December 13, 2003
Dear Family & Friends,
I am excited to be writing to you on my new computer...a
Pentium 4 with Windows XP....I'll spare you all the
details!!! Most importantly I finally have a color
printer and a CD burner...both essentials for my
business. I am truly indebted to my brother-in-law, Dave
Ternes (Crystal Marketing Group), for finding the deal
of the century that made this purchase possible even on
my limited income. Not only did he do all the research
to find me just what I needed at the very best price,
but he ordered it from Dell for me and even came over to
install the additional memory and set up the hardware.
Now that's full service! I was also extremely blessed to
have my software installed and all my files transferred
from the old computer to the new one by my friend Doug
Stitt who came all the way from Cleveland to help me
out. He even provided training on Windows XP, not to
mention all the system maintenance functions I should
have been doing all along but didn't even know about!
Another major accomplishment this month was getting my
health insurance coverage set up. With my COBRA benefits
completed at the end of this year I was very concerned
at the prospect of researching and selecting my own
policy. My fears were quickly calmed by Jim Daly, (MML
Investors Services, Inc.) a friend and member of my
church who immediately emailed me following my mention
of health insurance needs in my last monthly update.
How's that for an answer to prayers?! He patiently
provided many quotes, explaining the pros and cons of
each one and helped me reach the best decision for me
right now. After looking at my income statement for the
year and the costs that lie ahead I got pretty
discouraged about my ability to make it financially. Yet
it seemed God was calling me to continue to trust. In
the midst of my despair I asked for yet another sign of
God's faithfulness to me. Within hours I had a directee
give me a gift which amounted to the first month's
health insurance premium. Enough said!
I am happy to report that my website
(Prayer-In-Motion.com) is now under construction by my
dear friend Sherry Perkins (www.raindroptherapy.net). We
had our initial design meeting last weekend and have
lots of great ideas flowing. I have also begun dancing
and meeting with Christian Dance Network, a wonderful
group of women led by Joan O'Connell whose mission is to
teach Christians to embrace dance in personal and
corporate worship. It is truly an inspiring and
nourishing time for me. Check out their website at
www.christiandancenetwork.org.
I was blessed by an additional directee this month,
bringing me to a total of 6 right now. My fellow
spiritual directors at St. Francis and I conducted a
workshop on spirituality in November which helped to
spread the word on what spiritual direction is all
about. I also conducted another introductory session on
praying through movement at a women's retreat at
Manresa. It was very well attended with powerful
movement of the Spirit present and lots of interest
expressed.
I continue to be blessed with such love and support from
so many. Thank you! I wish all of you a truly blessed
Christmas, filled with all of God's gifts, but most
especially His love.
Let the Spirit move you!
Janene
November 12, 2003
Dear Family & Friends,
I am reporting in on yet another month of being showered
by the gifts of family and friends helping me on this
journey. I am the proud recipient of a new logo designed
by my dear nephew, Chris Rogers (Little Man Group), a
talented artist. He patiently worked with me from the
beginnings of a vague idea of what I wanted through to
the end result which really captures the spirit of what
I do. He designed business cards, stationary and note
cards with the creativity that will enable me to be
recognized in my marketing efforts. My ever-faithful
friend Mary Shindell (Ensure Technologies) once again
came forth and redesigned my brochure to include the new
logo and layout. My brother-in-law, Bill Ternes (Great
Copy Company), did a masterful job of printing
everything producing truly professional materials. In
the interim another brother-in-law, Jim Ternes, produced
mailing labels and business cards on his computer for me
to use while everything was being completed. I was also
blessed by an hour of free legal advice from attorney
Julie Kruze who donates her time through the Ann Arbor
Chamber of Commerce to assist new businesses in their
startup activities.
After two years of intensive study and practice, I was
commissioned this past Saturday as a Spiritual Director
at a most beautiful and moving ceremony at Columbiere.
The Spirit flowed through me as I presented my prayer
through dance, my humble gift of thanks to God,
classmates, family and friends. I am ever grateful to my
friend Noraleen Renauer for finding me just the right
song, even when I refused to admit it for several weeks,
and to my dear mentor and friend John Durbin (Dance
Theatre Studio) for his encouragement and teaching which
enabled me to create and accomplish the movements for
this inspired prayer. It was truly an amazing time for
me as I felt God's Presence as well as a connection with
all those present.
I conducted workshops for both ends of the spectrum in
October, beginning with a program for the St. Francis
Seniors group. They were a lovely group of men and women
who fully embraced this form of worship. I was
privileged once again to be God's vehicle in touching
some of them deeply as they connected with God in a new
way. Thanks to Scott Wright at St. Francis for this
opportunity. The senior presentation was followed the
next week by a series of programs for the children in
the St. Francis religious education program. I was truly
blessed to guide approximately 300 children ages 5
through 10 in a new way of praying. The littlest ones
were so open and free to express themselves to God in
ways that brought tears to my eyes. I am grateful to
Ellen Ward, Religious Education Director at St. Francis,
for this opportunity to present my workshop as well as
her assistance in providing music.
New business booked this month includes participation in
a Women's Wellness Day in the middle of the state in
January and a workshop for the women at St. Columbine's
on Valentine's Day. Additionally I will be participating
at another women's retreat at Manresa this Saturday. My
focus for November will be intensive marketing with all
my new materials as I seek to fill out my schedule for
the coming months as well as researching health
insurance options. I thank you all for your continued
prayers, support and encouragement both personally and
professionally.
Prayer in Motion...Let the Spirit move you!
Janene
October 5, 2003
Dear Family & Friends,
It's time to report in after another truly amazing
month! I began September with my friend Sherry Perkins
(Webwelder2002@yahoo.com) registering my domain name,
Prayer-In-Motion.com. I also set up a business bank
account for Prayer In Motion, LLC at TCF Bank and after
a short summer break returned to dance classes (6 per
week!) at Dance Theatre Studio. The owner, John Durbin,
has been a godsend, allowing me to do computer and
office work in exchange for classes.
At the rather insistent urging of my career counselor,
Jim Danielski (Career Planning Specialists) I decided to
send out a press release announcing my new business.
Once again my friend Mary Shindell came to the rescue
and helped me create an excellent one which I emailed to
25 newspapers, magazines and Christian radio stations.
About this time it dawned on me that I was in great
danger of missing the October 1st deadline to complete
the coursework for my spiritual direction program, which
would have delayed my commissioning another year I
finally decided I couldn't do everything and turned the
marketing over to God.
With God in charge, the most amazing things started to
happen!!! My next door neighbor, Bill Mangold, who works
for the Saline Reporter hand carried my press release to
his editor. They agreed to run my picture and the entire
press release in the September 25th editions of the
Saline Reporter and Milan News-Leader. On September 15th
the Ann Arbor News ran a short article under their New
Business section. Steve Raphael, reporter from Business
Direct Weekly, saw the article and tracked me down. He
asked to interview me and through our various
discussions and emails he created the most amazing
story, even sending a photographer to the house. He
really captured the essence of my spiritual journey and
the support I've received from all of you, along with
the stark realities of a business startup.
All the while the phone was ringing with people booking
dates with me. I am scheduled to present a whole weekend
workshop at Manresa June 4-6, and to provide an evening
for the Sisters of Mercy associates at the end of April,
and was asked to present a short introductory program at
the last minute yesterday at a women's retreat at
Manresa. Guided by the Holy Spirit I was also led to
attend a taping at WMUZ, a Christian radio station,
where I was interviewed briefly on the air by Robin
Sullivan and had the opportunity to tape some of my
story, hopefully to be shown at their 20th anniversary
celebration on October 17th. God is an awesome marketer!
I might just leave this part to Him!
And, in case you are wondering, I did write all 4
papers, completing the coursework requirements for the
spiritual direction program with a few days to spare. We
had an internship celebration mass where I was honored
to present one of my prayerful dances to the class,
giving back the gift of praying through movement that I
had received through this program, to those who have
walked with me on this journey. I will be officially
commissioned as a spiritual director on Saturday,
November 8th and will have an opportunity once again to
share my gift of praying through movement with all of
you who are able to attend.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and
encouragement. Life has certainly been a wonderful
adventure since taking this leap of faith!
Prayer in Motion....Let the Spirit move you!
Janene
August 31, 2003
Dear Family & Friends,
It is hard to believe it has been a month since Prayer
in Motion became a reality. Thank you for all of your
prayers, good wishes, and offers of support. I am truly
blessed by so many who care so much for me!
No sooner had I sent my message out and offers for
assistance and ideas came flooding in from many of you.
My friend Mary Shindell offered to help me create a
brochure to advertise Prayer in Motion. In a matter of
hours we went from a plain sheet of paper to a very
professional piece. Truly a miracle! Her husband Dav
scanned in a picture from my studio dedication and
painstakingly cut me out from the numerous people in the
background to provide a temporary logo for the brochure.
My friend Noraleen Renauer (Turning Point Life Coaching)
spent hours helping me fine-tune the wording and my
brother-in-law Bill Ternes (Great Copy Company) provided
the printing and folding.
Even before I had a brochure though, my St. Francis
family supported and received me lovingly. I met with
Charline List, Director of Adult Education and was hired
to present a parish-wide talk on Monday, January 19,
2004, followed by a Saturday workshop on February 7th at
St. Francis. Then Scott Wright, Parish Social Ministry
Director, met with me to present a short program to the
St. Francis Seniors group on Tuesday, October 14th.
After talking to my home parish, it was time to move out
to other locations. I was struggling with how to go
about it, not having much marketing or sales experience
under my belt. As the fear mounted I could only turn
myself to prayer, calling on God who "got me into this!"
to somehow keep me moving. In pretty short order my
prayers were answered with an email "out of the blue?!"
from my friend Karl Young, offering to share a marketing
data base tracking system he put together. We met
yesterday and armed with these tools, a short course on
marketing & sales from the wisdom he has gleaned over
the years, and some wonderful scriptures he put together
for me to fight against the fear, I am ready for my
initial marketing campaign! My target markets will be
churches, retreat centers, women's groups and private
schools
In addition to help in the sales and marketing area I
have also been the recipient of a wonderful gift on the
finance side of things. My friend Dave Myler (Myler and
Associates) offered to consult with me on the startup
aspects of my business. In a few short hours he gave me
a course in Finance and Accounting 101 and filed the
Articles of Organization with the state of Michigan. As
of August 28, 2003, Prayer in Motion is now a Limited
Liability Corporation, Prayer in Motion, LLC!
In addition to the above, I attended a seminar on
starting your own business through the Small Business &
Technology Development Center, set up a business email
address (PrayerInMotionJT@aol.com) and changed the
message on my home answering machine to reflect my new
business. So, August has been a busy and productive
month, one continually filled with God's Presence made
manifest through all of you. Thank you for all the ways
you continue to love, support and bless me!
Prayer in Motion...Let the Spirit Move You!
Janene
July 29,
2003
Dear Friends
and Family,
I am excited to be writing to you on my new computer...a
Pentium 4 with Windows XP....I'll spare you all the
details!!! Most importantly I finally have a color
printer and a CD burner...both essentials for my
business. I am truly indebted to my brother-in-law,
Dave Ternes (Crystal Marketing Group), for finding the
deal of the century that made this purchase possible
even on my limited income. Not only did he do all the
research to find me just what I needed at the very best
price, but he ordered it from Dell for me and even came
over to install the additional memory and set up the
hardware. Now that's full service! I was also
extremely blessed to have my software installed and all
my files transferred from the old computer to the new
one by my friend Doug Stitt who came all the way from
Cleveland to help me out. He even provided training on
Windows XP, not to mention all the system maintenance
functions I should have been doing all along but didn't
even know about!
Another
major accomplishment this month was getting my health
insurance coverage set up. With my COBRA benefits
completed at the end of this year I was very concerned
at the prospect of researching and selecting my own
policy. My fears were quickly calmed by Jim Daly, (MML
Investors Services, Inc.) a friend and member of my
church who immediately emailed me following my mention
of health insurance needs in my last monthly update.
How's that for an answer to prayers?! He patiently
provided many quotes, explaining the pros and cons of
each one and helped me reach the best decision for me
right now. After looking at my income statement for
the year and the costs that lie ahead I got pretty
discouraged about my ability to make it financially.
Yet it seemed God was calling me to continue to trust.
In the midst of my despair I asked for yet another sign
of God's faithfulness to me. Within hours I had a
directee give me a gift which amounted to the first
month's health insurance premium. Enough said!
I am happy
to report that my website (Prayer-In-Motion.com) is now
under construction by my dear friend Sherry Perkins
(www.raindroptherapy.net). We had our initial design
meeting last weekend and have lots of great ideas
flowing. I have also begun dancing and meeting with
Christian Dance Network, a wonderful group of women led
by Joan O'Connell whose mission is to teach Christians
to embrace dance in personal and corporate worship. It
is truly an inspiring and nourishing time for me. Check
out their website at www.christiandancenetwork.org.
I was blessed by an additional directee this month,
bringing me to a total of 6 right now. My fellow
spiritual directors at St. Francis and I conducted a
workshop on spirituality in November which helped to
spread the word on what spiritual direction is all
about. I also conducted another introductory session on
praying through movement at a women's retreat at
Manresa. It was very well attended with powerful
movement of the Spirit present and lots of interest
expressed.
I continue to be blessed with such love and support from
so many. Thank you! I wish all of you a truly blessed
Christmas, filled with all of God's gifts, but most
especially His love.
Let the Spirit move you!
Janene
