Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you are having a lovely week.  

What are your thoughts about this week's lesson?  

I kept thinking about how the Bible encourages us to learn from God and be led by the Holy Spirit.  This enables us to remain on level ground during the trials of life.  

I enjoyed the visual from this week's Psalm about the bookends of "teach me"and "lead me" taken from Psalm 143:10.   And as per usual, the prayer is OH!  So helpful!   

"....please give me the strength today to stop often and ask for your help and your guidance."
~Page 75

Friends, we don't have to walk through the steep valleys alone.  All we have to do is ask God's Spirit to lead us.

Below please find the scripture mentioned in this week's lesson.









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 needs our prayers because her cancer is stage four.  She is in palliative care, yet still trying to live.  UPDATE:  Pam has a MRSA.  Please pray for her throughout the day whenever you think of praying.  
  • 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 that my allergies and asthma will improve.
  • 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.
  • Happy Mother's Day to y'all, and I hope you have a blessed day on Sunday!





Sometimes I like to put together themes for these posts.
Today's theme is matcha.  I want to learn how to make matcha drinks at home.

Have a great weekend!



Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill


 





Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope your week has been lovely.  We've had a lot of much needed rain here in Central Alabama, so I'm not complaining.  Our weather reminds me of a poem by Steve Garnaas Holmes:

Weather Report 

Joy
borne on winds beyond our control,
falling like rain
throughout the night
before we were aware
Chance of flooded hearts.

This week's lesson came at a very opportune time because I've been struggling with my allergies and asthma.  Both can be scary, but I'm taking a new medication which seems to be helping.  Sometimes when I struggle, I do feel like I'm in a pit.  The Psalmists often wrote about this feeling of being in a pit with no way out.  But God protects, delivers, and saves.

Below are the first two verses of Psalm 40, and then the following graphic includes verse three from the lesson.


I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.

~Psalm 40:1-2



 
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.
  • 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.  UPDATE:  Pam has a MRSA.  Please pray for her throughout the day whenever you think of praying.  
  • 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.  UPDATE:  Chris completed her chemo last week!
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • 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 13weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions.  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! 
  • 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 that my allergies and asthma will improve.
  • Travel mercies for Trip this weekend as he's traveling for business in Nevada.
  • PRAISE:  Rita's daughter Megan's graduation for her advanced degree is Saturday, May 9th.  Congratulations, Megan!
  • 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.



I am hoping to have a very quiet weekend; I hope to do a little gardening, drawing, and reading.  I will probably go to church on Sunday and do nothing else but watch baseball on TV.  I need to rest!

What are your weekend plans?



Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill
 

 


Our New Dawn Rose in full bloom


Happy Friday, Friends!  How are you?  I am home from Ann Arbor, and I have been getting caught-up around here.  It's been a great week although I have been suffering from my allergies a bit. 

I appreciated this lesson because sleep is truly a gift.  We will have a few weeks at the end of the year when we will need to recycle a few posts, and this one will definitely make my cut!  I have read this lesson several times, and I love the prayer, too.  Did you try keeping God's word close to your heart beginning first thing in the morning until bedtime?  I did try, and I have rested and slept well this week in spite of my allergy symptoms.

We forget that God is sovereign over us, and he has given us sleep as a gift.
~Page 67

Here is the Psalm for the week:



Before I move on to our prayer requests, I wanted to share with you a few photos from Starling's nursery.  NOTE:  I will share very little about my granddaughter on the other blog.  This is for us only.  Shanley Belle and Christopher are VERY private.  :D  BUT they wanted me to share with y'all because you're prayer warriors!
















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.  UPDATE and PRAISE:  Rita and family will be celebrating Megan's graduation this weekend!
  • Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.  UPDATE:  She will meet with her surgeon on Tuesday to schedule surgery for her tumor.  
  • 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.  UPDATE:  Pam fell in the hospital and broke her hip last Saturday, surgery was Monday. Radiation and chemo stopped for the week while pain management is the focus. She celebrated a birthday Thursday in hospital. Please continue to lift her in prayer.
  • 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:  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. 
  • 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.
  • 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 13weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions.  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! 
  • 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 birthday blessings for Kris!



 






This morning I'm going by O'Henry's for a latte to go, and then I'm going to the salon for a haircut.

We're planning a chill weekend relaxing by cooking and watching baseball.

What are your weekend plans?


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill






 

Happy Friday, Friends!  If the Good Lord is willing, this morning I am in Ann Arbor fluffing a nursery.  Little Starling is keeping me very busy and she isn't even born yet!  

Full disclosure I'm writing this post on Tuesday evening because I have a full day tomorrow (Wednesday) before catching my flight to Detroit.  I might not get to respond to your comments right away (but I will via email), and I might not get to update the prayer requests until Sunday evening, so please check back in over the weekend and read all comments.  :)

I enjoyed this lesson.  I thought it was sweet about how we should bookend our day by thanking God for all the things, especially the small things.  Although does coffee actually qualify as a small thing?  I think not!  ;P

I read through the Bible annually, and have for several years.  I can't believe that this is the first time I've realized that Psalm 92 is the *only* Psalm specified as a Sabbath Psalm.  Because of that, I'm including the entire Psalm in the quote box below.

Psalm 92

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

1 It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.

8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

9 For surely your enemies, Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn[b] like that of a wild ox;
    fine oils have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”






Have you practiced gratitude this week as suggested by the lesson?  Please share if you have!


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.  UPDATE:  Pam is now experiencing episodes of passing out, as her newest tumor is aggressively growing and pressing on her carotid artery. A CT was done recently to determine more. Please continue to lift her in prayer.
  • 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. 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.  Mike is off of pain meds for 12 weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions.  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 am in Michigan helping Shanley Belle and Christopher with Starling's nursery.  I will return home to Alabama Sunday evening.





I love you all!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

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