Hi Reader,

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This past Monday, my wife and I walked to my favorite place to eat fruit.

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I was glad they still had their Christmas decorations up.

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(Actually, here in Turkey, they're New Year's decorations.)

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It's a fun waffle restaurant, with huge plastic strawberries hanging from the ceiling, and pictures on the walls of the owner with famous people.

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There's even a chocolate waterfall.

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Here in Turkey, waffles aren't eaten with maple syrup for breakfast.

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They're covered in chocolate and fruit (and sometimes have a scoop of ice cream on the top).

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But we ordered the healthy option: the fruit plate. Though one did have chocolate syrup on the top.😁

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Down the street from this place is another restaurant that, in the basement, has a "secret" prayer room--a Christian shrine.

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The prayer shrine is a small space, with lit candles and icons of Mary, Jesus, and saints.

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It's only open on Mondays. When we arrived, two people were there. When we left, one was waiting on us to leave so she could go in.

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From the entrance to the shrine, you walk down a few steps, and enter a small room.

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You can pray or light a candle. Or you can turn on the faucet to get water from the natural spring that is part of the shrine.

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I suppose people go there for many reasons, just like people pray for different things.

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I wonder if some people who visit this place go every week. Maybe it's something they look forward to--setting aside time to visit, almost like a mini pilgrimage.

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Maybe they anticipate the experience they'll have there: the prayers they'll say, the candle they'll light.

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There is value, I think, in having a place to go to pray. But many people don't have that. And going to a specific place to pray isn't part of everyone's tradition.

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Yet, we can all learn something from a place like this about the importance of intentional, devotional practices (whatever they are).

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Maybe you don't have a specific place you go to light a candle or talk to God.

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But do you (or could you) have a time each day where you pray or read a devotion?

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Here's something that can help you get started with that: It's a free, 7-day devotional.

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If you've already read it, could you do me a favor and share it with someone you think may like it--such as a friend or your pastor--by copying and pasting the link below?

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Link to copy and paste: https://johnchristopherframe.kit.com/adbd230a72​

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While it's great for individual reading for your own quiet times, the 7 days can be lengthened to 7 weeks for a small group study or Sunday School class. It's free for everyone and easily accessible.

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And you can type directly into it. Or you can print it, if you'd like.

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Here's the link again to share: https://johnchristopherframe.kit.com/adbd230a72​

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Thanks for being part of my reader community.

John Christopher Frame

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If a friend or family member forwarded this email to you, and you'd like to receive my emails, too, just click this link and add your email address: https://www.johnchristopherframe.com/get-johns-emails​

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