Almighty God, we are all scattered here ready to receive Your Word for our lives today.  Clear away all of the distractions and bend our ear to listen for Your Spirit.  Break into the excesses of our lives so that we can stop playing games and start living the life that You would have us live.   We have much to learn Lord, so we ask that You cultivate, tend and nurture our minds so that we can be emptied of the garbage that prevents us from learning from Your Word.    Stop us from succumbing to fake affections and idle conversations so that we can recognize that we are all barren in some ways.  We are barren because of whatever life has thrown at us and we are thirsting for acceptance and love.   And You give us all that we need.  You accept us.  You love us.   And because You love us, we should love each other.  But we cannot love each other unless we love and respect ourselves.  So grow our faith in You and reveal Your truth so that we can understand that God does not make mistakes.  We are all sent to this earth for a purpose.    Our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit allows us to have hope.  Hope allows us to live knowing that no matter what happens God is in our side.   So when the thorns of doubt creep into our lives and attempt to convince us that we are a mistake and that God is an afterthought.  Let us remember, “for God so loved the world that He sent His only Son” to show us and to show the world what God has always known.  We are loved.  We are redeemed. And we are cherished by the One who has and will always love us.  It’s His truth that marches on.