This is day one of 365 days of believing in the whimsical, the magical and the wonder of life. There is a reason I have begun this project. I believe that there are bumps in the road that are meant to test our faith in various ways. If I were to label the incident which brought forth such reflection, I do believe the meaning of this project would ultimately be lost. Thus, I will move forward by saying that sometimes we are asked to "Shake things up" by Him. Ultimately, this and a recent book entitled Love Does has brought a new investigation of this word whimsy. 

Prior to reading this book, I had the privilege of dress shopping with my brother's soon to be wife. In the moment of her trying on the dress and the lights were turned off to give her the "full experience" I could not think of any other word but the word whimsical. In my mind, whimsical contained the word flexible but also hopeful and magical. The dress embodied all of these qualities-and more.

Through many laughs during our Christmas Break, it was brought to my attention that perhaps I was using the word whimsical incorrectly. The definition included phrases such as erratic and unpredictable as well as fanciful and capricious. None of these definitions were to my liking. Coincidentally, roughly a few hours later as I worked to finish Bob Goff's book entitled Love Does, I came upon page 186 which spent an entire page digging through the definition of what it means to live a life of whimsy. "Whimsy was the gleam in our eyes. Whimsy swelled the sails; whimsy swelled our hearts. That's the way whimsy works. It's a renewable, infinite resource that multiplies. What whimsy means to me is the combination of the "do" part of faith along with doing something worth doing. It's whimsy that spreads like grass seed in the wind."

And then I began to think back to that wedding dress as well as the best friend that will marry my brother, and I began to smile realizing that it wasn't the dress that was full of whimsy but the idea of the two of them living a life together which brought about this scent of whimsical that traveled through my nose and into my heart. And not only the futuristic whimsy, but the past whimsy of sending a simple text message to send both of them on a coffee date in 2017. One text message has sent a multiplying love which will include new family members, new laughs, new memories and more beautiful relationships in the year 2019. Whimsy does indeed multiply.  So for today, I will leave you with this. Shake. Things. Up. Believe in the whimsy even when the days seem dark and your vision is unclear. 

So it begins the quest to find the whimsical in the year 2019. One post for every day in which whimsical is found. And the beauty about whimsy is that there is always a 100% chance it will be found. 

For Day One of whimsical, it was the completion of the book Love Does. I so often find myself in need of nurturing my soul with words of whimsical from others. I generally never make the time to do so. With slight feelings of despair as of late, this was the perfect way to start this journey. Sometimes it is the discovery of another that can spark our own discovery when our soul feels worn and weary. Bob Goff's words have helped to mend my spirit in a way I have not been able to do on my own. A huge thank you to him and all those who helped him write this book.