Pimping People

It's not what you think.

Er, I mean, I guess I don't know what you think, so I suppose it could be.

Whateve.

Dot, dot, dot.

Hi!

Surprise, surprise, I'm in a random mood again. Thought I'd attempt to put it to good use by name-dropping [wonderful, ordinary people] and showing off some good God stuff.

My 2pm class got canceled today. I used the extra time to peruse interesting reads online that I do not usually have time to browse. Decided it might be fun to share with you [both of you].

But before we get started: Random Tidbit About Me Time [one of the drawbacks of reading this blog]: I realized today that when I'm in class and the professor is not making much sense [to me] and it all seems a bit foggy, I always have this strange urge to paint my face. Or well, mark my face - usually with thick black crosses on my cheeks and one large charcoal line down the middle of my forehead and nose. Oh dear. It sounds much stranger on paper than it does in my head. I don't know if this makes it any better, but I have not yet acted on these urges.

Anyhoo. If you still want to listen to my opinion after that confession [or the same thing mysteriously happens to you, too] then feel free to keep reading. If not, I understand. I promise I won't cry too much after you leave.

First up, The Discipleship Dojo. My friend, James-Michael's blog about the real Saint Patrick caught my eye. It's fascinating. Although I am a little embarrassed that I had no knowledge of him whatsoever. If you're in the same boat, I'll let JM fill you in.

I follow three different blogs; CRCC Lenten Devotions, The Creative Year and the Not For Sale Campaign Blog. All are, in my humble opinion, noteworthy.

CRCC [Cedar Ridge Community Church] Lenten Devotions is a short term blog that is running through the Lenten season [am I supposed to capitalize the word Lenten?]. Each day there is a new [surprise] devotion. I don't do them everyday [I wish I did] but I find the ones I do to be quite refreshing.

My good friend, Daniel started The Creative Year in January as an outlet for his excessive [and wonderful] creativity. Each day brings something fresh and new [and pleasing to mine eyes]. He has acquired quite a following and I am a little jealous [because, of course, I struggle with horrible bouts of jealousy], but he is so freaking talented that I cannot hold it against him [that and I think his wife, Amie, is the absolute Bee's Knees].

I just began following the Not For Sale Blog today. Mostly to stay abreast [what a wonderful word!]. Not For Sale is an organization you may have already heard me drone on about. David Batstone started it [and wrote a fabulous book that carries the same name]. Another noteworthy note: they are doing this thing called The Investigator Certification Academy this summer. It's two intensive weeks of training to become an abolitionist investigator. I REALLY REALLY want to go. I told J about it. He thinks I'm nuts. He's probably right. It costs, like, $1000. And it's in San Francisco. So I'm sure that number doesn't include airfare. Sigh. I'm praying. If you would pray, too, that would be lovely. If this is something God wants me to do, then pray that he meets the financial need to make it happen. If it's not, then pray that he channels the abolitionist passion he's given me into something equally as wonderful.

Something else that caught my eye - a new article from Radiant Magazine. It's about the importance of sticking with your local congregation. I am just about to leave a church that I have called home for the past three years. I wholeheartedly think it's a good God thing for us to leave. But, this article raises some uncomfortable questions and I love to be uncomfortable. This situation is a bit personal and still a little raw so I don't feel that it's appropriate to discuss it at length on this blog, but if you know me and the situation and want to dive into a theological discussion from questions raised from the article, then, you know, get at me, dawg.

I have a few other wonderful bloggerific friends on my "Blogs I Love" section. But they haven't updated their blogs in a while so I will silently pout and hope that they get the message [ahem: ANDREA, MEGHAN & JESS]. I mean, I know you guys are insanely busy, but, I don't care - I LOVE READING YOUR BLOGS!

Okay. That's quite enough type yelling for one blog. And I've been at this computer station so long that the librarians are starting to glare at me a little.

Happy Thursday!

This Changes Everything

[Caution: Long Blog Alert]

As you may or may not know, I've been struggling with weight/self-esteem/overeating/gluttony/addiction issues for most of my adult life. In 2007 I set out on a quest to become Super-Fit-Aerobics-Mom. I thought I had it figured out. I lost 20 lbs, gained a considerable amount of muscle, got certified as an aerobics instructor and looked fabulous for my wedding pictures last June.

So, of course, I was quite taken aback when my scale began to skyrocket back up shortly after my honeymoon. And now, less than a year later, I have packed on 30 extra pounds.

I wasn't expecting this. I thought I had this. But, looking back, I must admit that this is not a new phenomenon:

• My senior year of high school I moved from my little town in Virginia to [what I saw as] the Big City of Charlotte, NC. By the time I graduated, I had gained 15 lbs.
• I gained 35 lbs while I was pregnant and only lost 15 during childbirth. During the early months of Sadie's life I suffered from an intense case of postpartum depression. At 168 lbs, I was heavier than I ever had been.
• A year and half later, I became a vegetarian [mostly to fit in at the head shop I was working at] and lost 30 lbs. It wasn't healthy, tho. I was living off of diet coke and cigarettes [and the occasional Midnight MilkyWay]
• A year after that I found Jesus [or he found me] and began to work on some of my unhealthy habits. That same year, one of my worst nightmares became a reality. As a result, I added 25 lbs back on to my petite frame.
• In 2006 I moved to Maryland. It was an exciting, tumultuous time. I lost 1o lbs in the months leading up to the move. Toward the end of August, Jermaine and I broke up for a time and I went on the "break-up" diet [not eating because I was so depressed] and lost another 10 lbs. By November we were an item again. I was happy and as a result I gained 15 lbs over winter break. That was an embarrassing spring semester. Around that time I began to formulate the Ready. Set. Skinny. program and that pretty much leads us up to today.

Of course, although I knew this was sort of a pattern, this is probably the first time I've ever fleshed it out[with bullet points and stuff]. It all started this past weekend. I got to attend a leadership retreat at my church. It was quite fantastic, and would seemingly have nothing to do with the subject of weight loss. But you must understand, I think about this ALL the time. I'd even begun to wonder if I had a disorder of some kind because my behavior seemed to border on obsession.

It was near the end of the second day. We had just finished a section on leadership and vision and were asked to spend some time on our own reflecting about what we'd learned and discovered. I was itching to get out. I felt an acute desire to be alone with God but I wasn't really thinking about leadership. I was thinking about this weight thing. I had a sense that God was about to reveal something to me.

Our church is set on 63 acres of beautiful land and there is an amazing prayer walk meandering through the forest on the property. I set out and as I walked I poured out my heart to God.

'There seems to be some kind of disconnect,' I exclaimed to the Lord. I want to eat right and exercise but, my desire to eat yummy fattening foods and sit on my butt seems win out quite frequently. I knew I needed to reevaluate my priorities, my past and present failures and accomplishments and my motives for wanting to lose the weight.

For the past several days I have been more and more aware that my reasons for losing weight suck. My high school reunion is in 3 months and I have been saying that I want to get back in shape to look good for it. In the same breath I would acknowledge that there is something wrong with that line of thinking but that I didn't care, I needed to prove to myself and my former classmates that I could do it.

I thought, 'If only I didn't have the pressure of the reunion.' I know that I could kick myself into high gear and lose 20 or 30 lbs. But it seems so futile because I know I'll just balloon right back up again afterward.

We had just talked about vision and I love the Cedar Ridge Vision. So I thought, maybe I need a vision like that for myself and my weight and all the underlying baggage that comes with it. With tears in my eyes I began to spout out my own raw, unedited vision:

Imagine myself daring to dream that I could be really, truly healthy in mind, body and soul. Imagine myself filling up on yummy, healthful foods. Imagine exercising practically day and absolutely loving it. Imagine food and exercise becoming opportunities to love and spend time with God and people. Imagine really feeling good and warm and energetic and getting those feelings from Jesus and people and exercise and not from caffeine or sugar. Imagine not obsessing over my bathroom scale. Imagine feeling comfortable in my own skin. Imagine becoming an aerobics instructor and being qualified and excited to teach others these wonderful things that God is teaching me. Imagine helping other people dare to dream this dream for themselves.

It's not completely, er, complete. But the magic of the Backspace Button has allowed me to make it sound much more polished than it did yesterday in the woods.

This all sounds well and good, but the next thing I thought was, 'how do I get there?' I'm pretty good at dreaming the dreams. I'm slightly lacking in the figuring out the logistics part. And, honestly, those words amount to hogwash if I don't figure that part out.

So I asked God to help me to connect the disconnect. I sat down on a log and prayed for the wisdom to work this stuff out. And then it hit me. Or, well, maybe he hit me. I was being incredibly superficial. Why is it so important for me to look a certain way for a group of people I haven't seen in 10 years? Sure, it may make feel good about myself for a day. But, it may make some people feel bad about themselves that same day. And it may even make some people feel bad about me that day. So, what is the point, really? Am I really not that far removed from high school?

More tears filled my eyes as I realized [rather melodramatically] that I was going to have to let this go. I was going to have to accept where I stood on this journey and be okay with wherever I stand come June. This means maybe I'll weigh the same. Maybe I'll lose 20 lbs. I need to work on being okay either way.

It was exhilarating. The best thing I know to compare it to is the way I felt when I gave my life to Jesus. But I don't want to sound sacrilegious. I love to see being a follower of Jesus as being on a quest. And that's what this feels like. There are differences, of course [the endings vary quite a bit]. And my Christian quest encompasses every part my life whereas this essentially could be considered a smaller adventure on the big picture map.

I haven't mentioned the guilt/shame element yet. And I think, in some ways that is the most beautiful part. And the one that has left me feeling so wonderful.

Guilt is something I am very familiar with. In fact, God is teaching me in other areas of my life that I have this strange tendency to make all these rules and regulations for myself, and to set a strict schedule in my day to day life. The comedic irony is that I'm not a very disciplined person [well, I think it's funny]. I'm constructing all these laws and at the same time proclaiming that I hate legalism. This breeds within me a ridiculous amount of guilt. I never feel that I can measure up to the high expectations that I make for myself.

My friend Priscilla suggested the other day that perhaps I was getting some sort of pay off from the guilt. Maybe it somehow fueled the vicious cycle. IE: I make rules. I fail. I feel guilty. I give up. I indulge some more.

I don't know if that's exactly what she meant and I don't want to misrepresent her, but I think she's on to something. The same kind of thing has been happening over and over in this weight loss quest.

Now, I usually start out every weight loss venture with some good old fashioned gluttony. Think cheesecake and ice cream and candy, oh my! I don't want to do that anymore. This journey [that in many ways I have been preparing for for years] began yesterday on that log. And I am free to eat whatever I want. I am free to exercise whenever I want.

And I have surrendered this entire thing to God. It's all his. I pray that he uses me help others as an aerobics instructor [and thus, we come full circle and see that, by golly, this does have something to do with leadership]. I am so excited. I freaking love adventures.

Road trip!

Thank you for reading my blog. ;)

PS. I just wanted to add this: I'm thinking this is probably a bit old hat for some people. I've been hearing and reading things of this sort since I first subscribed to Womens' Health magazine two years ago. But it never really sunk in. So for me - it's brand spanking new [and pretty darn spectacular].

Untitled.

[The guy on the far right is Jermaine's cousin, and our new roomie. He's super fly.]

I wasn't planning on writing. I was planning on doing my homework, watching another crime show and trying to remember to wash my face and put the dishes in the dishwasher before I fell asleep.

But then, I had to go to the computer to email a professor, and, one thing led to another - the next thing I know . . . blog-be-done!

So here I am, cheating on my bed with my computer. This should be an interesting blog.

What's on my mind these days? Hmm, well, school just started. I'm trying not to fail. That's been fun.

I met this girl yesterday. I hope she doesn't mind making a cameo in my blog. She's a Christian sociology major passionate about fighting human trafficking. I felt like I was talking to myself! I wasn't, bytheway. We have three classes together, which is nice for a couple of reasons. First, I'm not used to having a comrade in the class, it's rather nice. Second, practically speaking, if one of us misses a class, the other has the notes.

In other news, I finally started writing a real live article! Who the heck knows if it's publishable but I'm doing it anyway. I have this long list topics that I would like to write about [everything from whether it's okay for Sadie's daddy to decide if she calls Jermaine "dad" to Fixed Hour Prayer to a book review on A Generous Orthodoxy [by Brian McClaren] or Ending Slavery [by Kevin Bales]. Things I would like to carry on about. I finally got around to delving into one [ooh, I should mention that the one I did decide to carry on about is not mentioned above].

I really like the word "delve". You probably knew that.

I'll keep you updated. If this blog is stained with tears in a couple of weeks you'll know I've submitted it to a publication and subsequently turned myself into a reject.

What else? What else? Ooh, there is some news in regards to the human trafficking front. The Cameo Girl and I spoke briefly about starting up some sort of group/club on campus. She's all about making prayer a big part of it. I can't deny how much of a God Thing this is. I've known about this call to help the slaves of the world for some time. And in the past couple months, God has been bombarding me with messages about the importance of prayer. CG [who, of course, has a real name although it's generally good to ask before throwing someone's name in some crazy blog] brought these two concepts together for me in a big way.

Cost of UMD education for an "out of state" student [don't get me started]: $$$$
Cost of meeting a kindred spirit and scaring her away by going on and on about her in your personal blog: Priceless

Good times.

Sadie and I have been reading The Tale of Despereaux chapter by chapter every night before bedtime. I personally believe that it should be entitled The Tail of Despereaux. But I'm just a crazy wordplay fool.

Oh! Goodness. I almost forgot the big news. Er, well, it's big to me. It might just be egg-sized to you - we moved!

It's really a very touching story. Full of deceit and coming clean and God goodness. I'm learning that my natural self is really quite deceitful. I have to work hard to be honest. Lying comes oh-so easily.

I'll give you the short version [to spare you [and me a little bit]. We found an apartment and were supposed to move in last month. But we had to lie on the application to get the place. Jermaine's cousin was going to be living with us and we didn't put him on the lease. Plus, we lied about our puppy. Worst of all, Sadie caught me in both of those lies while we were in the leasing office. She politely but firmly demanded an explanation.

This all went down in December. Because that time of year is so busy I was able to push it to the back of my mind. It didn't feel quite right, but I chalked [sp?] it up to the nervousness of moving and the stress from the holidays.

But then, enter the prayer room. And God was like up in my face saying, "This is wrong and you know it." Youch.

I remember talking it over with a close friend of mine. I said, "I'm scared to back out of the lease. We would only have a month to find a new place. But I can't help but think, you know, what if God has something way better planned for us but if we go ahead with this and move into that lie we'll never know about it?"

So, I'm like prophetic, or something. Or God is amazingly wonderful.

Probably the latter.

Because that's exactly what happened. And it happened so fast. Not one week after backing out of the first lease did we sign for the new place. And it is wonderful. It has a washer and a dryer. It has a thermostat [I won't get into what the old place had - but it wasn't pretty]. It has a little sprayer hose thing on the kitchen sink [novel for sure but sweet nonetheless]. And we got cable. Which, you know, may induce nothing but guilt for me as I ponder how many hours I will spend and have spent watching CSI: NY, but still, enjoyable nonetheless. And, I didn't know the new Real World had eight housemates. That's monumental.

Now, I generally don't cling to the belief that more stuff equals Good [I loathe the prosperity gospel]. And I don't think that this kind of living is the end all be all of the plans the Lord has for our lives. But I feel God's blessing on us. And I'm grateful. Even if it's just for a moment in time.

Ugh. This blog has become so long. And I have more to say!

But I can't do it. For my sake and for yours. Thank you for letting me share.

I am so not doing the dishes tonight . . .

Learning Stuff

Hi.

I haven't been very productive today. Since this is sort of a Sabbath week of reflection and prayer, by "productive" I mean that I barely cracked a book and although I did make it into the prayer room, I fell asleep thirty minutes in. I wonder if there is such a thing as "sleeping in the spirit."

I did play Pretty Pretty Princess with Sadie, though and I helped her practice the play she's performing tomorrow [Goldilocks and the Three Bears [She's Mama Bear [which, I think, is very fitting]]]. I don't suppose it gets much more productive than that.

Just now, I was pleasantly surprised by a sudden surge of bloggerific motivation. That is all fine and good. But sadly my husband just arrived and is now forced to play Rock Band all by his lonesome whilst I get this stuff out of my head.

What have I done today? I'm embarrassed. Food and Facebook. I started a weight loss group.

Yes, that's right folks, I'm at it again. I have to be. I'm quite unhappy with the weight I've allowed myself to put on since I got married. I always swore I would never be one of those wives's [sp? wives'? wive's? wife's?] who let herself go. I don't feel good about my body. So I'm doing something about it [this may have also been inspired by the fact the my 10 year reunion is in like 5 months [wow, I feel so old]].

There are 5 members in the group so far. (: I'm quite giddy about it.

Alright, back to the prayerful essentials. I was pondering earlier today that I may have learned some things from this week. I thought it would be fun to make an impromptu list and see what comes up [I realize that this may not necessarily fit your definition of fun - I'm a bit of a nerd [but I'm okay with that]].

Here goes nothing.

This week I have learned:

• Sleeping on thincarpet-covered concrete is not as bad as one would think if you're laying beside the man you love
• Less is more [when it comes to decorating the prayer room] and if I follow that principle in my own home there may be hope for my chaos yet
• I am blessed with a daughter and a husband that don't complain at all when it comes to sleeping on concrete [sadly, the same cannot be said for their mom/wife]

• I love it when people cry [after they leave the prayer room [I'm not a brute [can you use the term "brute" to describe a woman?]]]
• Praying for an hour a day [at least in this context] is wonderfully easy to do
• I eat too much when I'm by myself and have a lot of time on my hands [ahem, well, I suppose I already knew that]
• I am capable of keeping someplace [in this case, the church] fairly clean from day to day [of course, my to-do list is extremely minimal]
• Stouffer's lasagna takes 2 1/2 bloody hours to cook
• People are much more accepting of a dog living at a church for a week than one might think
• I love to pray while Jermaine plays guitar
• I need to learn balance [especially when it comes to money and food]
• This week I experienced God making a specific crooked path I was meandering on straight [and it felt so good]
• What's been on my heart [like the fact that I would really like to experience pure joy from God [and though I think I might have before I can't recall it clearly]]
• Sometimes it's just really good to forget about your to-do list and sit and talk with your Creator
• People that I thought would be all over this haven't been and those whom I never would have guessed are diving in and finding God
• I need to pray more about the little things, like my desire to write [and be published], Jermaine and his band, Sadie, and all the other day to day stuff [I put in on my do to list and stress out about it but never actually get around to talking to God]
• Our galaxy is ridiculously huge [at 35,000 miles per hour it would take us 10,000 years to reach the end of it] and it's one of many!
• That last bit of information doesn't make me feel as small as I believe it should
  

Surprise, surprise [for me anyway]. That is all for now. Have a grand old evening.

2:11 AM

Sigh. I promised you a blog a day and here it is Wednesday and I should be on my fourth blog. Instead, I am only on my second. Well, actually this is my third, but my second one wasn't very good so I threw it away.

Okay, technically it's Thursday morning at 2:11am but I started this on Wednesday and I haven't gone to bed yet so it still counts.

Lots of good God things are happening. But I can't seem to satisfactorily report or record them. It's very difficult to do this project justice with only letters, words, and the occasional donut hole.

I do know one thing: I want to savor this experience, to cherish it. I want to make a memory like that one sister did in The Parent Trap when she went about sniffing her dad's cologne [only this will be less weird]. There is so much calm. Everyone who has entered the prayer room seems to have been blessed. And my job consists of welcoming people and praying. It's truly beautiful. I'm learning a lot about myself. And I think I'm beginning to hear God [I'll delve into that later [and bonus - you'll get the concise written version and not have to listen to me stutter and ramble aimlessly for 30 minutes trying to dig out the main point [which I have undoubtedly forgotten by the fifth time I apologize for stuttering and rambling] like some of my dear friends had to do today]].

Though I suppose you could make a very good point that I am rambling a bit right now. I apologize. But at least I can't stutter online.

I would love to go on and on [and on]. It's late, though, and sleep is good.

So, good night. I will try really really hard to blog more tomorrow.

I did get a picture up! More of those to come tomorrow for sure. (:

Wild Blue Wonder

We did it.

We launched our prayer room. Last night, with butterflies in my stomach, I thanked God for the wonderful frame of mind our Creator had so graciouly allowed me to be in.

Then, this morning, as I hit the snooze button for the fourth time, I wondered how I was ever going to make it through this week.

My husband, my daughter, our friend Dwayne, our dog Sebastian, and I will be staying at our church for the entire week. We'll sleep, eat, pray and play here [perhaps not in that order]. The pews will be our beds. It will be interesting to say the least.

I do not usually fair well outside my comfort-zone. And I LOVE my bed [that may be an understatement]. But experiencing the prayer room today was like a little taste of heaven. And so, though it's too hot in this part of the church and too cold in the sanctuary, though our dog has been made nervous by this seemingly nonsensical change of scenery, though pews are lumpy and I forgot to bring an extra blanket, I cannot contain my joy and gratitude for this opportunity.

I promise pictures soon. God has blessed the prayer room and I am eager to share. But it's late, and that sort of thing can wait until the light of day [I realize that this is in fact currently the light of day [sorry - this was written around 1am]].

One of my New Year's resolutions is to write daily. I shall start with this little blog. And make one more promise [though I am usually wholeheartedly against promises of any kind for fear that I will disappoint] to blog every day from now until we end next Sunday.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Prayer Request

Editor's Note: I started another blog on the Radiant Magazine website about the 24-7 prayer project I'm working on. I've copied and pasted my latest entry below. (: Oh, and for more information on this movement, check out 24-7prayer.com.

I'm sad to say that this is only my second blog post. I hope to flood the blogwaves in the next few weeks. I set out over a month ago to hone in on my journey through 24-7 prayer. But, the last month of school really got the better of me, leaving virtually no time for blogging fun [or for 24-7 prayer planning):]. School is over. Alleluia!

But . . .

. . . today has been racked with emotions. Our launch date for 24-7 prayer is in two short weeks and I am not even close to where I planned to be at this point. I'm really struggling. I want to give it all to God but I don't know exactly how to do that. How do I find the balance between letting God and still completing the proper leg-work?

I want to offer up some prayer requests, but first, let me back up. I suppose an explanation is in order. What is the 24-7 prayer movement, why are we participating and what is the meaning of life?

Okay, the last question may be a little too large in scope for this blog. Let's just stick to the basics.

A couple of years ago, right before I moved to Maryland [near DC] from Charlotte, NC, I came across a book called Red Moon Rising. It turned out to be one of those life changing books that smacks you in the face when you're least expecting it. Author Pete Greig, the founder of this whole crazy sexy cool prayer movement*, details his journey in an amazingly thoughtful and articulate way. I can't pretend that I'll do as good a job as he did, but I'll sum it up as unclumsily as possible.

We all know that the idea of prayer is ancient. You may or may not know that that the concept of praying 24 hours a day 7 days a week nonstop is very old, too. In fact, the most recent example [before this one] began in 1727 with a group of Moravian kids and lasted 125 years! And if you know anything about prayer then I don't have to explain the wonderful miraculous stuff that came out of that movement. It was pretty freaking awesome.

Well, as you may have guessed, God is doing it again. It started in Chichester, England right before the turn of the century. And it's still going strong. Right now, as I type, 72 groups in 16 different countries are immersed in prayer. Pretty cool, huh?

From the moment I heard about 24-7 prayer, I have longed to be a part of it. For the past three years, God has kept the idea lodged in the back of my mind, waiting for the perfect opportunity to push it forward.

And now, the Creator of the universe has done just that. Not only do I get to be a part of a week of 24-7 prayer, I get to help plan and lead it from start to finish. Wow. God is so so good.

But, as big a blessing as this is, I am overwhelmed with feelings of unworthiness and doubt. I fear I may have waited too long and screwed up the planning phase. I am afraid we'll never be able to pull it off now.

My husband, Jermaine, says I have a gift for pointing out the negative. That sucks.

I've been staring at the computer screen for the past couple minutes. I was about to present my prayer requests and I just realized that I didn't fully explain the logistics of how a week of 24-7 prayer works. I can't figure out exactly where to put it, so I've decided to shove it here. Let me know how that works for you.

It's pretty simple, really. It starts with a room. This room you take and you fill with good God things. You keep in mind that God was The Original Artist and so you let your imagination run wild. With prayer and thoughtfulness the room ends up chock full of these sort of things:

• journals
• all kinds of paper and art supplies
• big comfy couches
• a guitar or a keyboard
• a huge map of the world
• candles
• coffee
• Nooma videos
• A Bible
• books
• post it notes to write the names of the lost
• "stations" for confession, intercession, communion, etc . . .
• toys for children that will evoke thoughtfulness and joy
• anything else God puts on your heart

While you prepare the room, you simultaneously prepare the people who will fill it. They will be signing up for hour long sessions. So, for example, I'll take 2pm, you'll take 3pm, and so on. And then, we learn about prayer. We study Bible passages on the subject, we read books about prayer [a few of my favorites: God Is Here by Steve Case and The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle], and, of course, we pray. We learn that not all prayer puts us on our knees with our eyes closed while we talk toward the ceiling. Poems, music, reading, silence: all of these things can be done while praying, and this is not a complete list, but rather simply a good place to start.

While we learn, momentum starts to build, and so then you bust out the sign up sheet. People are so excited that they practically run to put their names on that piece of paper. And it only gets better once they show up for their appointment with God. A hour in the prayer room seems like ten minutes. People love it so much that they don't want to stop. And so a week becomes two and two weeks becomes a month. It's all so magical!

At least, it was in my head. This is the way I maticulously planned it all out. While I planned. I prayed that God would have his way through this entire process. I must say, his way is not how I would have done things.

But, you know how that goes. It never is, is it?

Here we are two weeks before launch. We haven't created a prayer room [though we do have a room and it does have big comfy couches]. Because of poor planning we had to launch sign up last week without a sign up sheet and needless to say, no one has signed up [well, that's not completely true - I did]. And though I've been studying prayer [and maybe others on an individual level] we haven't had a cohesive study as a congregation about prayer [we did have one small meeting, though, and it went fabulously].

Okay, reading this through, makes me realize that my husband might have been right [I hate it when that happens (:]. He said it probably wasn't as bad as I was making it. And besides, even if we don't fill a week with prayer, it will probably still be more than we have all prayed in a very long time [or perhaps ever]. So, in that sense, it can't "fail".

On that note, I offer up to you my prayer requests. Thank you in advance for your prayers. You can't begin to imagine how much we appreciate them.

Please pray:

• For me, Jermaine and Dwayne as we lead this project
• That God completely has his way and gets all the glory
• For all of the participants, that they will experience true joy while praying
• That we can fill a week with continuous prayer
• That we won't get discouraged when it gets difficult
• That this will be a uniting time for our multi-generational congregation
• Anything else that God puts on your heart

Again, thank you.

One more thing: if you live in the DC metro area and feel compelled to sign up, then please do! Or, for that matter, if you live far away and want to join us, woo-hoo! We could probably even find you a free place to stay [and, I would lovelovelove to bake you cookies (:].

The week of prayer is set to launch at 2pm on Sunday January 4th and continue until the following Sunday [the 11th] at 2pm. If you want to sign up for anytime during that week, please email me at brandyglows@gmail.com.

And thank you for reading this blog.

*I am so happy that I got to use the words "sexy" and "prayer" in one sentence. Amen.