Interrupted Prayers

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**
 
    Often are prayers are interrupted. They are interrupted by another thought, they are interrupted by people, someone needing us and they are even interrupted by sleep (admit it, we’ve all fallen asleep praying!).

    In these times it is tempting to abandon our prayers. It is tempting to chalk them up as wasted. It is tempting to beat ourselves up for having a bad though interrupt these holy prayers or for exhaustion to take over. Can we be more disciplined? Yes. Can we find better different ways of prayer? Yes.

    No prayer is wasted and I encourage you to see interrupted prayers as opportunities.

    As your prayers are interrupted, ask God for the conversation “to be continued”. Life has interruptions, some you can decrease and some you cannot. I encourage you to ask God to remind you of your previous prayers and return to the conversation. He is ready for prayer anytime and your prayers are not wasted.
 
**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

Redefining Beauty

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    The theme of beauty has been on my mind and heart the past week. I have been challenged because I often equate beauty with function and usefulness. Something is beautiful because it offers me something. I have such a shallow view of beauty and am often too lazy or busy to look deeper. The disciples even considered Mary’s expensive sacrifice as a waste. Jesus called it beautiful. (Matthew 26:6-13)

    I have also been reminded of the beauty of God, the beauty of resurrection and the beauty of new life.

    God’s eyes that see to the deepest parts of creation and sees something for all the richness, glory and beauty it has been created with. The beauty of God stands in stark contrast to my idea of beauty.

    I need a reformation, a redefinition and new understanding of beauty; beauty that begins and ends in God Himself. I need a beauty that is not calculated by usefulness but understood through the eyes of God - beauty that is true, rich and never-ending.

    How do you see beauty? How might Jesus change the way you define beauty?

Have more than two minutes? Spend some time in the story of Mary of Bethany and Jesus respond to her in Matthew 26:6-13.

**Sit in silence again for as long as is available to you.**