In the previous entry we shared how I was entering a time of what my team is calling a 100-Day Step-Away. That time started on Memorial Day and this post was written before I left the office. The idea is to give my prayer partners direction in how to pray for my time. Let’s do that here:

• June 1–16: Pray for me to settle into new restful and contemplative spaces. I have a spiritual director who will be working with me through the 19th Annotation (an Ignatian spiritual practice) that will be guiding my time of contemplation, reflection, and restfulness.

• June 17–24: We will be traveling out west to host my son’s bar mitzvah. Pray for a wonderful and defining time for him, as well as a refreshing and renewing time with friends and family.

• June 25–29: I will be attending my first gathering, in person, with Yachad beYeshua, a group of Messianic believers who have become a defining lifeline for me and my own Jewish identity. This will be in Toronto. Pray for wonderful conversations, divine appointments, and little treasures around every corner.

• July 1–12: My hope is to be maximizing my time in the 19th Annotation and journaling well.

• July 13–27: Our family will be visiting the United Kingdom for a vacation and time to reflect on our own family narrative. The Solomon family is from Cornwall, England, and we look forward to visiting some of our ancestral roots.

• August 3–14: One of my best friends also happens to be on sabbatical this summer and we plan on spending time together with our families at his cabin in Maine. Pray for renewal and the joy of friendship.

• August 15–31: I will be finishing my contemplative journey through 19th Annotation and taking all my reflections and notes to craft my “sabbatical report” (an organizational requirement). This is where all the good stuff will be defined and refined. Pray for wisdom and clarity and direction in these notes.

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Throughout it all, pray for a list of life-giving projects around the house that I have been putting off for a couple years. I long to give space to these not because they “need to be done,” but because I always neglect these parts of my life in favor of the urgent. These 100 days should not be determined by the urgent, but by opportunity, so you can pray for that as well. Much of this is to be done and spent with my children this summer.

Thank you all for your prayers during this time!