Seriously. Who would have believed this? It was seven years ago this week that I was leaving a restaurant in Maggie Valley, NC when I heard a voice say, “You need to make rosaries.” And from that quirky start Prayerworks Studio was born. Now, I’m on the verge of going full-time with this ministry and business. It’s crazy and glorious all at once.

I can’t even begin to describe what this journey has meant to me, but I’ll do my best. It’s meant listening to a quirky voice and trusting that it was from God. It’s meant trusting God as I tried to make sense of this calling, learned how to make prayer beads, and gathered the courage to share them with my fellow Protestants. It’s led to a new career path involving writing, speaking, and leading retreats – endeavors that make my heart skip a beat. It’s led to profound and extravagant healing and a new understanding of God’s deep love for me and others. It’s led to the most glorious testimonies from y’all about the difference praying with beads has made in your life and relationship with God. It’s meant all that, and so much more. It’s exactly the life I would have wanted for myself, and yet not at all the one I would have come up with on my own.

And so we celebrate what God has done over the past seven years.

IMG_8135You know how much I love the number seven. As I’ve shared in my books and retreats, seven represents spiritual completion or perfection. That’s why it’s all over the Bible: 7 days of Creation, 7 colors of the rainbow, Jesus makes 7 “I Am” statements, he performs 7 miracles on the Sabbath, and, of course, there are myriad references (at least 54) to the number 7 in Revelation. This is why we love our Protestant prayer beads, which are made up of four sets of seven beads. So while every anniversary has significance, this seventh anniversary is particularly sweet for me.

Thus, you should not be surprised that we are celebrating this anniversary with lots of sevens, all of it focused on sharing this milestone with you:

  1. A sale! Through August 7th, place an order in our Etsy shop and receive $7 off! Just use discount code MAGNIFICENT7 at checkout.
  2. Top 7 lists! For the next seven days I’ll be posting various Top 7 lists to celebrate our anniversary. Check back daily to see my Top 7 Lessons I’ve Learned, my picks for the Top 7 Prayer Bead Designs, and more.
  3. A photo essay! Prayerworks Studio has been – first and foremost – a journey of faith for me, so I’ll be sharing photos representing my journey. What are the top 7 moments in your faith journey so far? What do they look like? Capture them in words or pictures and share with us on Instagram or Facebook. Use #7journey so we’ll catch them.
  4. A giveaway! We will be giving away our Days of Creation Strands to 7 lucky folks. To qualify, participate in the “Top 7 Moments of My Faith Journey” photo essay listed above. Do this by next Sunday, August 7th and you’ll be entered into the drawing!
  5. A devotion! In honor of our 7th anniversary, I’ve written a new prayer bead devotion focused on trusting in God. I pray it will bless you in your faith journey. You’ll find it here.
  6. A MAJOR announcement! We have something really BIG brewing and we can’t wait to share it with you. Tune in next Tuesday (that’s seven days from now) to read all about it.
  7. Our deepest love and gratitude! Really. You have played a significant role in this journey, receiving the idea of praying with beads; sharing your own experiences, testimonies, and prayer bead photos; providing input into our bead designs, books, and retreats; helping to make General Conference 2016 prayer strands; and offering signs and God’s deep love. We are profoundly grateful, and look forward to continuing this faith journey with you.

Grace and peace,

Kristen and the Prayerworks Studio family