I'm Excited!

Now that's a stack of Clark bars! My favorite candy bar. My friend, Carol, gifted me with them for my birthday. Jerry says I'm now rolling down Clark Avenue! Yum! Yum!

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

I just had a few exciting days! Let me tell you how it started.

I enjoy the work of Susan Branch, artist and author. She's known for her "Heart of the Home" books. She hand writes and water colors most (maybe all) of her books, which makes you feel like you're having an intimate conversation with a friend.

She also wrote A Fine Romance: Falling in love with the English Countryside, in 2013. It's a journal of her two month trip to England. A very good read.

The book I recently purchased that got me so excited is titled: Girlfriends Forever. And you know how I feel about my friends! On the inside front and back cover, a few other pages too, are pictures of her girlfriends through the years. Ah . . . are you seeing where this is going?

I had to do it! I created a Shutterfly book of my closest friends through my life. No, sorry. No intimate secrets or gossip. Just a collection of pictures of my friends who have touched my life in a special way.

I wrote down all the names I could remember, and then looked through old telephone books I used, so I wouldn't leave anyone out. I'm glad I did because I almost missed two friends.

My Celebration of Friends party I hosted when I turned 55 helped me to remember also. What a special day that was when I honored 16 friends, all sitting in my living room, because of their friendship with me.

This book was a labor of love. I pulled out old photo albums to find pictures going way back when. Creating the book was fun. The picture on the front cover is of the very earliest "friends" I had (below). I think I knew back then the importance friends would play in my life!

It starts out with my friend, Linda, in elementary school. Then my friend, Linda #2, in junior and senior high school. Then, Linda #3, in my early working years. I've gotten a lot of good mileage with my Linda friends, and I still have contact with them all these years later.

I'm patiently waiting for my new book to arrive. It is one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

"The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared with Jesus Christ." Oswald Chambers
(1874-1917)

Yes, Jesus closes out the cherished book . . . my very best and loving friend!