Tuesday 2/28

Tuesday
Thankful for...
Those leather couches!  E was vomiting today and I was so thankful to just wipe that off my couch!  I'm also VERY thankful he didn't barf on my rug!

Study time...
As I sat down to read this evening I said a quick prayer, my only one for this rushed day of mine.  It was quick, so I could 'prepare' for study.  Then I started reading this chapter about prayer!!!
Alma 33 - These people want to know how they start acquiring faith, then Alma gives this lengthy explanation on prayer.  How do we start acquiring faith?  Pray.  There is no need for a building to worship in, there is no need for fancy words, just sincerity, a genuine reaching to Him.
V11 says "thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity... I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in the is my joy...". 
Are afflictions nessesary for sincerity?  I think sometimes yes, they are.  Plus through affliction and prayer we see a literal lifting and change, evidence of our faith, it is literal, which makes a mark on our hearts.
Should we pray when we aren't afflicted?  Of course, but then we face humbling ourselves, which is not human nature, so our prayers can become stale.
So, the beauty of affliction and trial is they are another means by which we call to our Father for refuge through our Savior.  They give us opportunity to seek and find.

Photo...