mom. Nothing. Not a book. Not a magazine article. Not a parenting class. Being a Mom is your HEART. From the moment you see your new baby and hold him or her...your Heart just SWELLS. It's like that scene in the Grinch when his heart grows "three sizes that day".

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.” 
― Debra Ginsberg

 So here I am...watching my children Fly on their Own. It's a different kind of feeling...but I am loving it. I want nothing more for my children but for them to be HAPPY and at PEACE and DOING WHAT THEY LOVE! That is, after all, what we have been preparing them for all along.

My beautiful Prism Moon in front of her dorm in the heart of downtown Portland. I miss my girl but this is her Dream! It's what she has worked so HARD for!!!

“But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.” 
― Barbara Kingsolver, Pigs in Heaven

Are you Ready for Heart REvOLuTIoN?

It's been awhile since my last FREE journal challenge.

This one is VERY special and will be amazing...

I

promise!

You won't want to miss this!!

One Creative Summer :Getting Messy

 All you need is deep within you

waiting to unfold and reveal itself.

All you have to do is be still

and take time to seek for what is within,

and you will surely find it.

Eileen Caddy

When we are little summer means freedom, a break from routine.

We get to sleep in, stay up late and play outside all day long.

It's afternoons by the pool,

sleepovers with friends

and Midnight Ghost until way past dark.

Oh, if only that is what my summer looked like today.

Just because the weather is warmer doesn't mean we 

don't have responsibilities. And it seems my summer

is busier than ever!

That's why I created One Creative Summer.

It's about finding little pockets of time to feel like a kid again.

Free

Creative

and 

FUN!

You can expect at least three creative ideas/prompts/projects a week through for the next 7 weeks.

I will try and post at least one of the challenges here in my blog...

the rest of them in our FB group Mind.Body.Soul Art Journaling and PIN at the top.

Feel free to SHARE your work with us!!

When life is just too busy yet I NEED to creative

the best thing I know to do is to 

"messy paint" 

my 

way

to PEACE. 

Your art journals are the 

PERFECT place to glue down some papers,

swipe a few of your favorite paints onto

and finish with stencils....

Doodles....

stamps...

and Washi Tape.

The best part of this creative process is the rhythm you create.

Put on your favorite tunes

and 

just

let 

GO. 

No thinking...

just creating.

Take an hour today to get messy.

This is not the time to try something new.

Just do what you KNOW.

 What you LOVE.

"What art offers is space...

a certain breathing room for the spirit."

John Updike

One Creative Summer is HERE!!!

"Pictures of perfection as you know make me sick and wicked."  -Jane Austen


Welcome to "One Creative Summer"!! I am so grateful you are here and look forward to seeing your creations in our FB group Mind.Body.Soul Art Journaling. Be sure and stop by to say HI if you are playing along with us this summer!!

My idea for this challenge came about because I knew the  I would be crazy busy for the next few months working in our family's shaved ice shack. And even though I may not get to spend the time in my studio that I would like...it was very important for me to stay inspired and create. I am just so grateful you are here to join me in this journey!!

Here's what you can expect...

*this challenge is ALL ABOUT working at your own pace
*there won't be any "have-to finish" projects
*finding ways to inject creativity into your days and nights
* a SUPER laid-back approach is what this challenge is all about...like our summer days!

I want you to think about your expectations of yourself when it comes to creating. Are you so caught up in the perfectionism of it that you talk yourself out of doing what you love?

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way says this about perfectionism....

"It is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. It is a loop...an obsessive, debilitating closed system that causes you to get stuck. Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough...that we should try again."


This was view this morning...

I have been waking up an hour earlier so I can enjoy my first cup of coffee outside. I love hearing the birds sing, smelling the beautiful summer air and feeling so alive!

Just a  few weeks ago I would make my coffee then proceed to sit on the couch watching the news for the next TWO HOURS. It was making me feel extremely anxious and tired. The more I sat and watched the more I realized that my life was just passing me by. The affect on the rest of my day was crippling me. It seemed my zest for life was being depleted.

After making that one change to my morning routine I am feeling so different!! I can feel my creativity coming back as the sights and smells of summer awaken my spirit.

This was my studio this morning...

(see my sweet Gizmo wanting to come out and play too!!)

Last week I packed together an "art kit"...a small box full of some of my favorite supplies so I could create whenever the mood struck. And I can take it to Kool Kats with me, too:)

It's filled with a pack of 4x6 index cards, painted papers, Brave Art sayings, magazine images, vintage girl images, a glue stick, one black pen, scissors and a few stamps and one black stamp pad. The pink folder with the typewriter on it (found this at the Dollar Tree!!) has a few more Brave Art quote sheets in it as well as some stamped images my friend Sherry Canino sent me:)

Here is my index card from this morning....

Another one I created during our slow times in our ice shack Kool Kats.

As our Challenge kicks off this week I encourage you to create your own portable art kit. You can use a tote bag, a large zip lock baggie, a small plastic tote like mine...anything you can carry with you.

I look forward to seeing YOUR art treasures in our group!!!

One Creative Summer Challenge

"The incredible gift of the ordinary! Glory comes streaming from the table of daily life."

-Macrina Wiederkehr "A Tree Full of Angels"

June has got to be one of the BEST months of the year.

 It's warm summer days and cool summer nights...

I just can't think of anything better! 

Everything just seems better in the summer..

my morning cup of coffee on the patio...

an afternoon spent working in our ice shack...

And long summer nights watching old movies, 

chilling around our fire pit or enjoying dinner on our grill.

This really is the good life!

I love creating in the summer, too...sometimes in my studio

and sometimes outside.

My creativity seems to blossom like my beautiful flowers 

as the weather heats up.

This year I want to encourage YOU to CREATE!

I hope you can join me for our latest Challenge...

ONE

CREATIVE

SUMMER.

Journaling, painting, writing, cooking, gardening...

it's ALL 

about 

embracing 

our days

and enjoying 

our daily

beautiful 

lives!

Throughout the summer join me for inspiring quotes to uplift and inspire our hearts.

There will be journaling prompts, 

easy, peasy techniques

and ideas to jumpstart

YOUR 

One

Creative

Summer.

Join us in our FB group

Mind

Body

Soul

The fun begins THIS Monday, June 6th and runs through August 1st.

I hope you will play along in this VERY laid back and 100% FREE Creative Challenge!

Feel free to copy the above image and put on your blogs along with a link to this page.

And SHARE with your friends!!!

"Freshness trembles beneath the surface of everyday,

 a joy perpetual to all who catch its opal lights beneath the dust of habit."

-Freya Stark

Instagram, Workouts and a Birthday

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Life is Beautiful folks. Even when it seems all is tumbling down before you...it is GRAND.

This week I am looking forward to...

1. My NEW Instagram account is LONG overdue. Now I already have an IG account for my art and daily life...but I have been wanting to begin a fitness/healthy life one for over a year. I finally took the plunge! I will be posting my Journey to Health and Fitness both Body and Soul as I turn the Big 5-0 this October!!
This is me after this morning's workout. Scary, right?!:)

I was feeling AMAZING here!! Proud of myself!! You can find me and follow along at fitat50HeartandSoul

2. Getting back in my Scriptures. I need to listen to the Lord. He nags me daily to READ and study but I always push Him away and say Not Now. Well this week it's time.

3. Creating my O,P, Q, and R tags for our ABC's of Inspiration Tags in our FB group. You can play along, too!! There is no deadline!!

4. My sweet girl is 19 this week!!

She is soooo incredibly BEAUTIFUL on the inside and out. She SHINES! Oh she has been through so much in her young life but has come out filled with Peace and Love. She is a Marvel I tell you. Blows me away with her Love for others. LOVE YOU PRISM MOON!!!!!

What about YOU, girls? What is on your Heart this week? What GOOD things do you have to look forward to this week? Please share!!