My52WOW is Three Years Old!

I visited Urban Village for the first time during Week 22 of My First 52 Weeks; this morning, when I looked outside and saw the beautiful, crisp, fall Chicago day, I decided that taking a stroll down the street to visit my Urban Village church home would be how I would spend my worship time this morning. I always enjoy returning to be inspired by the pastor and the community and the wisdom being shared there. This week was no different. During the sermon, Pastor Coon focused the sermon on the concept of “praying without ceasing” –  on making your life a prayer. This mirrored something that my father taught me – that I shared in the introduction to my book:

Often, as we would close a phone conversation, (my father) would remind me: “Don’t forget to pray … make time to meditate.” He once told me, “Ekpe, your life should be a prayer—all the choices you make should honor the Creator.” Those are words to live by, words that he lived by. His quest for truth and wisdom was never ending … up until his last day on this earth.

This is something that I aspire to. I fall short…often. But it was lovely to be reminded of this goal this morning. Urban Village always blesses me. I am glad that my 52 week journey in 2010 brought me there!

As I was considering this after the sermon – it hit me – my52wow.com turned 3 on Friday! My first post on this blog was made November 1, 2010.

So, I am celebrating with a birthday blog post. My 52 Weeks of Worship continues to grow and change, as do I. I reread the book over the past few months, and continue to learn and re-learn the lessons that I learned from the initial part of the journey.

My spiritual life continues to be impacted by those lessons. My faith continues to be challenged. Life is good sometimes and challenging sometimes. But this community of understanding and respect across religious traditions continues to be one of the favorite parts of my life.

Thank you for sharing in the journey for 3 years!

Blessings to you on your journey.