Happy Friday, Friends! First of all, I want to thank-you for all the prayers, cards, emails, calls, and text messages since my mother's passing. I could feel the Holy Spirit's comfort and peace at my mother's Celebration of Life. Thank you so much! God is so good, and I am so thankful for your willingness to show god's love through your kindness.
Everyone I requested to be present at mother's Celebration of Life was there. It was small and private, but due to the very cold weather it was not a graveside service like she wanted. She was always cold natured, so I think she would've understood. The flowers above were the altar flowers from my cousin Lori. It was a gorgeous arrangement, and I broke it down and made three separate arrangements (the one above is the largest of them).
This week's lesson is entitled "Savor His Favor," and its focus is Psalm 5.
I really shouldn't be surprised about God's timing. Psalm 5 was the perfect Psalm for me to read and meditate on while preparing for my mother's funeral and burial. A lament is a passionate expression of grief, loss, and mourning. The psalmist (King David) wrote it as a morning prayer for guidance and protection against his enemies. He probably wrote this Psalm as he was grieving the betrayal and loss of his son Absalom. I love that David prioritized morning prayer and worship: It really does set the tone for the rest of the day. I hope that you enjoyed the guided meditation for this Psalm, especially the reminder that God's favor is truly a gift as it is unearned, unmerited, and undeserved.
What are your thoughts?
I know I probably need to update the prayer requests. Please leave a comment or email me so I can get them up to date.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for Kitty’s son, Mike, who is excited about working on his own idea. Pray for Kitty that she can be supportive and encouraging to him as he shares his ideas and developments with her. He is such a good guy and needs something wonderful to happen in his life.
- Pray for Rita's daughter Megan as she finishes her masters program this semester. Pray that she will stay healthy, and that she will manage her time well for work/school/life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. Let's especially lift up our National Guard as they are deployed both here at home and abroad.
- Praise: Our Westie Finlay received a fantastic report from his ophthalmologist, and both eyes have healed well from surgery.
- Please pray for Kris's MIL because she has been having some heavy health issues, and Kris is currently her full time nurse. Pray that God will help and bless Kris as she cares for her MIL. Pray that other family members will step-up and will be discerning about what's best for her care.
- Kitty's younger brother is having health issues. Please lift him up in prayer.
- Continue to pray for Kris's husband Terry.
- Rita's HS Friend Pam because she has had numerous complications from her cancer surgery, and has had to have follow-up procedures.
- Pray for those in the path of this weekend's winter storms.
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I hope y'all stay warm this weekend and enjoy a warm drink and either a good book or movie!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends. I hope your first week of 2026 has been filled with peace. I am trying to find peace, and I just had to laugh while reading Psalm 33 due to the timing for me personally. But I have had my moments this week while driving, listening to praise music (especially CeCe Winans).
I will have to keep this post very brief because I need to meet mom's hospice nurse this morning, and I'm already running late. I need y'all to share and discuss in comments this week!
Here are the bible verses mentioned in this week's lesson. I chose a foggy graphic because we have had unprecedented dense fog for the past week!
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for Kitty’s son, Mike, who is excited about working on his own idea. Pray for Kitty that she can be supportive and encouraging to him as he shares his ideas and developments with her. He is such a good guy and needs something wonderful to happen in his life.
- Pray for Rita's daughter Megan as she finishes her masters program this semester. Pray that she will stay healthy, and that she will manage her time well for work/school/life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. Let's especially lift up our National Guard as they are deployed both here at home and abroad.
- Pray for my mother as she is under hospice care.
- Pray for our Westie Finlay. He had to have eye surgery in his other eye yesterday.
- Please pray for Kris's MIL because she has been having some heavy health issues, and Kris is currently her full time nurse. Pray that God will help and bless Kris as she cares for her MIL. Pray that other family members will step-up and will be discerning about what's best for her care.
- Kitty's younger brother is having health issues. Please lift him up in prayer.
- Continue to pray for Kris's husband Terry.
- Rita's HS Friend Pam because she has had numerous complications from her cancer surgery, and has had to have follow-up procedures.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy New Year, Friends!
How is your New Year going so far? We always stay in on New Year's Eve. We live in a community with lots of families, and the fireworks are a nonstop thing from about 7:30 until past midnight. It drives our dogs a little bit mad, but the kids enjoy them.
On New Year's Day, we always have collard greens and black eyed peas for luck. It's a Southern thing! But I cheated this year, went to Publix, and bought cans of both.
I'm tired, y'all! Hosting the holidays isn't for sissies.
I hope y'all had a chance to read the introduction and lesson one of Peace with the Psalms. The introduction states:
Our goal in this book is to help you appropriate the peace of God by leading you in meditating on the truths found throughout the book of Psalms.page 4
I must say that I love the imagery in the 23rd Psalm. As Christians, we've read it a thousand times, yet something from the lesson was a new thought for me. The part about where he "leads you along the right paths for his name's sake." Okay so I always got and accepted that God is leading us, and we are not wandering around like the Israelites in the desert. But the fact that there are paths already in place intimates that God has planned these paths for us, that they are there for us to join him on our walk if we're willing.
As an artist, I loved the way the lesson visually guided us through the Psalm. How did you feel at the end of the lesson? How was your breathing? I know I was much more calm, and I read it at least three times this week, and I plan on reading it again this afternoon.
Thoughts?
By the way, I purchased and downloaded the Abide Christian Meditation app. I haven't had a chance to play with it much, but I will let you know what I think after a couple of weeks. Do any of you have the app?
Here is the scripture from the lesson.
- Please pray for Kitty’s son, Mike, who is excited about working on his own idea. Pray for Kitty that she can be supportive and encouraging to him as he shares his ideas and developments with her. He is such a good guy and needs something wonderful to happen in his life.
- Pray for Rita's daughter Megan as she finishes her masters program this semester. Pray that she will stay healthy, and that she will manage her time well for work/school/life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. Let's especially lift up our National Guard as they are deployed both here at home and abroad.
- Pray for my mother. She is bouncing back a little physically, but she is only eating desserts. She's being difficult. UPDATE: She's in the hospital with pneumonia.
- Please pray for Kris's MIL because she has been having some heavy health issues, and Kris is currently her full time nurse. Pray that God will help and bless Kris as she cares for her MIL. Pray that other family members will step-up and will be discerning about what's best for her care.
- Kitty's younger brother is having health issues. Please lift him up in prayer.
- Continue to pray for Kris's husband Terry.
- Rita's HS Friend Pam needs us to start banking-up prayers now. Her oncology and reconstructive team of two surgeons will perform an estimated 12 hr surgery Jan 5 to remove at least half of her tongue (tongue cancer) and, minimally, lymph nodes on her right side of her neck. She will have skin grafts taken from her forearm and thigh to reconstruct. She's expected to be in the hospital a minimum of 10 days. It's a long road ahead for her.
I must have used this graphic for a lesson we had during the spring.
Our skies have been this blue the past week here in Central Alabama, but we're expecting lots of rain today.
I need lots of coffee this morning because I have an early hair appointment, and then I need to take down our Christmas tree today.
What are your weekend plans?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Merry Christmas, Friends! I hope you are having a lovely Christmas with family and friends. The stomach bug is all over Birmingham, and unfortunately, it has made an appearance in our home. The good news is that it only lasts for about 24-48 hours. I have been busy disinfecting everything in the house!
We have two lessons this week, and the first one is entitled "Crazy, Beautiful Life." I enjoyed this lesson because it was filled with examples of those living life to the fullest. There were two Bible verses in this lesson, and I think that the John 10:10 verse is one we should keep in our hearts at all times:
The other verse is from Ecclesiastes:
He has set eternity in the human heart.
~Ecclesiastes 3:11
I love the section about A Collector of Hearts. This might seem silly, but I play this game with God. He sends me hearts to remind me how much he loves me. I see them all the time, whether in bubble clusters, or in an iron pan drying on the stovetop, or examples in nature, like leaves or puddles. Try looking for them. Ask God to send you hearts, and he will do it!
The second lesson is entitled "Never Postpone Joy." Farrell reminds us of how two men (Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama) found and lived with joy during exile and imprisonment. My favorite quote from this lesson is:
Every day is a new opportunity to begin again!~the Dalai Lama
I think that's a great way to view life. Every morning brings the chance for a do-over!
I did not bake the love muffins because most folks around here are drinking plain tea and eating saltine crackers. But I will bake them soon.
I don't know if y'all noticed, but after this last lesson there a few more recipes and lists of Farrell's favorites from books to music to podcasts. I want to check out her favorite cookbooks!
I hope y'all enjoyed this book. I did! Next Friday we will begin Peace With the Psalms, and the first Psalm we will be reading is the 23rd Psalm!
Do you have any thoughts about the lessons?
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Rita as she mourns the loss of her sister. First Christmases without loved ones can be especially difficult.
- Please pray for Kitty’s son, Mike, who is excited about working on his own idea. Pray for Kitty that she can be supportive and encouraging to him as he shares his ideas and developments with her. He is such a good guy and needs something wonderful to happen in his life.
- Praise for Rita's daughter Megan for finishing her semester of the FNP program successfully! Just one more semester after a Christmas break! Let's keep up the prayers and get her over the finish line next semester.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. Let's especially lift up our National Guard as they are deployed both here at home and abroad.
- Pray for my mother. She is declining rapidly.
- Please pray for Kris's MIL because she has been having some heavy health issues, and Kris is currently her full time nurse. Pray that God will help and bless Kris as she cares for her MIL. Pray that other family members will step-up and will be discerning about what's best for her care.
- Kitty's younger brother is having health issues. Please lift him up in prayer.
- Pray for Kris's husband Terry. He is home from the hospital, but is still having difficulty eating. UPDATE: Terry had surgery Friday night (Dec. 26th). He did very well, and Kris is hoping he will be discharged today (Sat. Dec. 26th). Let's pray for a speedy recovery for Terry!
- Rita's HS Friend Pam needs us to start banking-up prayers now. Her oncology and reconstructive team of two surgeons will perform an estimated 12 hr surgery Jan 5 to remove at least half of her tongue (tongue cancer) and, minimally, lymph nodes on her right side of her neck. She will have skin grafts taken from her forearm and thigh to reconstruct. She's expected to be in the hospital a minimum of 10 days. It's a long road ahead for her.
- Please pray for travel mercies for Shanley Belle and Christopher as they drive home to Michigan tomorrow.
- Travel mercies for Carla and her family as they travel to rural Wisconsin. They will be traveling 12/24 through 12/28. (Internet is sketchy where they're going FYI.)
We had planned on going out for sips and trinkets this afternoon. I hope everyone feels like it!
Until next time...
Merry Christmas!
Ricki Jill
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