{Fresh Start} Where I've been...Where I'm going.

{Where to find the chalkboard vase, yellow bowl, journal, and mug all of which were sweet gifts from those I love.}

I blogged for a year and took a break... for a year.  

I hadn't lost my passion for blogging~ I just decided to put first things first. 
Our youngest was finishing his senior year and heading off to college and I wanted to finish well as a mom.  Being totally honest, I also feared that what I wrote might not be worth the effort; who was I to write about love?  When the nest was empty, I was going to reevaluate.

Would I miss writing about the movement of love in the world?  

I discovered that writing was not only an exercise in learning to see love, but a lesson in learning how to love.  You can't write about love without recognizing the words and actions that display love to the world.   Observing life through the lens of a potential story made it come alive, opened my eyes to the details, urged me to capture it in pictures, and compelled me to ask, 

"What is it about this story that shows love?" 

As I began to think about writing again, I began to notice things...

~The man pulling trash cans from the street up the driveway for his neighbor.
~The lingering touch and gentle smile of the nurse after after she drew my blood.
~A text from my daughter thanking me for the care package.
~The lady at the dry cleaner who knew my name when I walked in the door.
~Precious friends cheering on my newly engaged son and his fiance.

Without the discipline of writing these beautiful displays of love down, I now began to fear that they would go unnoticed and unremembered.  These simple actions were lessons in love and needed to be told~ and I realized that I'm still compelled to tell them!

As fuel to restart my engine, I shared a cup of coffee with graphic designer, Jenn Sprinkle, and web designer, Mackenzie Turner, and asked them to redesign my blog. {Side-note: these precious, loving women could be the subject of Bless Your Neighbor post themselves!}  So, as they create and design my new page, I am scanning the world for blessings and love~ it's time to start writing again!

I hope you'll re-engage and partner with me on our quest to "see" love and live it out in a profound way.  It's a perfect time of year to Bless Your Neighbor ... After all, it's the season of love!  

Happy February!

Question:   Have you side-lined a dream that needs a fresh start?  

Join me as I push the reset button and begin again. 

{Would love to hear about your dreams in the comments below~ let's start fresh together!}