I started reading Day 1 of Becky Tirabassi’s book yesterday, and it brought back memories of my college roommate, Amy. She had such a huge influence on me, and it’s only now, many years later, that I’m realizing it.

Here’s what Amy did. She started going to Campus Crusade for Christ meetings — and invited me to come! And why did I go? Because she told me there would be cute boys there! Even cuter than guys in the Lamda Chi fraternity! (No way…no way!)

At that point in my life, my keenest ambition was to become a Lamda Chi little sister. (Ha! Remember, Shannon?) Interestingly enough, I later became chaplain of the Lamda Chi little sisters — (OK, and it was fun.)

So, I followed her to a CCC meeting, because Amy made me laugh — we laughed all the time. And at the first meeting, there WERE lots of cute boys — and there was a group of them up front dancing around in raisin costumes to “I heard it through the grapevine.” (Um…I suppose it was some kind of skit.)

A couple of years later, Amy became engaged to one of those cute boys — and — of all things, he wanted to join the marines! So, to prepare herself to become a military wife, she started going to bed VERY early (before 10 pm), and getting up at 5 am to pray. I mean, she got down on her knees beside her bed in our dorm room to pray. Every morning!

Well, this new schedule was hard for me to get used to! I was a night owl, an English major with tons of books to read and papers to write. I had to find other places to stay up late to study — sometimes even hanging out in the bathroom, so I could have a light on.

Every morning…5 am. Amy’s up. Praying. One hour. She prayed for one hour.

What has God done with Amy’s life? She’s been married to the same godly husband for nearly 14 years, and they have five beautiful children. Because of their life in the military, they’ve moved all over the country — to many different states. In every home they’ve established, they’ve become leaders, godly influences on their children, and all those around them.

We’ve kept in touch, and I’m seeing now how precious she is to me — and how God put us together in the same room for two years because she had a burning heart then, and still does now.

Today I’m thinking — what kind of mom would I be now if I hadn’t lived with Amy? I watched her pray (out of the corner of my sleepy eyes); I’ve seen how she dug in roots during those long, quiet hours of prayer.

Her faith strengthened mine; is there anyone around me who needs an Amy?

Do my children see me praying on my knees? Is my faith influencing theirs? Are they going to grow up and remember one thing about their mom — that she prayed?

Not yet. That’s why I’m reading THE BURNING HEART CONTRACT. Something’s definitely going to change in my life by the time I finish it. I’m on Day 2, out of 21.

How about you? Has anyone seen you get on your knees in prayer lately?

There’s a really cool website that shows you the distance between any two cities in the world. It’s called How Far Is It? This can come in handy when you’re planning a trip or when you’re writing about a place you’ve been.

So, this morning, I discovered that I traveled 1,186 miles from my hometown to Glorieta, New Mexico, where God spoke to me. Yes, it took going that far! And I also learned that my elevation increased from 1,110 feet to nearly 7,500 feet. And that’s why I felt compelled to write about my mountaintop experience yesterday.

I went to the conference to learn how to become a better writer — and I must confess, to learn how to be more professional. Amateur writers can write whatever they want, and that’s fine. But professional writers can reach greater markets and earn a living at crafting words into sentences, and this is what I’m striving to do.

The first night of the conference, I listened to a dynamic speaker named Becky Tirabassi. She was all over the stage, like a jolt of energy — and she told us she’s 50 years old. Let me tell you, she has more zeal than a college cheerleader — and it’s contagious!

She shared how she used to be an overweight, frustrated youth worker — until she ended up at what she thought was going to be a boring seminar on prayer. But afterward, she was so moved that she pledged to devote ONE HOUR of her day to prayer — for the rest of her life.

ONE HOUR! Do you pray for one hour a day? How can anyone pray for one hour a day?

I listened to her and thought, Well, that’s worked out nicely for her, but I can’t do that. Who me? I’ve got way too much to do. I get up early enough anyway to write, and to devote an hour to prayer means I’d have to get up even earlier.

But the next night, God spoke to me. Two words. Burning Heart.

Oh no! I fought it! (Do you want to have a burning heart? The voice said to me. Then spend an hour with me every day.)

During her speech, Tirabassi talked about how she was inspired by reading about The Fellowship of the Burning Heart, a small group that began in 1947, at the home of famed teacher Henrietta Mears. The members of the group were three men, including Dr. Bill Bright.

Dr. Bill Bright! One of my heroes! At the time, Bright was a candy salesman — but he felt like God had called him to do something BIG with his life. Do you know what he ended up doing? He founded Campus Crusade for Christ. An organization that is responsible for sharing the Gospel with over 50 million people (including me).

An hour of prayer a day! The thought won’t leave me. I’ve bought Becky’s book, THE BURNING HEART CONTRACT, which is a 21-day challenge to begin this lifelong habit.

I’ll be talking about this more in the future, as I get into it. Here’s what she says in her introduction: “Those with burning hearts walk with Christ, hear His voice, receive counsel and instruction, love Him deeply, believe in His holiness, and are passionate to share Him with others.”

I want that. I really want that!