When some people tell me I’m unique, I think perhaps it’s a subtle way of telling me I’m weird. Like, not in a good way.

But as I’ve grown older, I’ve quit worrying so much about that and I’ve embraced my uniqueness. After all, God made me this way, and I have to believe He knows what He’s doing.

But I’m not the only one. Each and every one of us is one of a kind. We can’t really compare outselves. It’s not a matter of better or worse, it’s simply that we’re different from each other.

And yet we’re all created in the image of God—the beautiful, perfect, loved and lovable image of God. It’s OK to embrace the absurd, to celebrate the quirky, to let ourselves be who we are—and to encourage others to be their true selves. To do their own thing.

When you give someone the gift of a prayer prompt calendar, you’re not telling anyone how to pray, or even that they must pray. It’s a gift that allows you to share your faith without being preachy, and a way to encourage others to explore their faith in their own way. The prompts suggest a person or situation to pray about, without being rigid or dogmatic. Many are purposely written in a way to allow for many possible interpretations. They assume that the pray-er has a faith of some kind, but the calendars are not tied to any particular denomination or theology.

It is my hope that each person will use them to they build their own one-of-a kind, unique connection to the incomparable, one and only God. Which is why I think they make a great gift—one that will be used all year long, not just put away a couple weeks after the holidays.