Happy Monday, Friends!  How was your weekend?  Mine was fairly chill.

This week we'll be reading pages 22-37.  I can't wait to start on it this morning!  Below are two of the first Bible verses for this week's readings.  






Prayer Requests

  • Pray for our military and military families, and the Wisconsin National Guard deployed in Iraq.
  • Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job that uses his talents.
  • Rita asks for prayers for her sweet daughters for their fall graduate school semester.  Pray for them to have a healthy and productive work/school/life balance.  
  • Pray for Christian leadership in our country.  Also pray that God will turn our hearts to him, and he will lavishly bless us with his steadfast love.
  • Pray for free and fair elections in the Unites States in every precinct! 
  • Please pray for travel mercies for Shanley Belle and Christopher. 
  • Please keep Rita's sister and youngest daughter in your prayers:  big life changes about to happen.  PRAISE UPDATE:  God showed his hand with a miracle with Rita's youngest daughter last weekend, which greatly helped her relax in peace over the life change her daughter is making. The transition has begun. They are blessed by Him.  She prays the transition continues peacefully and amicably.
  • Be in prayer for Carla's Florida  friends who lost 1/2 of their home. Today they received a forbearance on their mortgage payments until February 1st.  PRAISE GOD!
  • Let's pray that we are blessed by our Advent study.
  • Kitty asks if you could pray for Cissy’s emotional and mental wellbeing, please.  You may recall that she was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago.  She also requests that we pray for Eric also because he's miserable with his job.   Pray that he can find something suitable for him with insurance.



What are your plans this week?  I'd like to get a plan for Christmas shopping and start purchasing gifts.  I want to be finished shopping by mid-November.  


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill



 


Happy Friday, Friends!  What have you been up to this week?  I have been keeping very busy with chores.  I also took a hula hoop class and went to my weekly art class.  It's been a pretty good week!

What are you thinking about the devotional book so far?  I am enjoying it so much, especially the prayers.  My favorite this week was the one on page 10.  What I got from it was that I need not to focus too much on troubles because that's when I miss the "beauty and the brightness of a day" and the blessings that come with it.  I needed to read and pray that prayer, especially this week.  I have flagged it.  I've also included the scripture from this prayer below.

Do you have anything you'd like to share from this week's readings?







Prayer Requests:

  • Please be in prayer for those recovering from the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 
  • Pray for our military and military families, and the Wisconsin National Guard deployed in Iraq.
  • Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job. AI has taken away many jobs in his industry.  Mike might have the opportunity to redo a game with a friends.  Let's pray that this works out for him, and it will lead to more opportunities.
  • Rita asks for prayers for her sweet daughters as their graduate school semester is beginning.  Pray for them to have a healthy and productive work/school/life balance.  
  • Pray for Christian leadership in our country.  Also pray that God will turn our hearts to him, and he will lavishly bless us with his steadfast love.
  • Pray for free and fair elections in the Unites States in every precinct! 
  • Please pray for a job opportunity for our oldest daughter Shanley (her post doc will be coming to an end).  Also, our son-in-law Christopher is applying for a CMO position within the pediatric practice/company he works for.  Christopher felt good about his interview!  Please pray that God's will be done for their job opportunities.  
  • Please keep Rita's sister and youngest daughter in your prayers:  big life changes about to happen.
  • Be in prayer for Carla's Florida  friends who lost 1/2 of their home. Today they received a forbearance on their mortgage payments until February 1st.  PRAISE GOD!
  • Let's pray that we are blessed by our Advent study.



Do you have any plans this weekend?  We're going to a Fall Festival.


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill


 

Happy First Monday in our Advent & Christmas Study, Friends!

I am so excited about beginning Advent early.  We will be reading Sarah Young's Jesus Listens for Advent & Christmas beginning this week until the end of December.  What I love most about this book is that we will be praying quite a bit.  I've already started marking with flags a couple of my favorites that I will probably pray multiple times.  In Sarah's letter to us at the beginning of this devotional, she states that she often prays:

Jesus, help me relax in Your peace.
p. 5


We all need to pray this daily and often.  Our world is spiraling out of control, and our only hope for peace that surpasses all understanding is through staying in close relationship with Jesus.

Also on page 5, Sarah references Proverbs 3:5.   



I'm looking forward on Friday to sharing with you my favorite scripture and thoughts from pp. 1-21.  I want you to share with us your favorite takeaways in comments, too.



Prayer Requests

  • Please be in prayer for those recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.  
  • Pray for our military and military families, and the Wisconsin National Guard deployed in Iraq.
  • Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job. AI has taken away many jobs in his industry.  Mike might have the opportunity to redo a game with a friends.  Let's pray that this works out for him, and it will lead to more opportunities.
  • Rita asks for prayers for her sweet daughters as their graduate school semester is beginning.  Pray for them to have a healthy and productive work/school/life balance.  
  • Pray for Christian leadership in our country.  Also pray that God will turn our hearts to him, and he will lavishly bless us with his steadfast love.
  • Pray for free and fair elections in the Unites States in every precinct! 
  • Please pray for a job opportunity for our oldest daughter Shanley (her post doc will be coming to an end).  Also, our son-in-law Christopher is applying for a CMO position within the pediatric practice/company he works for.  He has an interview this week!  Please pray that God's will be done for their job opportunities.  
  • Please keep Rita's sister and youngest daughter in your prayers:  big life changes about to happen.
  • Be in prayer for Carla's Florida  friends who lost 1/2 of their home. Today they received a forbearance on their mortgage payments until February 1st.  PRAISE GOD!
  • Pray for the folks in Florida who will be impacted by Hurricane Milton later this week.
  • Let's pray that we are blessed by our Advent study.




With all the Halloween surrounding me both at home and in the community, I'm trying to get in the Christmas spirit for our study.
Our local coffee shop is already serving Christmas drinks, and I had an iced pecan latte with cookie dough cold brew.  It was delicious!


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill


 



Happy Friday, Friends!  And Welcome, October!!!



This week we read the final lesson in "one thousand gifts."   I admit that it was a bit of a letdown because lessons fifty-eight and fifty-nine were extraordinary.  But the message was important, especially considering Helene's damage to the Southeast:  

We become the love of God, blessing those He loves.
p. 204




This week's scripture:






Finis!


I hope you enjoyed one thousand gifts.  Overall I enjoyed it, and I liked Ann Voskamp's unique voice and perspective on the meaning of the eucharisteo and God's many blessings.


Prayer Requests

  • Please be in prayer for those recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.  
  • Pray for our military and military families, and the Wisconsin National Guard deployed in Iraq.
  • Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job. AI has taken away many jobs in his industry.  Mike might have the opportunity to redo a game with a friends.  Let's pray that this works out for him, and it will lead to more opportunities.
  • Rita asks for prayers for her sweet daughters as their graduate school semester is beginning.  Pray for them to have a healthy and productive work/school/life balance.  
  • Pray for Christian leadership in our country.  Also pray that God will turn our hearts to him, and he will lavishly bless us with his steadfast love.
  • Pray for free and fair elections in the Unites States in every precinct! 
  • Please pray for a job opportunity for our oldest daughter Shanley (her post doc will be coming to an end).  Also, our son-in-law Christopher is applying for a CMO position within the pediatric practice/company he works for.  He has an interview next week!  Please pray that God's will be done for their job opportunities.  
  • Please keep Rita's sister and youngest daughter in your prayers:  big life changes about to happen.
  • Be in prayer for Carla's Florida  friends who lost 1/2 of their home. Today they received a forbearance on their mortgage payments until February 1st.  PRAISE GOD!






Don't forget that our Advent Study starts next Monday!  The reading schedule for October is in the sidebar.


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill



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  Happy First Monday in our Advent & Christmas Study, Friends! I am so excited about beginning Advent early.  We will be reading Sarah Y...