The grass withers and the Flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

Prayer

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. - Matthew 7:7-8

I thought of this verse while looking at this photograph. It reminds me how important a prayer time spent with God is and how great is God himself.
How could God listen to our requests, see us seek, or hear us knock without us coming to him?
To me, prayer is a conversation between me and God; it gives me a sense of connection between us. Even though I don't have much much free time as a busy college student, I love the time spent with my Father and it is definitely not a wasted time. Yet one of the problems I am sometimes facing is finding time to pray. And so, one of the things I ask for when I pray is having enough time (can it ever be enough?) to pray. Matthew 7:8 has been very inspiring and encouraging to me. It is the assurance that God is not only an active listener, but also a gracious Father who loves his children. He gives me more than I could ever give Him - His word, his Son, the Holy Spirit, all the things around me, .... all that I need, including the time spent in prayer.

Malachi 3:3

We have been going through Malachi lately with our Girls Bible study group.
I am enjoying every word in that book and every moment I get to spend with my sisters in Christ. My friend Megan dropped this into my mailbox today:

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women
in a Bible study and they
wondered what this statement
meant about the character and
nature of God.

One of the women offered to
find out the process of refining
silver and get back to the group
at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an
appointment to watch him at
work. She didn't mention
anything about the reason for
her interest beyond her curiosity
about the process of refining
Silver.

As she watched the silversmith,
he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He
explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in
the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to
burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;
then she thought again about
the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it
was true that he had to sit there
in front of the fire the whole
time.

The man answered that yes, he
not only had to sit there holding
the silver, but he had to keep
his eyes on the silver the entire
time it was in the fire. If th e silver
was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a
moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know
when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered,
'Oh, that's easy -- when I see
my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat
of the fire , remember that God
has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His
image in you.

There is much truth in the story. I am glad that I know what a silversmith actually does :o)

I am glad that I know that going through all the trials and pain does something good. I am glad that God, my Father, is watching over me day and night.

Quiet & Beauty

When Clouds Touched the Earth...

Clouds...it seems that they take away the sun...yet dreamers still want to touch them, be part of them and sail the sky with them... just for a little moment.

Clouds show us the reality of life on earth - it rains sometimes.
They show the weakness of humankind - no individual can stop them. Even if ten or two hundred thousand people tried, they still wouldn't be able to stop them.

I have noticed, however, that even though it may be cloudy, there is still light outside. Clouds cannot neither hide the sun completely nor can they hide it forever. the sun is always the winner over any clouds.

It was when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit that clouds touched the earth. Yet the earth was never completely in darkness. God was always merciful to his people. When Jesus died on the cross, the sun rose way up high. Remember, the Son is always the winner.