Look At What I Recieved..

I was so excited to open up the mail 

and get these pretties

from Jennifer's

new etsy shop called Ripplespeak.

She creates such beautiful collage art with 

a nature theme, and here in my photo

your will see

 her collage art made into beautiful

note cards.

You all know

 how much 

I love birdies!!!

Her beautiful blog is also called

Ripplespeak 

and

if you love words from the HEART ♥

 weaved into poetry with

 real life 

and soul word pictures, 

then you must give yourself a gift

and stop by to see her.

She has such a BEAUTIFUL way

of getting right to your heart.

Aren't these beautiful!!!

Thought I would also show you the room I create in.

I don't have a room all to myself yet for an art studio,

so I have this little corner in our guest bedroom

where the west side of the house lets in

the beautiful light and sunshine.

Here is my little corner where I usually paint my

small mini pendants.
 I use a card table for the larger

paintings.  Of course when this photo was taken,
the area was 

all cleaned up and looking much cleaner

than usual. 

 When It's clean, it's also

a nice and cozy area to journal, do my devotions

and to light a candle and drink some 

yummy hot chai!

It's a small space, but I can call it mine!

Tell me about your studio space.
I know many of you have wonderful large spaces
to create in and I could give in to jealousy, but
instead I really would love to hear about your
special space. If you will,  give us some
tips on how you've made your  space
work for you no matter what the size.
I know we could all learn some great tips
and ideas from one another.

Lots of warm and cozy moments are 

wished for you all.

...And  in your very own
special, warm and cozy, favorite spot!

♥

Encouraged or Discouraged to DREAM?

Below you will find
such great words of inspiration

by John C. Maxwell

on following your dream

and also about why we do not!

I just had to share it with YOU all.

  Here is the link to his blog and the 

"Fight for your dream in 2011"  post

where he shared these words I have added below.

http://johnmaxwellteam.com/fight-for-your-dream-in-2011/

YOU JUST MUST READ 

ABOUT THE MONKEYS EXPERIEMENT

A light bulb went on in my head when I read about them.

 It made total sense and answered some whys!

_______________________________________________________________

Fight for your dream in 2011

by John C. Maxwell

Happy New Year! If you’re like me, you spent some time in the past few weeks reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the coming one. I’m already excited about what’s in store for the next twelve months!

What dreams do you have for 2011? Or maybe a better question is, do you have dreams for 2011? For some people, dreaming is easy. Your mind is full of dreams just waiting to be expressed. But what about those who find it hard to dream? What if you’re not sure if you have a dream you want to pursue?

Let’s face it: Many of us were not encouraged to dream. Others had dreams, only to see them actively discouraged. The world is filled with dream crushers and idea killers. Why? Some people without dreams of their own hate to see others pursuing theirs. Other people’s passion and success makes them feel inadequate or insecure. Others think they’re being helpful: keeping us from risk or hurt.

Business professors Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad wrote about an experiment conducted with a group of monkeys. Four monkeys were placed in a room that had a tall pole in the center. Suspended from the top of that pole was a bunch of bananas.

One of the hungry monkeys started climbing the pole to get something to eat, but just as he reached out to grab a banana, he was doused with a torrent of cold water. Squealing, he scampered down the pole and abandoned his attempt to feed himself. Each monkey made a similar attempt, and each one was drenched with cold water. After making several attempts, they finally gave up.

Then researchers removed one of the monkeys from the room and replaced him with a new monkey. As the newcomer began to climb the pole, the other three grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground. After trying to climb the pole several times and being dragged down by the others, he finally gave up and never attempted to climb the pole again.

The researchers replaced the original monkeys, one by one, with new ones, and each time a new monkey was brought in, he would be dragged down by the others before he could reach the bananas. In time, only monkeys who had never received a cold shower were in the room, but none of them would climb the pole. They prevented one another from climbing, but none of them knew why.

Perhaps others have dragged you down in life. They’ve discouraged you from dreaming. Maybe they resented the fact that you wanted to move up or to do something significant with your life. Or maybe they were trying to protect you from pain or disappointment. Either way, you’ve been discouraged from dreaming.

Take heart. It’s never too late to start dreaming and pursuing your dreams. My friend Dale Turner asserts, “Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.”

If you haven’t done any dreaming yet this year, set aside some time to explore possibilities and commit yourself to new opportunities. It’s never too late to dream.

~Adapted from my (John Maxwell) book Put Your Dream to the Test

This story was originally posted on: John Maxwell On Leadership.

 __________________________________________________________________

 So my friends,

Go out today and
go for those bananas!

Together we can spur one another to
the top of those high trees!

..and enjoy our delicious fruit together!

Beautiful, yes YOU are!

Another Art Journal cover I am creating.

Almost ready to put it all together, then into my Etsy shop.

 ♥

 

Many times on my travel time to work,

about 15 minutes into my drive, I see the 

most wonderful site.

The sun has come up through

the trees and greets me

every time at this specific corner where I 

turn to get onto the highway.

Truly, I always feel like it's my 

Heavenly Father telling me:

"Hello my dear one!  Here I am 

 for YOU in all of my brightness and 

I am going with you on your journey today."

"Lee Ann, you have nothing to worry about,

because I love you,

I will take care of you and I 

have planned special things for you today."

HE makes me feel very special.

So here is a quick little reminder
to YOU

 who may have forgotten 

that

WHO YOU ARE
is special.

There really is no one else 

 just like Y♥U.

You are BEAUTIFUL...

and your dreams matter.

No matter where you may find yourself on

this journey, in the valley or
on the mountaintop,

it doesn't change how special
you are
to your Creator. 
Even if the pain makes you FEEL like you
don't matter, well YOU DO.

Repeat after me....

...I AM SPECIAL even when I don't
feel like I am....(keep repeating...)
 

Sometimes those valley experiences can really

be gifts that help us eventually see
the strong beauty 

that is already inside of us.

"   What makes the desert BEAUTIFUL is

that somewhere it hides a well."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

 Here is a special song and video, just for Y♥U.
It's a favorite of mine and I hope you will like it too!


~BIG HUGS~

Please scroll down to mute my music player first
so you can hear this beautiful video and the encouraging words.