Happy Friday, Friends! It has been a week full of surprises around here!
First of all....our kitchen is finished, and we are almost completely moved in! We just have a couple of (very minor) details to complete. I have already deep-cleaned the family room (which is completely open to our kitchen), our dining room which is adjacent, and today, I will deep clean my art studio which is open to my dining room. Although the workers put up plastic walls, the dust still got everywhere. It even got into the closed bins....all fifteen of them! How is that even possible? So we basically had to clean everything before we put it away.
It is such a blessing to be able to cook again in my very own kitchen!
On Sunday afternoon, we were wearing shorts and t-shirts, enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Then we had severe storms Sunday night followed by snow showers Monday morning. They were heavy showers, but the snow did not stick to the roads. It was beautiful to watch! It has been beautiful, yet cool this week, but temps will be back up to 78 degrees Sunday afternoon!
Last night, Trip and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary! We went to our country club for tacos and triva night. We came in fourth place (not so good), and the waitress messed-up our taco orders (soft, not crunchy). I sort of want a do-over, so we are going on a breakfast date tomorrow morning and go to the farmers' market at Pepper Place downtown.
Below are two photos from this week here in our neighborhood:
And now on to our lesson....
Did y'all read this lesson before going to sleep this week? I did a couple of times, and this is a lesson I have flagged because sometimes at night anxiety rears her ugly head, and it's hard for me to settle down. My thoughts can race all over the place! But when I think about what King David went through, to have been betrayed by his own beloved son Absalom, I am comforted by knowing David's cries to God were answered.
Friends, our Father God loves us so much, and wants us to cry out to him in all situations. I hope you will hold these verses close to your heart, and maybe even pray them and meditate on them for our troops.
How was your week? Please share with us what's going on in your life and your thoughts about this week's lesson.
Prayer Requests:
- 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. UPDATE: Her scans were better than expected. She will have about a month's break before her surgery.
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. that we pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- 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.
- Rita's friend Pam needs our prayers because her cancer is stage four.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris. A .5-1cm lesion was found on her bladder at her 6mo scan after kidney surgery. She had two small papillary tumors successfully removed via outpatient surgery recently. UPDATE: Chris is particularly frozen in her fears of cancer. Pray that the Holy Spirit will allay her fears. Her brother was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer and she is about to start her own chemo treatment.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim because he is still not back at work.
- Pray for Carla's friend Alice who had plastic surgery on her nose due to skin cancer. UPDATE: Alice did not have a good outcome with the reconstructive surgery. They will be looking at doing another.
- Carla recently had to deal with a very bitter person. She has been very bothered by this, and she does not want this person to steal her JOY.
- Praise God I'm still cancer-free!
- 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 will be having Drill this weekend. As this war continues, we pray for our troops and for the troops preparing to deploy.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Praise: He has been successful for over eight weeks!
- From Carla: We are bracing for a major blizzard. Praying for all those who must be out and about to be safe. Praying for our linemen who are at the ready as we already have some areas without power because of intense wind.
- Rita is keeping our troops and her circle of friends who are especially weathering storms at heart. Let's pray for them!
- Please pray travel mercies for Shanley Belle and Christopher. They are in Arizona, and will return home to Michigan on Sunday.
One thing I want to do this weekend is look through some recipe books and on Pinterest for fun recipes and treats for Holy Week and Easter. Palm Sunday is March 29th!
What are your weekend plans?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! How has your week been? I've had a house full of folks working on our kitchen. I am hoping and praying that today will be the last day so that we can clean and move everything back in over the weekend.
Psalm 30:5 might be one of the best promises in scripture: Rejoicing comes in the morning!
How many sleepless nights have you spent worried, discouraged, afraid, or heart-broken? King David certainly experienced all of those things, yet he is certain that these worrisome times do not and will not last.
And the reason for this is because of Jesus! He is our morning star. He is the light of the world, and where there is light, there is no darkness at all.
Jesus has ransomed us. He successfully conquered death. He defeated darkness. And he conquered sin for us. Morning will come, friends, It will come.
The snowdrops around our church have been magnificent, and I keep forgetting to take photos of them.
Prayer Requests
- 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. UPDATE: She is finished with her chemotherapy and radiation treatments. SHe will be having scans next week.
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. that we pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- 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.
- Rita's friend Pam needs our prayers because her cancer is stage four.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris. A .5-1cm lesion was found on her bladder at her 6mo scan after kidney surgery. She had two small papillary tumors successfully removed via outpatient surgery recently. UPDATE: Chris is particularly frozen in her fears of cancer. Pray that the Holy Spirit will allay her fears. Her brother was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer and she is about to start her own chemo treatment.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim because he is still not back at work.
- Pray for Carla's friend Alice who had plastic surgery on her nose due to skin cancer. UPDATE: Alice did not have a good outcome with the reconstructive surgery. They will be looking at doing another.
- Carla recently had to deal with a very bitter person. She has been very bothered by this, and she does not want this person to steal her JOY.
- Praise God I'm still cancer-free!
- 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 will be having Drill this weekend. As this war continues, we pray for our troops and for the troops preparing to deploy.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Praise: He has been successful for over six weeks!
- From Carla: We are bracing for a major blizzard. Praying for all those who must be out and about to be safe. Praying for our linemen who are at the ready as we already have some areas without power because of intense wind.
- Rita is keeping our troops and her circle of friends who are especially weathering storms at heart. Let's pray for them!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Happy March, Friends! Wow, March came in like a lamb....like a very warm lamb here in Central Alabama. We have been enjoying sunny skies and temps in the eighties this week. It has been heavenly! But I think that's about to change: It's supposed to rain and storm off and on all weekend long. That's okay, because our workers are supposed to finish our kitchen this morning. Praise God! Everything has to be cleaned, and I have to literally wash everything before putting it away due to the dust.
Has it been worth it? I'll let you know next week once my work is done!
This week's lesson is entitled "No Need to Fear," and it's based on a Psalm written by King David, Psalm 27. How many of you have already flagged this lesson? I have because I particularly love the prayer:
Thank you for calming all my fears and never leaving my side. Remind me of that throughout the day and when I ready myself to sleep tonight, and bring it to mind if I wake in the night...~p. 39
We've never been forced to live on the lam and hide in caves like David. Yet he maintained his faith and dependence on God.
Here is this week's scripture:
I'm also sharing a favorite verse of mine from Psalm 27, below.
Thoughts?
Before moving on to the prayer requests, I wanted to share part of a prayer from St. Patrick to welcome March.
Peace before me.Peace behind me.Peace under my feet.Peace above me.Peace within me.Let all around me be peace.
- 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. UPDATE: She is finished with her chemotherapy and radiation treatments. SHe will be having scans next week.
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. that we pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- 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.
- Rita's friend Pam needs our prayers because her cancer is stage four.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris. A .5-1cm lesion was found on her bladder at her 6mo scan after kidney surgery. She had two small papillary tumors successfully removed via outpatient surgery recently. UPDATE: Chris is particularly frozen in her fears of cancer. Pray that the Holy Spirit will allay her fears. Her brother was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer and she is about to start her own chemo treatment.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim that things will continue to go in his favor at work.
- Pray for Carla's friend Alice who had plastic surgery on her nose due to skin cancer. UPDATE: Alice did not have a good outcome with the reconstructive surgery. They will be looking at doing another.
- Carla recently had to deal with a very bitter person. She has been very bothered by this, and she does not want this person to steal her JOY.
- Praise God I'm still cancer-free!
- 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 will be having Drill this weekend. As this war continues, we pray for our troops and for the troops preparing to deploy.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Praise: He has been successful for over six weeks!
I have been making my coffee with a French Press during kitchen construction, and I think I like it better than drip!
I will need lots to get me through the weekend.
I hope y'all have a blessed weekend doing lots of fun spring things!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Forsythia at our local nursery
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Happy Friday and weekend, Friends! We had several storms overnight, and our internet was not up to speed this morning. I had an appointment at the cancer center, so I could not wait around to get my post uploaded. I had my mammogram on Monday, an appointment with my medical oncologist on Wednesday, and my radiology oncologist this morning. I had a great report, and I am cancer-free and feeling GREAT!
I appreciate your grace this morning. Usually I have little trouble with updating this page, and we rarely have internet issues.
I enjoyed this week's reflection (entitled "My Whole Heart") because it reminds us to worship God with sweet abandon, just like King David. He is my favorite person depicted in scripture next to Jesus, and I always seem to enjoy his Psalms a little bit more than the others. I enjoyed the story of Aretha Franklin and her sister, and it just so happens that King David was known for breaking out in dance and song.
Here are a couple of verses from this week's Psalm:
When is the last time you worshipped God with childlike abandon? I confess that it has been one hot minute for me.
Below I'm sharing a poem by Steve Garnass-Holmes that really hit home this week. I hope you appreciate it like I do!
Sometimes you wake up and you are aliveand it's such a wonder it practically knocks you out again.Sometimes you get up and go, and by the bottom of the stairsyou're overwhelmed by the miracle of the knees.Every once in a while you're hit with a bombast of beauty,of forgiveness, the way breath is given,the way this shadow holds the stones in its hands,the way someone sees a light they had resolved to miss.You step outside and you want to cry to the birds,"Hey, you guys!" and they're in the trees, nodding,"Yeah, we know, we know. "Sometimes it seems the world and its miraclesneed a flock of exclamation points.And the thing is, the most amazing thinghasn't happened yet.
Prayer Requests
- 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. NOTE: She has not had a great week, so please lift her up!
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. that we pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- 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.
- Rita's friend Pam needs our prayers because her cancer is stage four.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece. We are still waiting to hear from the pediatric neurologist.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris. A .5-1cm lesion was found on her bladder at her 6mo scan after kidney surgery. She had two small papillary tumors successfully removed via outpatient surgery recently.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim that things will continue to go in his favor at work.
- Pray for Carla's friend Alice who had plastic surgery on her nose due to skin cancer. UPDATE: Alice did not have a good outcome with the reconstructive surgery. They will be looking at doing another.
- Carla recently had to deal with a very bitter person. She has been very bothered by this, and she does not want this person to steal her JOY.
- Praise God I'm still cancer-free!
- 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 will be having Drill this weekend. As this war continues, we pray for our troops and for the troops preparing to deploy.
Please note that I edited the list. If you have any other requests, or if I deleted something in error, let me know ASAP.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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