There are 829 million daily active users on Facebook today.

What are we all doing there?

We are either sharing, watching others share, snooping, or a  little of each.

We share milestones: Births. Deaths. Job changes. Relationship status updates. The list goes on.

We share beautiful sunsets, what we ate for lunch, funny memes, how many goals our awesome kids scored, and ALS bucket dousing videos. The list goes on.

What do we tend to steer away from sharing? The awful fight we got in with our spouse or best friend, the ginormous zit on our chin, the failed test, the feelings of despair after you get “the call” from the doctor’s office. The list goes on.

Seven days ago, I was challenged on Facebook to list out things I was grateful for each day, for seven consecutive days.

While I don’t often share much about myself on Facebook, this has been a fun exercise.

What have I been most grateful for this past week? Family and friends. The sound of children laughing. My relationship with God. Being flawed, yet still fabulous. Music that rocks my soul. Quality time with my boy before he leaves for college. People who smile. Life-saving blood cells from an umbilical cord that saved my best friend’s life.

Today is the last day of sharing my heart on this seven-day gratitude challenge.

Here were the words I shared on Facebook today:

Today I am super grateful, proud and nervous to announce the birth of…

…MY BLOG.

For those of you that know me, I hope I didn’t dash your expectations for a moment that I might be birthing another human-being! Are you kidding?! I’ve got my only offspring headed to college any minute. What will this empty nester have time for now?

Writing… HERE .

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Ernest Hemingway

I have imagined starting a personal and business development (think life-coach/teacher) website for several years. Like many of us tend to do, I pushed that idea back in the dusty corner that doesn’t receive much attention.

Until now. My dream has officially been dusted off, semi-polished and I’m throwing glitter in the air!

My goal in writing this blog is to provide a virtual space that will be a place of inspiration, encouragement and education. A place to ask questions and share ideas. (To gain a sense of why I might like to provide such a place, click here to read a little about my personal and professional background.)

I should let you know…

THIS post wasn’t the post I planned to launch my blog with. I actually wrote an extensive article on living a life of purpose and passion. I even created a printable goal sheet to go with that post! (The geek in me will tend to rear its head from time to time here—no apologies.) I hope you will find that particular post very helpful in the future. HINT: Subscribe to this blog and it will magically arrive in your inbox each week.

With this being the last day of my gratitude challenge and the launch of this website, how could I NOT write about gratitude and the effect it has on our lives.

Whether you choose to share in a public format or simply write in a journal each day, I encourage you to express your gratitude daily. It will change your life.

Choosing gratitude each day is not always easy, but with practice you will find that it is possible to be grateful even in the most difficult of circumstances.

John F. Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

If you choose to subscribe to this blog, you will hear from me once (maybe twice) per week. I will try to bring value to your life with the thoughts and information I share. I hope you, in turn, will contribute your thoughts and ask questions for us to ponder in the comment section below each post.

I would be honored if you would put your name and email in the subscription box and see where this journey takes us.  Jill xo