Happy Friday, Friends! How was your week? Mine has been very full and a little stressful. My mother fell at her assisted living facility, and she claimed to be badly hurt. She insisted on going to the hospital because she said she was dying. Her scans came back normal. Her medical team transferred her to the Geriatric Care Unit, which is a huge blessing. I think she will be there for a week or so, and visitation is very limited while she's there. Trip surprised me with a trip this weekend, and I'm stressing about traveling right now. Everyone, friends and family, are telling me to go. The social worker for that unit has promised to call me everyday with updates on Mom's progress.
I haven't been home much this week, but I was able to take books with me and keep caught up with Bible study, both here online and at church (or class started back yesterday). This lesson spoke to me so much. Entitled "What I Know to Be True" had me thinking a lot this week. I had a bad allergic reaction Tuesday evening (I'm sure it was probably stress-induced) and I cried out to God for help. I was not only asking for help for myself, but for my mother. I have tried two times (before this week) to have my mother admitted to the psych unit, and I asked God that if he thought it would help her to make it happen. They had told me Tuesday that there were no beds available, and it would take a while. A bed became available the very next day on Wednesday. What I know to be true is that God is so good, and he answers our prayers!
Farrell gives us a list of her Spiritual Anchors that remind her of who she is, who God is, and what her true purpose is. I found these very helpful, and she encourages us to make a list for ourselves. I have not done this yet, but I plan to do it when I come up for air during the next week or two.
Of course I loved this lesson because of the mention of Vincent van Gogh. His letters truly are lovely, and most of the ones I've seen are illustrated. I love illustrated letters!
A letter from Vincent to his brother Theo. In it he is describing an orchard painting he was planning to give to Theo on May 1st (Theo's birthday).
This letter is in the book: Vincent van Gogh: a self-portrait in art and letters
We visited the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in March. Here are a couple of the paintings we saw that were mentioned in the lesson.
Bedroom in Arles
1888
Oil on canvas
28.3 in × 35.4 in
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Fifteen Sunflowers
1889
Oil on canvas
37.4 in x 28.7 in
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The quote says: "When will you come and have coffee or tea with me? Soon I hope."
This was a letter Vincent had written to his brother Theo from The Hague on either Sunday, January 8th, or Monday January 9th, 1882
Van Gogh was a believer who struggled, especially with mental illness. Yet I do think he tried to "find the light" most days, even those when he was in the asylum in Saint-Rémy.
Another aspect of the lesson is the practice of Lectio Divina. It is a structured way to read scripture and then meditate on it, keeping still in order to listen to God's still, small voice. Have you ever tried this? I was introduced to Lectio Divina last year during one of our Bible studies, and one of our priests who practices this led us and taught us all about it. It truly takes discipline to remain still for several minutes without distractions. Farrell suggested the Beatitudes for this lesson.
What are your thoughts about this week's lesson?
Here is our Bible verse for the week.
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Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Pray for Rita's brother Tommy as he continues his therapies in Texas.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer. She started her chemotherapy treatments this week.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
- Pray that all real estate transactions for my mother will go through next week. UPDATE: One down, one to go!
- Praise: Kitty's 14 year old granddaughter, Ella, was baptized recently, and to her DIL, Ella’s mom, who is Jewish, for supporting her decision. Julie also supported Avery’s decision to be baptized two years ago. What a beautiful blessing!
- Pray for my mother's care while she is in the Geriatric Care Unit.
- Travel mercy prayers for us as we travel to see Shanley Belle and Christopher this weekend. We leave late this afternoon!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
I guess you can tell how much I love ribbon because I use it a lot in my decor and junk/tag journaling. I especially love crinkly seam binding ribbon.
Happy Friday, Friends. I hope y'all have had a good week. We are STILL dealing with issues concerning my mother's estate. I am hoping that things will be settled by the end of the month. We need a little normalcy!
What did you think about this week's lesson? I truly enjoyed it, and the timing of it (with the start of school this week for the kids in our neighborhood) made me nostalgic, reminding me of the ribbons I would put in our daughters' hair before school everyday when they were in elementary school.
The crux of the lesson is "getting up and carrying on" in the face of change and challenges. How do you renew your faith and maintain joy in the midst of the valleys of life? I've been thinking about this all week, and I think it starts with a new determination each and every morning.
I also appreciate Farrell's reading recommendations of books about faith that have given her hope through the years. I have read two of them: Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I highly recommend them! This week I started reading Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. In it, she discusses what it means to be a Christian artist, and the relationship between faith and art.
Below is one of my favorite quotes from the book so far:
“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”
My Bible teacher Betty sent me a reflection this week that I wanted to share with you. It is from Steve Garnass- Holmes. He writes about being filled with the "fullness of God."
The Works
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is God's pleasure to give you the entire realm. (Luke 12:32)
We ask for favors,
for this little victory, that little narrow escape,
and so often that's not what we receive------
because God gives us something else,
something greater: the whole thing,
the entire realm of God's grace.
We get this huge glorious planet,
the crashing seas and the rumbling mountains,
we get frogs and koalas and puffins,
and moon and stars and a sun that never forsakes us.
God gives us gravity that holds us, and color,
and food, and wind, and rivers.
We get the whole human family,
all our beauty and strangeness and woundedness,
our music and dancing and wild inventions.
We're given forgiveness and belonging and hope,
a world mostly unrecognized where we are loved
and blessed and made whole, however broken we are.
We receive grace, hidden in everything,
whether pleasant or painful.
We get God's steady presence, closer than our own nerves,
breathing with us, hurting with us, rising with us.
It is God's joy to give us the whole works.
Even in trying times, it's OK. Do not be afraid.
We've been given more than we need.
Here is this week's scripture:
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Rita has a praise concerning her brother, Tommy: He was discharged last Friday, and he & his wife flew to TX to be with family there, and he will continue PT and OT.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
- Pray that all real estate transactions for my mother will go through next week.
- Praise: Kitty's14 year old granddaughter, Ella, was baptized last Sunday, and to her DIL, Ella’s mom, who is Jewish, for supporting her decision. Julie also supported Avery’s decision to be baptized two years ago. What a beautiful blessing!
Late this afternoon I will be having coffee with a few high school friends.
I'm hoping we can go to the lake afterward because we have only been one time this entire summer!
Have a great weekend!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, and Happy August, Friends! How has your week been so far? Mine has been a little stressful dealing with my mother's estate. It has been the biggest mess, and she doesn't exactly have a cooperative spirit.
I'm doing a little side Bible study on patience. I need it!
This week's lesson was entitled "Hope Does Not Disappoint." I thought it was fabulous! I have been thinking a lot this week about what hope looks like. What does hope look like to you? I like the writing/journal prompts she shares in this chapter, especially number one:
What does hope look like for you? Create a list of hope-givers: a special person, a scripture, a song, or place. Refer back to your list when negative thoughts visit.~page 154
My first thought in answer to this prompt was y'all! I have seen how God has answered our prayers. The fact that y'all show up every week and pray for each other and encourage each other makes my heart full!
I am working on my list from this prompt, and I will post it on my refrigerator by my desk. Another thing that has given me hope is that in spite of the dire predictions for our farmers (we had monsoonal rains followed by extreme heat), we are seeing beautiful crops, especially peaches. Alabama is known for our Chilton County peaches, and I drew some this week. It has been a great summer for peaches!
We are getting to know young farmers and their families who are selling their produce locally through farmers' markets and community supported agriculture subscription boxes. These little families are also giving me hope because they are such hard workers and are so brave!
This week's Bible verses:
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Rita has a praise concerning her brother, Tommy: He was discharged last Friday, and he & his wife flew to TX to be with family there, and he will continue PT and OT.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
- Pray that all real estate transactions for my mother will go through next week.
- Praise: Kitty's14 year old granddaughter, Ella, was baptized last Sunday, and to her DIL, Ella’s mom, who is Jewish, for supporting her decision. Julie also supported Avery’s decision to be baptized two years ago. What a beautiful blessing!
Do you have any special plans for August?
The first two weeks for us will revolve around doing things for my mother. Then we are hoping to go on a weekend trip mid-month.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Good morning, Friends.
It has been a week...what can I say? Early Monday morning, I was on my way to a doctor's appointment, and I wanted to order Starbucks coffee via the app. It was turned off, which was strange because Mondays are the slowest day of the week at this store. So I thought I'd just go through the drive through, and when I approached Starbucks there were many emergency response vehicles. Apparently a lady drove her car into the building as she was approaching the drive through lane. It was a miracle no one was seriously injured because no one was outside on the patio, and no one was in the front part of the café. (BTW this is our local store where our daughter works.)
You can read more about it HERE. It was a Tesla. And that's all I'll say about that.
So our week started out with drama and stress, and unfortunately we had a real estate deal fall through, too. But I have had a few bright spots because I substituted for my art teacher while she's in London. And we got a few rain showers yesterday which was a nice respite from the heat.
How was your week? What did you think of the lesson? I admit that I didn't want to think about grief this week, nor did I want to read about it. Not my favorite lesson...but I did like the scripture she shared:
Actually, the beauty of this book is that you can go back and read other lessons, so I re-read last week's lesson because I liked it so much, and I also cooked the Poisson en Papillote Sunday night.
This is Trip's plate. I do not like olives, but Trip loves them. I put an olive tapenade on his fish with the olive oil, thyme, and cherry tomatoes. He loved it! I also served crowder peas, pink eye peas, and roasted vegetables. All were in our community supported agriculture box last week.
What was on your menu this past week?
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Rita requests we pray for Tommy, who had a stroke in late June. He is now in rehab, and needs encouragement to get as strong as he is able, and to be able to adjust to his life changes.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
I think I'm in the mood for a pour over this morning with a coffee bomb. Coffee bombs are supposed to be good for your brain!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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