Every year millions of cards are shared around the world. While you spend your precious time searching for just the right design, picking up one card after another, battling the lady in the aisle that separates you from the card you want and weaving in and out of the way of others until ultimately you settle for one that seems to portray your heart (decently enough). 

To present a card that will be appreciated for approximately 30 seconds. We all know the recipient will likely only take a moment to read it just to be polite. And ultimately the sad reality remains that nearly all of the cards you gift this season will end up in a drawer or trash can, even if you just sent out the run of the mill "buy it by the box" set of cards. It's down right wasteful! ​

This adorable nativity scene notebook (found here) is the perfect way to ensure that we keep Jesus at the center of our celebration, while also giving a practical gift that will be useful and visible, as opposed to the drawer of hidden cards (we all have at least one). And if you don't have one we know where you put yours! 

In honor of Thanksgiving we want to share with you the newest addition to our Christian resource line up:
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​This is not your average gratitude journal. This Christian journal is specifically designed to keep our focus on where our blessings come from - God!
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​Each page features a place for the date, verse of the day, prayer of the day, a blessings list, and space for reflection. In the top left corner you'll see a cute design "Attitude of Gratitude" detailing the cross in place of the second T in gratitude. ​

We highly recommend following Your Praying Friend on Instagram where a verse of the day is posted each morning. Follow Here. Another helpful resource is the You Version Bible App. Download wherever you get your apps. The Bible app provides a verse for the day or simply open your Bible and let the Lord speak to you!
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​Whether you have 5 minutes or 50 minutes this journal allows for you to create a routine that works for you! Each page is identical in an effort to help this become a familiar and structured part of your day. This journal is also intentionally created with 90 pages specifically with a 3 month goal in mind. Think of what your life could look like 3 months from now, if you spent just a few minutes counting your blessings and thanking God every day. 
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Commit to writing in this journal every day for 3 months and then come back and tell us how your life has improved!

​Don't forget - it's a blessing to be a blessing! Share this journal with someone you love! You never know the big impact a small gift can have on someone! Whether it's a coworker, neighbor or friend. Give the gift of God and gratitude. And hey, Thanksgiving is next week! What's more perfect than a gift that celebrates the exact reason why we're gathered together? A gratitude journal is unique, thoughtful, and sure to be appreciated! 
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We're Growing!

As many of you know, Your Praying Friend was created by a Christian Substance Abuse Counselor in hopes of helping others find healing through Christ and community. 

Since the beginning that has been our goal and mission. Well, in order to continue to provide support and encouragement to those in need (free of charge) we are expanding our services! We have always had grand ideas of creating devotionals, workbooks, journals, and helpful resource materials.
​Recently, we discovered a way to make our dreams a reality!

Please help Your Praying Friend remain a free resource by simply considering us for your personal and gift needs! Do you need a new notebook, to do list, or journal? Please think of us when you shop! Someone you know have a birthday coming up? Christmas is around the corner. A friend is having a hard time. Consider giving one of our many thoughtful gift ideas! 
There is literally something for everyone and many more faith filled designs to come! 
​We are just getting started!
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You can support a Christian small business while still receiving fast and reliable Prime shipping! 
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​When you shop with Your Praying Friend you can trust that we not only care about offering quality products, but we deeply care about the recipients of those products. 
Sharing the love of Jesus is our top priority! 
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Not in the market for any reading or writing materials at this time - that's okay. 
It will cost you zero dollars to give us a like and/or a follow on social media! 

​“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.” 
― Anne Lamott
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When exploring sobriety it can be helpful to ask ourselves questions. Drugs and alcohol have damaged our brain's ability to naturally think rational thoughts. Essentially our brains have been hijacked and reprogrammed to aggressively seek out artificial rushes of dopamine. So instead of trusting our initial reaction or judgement it may be beneficial to take a moment and evaluate whether something is helpful or unhelpful to our recovery. This is the practice of being mindful of our thoughts and the choices we make. 
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​There is so much emphasis put on helping and celebrating those in early addiction recovery. Think about the out pour of support and encouragement when loved ones see that you are serious this time. Or the great amount of effort put into welcoming you (the "new comer") at the meetings. And of course the new awakening within your soul that recognizes the importance and necessity of fighting to stay sober each and every day. This is beautiful and an extremely beneficial part of the recovery journey. 

​But what happens when the newness starts to wear off? What happens when you've achieved 2-5 years of sobriety and your loved ones are no longer checking on you daily/weekly? What happens when you are no longer the new comer, but instead you're the sponsor? You're the one that others look up to, the one that inspires the group, the one that "made it." A lot of pressure can be felt at this stage of recovery. The every day stresses of responsible adult life can sometimes still be too much for a person in this stage of recovery. Guess what? That's okay. You're human. You have good days and bad days. You still have struggles and short comings. You are still very much a work in progress. It's wonderful that 2-5 years into recovery you have all the knowledge and tools necessary to be abstinent forever, but like any other human (especially one with an addiction history) your mind still sometimes whispers unhelpful and even harmful words of discouragement and temptation. Remember how you evicted those thoughts in the beginning. You can't let them live in your mind rent free now!

​Furthermore, it is important to point out that while 2-5 years of sobriety is a significant period of time - it is still considered the maintenance stage of recovery. In this stage an individual still has to work very hard to prevent relapse. They must maintain the healthy lifestyle changes they've implemented such as getting adequate sleep, exercise, and nutrition. They must continue to place a priority on sober recreational activities, growing their relationship with God, maintaining healthy relationships with friends and family and avoiding toxic relationships. While they do not feel the urge to relapse as often as they once did, they are not out of the woods, per say. A high risk situation, a lapse in judgement, an emotional day, a particularly stressful event, or any combination of a multitude of possible circumstances can lead to a person with years of recovery choosing to relapse.
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Today is a special day in American History. 
When we look at how and why America has been such a successful nation among all others it is evident that our founding fathers had the divine inspiration of God guiding them.
They read their Bibles and formed societal structures based on what they read. 
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​In today's society it is controversial to say that you are proud to be an American. 
Picking apart our nation's flaws is much more popular these days. 
For those that prefer to criticize- we challenge you to take a moment and consider what kind of nation you would have created if you were given a blank slate some 200 years ago. 
Or what other country in the world do you feel has a better system in place today?
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Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution far surpass any other forms of government that have been tried throughout history. ​
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Here at Your Praying Friend we are
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​Take a listen to a true historian share how special America really is:
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​In light of the recent court decision we would like to share that there always has been and always will be alternatives to abortion. 
We understand that an unplanned pregnancy can cause an array of emotion and we want you to know there is help. 
If you or someone you know is facing an unplanned pregnancy and they feel as though abortion is the only solution please share this list of resources with them. 
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In a society that tells us there are no differences between men and women and in fact there are possibly hundreds of different genders - let's ground ourselves in reality - God created men and women and gave each gender special and unique characteristics.
​Now that's something worthy of celebration this month!
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I don't know how it is where you live, but in St. Louis there are rainbow flags in many yards year round; however for the month of June you see them everywhere, all the time. In the windows of businesses, parades in the streets and groups of people riding around on golf carts decked out in rainbow decor.