This month, I’m participating in one of the largest blog link-ups that exists, 31 Days hosted by The Nester. Last year, in 31 Day’s 5th year, over 1,500 bloggers participated! The challenge is to choose a topic and write about it for 31 days straight. All the bloggers who participate link-up their series at the 31 Days website. There, you can click on various categories and read until your heart’s content!

I joined the 31 Days craze for the first time in 2013 with a series titled Letters to the Unthanked. I loved my series and loved being part of a committed community of bloggers. From the moment I completed the series, I knew I’d write another in 2014. Yes, my husband’s the one who had to remind me that 31 Days wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It’s definitely a challenge to write, edit and publish a post every day for 31 days straight. This is no small task. 31 Days is like birthing a child. There’s no way to get through it but to do the hard work of writing, writing, and writing some more. But in the end – when you look back and realize you’ve birthed a beautiful body of work – you can say with certainty, it was worth it.

This year’s 31 Days series wasn’t conceived as quickly as last year’s. Most of the year, I intended to write another letters series titled Letters to My Baby. But I wasn’t sure it fit neatly within my new blog vision, so I tucked the concept away for another day. Another vision rose to the top. I wanted to interview 31 elderly and and hear their perspectives on loving life. It was and still is a concept I’d love to explore, but once I started making contacts, I realized that logistically speaking, it was going to require a lot more planning than I expected. So once again, I tucked away the concept for another day.

At that point, I was empty handed. But not for long!

I wanted this year’s series to be about people and for people. I wanted to interview strangers. I wanted to ask one question. And I wanted to go as deep as possible within a limited time frame. So my husband and I had a couple brainstorming sessions, and voila! The topic surfaced. I knew without a doubt. This was my 31 Days series for 2014.

31 Dreams from the Street

So here’s what it’s going to look like…

Throughout the course of the month, I’m going to be selecting 31 strangers from the street for brief, on-the-spot interviews. After explaining who I am and why I’m approaching them, I’m going to ask ONE age-old question…

“If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

Whether I have two minutes or ten minutes with someone, my goal is to develop rapport and get to the center of their heart as quickly as possible. I don’t want to get too personal, but these are the questions begging to be asked under the surface.

What are the desires of your heart? What do you really want to be when you “grow up?” What’s the thing you always wanted to do, but all the logic and reasoning in the world told you it wasn’t a good idea? What in the world would you do with your one beautiful life if you didn’t have to worry about money at all? Tell me, you, beautiful you. Tell me.

Here are the things I’m sure of going into this series…

I’m going to get 31 vastly different answers to one question.

I’m going to experience some level of rejection.

I’m going to be blown away by peoples’ dreams.

I’m going to note significant discrepancies between peoples’ realities and peoples’ dreams.

I’m going to see some people moving towards their dreams, and some people far from their dreams.

I’m going to be moved to tears.

I’m going to speak with people I definitely would’ve noticed, but wouldn’t have conversed with otherwise.

I’m going to witness the whole spectrum of emotions.

I’m going to be stretched outside of my comfort zone.

I’m going to learn a hundred things I didn’t expect to learn.

I’m going to publish some edgy content.

And I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it (and I hope you do too)!

So at this point, you might be wondering what’s in this series for you?

Well, I’ve thought about that long and hard. I can’t quite wrap my brain around what this will look like yet, but at the end of each post, I’m going to share a nugget of wisdom, a unique lesson learned from that interview – for you.

It’s not my nature to launch a 31-day series that feels so random, so unplanned, so out of my control in so many ways. I have no idea who I’m going to meet. I have no idea how they’ll respond to me or my question. And it bugs me that I can’t tell you in advance what nuggets of wisdom I’m going to share. Basically, I have no idea what I’m in for.

But this is the series I’ve chosen.

This is the series that God seems to have chosen for me.

So I return to the thing I know for sure. That question…

“If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

I’m pretty sure there are a thousand lessons waiting to be learned. It’s a matter of discerning the learning.

So let’s go! Let’s do this! It’s settled well with my soul.

These are dreams from the street.

Call me trailblazer. Call me pioneer. Call me crazy blogger lady. Whatever.

My mission? To discover what God’s laid on your soul. To discover the thing that makes your heart tick if all money’s set aside. Because I believe our hearts beat loudest and most in rhythm with God’s purposes and plans for our lives when we tap into the dreams He set in us from the beginning.

May my eyes be opened. May my soul be ready to hear. May my countenance be on spot.

May the Spirit guide my paths.

All 31 days. All 31 dreams from the street.

Send your positive thoughts and prayers my way, will you?

So I may return with stories of dreams unexpected, nuggets of wisdom, and pearls of grace for the journey ahead.

Let’s get practical for a minute, yes?! 

All 31 posts will be published on my blog home page as usual, but this post serves as my series landing page. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find links to ALL posts from the 31 Dreams from the Street series. It’s simple…find a post that intrigues you, click on it, and it’ll pop right up for your reading adventure!

I placed the series graphic on the right sidebar of my blog’s home page ——–> so click it anytime, and it’ll bring you back here where all 31 posts are listed and linked.

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson!

So glad you’ve chosen to stop by. Make yourself comfortable. Take a peek around the place, and know you’re welcome back anytime.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to embark on this adventure. So let’s get to it! Join me, will you?!

Dream 1: Pink Hair, Cats & Phone Cases (Lola)

Dream 2: Money and Greenhouses (Cecilia)

Dream 3: Windows, Wishes and Good Guys (Jared, Andy, Nick & Steve)

Dream 4: Kids, Kids & More Kids (LeAnn)

Dream 5: Coffee and Confections (Jenny)

Dream 6: Basketball and DNA (Diamond & John)

Dream 7: Therapies and a Bucket List Blessing (Lisa)

Dream 8: Happiness (Jouaye)

Dream 9: LA, NYC & Fire (Steve)

Dream 10: Education (Kao Vang)

Dream 11: Work, Art & Design (Alex)

Dream 12: Editing & Producing (Lori)

Dream 13: Writing & Gardens (Lin)

Dream 14: Food & To Be Well (woman on the street)

Dream 15: Travel & Animals (Emily)

Dream 16: Enjoyment & Fulfillment (Carlo)

Dream 17: Travel, Roots & No More Suffering (Cali)

Dream 18: Self Care & Volunteering (Lisa)

Dream 19: Diesel Trucks & The Army (Mat)

Dream 20: Diesel School & A Diesel Truck (Maddy)

Dream 21: Food & Shelter (Jazmin)

Dream 22: Loving, Living & Traveling (Jose)

Dream 23: Cartooning & Animation (Cassie)

Dream 24: Dancing & Giving (Guest Post from a Nine-Year-Old Girl, Elsa)

Dream 25: A Whole Lot of Love (Darlene)

Dream 26: Sabbath: Where The Streets Have No Name

The Day I Wanted to Quit 31 Days

Rejections From the Street

Notes From the Street

My Dreams 

Your Dreams