How often do you think about talking to God. I am not talking about the stiff and odd "thees" and "thous" but just a conversation with our Father. In James 4:8 it says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." What better way to do that than to talk with God throughout the day. After all, he created us for his pleasure and wants to be in contact with us. Jesus modeled this virtue frequently when he came to earth. Our small Christian community has been meeting consistently for the last five years and one of the things I have noticed is how much better we are at praying aloud. We are much better at thanking God for our blessings and crosses. We are much better at asking God to lead us in our daily lives. We are much better at communicating with him and that comes from practice. I lost a friend yesterday to suicide. It had and continues to have a profound impact on me. I feel guilty for not being more present in his life but I do know that he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It reopens the age old question that we humans have about why things like this happen. Like the idea of the Trinity, this will remain a mystery until I see my Savior on the last day. Please pray for all of those who have experienced "sudden-loss." It is a terrible feeling of hopelessness. Psalm 31:9 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.