Happy June, Friends!
Wow, it has been the best week of my life! My Little Starling was born, and I'm a grandmother!!! :D
Y'all.....full disclosure....I'm distracted! All I've been doing is looking at photos and shopping.
I'm sorry that this lesson is going to be brief, but it actually has less to do with Starling and more to do with the fact that they began our bathroom demolition this week! I must admit that although they did an amazing job (especially cleaning up the mess), I had to get our elderly dogs away from the noise.
Another distraction has been the disappearance of our neighbor, Weston Higginbotham. The Higginbothams live directly behind us (our backyards touch). Y'all might have seen on national news or in the paper about his disappearance while on a family trip to Japan. He's twenty years old, a student at Auburn University, and is tall and very blond. He would certainly stand out in Japan. He's been missing for a week now, and I cannot imagine the hell his parents Keith and Nancy are going through right now.
So I want to say I'm sorry that this post is NOT one of my best ones. But I love the gist of the lesson:
Let these truths of the Psalms become "ear worms" to comfort your heart and your soul.
I want to pray this week's verse from Psalm 59 for the Higginbotham family.
Prayer Requests
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. Continue to pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- Pray for Kris and Terry as they decide where to live when they retire.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Tim was fired for his job after 17 years on at the fire department. Please say a prayer for Tim that he can get another job quickly. He is devastated by all of this.
- Carla has an extended family member stationed in Kuwait named Haley. She is her cousin Steve's daughter. Please pray for her safety!
- Carla's Sam has several Wisconsin Guard friends stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Sam had an update for us from his teammates who are currently deployed in the war zone. Please be in prayer, they have been bombed several times. Continue to pray for safety.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Mike is off of pain meds for several weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions. Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- Kitty would like for you to pray that her daughter sells her barndominium and can find a home closer so that she’s not driving two hours a day.
- Pray for my health as my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome has come back in full force. UPDATE: I will be seeing an allergy specialist Tuesday.
- PRAISE: My Little Starling is doing well, and so are mom and dad. She's wee (wearing premie clothes), but she is thriving.
- URGENT: Please pray for the Higginbotham family as they travel home from Japan. Pray travel mercies and that the Holy Spirit will comfort them as they grieve.
- Please pray for Kitty's brother who has not been doing well, and her sister who's been his caregiver.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, My Lovelies! I hope you have had a nice week. I spent time going to wellness appointments to get them out of the way before our granddaughter is born. I'm also having a few allergy issues that need to be resolved before I can travel.
What's new in your world? I've heard from some of you this week, and we all have so much going on in our lives, and many of us are caregivers for multiple generations in our families.
We can get through this. God never leaves us! He is always by our sides. Like our Psalm reminds us this week:
[God] will sustain you.
I also appreciated the gentle reminder of putting on the Full Armor of God. We have got to do this daily, Friends. God in his grace has been so good to us that he has given us everything we would ever need to stand firm. We can do it!
So this is two weeks in a row I've been depending on the prayers for our lessons. They are most excellent!
Prayer Requests
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. Continue to pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Tim was fired for his job after 17 years on at the fire department. Please say a prayer for Tim that he can get another job quickly. He is devastated by all of this.
- Carla has an extended family member stationed in Kuwait named Haley. She is her cousin Steve's daughter. Please pray for her safety!
- Carla's Sam has several Wisconsin Guard friends stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Sam had an update for us from his teammates who are currently deployed in the war zone. Please be in prayer, they have been bombed several times. Continue to pray for safety.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Mike is off of pain meds for several weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions. Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- PRAISE: I am going to be a grandmother. I am so excited!!! Please be in prayer for Shanley Belle and Christopher as they prepare for parenthood, and pray for my little precious granddaughter. I'm calling her my Little Starling! UPDATE: She will be born by Wednesday at the very latest.
- Kitty would like for you to pray that her daughter sells her barndominium and can find a home closer so that she’s not driving two hours a day.
- Pray for my health as my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome has come back in full force.
- Pray travel mercies for Trip this weekend. He's going to Nashville for a business meeting.
I've been trying to make myself slow down, so I'm doing a lot of "analog" activities, including making coffee with a pour-over set-up, like this one. More later!
Have a blessed weekend and week! I love you all!!!
Please check your emails for updates.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! Boy, it has been a week. I sincerely hope yours has been better, LOL! It has been a week of three dental appointments, and my dentist put the final filling on my crown yesterday. I'm still in pain, and I had to be fitted for a night guard because I'm clenching my teeth in my sleep: That's what's been causing my pain, apparently.
But I have faith that this, too, shall pass!
I need to be in tippy top Grandma shape because Shanley Belle will be delivering very soon! :D
I had to laugh when I read the title of this week's reflection: "Are You Weary?"
Well....YES! Thanks for asking! *haha*
I love this lesson so much. I have flagged it for the end of the year because we will repeat a few of the lessons to finish out the year. Y'all need to do the same because I think we will each get to pick at least two lessons!
Life is a battlefield.
How many of y'all kept singing Pat Benatar's song from the 80s while reading this lesson? I know that the lyrics are "love is a battlefield," but I still kept humming it to myself. It has caused me an ear worm, or a song you can't get out of your head! But what's wonderful about God is that he absolutely can give us rest when we are weary, when our physical rest just isn't enough to sustain nor refresh us.
Below are scripture graphics and quotes from the lesson.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,to all who call on him in truth.He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;he hears their cry and saves them.~Psalm 145:18-19
Prayer Requests
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. Continue to pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Tim was fired for his job after 17 years on at the fire department. Please say a prayer for Tim that he can get another job quickly. He is devastated by all of this.
- Carla has an extended family member stationed in Kuwait named Haley. She is her cousin Steve's daughter. Please pray for her safety!
- Carla's Sam has several Wisconsin Guard friends stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Sam had an update for us from his teammates who are currently deployed in the war zone. Please be in prayer, they have been bombed several times. Continue to pray for safety.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Mike is off of pain meds for several weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions. Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- PRAISE: I am going to be a grandmother. I am so excited!!! Please be in prayer for Shanley Belle and Christopher as they prepare for parenthood, and pray for my little precious granddaughter. I'm calling her my Little Starling! UPDATE: She will be born by Wednesday at the very latest.
- Kitty would like for you to pray that her daughter sells her barndominium and can find a home closer so that she’s not driving two hours a day.
- Pray for my health as my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome has come back in full force.
- Praise! My computer and Internet are working in my kitchen! I am so happy!
We will probably go to the lake this weekend.
It's supposed to rain, but maybe it will be nice just to look at the water and wildlife.
Have a blessed weekend and week!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends.
FYI it hasn't been the best week for me. I've had to take care of things concerning my mother's estate, and I have a terrible tooth abscess. I was at the dentist yesterday morning after having gone to the doctor earlier in the week. I thought I had an ear and sinus infection, but it's my tooth. I can't see my endodontist until Monday morning, so I will be taking it easy this weekend.
So I hope that y'all will help out by sharing your thoughts about the lesson. I only read it twice this week, and I think that's the least amount of times I've read one of our lessons since I started this blog.
It's been a week! :/
What I want to contribute to the discussion is this:
Every year, I read through the Bible. I read the Old and New Testaments simultaneously via Bible Gateway. What I have repeatedly read through 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles is that God always says that David always walked in his ways, and he promised him that his descendants would always be on his throne (this holds true because Christ is King). God's word says this after he basically had a man killed and committed adultery with his wife. Solomon was the son born to Bathsheba and David, and he became the wisest king ever to live before or since. Although David messed-up badly, and his sin certainly created a chain reaction within his family, God knew David's heart. David was contrite and mourned over what he had done, and he knew that only God could restore his heart.
Here are two of the Bible verses mentioned in our lesson, and I also included a graphic of the Fruits of the Spirit as well.
Prayer Requests
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. Continue to pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- Rita's friend Pam signed off for comfort care Wednesday afternoon. All other meds and treatment have stopped. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for a swift and loving transition.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Pray that conditions will improve at work for Tim. Tim and Jen put their home up for sale. Pray for them as they prepare for this big move.
- Carla has an extended family member stationed in Kuwait named Haley. She is her cousin Steve's daughter. Please pray for her safety!
- Carla's Sam has several Wisconsin Guard friends stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Sam had an update for us from his teammates who are currently deployed in the war zone. Please be in prayer, they have been bombed several times. Continue to pray for safety.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Mike is off of pain meds for several weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions. Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- PRAISE: I am going to be a grandmother. I am so excited!!! Please be in prayer for Shanley Belle and Christopher as they prepare for parenthood, and pray for my little precious granddaughter. I'm calling her my Little Starling!
- Kitty would like for you to pray that her daughter sells her barndominium and can find a home closer so that she’s not driving two hours a day.
- Pray for my tooth abscess.
- Pray travel mercies for Terry and Kris as they explore the Southeast for a possible move for retirement. Please also pray that they will extend Terry's contract for two more years, if it's God's will for them.
- Please pray travel mercies for Rita and her family as they travel this week.
I will be drinking hot liquids, taking massive doses of antibiotics, and hopefully reading and watching baseball this weekend.
I hope y'all have a lovely week!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
