| Dear Amazing Girl,
Every time we stick up for ourselves, we learn a little bit more how to fly. Every time we take a stand against something that is wrong, we learn to fly even higher. Every time we decide to walk away from things that we know are wrong, or things that are hurting us or those that we love, we begin to soar. You have wings, dear girl, wings that are propelled by living your life in all of the truths that you know. You are SO very loved, and you are going to fly through life. Keep learning how to use your wings! {This is an excerpt from the Brave Girls Club “a little butterfly told me – daily message for teens and girls”. Click to read this entire truth or to subscribe to receive A Little Butterfly Told Me in your email inbox.}
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Archives for July, 2012
dear amazing girl…a little butterfly told me…
dear loving girl…a little bird told me…
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Dear Loving Girl, The kindest gift you can give to another is to listen. Not just to hear — but to really, really listen. Listen to what this person is really saying and what message they are trying to communicate. Listen without judging, without deciding what you will say next, without trying to ‘fix’ them or change them. Just listen. Your relationships will change. You will learn SO MUCH from everyone you encounter, and your life will take on new meaning. It is brave to REALLY listen, and you can do it. YOU ARE SO LOVED. XOXO
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Brave Girl Daily 7.16.12 – WE ARE HAVING A PARTY AND YOU ARE INVITED….(for reals)
Ok….so here we go….Tuesday night we are having a big party. It’s a party where you can come for free…..and make art…with all of the supplies and all of the ideas ready for you…..we are having it at THE COOLEST PLACE. We are hosting it, along with our friends from Rembrandt’s Coffee House for Jess Green….and Jess Greene is a true Brave Girl….you just gotta read the story right here about what she is doing and why you need to come to the party….TUESDAY NIGHT at REMBRANDT’S in EAGLE IDAHO (c’mon…if you don’t live here, it’s worth the drive…) If you want to have dinner…….there’s a specially priced dinner starting at 6 and going all night….it’s $6.95 for adults and $4.95 for kids……or just come and make art with us!!! (there’s also all sorts of other amazing food and drinks)
Ok…so the party/get together/gathering/event is called JUMPSTART CREATIVITY EVENT……….(that’s Jess down there holding the sign…you are gonna have to come to the event to meet her in person)
This is a perfect little combination of amazing people…because the party we are having is at the coffee shop of our friends who started Full Circle Exchange….Mark and Jeanette Priddy…they also own Rembrandt’s and do a lot of really amazing stuff all over the world that they are too humble to let me tell you about….they are dear dear dear friends and I can’t wait to tell you their whole story…(if you want to know some of it now….read HERE) Here’s Mark in Africa, learning to weave one of the baskets that they sell for the women of Africa….
And here’s where we are having the party…..at Rembrandt’s…the most amazing coffee house/bakery/salad/sandwich/happiness establishment you have ever been to…it’s a renovated church…filled with an eclectic mix of the most amazing vintage furniture….original art all over the walls…and beautiful things to buy in their shop…and yummy smells and happy laughs and friendly chatter and just plain old goodness all over the place…it is ALWAYS packed with people….AND….they import their own coffee and chocolate (read about that HERE if ya wanna know more)
Last week we had the Priddy’s over for dinner…….my kids made dinner for all of us…..they have 6 children and we have 5 children…so it was a pretty wild night…here’s my son Brock and his fiance, Sabrina making dinner for all of us….
We had some great conversations about all of the amazing things that are going on with them and the work they are doing to help women in Africa and many other countries, and we can’t wait to tell you how Brave Girls Club is going to be a part of that in a big way (remember back when we were going to have a press conference….and the press conference was premature…well that’s what the press conference was gonna be about and what it will be about as soon as it’s time) anyway….so much awesomeness….say hi to Drake and Margaret who are our dear friends who were also in town visiting……we all had such a great time….
then we went out to the art barn with all of our kids and we made art…and we made art..and we made art….we mostly made leather bracelets…but we made art and we looked at art and we talked about art…and everyone had a blast getting super creative…..
this is Mark and Jeanette getting super excited over Brock’s longboard that he made and painted by hand….
and this is all of us working on leather……..
and then I showed them how to finish it and stain it…we just had THE BEST NIGHT….
so……come ON TUESDAY NIGHT to make are with us at Rembrandt’s coffee house…………and then………………..they are even gonna open up their beautiful new shop across the street for extra hours so you can come and shop….
and see beautiful things that women artists from all over the world have made…things that will help their families and villages to survive and take care of themselves and to THRIVE!!! Everything from the store is made by a brave girl from somewhere in the world…….this beautiful necklace is made by women in Ethiopia …melted down bullet casings into fabulous chunky necklace. We don’t have many of them so u better be first in line. 
Empowering women who are HIV positive and now have a renewed sense of dignity and hope. They are amazing artists.
here’s another necklace you will find…
the Infinity necklace – a stunning combination of prints, natural fibers and paper beads. Hand crafted in Rwanda by women artisans, each necklace provides employment for weavers, paper bead makers, and seamstresses. Straps may be tied to adjust to any length. Every purchase helps to empower women artisans in Rwanda to rise out of poverty.
and here’s the beautiful new store…….so much more to come about Full Circle Exchange and the amazing Priddy’s…..very big and wonderful things are happening that we want you all to be a part of…but for now…
COME TO THE PARTY ON TUESDAY NIGHT!!!!
ART….FOOD…..SHOPPING….AWESOME PEOPLE……what could be better?
We will be there to party with you!!!
Come and support Jess and her big adventure and come and support the Priddy’s and their big adventure and come and support amazing women from all over the world…..mostly, just come and have fun with us….let’s make some memories!!
can’t wait to see you!!!
xoxo – melody and brave girl team
p.s. here’s a little blurb from the invitation…
Are you a closet artist? Do you harbor secret dreams of writing? Do you have an urge to paint, take photographs, write or make stuff? We know how you feel.SO COME MAKE ART! Enjoy 2 hours of open-ended writing and art-making. There will be materials, projects and prompts but what you make is completely up to you!We provide:
An opportunity to make something. Choose between: a mixed media booklet, creative writing, or mail art. it’s going to be so much fun! come!!!
An opportunity to make something. Choose between: a mixed media booklet, creative writing, or mail art. it’s going to be so much fun! come!!!
dear brave girl…a little bird told me…
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Dear Brave Girl, You are still in there….every single bit of you. You might feel like you don’t know who you are anymore…that your identity has been lost….that you are living a life that you can’t even recognize or that your hopes and dreams have been sucked away but some crazy whirlwind…..whether it happened quickly or very very slowly. Your soul is in there….your heart is in there…..your hopes and dreams and good memories and that happy, fun, adventurous YOU is in there……..it is! You just gotta get unstuck….and you can. You really can. The first thing you must do is put faith in that hope that you are still in there…..then listen to that hope….talk to it…ask it where it has been and what it needs to come back out. Then keep listening….and take action. It’s not too late…it’s never, ever too late….and right now seems like the EXACT right time to begin the process of restoring your authentic self back to her true form. You can do it…….don’t let the world miss out on you anymore, gorgeous girl…….we need you…YOU need you! You can do it. xoxo
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Brave Girl Daily 7.13.12 – Special Delivery…a message from the brave flowers
I have a message for someone. I don’t who it’s for – what I do know is that this person is deeply, deeply loved and that this message is right on time. I know this message is true because it keeps coming and coming and coming into my mind…it’s gentle and persistent and heart-swelling.
As you know I’ve been working at the Brave River Ranch while Melody and her family have been on vacation this week. There are hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of flowers at the Ranch, and before Melody left she asked if I would work on deadheading them.
Dead heading is when you pinch off the dead flowers, so that the new flowers can grow. Because plants (like people) only have so much energy, and unless you pinch the old flowers off…along with as much of the plant is no longer pretty, the plant keeps sending its energy to the dead parts.
When you get rid of the dead parts, the plant doesn’t have all that dead stuff to send its energy to, so it sends all the energy to creating new, beautiful flowers and full foliage.
Here’s the thing though….if you don’t know about flowers you might be scared to deadhead. You might be afraid that the flowers will never come back, or that the plant will never be beautiful and full and lush again. Maybe you’d let the dead flowers stay…because you’d rather have wilted flowers than no flowers at all.
But if you get brave and start taking off the dead parts…little by little you’ll start to see hidden things….
Signs of new life under all that deadness….and stunning growth where you hadn’t been able to see it before…and beauty where you didn’t expect it…
Deadheading these little yellow flowers was thrilling. They look so dead, but if you look really REALLY closely, you can see the tiny new vibrant yellow buds.
If I hadn’t started to go through this plant and take out the old, dead flowers, I would never have seen the new little promises of life underneath.
So you get it, right? I mean we could be talking about flowers or cool-whip or life.
You and I only have so much energy. There are only so many hours in a day…only so many things we can give our energy and our lives to. Is there some deadheading we need to do in our lives? I will be more bold than that, since I know this message is for someone out there. I am telling you, there IS something in your life you need to cut out. Something unimportant. Something dead. Something that is no longer making your life more happy, more beautiful, more meaningful and more full.
Let it go, sweet girl. Let it become what it needs to become. Dead flowers go back into the earth to nurture in other ways….
Thank them for the beautiful things they’ve shown you….then let them go…
It takes a lot of work to build a beautiful life. Whether you’re deadheading your garden or deadheading your soul, you’ll sweat and cry and you’ll ask yourself WHY it takes so long, and why it’s so HARD and why it can’t be EASIER and why SHE doesn’t have to go through this (she does though, just like you). Do the work. It’s worth it.
If something is not spectacularly beautiful, then nourish it back to life or let it go. Don’t live with wilted flowers because you’re afraid of not having flowers.
Trust the truth, sweet Brave Girl, there is all kinds of goodness waiting to come into your life the second you let go of the things that are holding you back…
the lies you tell yourself, the limits you put on yourself, past mistakes, past failures, suffocating relationships, what you believe about your circumstances, what you believe about your finances, what you believe about the world….
So…what do we do about all that? It’s easy to deadhead in the garden. Not so easy to deadhead in life. Not easy, but not impossible.
You can do it. Get quiet. Listen to that teeny tiny voice inside of you…the one that is telling you to let go. Trust that there are itsy bitsy buds inside of you that are waiting to burst to life as soon as you give them the energy they need…as soon as you stop sending your energy toward dead, wilted, life-less things.
You can do it, sweetheart.
xoxo
PS I didn’t start out with Soul Restoration 1 (our online class) in mind, but just thought of it…Seriously seriously SERIOUSLY, if you want help making boundaries and cutting out the dead parts of your life, and making room for more incredible life, take it. You’ll love it. Details are here.
Introducing…Brave Girl Art School!!!
We could not be MORE excited to introduce a new series of online art+life experiences…Brave Girl Art School!!
Here’s the thing, friends…
We all need a soul-deep fun, uplifting, welcoming & creatively constructive place to retreat to…….everyone does.
We all need inspiration, ideas, encouragement and a soft place to land when life is hard.
We all love to create beautiful things, and we all need a little push of encouragement sometimes.
Don’t you agree? That’s what we’re creating with this amazing class…in true Brave Girl style, we’ll be creating, learning, connecting, and sharing!
Get all the details here….we hope you’ll join us!!
xoxo
melody
PS. Session 1 starts Sept 4!
dear extraordinary girl…a little bird told me…
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Dear Extraordinary Girl,
The path to the best places for us sometimes must take a trip through the muck to get to the other side of it….sometimes that truly is the only way. When we are in the middle of it, it feels senseless and like such a complete waste of time (let alone not very comfortable)
When we are in painful places in life, or even just annoyingly uncomfortable places…it’s important to remember that we are headed somewhere else if we want to be. We do not have to stay stuck there. Sometimes it takes a while to work our way out of it, and sometimes we don’t know how we got there in the first place…but mucky yucky places on the path of life are always temporary if we are willing to work our way out of them.
We are not meant to stay stuck. We are not meant to be stagnant. We are not meant to be in pain for any longer than it is necessary to teach us. We are meant to shine, to fly and to have joy. Even when we are in a place where it’s nearly impossible to do this, there is always a way out of that mucky place. It is always temporary. Please believe this, beautiful friend.
If you are in a mucky spot, just keep going…..keep going til you get to the other side of it. It will be SO worth it.
Don’t you dare give up now.
You are so loved.
xoxo
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dear amazing girl…a little bird told me…
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Dear Amazing Girl, You have done so many things that you have forgotten about that have been so spectacular, so brave, so kind, so unselfish and so clever. You have overcome so many things that you have forgotten about that are so heroic, that have taught you so much, and that were and are such an inspiration to others. You have given so many things back to the world that you have forgotten about that have made such a difference, that have changed lives and that no one could have given except for you. Try to remember right now…all that you have done…all of the places that you have been and all that you have learned. You have come SUCH A LONG WAY. And, you will continue to do amazing things, to overcome difficult things and to share yourself and make a difference in so many many ways. You are absolutely phenomenal and the world would not be the same without you. Thank you for being you.
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Brave Girl Daily 7.11.12 – Inventory
Our little Brave Girl Shoppe is still young – only about a month and a half old…
Like everything else that’s worthwhile, the Shoppe has been a delight and a challenge. We’re still working out her little quirks and kinks. Jeff and Amy do a great job keeping everything in order.
Today they spent the day doing inventory…not the most glamorous job, but somebody has to do it. They are so willing to do what has to be done around the clubhouse. We’re lucky to have them.
In case you’ve never met them……Meet Amy:
And Jeff:
And if you haven’t been to the Shoppe yet, stop by! There are so many lovely things….
I am in love with this painting. In the Shoppe they sell super high quality prints of a LOT of Melody’s art. It’s called “Happy House” – such a perfect name, right?
Another favorite of mine is the “Restore” CD. I seriously never get sick of it. The music is so soothing and loving and fresh. Check it out, you’ll love it.
Okay…you just better head over to the Shoppe yourself. I keep looking for things to show you and getting distracted by all the loveliness and forgetting what I’m even doing there. So check it out, you’ll love it.
Hope everything is going well for you, sweet brave girl….
And remember…
xoxoxoxo
dear beloved girl…a little butterfly told me…
| Dear Beloved Girl,You get to choose, please don’t ever forget that. You get to choose who you want to be and how you want to be. You get to choose to walk away when things don’t feel right and you get to choose to stick around and help the person that no one else will talk to. You get to choose to work hard at things that are important to you and you get to choose to learn about things that are interesting to you.
You have lots of minutes in every day to make lots of choices, and all of those choices add up together to make your life. EVERY CHOICE MATTERS. Choose the best you can. Think about your choices and choose the best you can every time, and when you make mistakes, choose to get back up and choose better the next time. You are important, dear girl. YOU MATTER. Your life matters and your choices matter. Now go out and make the world a better place! You can do it! |
{This is an excerpt from the Brave Girls Club “a little butterfly told me – daily message for teens and girls”. Click to read this entire truth or to subscribe to receive A Little Butterfly Told Me in your email inbox.}
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