Today marks a very exciting day in my life, the date of my first blog post.

For a whole year, I have been writing and posting, and you, my sweet readers, have been visiting me at my “online home,” www.onceuponawriter.com.

Whether this is your first time reading or you like to stop by and visit weekly, I just want to take this chance to say, “thank you.” This year, this blog, and your comments have meant so much to me…literally…nothing short of a miracle.

As I look back, I have no doubt that God planted this task/goal/dream of writing a weekly blog in my heart to teach me about His ways and His love. These weekly writings have changed my life. I have fallen in love with writing and I have fallen in love with Him all over again. He’s written me a love story, and I hope and trust it will never end.

With this in mind, I’m ready to celebrate and I’d love for you to join me.

I am working hard to prepare fresh ideas for my site that I hope to launch this fall. A few of these ideas include:

• A new, mid-week post
• Fun resources
• An awesome ministry spotlight

And, to kick it all off, I’m doing my first ever give-away!!! (Details below)

To say the least my heart is full of thanks, gratitude and love.

If you’ve read my posts, chances are good you already know how much I love the fall. To celebrate this love, to celebrate this season and to celebrate my “Blog-iversary,” I’d like to challenge you to make this a season for falling in love. In love with beauty. In love with adventure. In love with God.

Because when I get right down to it, I know this is what my blog, my writing, my walk with God are all about. The falling in love and the filling of my heart with beauty, adventure, and the love of my savior.

I long to live by my pen. I long to write of the heart. Because everyday spent with the King really is a fairy tale.

Won’t you join me? Are you ready? Let’s fall in love…

20 Ways to Fall in Love This Season

1)      Start your day by reading a favorite verse or a passage from a favorite devotional (My recent favorite is One Thousand Gifts Devotional by Ann Voskamp)

2)      Pull out your wedding vows and repeat them with your spouse

3)      Flip through a photo album or scrapbook of friends and/or family

4)      Re-read an old journal. Consider the ways He works, the ways He moves, the ways He answers prayer

5)      Re-read your favorite love story (Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of my all-time favorites)

6)      Take time to write, paint, create, build, bake, or sing your own sort of love story

7)      Start a gratitude journal. If you already keep a journal of this sort, take some time to look through it. Re-count the ways He loves.

8)      Give something away

9)      Go on a color tour, a walk or drive through a patchwork of autumn trees

10)   Hug your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews (big or small.) Listen close to sound their voices, get lost in the magic of child-like laughter

11)   Make a memory: apple picking, pumpkin carving, a surprise get-a-way

12)   Compile a playlist of your favorite love songs, as you listen, consider the words and how they echo His love

13)   Take cookies, muffins, or flowers to a friend, a neighbor, a nursing home

14)   Find a need and fill it

15)   Find a vase and fill it, too

16)   Send a text, an email, a card to friend in need of encouragement

17)   Hunt for beauty, find it in places obvious and places unexpected

18)   Do something that scares you

19)   Revisit a favorite movie, because all stories speak of His-story (Les, Miserables, The Notebook, Becoming Jane, and P.S. I Love You are a few of my favorites)

20)   When the crisp chill of autumn fills your lungs, when the warmth of a pumpkin spice latte warms your hands, when the sun catches a branch of golden leaves just right and fills your heart with joy, with awestruck wonder, remember that this is for you. All of it, for you. The love story of a savior.

Will you keep the list going? I’d love to hear from you. What are your ideas for falling in love this season? How has God romanced your heart recently or in the past?

Leave me a comment below and your name will be entered for a chance to win at $25.00 Barnes & Noble Gift card. The perfect gift to help you purchase a new devotional, love story, journal, or warm beverage of your choice.

I told you I was ready to celebrate! The winner will be chosen by random drawing next Sunday, so be sure to check back and see if you won.

Thanks again, sweet friends.

May your fall be happy, your heart full.