College of the Ozarks First Lady Laura Lacey Johnson releases “Steadfast: A Guided Prayer Journal”

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — College of the Ozarks is pleased to announce the release of “Steadfast: A Guided Prayer Journal,” authored by Laura Lacey Johnson, First Lady of College of the Ozarks. Inspired by Colossians 4:2 – “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” – the journal encourages a rhythm of prayer through the structure of Pray. Watch. Thank.

“Most of us want to be steadfast or faithful in our prayer lives, but sometimes we need a little help starting a conversation with God,” Johnson said. “The pray-watch-thank prompts inside the journal help us pour out our desires, watch in awe as God answers our prayers, reflect on how God is working in our lives, and cultivate gratitude for everyday blessings and His unwavering faithfulness.”

Johnson hopes the journal helps readers slow down in a world of constant noise and ever-increasing uncertainty.

“It’s easy for our connection with God to become buried beneath the noise and busyness,” Johnson said. “God speaks more than we realize, and part of the blessing of prayer is recognizing His voice and noticing His fingerprints in our everyday lives.”

Inspiration for “Steadfast”

“Having a record of my conversation with God reminds me He is faithful,” Johnson said. “When I can flip back through the pages of my prayer journal and point to specific answers, it builds my faith. By remembering what God has done in the past, I find the courage to keep trusting Him with the future.”

Johnson’s inspiration for “Steadfast” came after the prayer journal she had used for years went out of print. “I found myself longing for a connection to a new one and imagining what I might want in a prayer journal if I could develop one,” Johnson said.

Throughout the development process, Johnson partnered with the College Press team. “They sharpened my ideas and brought the vision to life,” Johnson said.

A Ministry to Campus and Beyond

The journal serves as both a personal tool for spiritual growth and a symbol of the College’s ongoing mission to educate the head, heart, and hands of students in a Christ-centered community. Every purchase of the Steadfast prayer journal helps provide room and board scholarships through the Ozarks Women in Leadership (OWL) program at College of the Ozarks.  

“Mrs. Johnson’s prayer journal is a beautiful reminder to ‘pray continually’ as 1 Thessalonians calls us to do,” said Serenity Porch, junior public relations major. “I love to use the prayer journal every evening as a reminder of the blessings God has given me each day.”

Purchase Information

The journal is priced at $17.95 and is available at The Keeter Center gift shop or online at the College’s campus store https://store.cofo.edu  Proceeds from these sales go toward funding the OWL Room and Board Scholarship.

For more information, please contact the College of the Ozarks Public Relations Office at (417) 690-2212.

About College of the Ozarks

College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college, located in Point Lookout, Missouri, on a 1,000-acre campus. Christian values, hard work, and fiscal responsibility comprise the fundamental building blocks of the “Hard Work U.” experience. The College earns numerous accolades yearly, including No. 2 Best Performers on Social Mobility-Regional Colleges in the Midwest and No. 4 Best Regional College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025 and No. 3 Best Bang for the Buck by Washington Monthly, 2024. To achieve its vision, the College pursues academic, vocational, Christian, patriotic, and cultural goals. These goals are mirrored in School of the Ozarks, a laboratory school that completes the K-college model.

The Keeter Center — the College’s award-winning lodge, restaurant, and conference facility — earns awards consistently, including the TripAdvisor Best of the Best Award 2024 and the Readers’ Choice Awards 2024 from ConventionSouth magazine. The Keeter Center features historic lodging, fine dining, and meeting rooms. With more than 350 student workers, it is the largest workstation on campus.