Happy Friday, Friends! I hope you have had a lovely and blessed Easter Week!
Awaken MeRisen One,come, meet mein the garden of my life.Lure me into elation.Revive my silent hope.Coax my dormant dreams.Raise up my neglected gratitude.Entice my tired enthusiasm.Give life to my faltering relationships.Roll back the stone of my indifference.Unwrap the deadness in my spiritual life.Impart heartiness in my work.Risen One,send me forth as a disciple of your unwavering love,a messengerof your unlimited joy.Resurrected One,may I becomeever more convincedthat your presence lives on,and on, and on,and on.Awaken me!Awaken me!~Joyce Rupp
I have had the best week. I'm getting into a good rhythm of cooking, and I love how organized our kitchen is. Plus the weather has been splendid here in Central Alabama, but unfortunately, the air quality hasn't been the best.
What did you think about this week's lesson from Psalm 121? I loved the visuals, especially this week because everything has really greened out here in Central Alabama. Reading it gave me the loveliest sense of peace just like the title of our book! I also enjoyed the protection prayer, too. This is yet another one I have flagged.
Here are the scriptural references from the lesson.
Before we get to the prayer requests, I have a very important announcement!
I am so happy!
I will be going to Ann Arbor to help fluff the nursery next week :D
I will not be announcing this on my other blog or social media for a couple of weeks FYI.
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. 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.
- 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. She is in palliative care, yet still trying to live.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece, Lundy.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris who is undergoing chemo treatment for her urethral cancer, and for her brother, Mike, who has esophageal cancer.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Things are going better at work. Tim and Jen put their home up for sale last week. Pray for them as they prepare for this big move.
- 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 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. Praise: He has been successful for over eleven weeks! UPDATE: Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- URGENT: Pray for Rachel who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
- 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!
- Travel mercies for me as I go to Michigan Wednesday to help Shanley Belle and Christopher with Starling's nursery.
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Although it's past time to "pull up them pansies" here in Central Alabama, these are still looking pretty this late in the season!
Happy Good Friday, Friends! hope you and your family are having a blessed Holy Week. We've been doing a few Holy Week activities, and we attended the midday Palm Sunday service. A donkey came to church, and we had "donuts with the donkey."
Cracker Jack was a very good boy. He didn't have an accident in the nave, and the waving of the palm fronds didn't seem to faze him at all!
I truly enjoyed this week's Psalm lesson, and when I was looking for a quote to pull for this post, I thought that I couldn't go wrong with any of them because the entire lesson is so well-written. I ended up choosing this one because this is what I want to remember:
God says that complete joy is only found in his presence.~page 55
One other thing: This week's prayer might be my favorite of the book so far. I am definitely flagging it. I think it's special we are reading this particular Psalm for Holy Week, don't you? Jesus gave up his life on the cross so we could have a path for life everlasting.
I also want to share with you a Substack blog entitled Art for the Liturgical Year.
From The Passion Prayerbook of Simon Bening
Here is a link:
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. 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.
- 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. She is in palliative care, yet still trying to live.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece, Lundy.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor Chris who is undergoing chemo treatment for her urethral cancer, and for her brother, Mike, who has esophageal cancer.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim because he is starting back to work tomorrow (Saturday, March 21st). UPDATE: Things are going better at work. Tim and Jen are putting their home up for sale this week. Pray for them as they prepare for this big move.
- 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 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. Praise: He has been successful for over ten weeks!
- URGENT: Pray for Rachel who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
I will be baking carrot cake cupcakes this weekend.
I hope they turn out well! The recipe I'll be using looks pretty good.
Until next time...
Happy Easter!
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! Tell me about your week. Mine has been wonderful! I had my last Lenten class at church yesterday: It lasted for six weeks. I'm having a blast in art class. Last week I went to my old class for a make-up, and it was fun to see my art friends in Thursday's class, But this week it was nice to be in my regular class, and it's been nice to have a week without workmen in our home.
YAY!!!!!!
I enjoyed this week's lesson, especially the roller coaster metaphor. Why do we constantly try to navigate this world alone when we have a God who loves us lavishly? I know I can be a complete idiot in this regard.
Here's a quote from the lesson I've repeated to myself this week:
Being self-aware --- aware of when you are taking on the fight alone --- is key.~page 50
Here is this week's scripture:
I admit I cheated a little with this graphic. Joshua 1:6 is quoted in our lesson, but Joshua 1:9 is actually a repetition of it.
How do you get back on track and let go (not white knuckle) and let God? Constantly staying in God's word certainly helps.
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. 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.
- 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. Her care team found another 2" tumor beneath her chin and a spot on her lung. Original surgery was 1/5 and only 3/30 will she have her first radiation and chemo.
- Please pray for my baby great-niece, Lundy.
- 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. She started chemo infusion 3/20 and will have 6 total. Her brother was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer and she is about to start her own chemo treatment. UPDATE: He is finished with his radiation and chemo already, but very weak.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim because he is starting back to work tomorrow (Saturday, March 21st). UPDATE: Things are going better at work. Tim and Jen are putting their home up for sale this week. Pray for them as they prepare for this big move.
- 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. 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 nine weeks!
- URGENT: Pray for Rachel who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
- Pray for Kitty's granddaughter Harper’s mountain biking race this weekend. Pray for Harper's safety.
Palm Sunday is the day after tomorrow. What are your plans for Holy Week? I will definitely go to Palm Sunday services (We will enjoy "Donkeys and Donuts" at my church...yes, real donkeys!), and I might go to the luncheon and lecture series on Wednesday.
I might also bake an Easter treat or two, but I haven't decided. I need some inspiration, so please share if you have any ideas!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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 starting back to work tomorrow (Saturday, March 21st).
- 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
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