Dear Reader,

  First, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read through my book, or even if you’re just skimming it at a library or on Amazon. Reading is a dying passtime and you few who keep it alive are a rare but glorious breed. Never stop reading and never stop writing. Whether your medium is poetry or prose, lyrics or chants, or anything else; write what drives and interests you until you can’t write anymore.

  This book is a collection of my journey to Christ through the various prayers that God has shared with me along the way along with a quote for each one. A revelation that my younger self would likely scoff at. I remember saying once, “the day that I’m a Christian is the day that I’ll know Christ is King, if he's able to convince me” because I couldn’t fathom something so foolish. Luckily, I wasn’t imaginative as a child, so God showed me a path more beautiful than I could’ve created on my own. A journey so fundamentally human—from the pride of youth to the humility and wisdom of inevitable consequences and punishment.

  So, when I saw myself forsaking my own path to start walking with Jesus, I knew I needed to document my awakening to share the breadcrumbs with my brothers and sisters lost like I was. Only by novelizing and sharing our experiences are we truly able to grow and blossom to our full potential. Thus, it's my belief that everyone should have a notebook or journal to track their thoughts and emotions throughout life. In that vein, I’ve documented these prayers that have stuck with me strongest along the way in the hopes that some of them may stick and leave an impression on you. Some are written with weeks of forethought, others given impromptu on Sunday morning in front of our congregation and livestream audience.

  If you’re reading this I would strongly encourage you to start writing down your own thoughts and prayers. You’ll find, I hope, that it’s nice to look back on writing from your youth and to reminisce on nostalgia. Even now I miss so many stories I’ve experienced that I can no longer recall. Moreover, when those we love pass on it’s necessary to remember them, and through the words on pages (and subsequently audiobooks/voice memos in the modern era) we can carry a piece of those we love and continue to share their memory. Once you lose your co-rememberers, it’s nice to have something to look back on when your memory inevitably fails you. This idea will come up through prayers where I attempt to pay homage to great artists and philosophers in my life and or on the big stage who have influenced me down my path. To remember them and their contribution to my journey. Truly, this is a way for me to remember myself and the lives that I’ve touched along the way. If it means something to you too, then we are blessed, and I ask that you pass the blessing on through your own art and creativity.

  But don’t forget to share it.

  Please don’t hoard your beautiful words.

  They’re meant to be seen, read, and heard.

  I love you all and wish you peace and kindness on your journey.