Today is October first, which just happens to be my favorite day of the year. October first marks the beginning of fall and great weather, earthy colors, boots and sweater season, fireplaces, and a lineup to all the fun holidays. I mark the day by buying candy corn and pumpkins.

This year, I’m marking October first in a new way: by introducing Prayerworks Studio with a new look, a new mission, and new projects. And I’m so excited!

First, you’ll notice our new logo. Mind you, we’ve been using it for a few months now, but as of today we’ll call it “official.” I loved our old logo so much, but after seven years I was ready for a change. With the new logo we still have three circles to represent prayer beads. They are connected – intertwined even – to show our own connection with God and each other. Indeed, their connection forms the heart of the logo: the symbol of the Trinity. The beads are outlined in indigo blue (because I’m currently obsessed with indigo) and filled with an aqua blue, since blue is the color of divinity. Red forms the center, the Trinity, the heart of God’s deep love for us.

Which leads us to our new tag line: “Be deeply loved.” This will come as no surprise to you long-time readers. In the past four years I have not been able to write anything without including the words “deep love.” Might as well as own it and make it my tag line.

But really, this tag line is a true sign of where I am in my journey. In the beginning, Prayerworks Studio was all about the prayer beads. But the prayer beads led me to the Academy for Spiritual Formation, which led to my healing from trauma, which led to the recognition that I am deeply loved by God. Once I got clear on that I couldn’t stop talking about it. I wanted everyone to feel the power and joy of God’s deep love as much as I did. Still, I knew firsthand that people don’t always feel loved by God, or they may not believe it or feel worthy of it. So gradually, little by little, I realized my focus had shifted. It used to be that spreading the message about Protestant prayer beads was the goal. Now, the goal is helping people recognize God’s deep love for them.  Prayer beads (and other ways of being still) are going to help us get there.

I am so excited about this! Pair that excitement with lots of free time (remember, I’m in the Studio full-time now!), and you get lots of new projects: a new podcast, a series of online retreats and workshops (including classes on prayer beads), new prayer bead devotions, new Deeply Loved products, and more! I’ll be releasing announcements about these over the next month.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your feedback. What do you think of our new logo? Of our new tag line and mission? What would you like us to cover in a podcast, online retreats, devotions, or blog posts? I’d love to know.

“Do not fear, for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace.” – Daniel 10:19

In God’s deep love,

Kristen