The theme of my life for the last several months has been about becoming brave. My life has become less about protecting myself, and more about how my life can bless others. Sometimes, the things I have done have cost me. But for the most part, they have helped my heart and my courage to grow. Here are some lessons I've learned on the way.

Patience is what happens when we are presented with opportunity. Because no opportunity worth having ever comes easily.

Sometimes it is easier said than done to be gentle on yourself. Use this wallpaper as a reminder. Happy Friday.

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It's what the sunflowers do." Helen Keller

"Harmony make small things grow. Lack of it makes great things decay." - Sallust

"I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." - Abraham Lincoln

"It's your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." - Rumi

"We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves." - Galileo Galilei

Daisies and chicks with wisdom to share.

For me, the kitchen is the most special room in the house. It's a place for adventure - not drudgery, but discovery, sharing and showing off with friends, trying new ideas.

"You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things." - Nate Berkus

"To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." Mark Twain

"Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music." - William Stafford

"Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life." - Anne Roiphe

"Each day has a story that deserves to be told, because we are made of stories. I mean, scientists say that human beings are made of atoms, but a little bird told me that we are also made of stories." - Eduardo Galeano