With the help of Ckori Jones and Ben Abell, our first Prayer Circle at the Diamond Collective took place Monday night. The thoughts and words of those sessions are built to expand into our communities and be shared with those we care about – so I figured it’d be smart to recap our sessions to you.
For those that couldn’t make it, can’t make it, didn’t hear about it, are curious about attending, or attended and need a refresher… this is for you. I invite you to once again, come and see.
On the first Monday of every month – starting April 7th – we will gather for an hour at 6pm at The Diamond Collective as the newest addition to the network of Baltimore Prayer Circles. All are invited. 1205 S Carey St Baltimore, MD 21230.
Any age, gender, background, understanding, reason, and personalities are welcome. If you already are a believer, come grow closer. If you don’t know what to believe, come open your heart. If you don’t know how to believe, start a journey with us. And even if you refuse to believe, but need an uplifting hand from your community, there’s a seat for you, too. Come and see.
The Diamond Collective serves as an indoor baseball and softball facility, housing multiple non-profits that use sports, life skills, and education to support underserved communities in Baltimore City. On April 7th, it will serve as a center for a community of faith to gather, share, minister, and be present in the faith we feel.
Prayer Circles are tools to unify belief through the Word, testimonies, thoughts, and prayer. The goal of the multiple Prayer Circles set up throughout the city are to pierce the canopy of darkness with rays of light. In hopes that enough light from enough people will start to drive change through our communities.
Ben Abell is the Director of the Prayer Circle movement, and he will be joining us for the first handful of gatherings. He’s been an instrumental faith leader in the Baltimore community for decades, and has graciously allowed us to carry on the torch of his vision into our spheres of influence.
Ckori Jones will be leading every Prayer Circle at The Diamond Collective alongside myself. Ckori has lead youth ministries, marriage counseling, deacon prayer meetings, and many other adventures to grow his faith. He is a co-owner of Brocar Properties, and a co-owner of The Diamond Collective building.
I personally get to explore a new avenue of my faith journey, which I’ve tried to hone in on, but can always grow in. I’m looking forward to diving deeper into learning and sharing, channeling my experiences sharing faith around the country. I’m excited to be more present, and I’m even more excited to see who joins us on this journey. We’ll be sharing more about how this came about when we get together soon.
April 7th, May 5th, and June 2nd… to start. 6-7pm. Hope to see you there.
Life looks different. For the first time, there is no routine, no rigor. There is open opportunity, looming question marks, and new beginnings. There is a need to submit.
Throughout the course of my athletic life, the process was in my control. The work gets put in, the lifts get done, the skill work gets completed, and you see the results that you work for. They’re recognized and appreciated by many, and you earn your satisfaction.
Then, you are pursued, and you weigh your options of schools, for example. For me, that was both high school and college ball. It gives you a sense of responsibility that you are in control of most outcomes, even failure, by owning the processes.
Now I sit in the transitional period of the job search, the search for expanding friendships with new people, and the search to strengthen my faith in the more challenging and uncommon ways. And in these experiences over this week, I can’t look to play God in my ways anymore. I have to submit to Him.
After another long hiatus, it makes sense to me to start diving back into what this site has always meant to me. It’s been a perfect outlet to express so many thoughts and ideas for years now, and usually through the most transitional periods of my life.
Over the course of the next 4-6 weeks, there will be a lot of change that ensues. While it could shape up to be one of the weirdest timeframes of my life, losing the routines, people, hobbies, and habits that the last decade of my life has been dedicated to, it makes sense to me to try to find peace through the lessons that these times will provide. Tonight, I explore the theme that I find all too commonly rooted in people when things look unclear, and that is fear.
There is really never a reason to fear, and introspecting where it comes from and how to combat it has been enlightening to me over the course of the past year, and I think it’s the ideal time to share what I’ve had to internalize to secure my own peace with living to the fullest and soaking in whatever moments I have as a student-athlete, and as a human being.
Usually, the message comes at the end, but today it’s right there in the title. It’s the key to growth, relationships, faith, and change. It’s often stated but rarely enacted. It’s what I’ve learned works best for me even if others cannot understand. It has given me consistent peace and confidence in a world of consistent aches and pains. It’s become my methodology.
Give your heart, keep your head.
What could that mean to me and you? And what does that really look like? Let’s take a dive into a couple experiences and the realizations behind maximizing every moment whether it goes your way or it doesn’t.
As I find myself sitting on a bus during a 7-8 hour drive through Alaska, I have realized it is one of those times for me to drain the thoughts I sit alone with to the rest of the world. The previous six months have been the cause of a lot of emotion for me, and have triggered a stream of lessons and reminders to keep my eyes up.
I strive to once again share those lessons and reminders with you all, because as I make sense of what my purpose and future hold, I find the people to continuously be at the center of it. Life is not about you. Meaning, my life cannot be about me. I don’t find myself living that way, but these past 6 months have shown me more than ever the importance of surrendering this great life for the benefit of others. Let’s dive in.
Towards the end of my last overview update post I expressed some of the topics that my experiences have lead me to learn about first hand. While everything might feel idealistic and smooth, that rarely tends to be the case. It’s what I show, but not always how I live. The first listed topic to come was Imposter Syndrome, which I find so fascinating. It’s something that allegedly 70% of all people have felt at least once in their lifetime, and once I realized that it felt like a ‘perfect storm’ type of topic to talk about.
For those that don’t know, imposter syndrome is “the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area,” according to Very Well Mind. It’s a branch off of the tree of self-doubt, it can create restlessness and nervous energy; and it links directly to perfectionism, social constructs, and perceptions. It’s one of the ‘other sides’ to success that many deal with, so why not bring it to the table when talking about sharing perspectives?
It’s a feeling that most athletes of the collegiate level and beyond feel often. I am not immune to the feeling myself. But, I’ve identified that I can break it down and overcome it. Let’s dive in.
What a crazy six months it’s been. It’s been my longest hiatus from writing in years, but with good reason. I’ve needed the time to recenter and refocus in trying to find who I need to be not only for myself but for those around me. I’ve had to learn more about my own power and influence within the world.
I’ll start by emphasizing that every identity I’ve always shared on this site has undergone some form of pain. That was necessary. I believe most of those feelings have been well documented on here; so what has it been like since then? This recent phase of experiences has dealt directly with working through those pains, physical and emotional, figuring out why things happen when they do, and living out a dominant mindset to continue to elevate myself and others in the process.
The last time I sat down to write I hadn’t found anything substantive to focus on. My mind was in a million places at once moving a thousand miles per hour; it was a therapeutic piece of writing. I’ve said it before, these words are meant for me just as they are for you.
I’m now writing from a different urge. An urge of potential excitement, maybe pride, definitely increased peace. It’s late at night and my mind is more controlled, but I’ve literally just been hit with a stream of thoughts that’s kept me from sleeping, so I just need to type this up and get them out. Sometimes our thoughts need to feel seen.
There are two perspectives (extrinsic and intrinsic) to everything that I’ve been looking at in the last couple weeks regarding my own experiences, and it’s heightened my focus and also my peace. I told you that I’d find some answers, but I had to do some living first.
This is almost a post with no direction, no goals, and potentially no message at the end. This borders on the most therapeutic writing I’ve ever done, and somewhat strives to show that there is power in vulnerability. I feel like I’ve had a post bouncing around in my head for the last month, along with a million other things, but could never find the clarity to confine it to one point or meaning.
I went to my knees last night over my bedside to pray my nightly requests and gratitude. I don’t typically take to my knees, but I felt the need to last night for some reason. I started my 3-5 minute routine the same way as always, asking for safety, asking for God to continue to bless our family.
Super 8 