My bestie was recently in the mountains of Georgia, and she sent me beautiful photos of flowers and gardens. I'm sharing the red ones with y'all today!
Happy Monday, Friends! How was your weekend? I hope you had a relaxing one. I think I have all of our prayer requests straight now. Let me know if I've left anything out!
I LOVE this week's devotion because I learned things I didn't know about the Greek word Eucharisteo, which means thanksgiving in Greek. But the root words within this word? Mind blowing, I tell ya!
Our scripture for this week:
The entire verse is:
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”~Luke 22:19
Prayer Requests
- Rita's prayer is that "our country will have strong leadership emerge, and that this continual turbulence of hatred will abate before our democracy is further threatened."
- Kris agrees with Rita, and she adds that let's hope we can find a good leader to turn this country around. "I pray everyday that my sweet grand daughters will have a good world to grow up in and be able to become good women in adult life."
- Carla agrees with both Kris and Rita: "My heart aches for this nation of ours. As we all have children and grandchildren that we want to see live in a loving, prosperous nation like we once had. No never had it been perfect, but I have not seen such division in my lifetime. It breaks my heart."
- Kitty is also praying for our country. She says, "I give thanks today that my grandson, Connor’s, life was spared on this day of remembering those 13 in Afghanistan who were killed in the horrible debacle. I remember their families as they grieve forever for their loved ones. Please pray for my DIL, Julie, that her heart will change, for SIL, Eric, that he will see some relief for his cervical dystonia, and for my son, Mike, that he will get a job. Thank you dear friends, in Jesus’ name we pray."
- I would like to add to particularly pray for the people suffering in Maui. Our government cares more for Ukraine than Americans. It makes me angry and breaks my heart! Pray that sin will find NO PLACE TO HIDE in our government, and that the truth will be known to all Americans.
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends!
Did you enjoy this week's devotion? Last week's focus was on how the lack of doxology leads to depravity; this week Ann focuses on the highest form of thinking, which is THANKING. God is so good! He's deserving of our thanks at all times.
For prayer requests today, I'd like to start over with updates from y'all. Please update your requests in comments, and stop by during the weekend to pray for your friends. Whatever is in comments will be our list for Monday. Thank-you!
Pumpkin spice is back (@ Starbucks).
Thank goodness I can get a cold brew with pumpkin spice foam in this heat!
When it's hot, do you still drink your coffee hot, or do you prefer it iced?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Friends! I hope you're staying cool in your neighborhood. It has been very hot here, and it's going to be even hotter midweek!
This week's devotion is short, and an anecdote in it about winter is sure to make you feel cooler. So I suggest you lower your thermostat for a few minutes, make a hot cocoa or latte, and enjoy!
Here's this week's scripture to get you started:
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
- Also from Rita: Her girls both begin post grad classes this Monday. Please include them in your prayers, as they both work full time, and Megan will be juggling yet another responsibility with work, home, baby and this 1st semester of grad school.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim's sweet dachshund named Snickers who's been having seizures. Kris says he is doing so much better thank you Lord. From her seizure she had her discs in her back go out and was paralyzed and there was not much hope but now with her great Vet and some research she is able to stand and move her back legs. They are hoping with time she may be able to walk without a doggies wheel chair. Prayers so appreciated for this sweet little fur baby. Kim is also expecting, so let's pray for mom and baby.
- SAM IS HOME!!!! Woot, woot! God is so good! Pray for Sam's tender heart and all the members of the 157th as they transition to civilian life.
- Kitty is asking for prayers for her SIL, Eric, who has cervical dystonia. Molly said that Eric seems to be doing a little better since the Botox treatment on his body. Praise God for that! Please pray for her daughter, Molly, who is so positive, that she will remain positive. Thank you, friends.
- Also from Kitty: Her son Mike had an interview. Please include him in your prayers that he gets this job.
- Pray for the people of Hawaii. May God show them His love, mercy, and grace.
- Please pray for our sweet Blog Friend the Nana Diana and her husband John. John is struggling right now.
- Please pray for the West Coast and Dessert Southwest as they prepare for catastrophic rainfall due to Tropical Storm Hilary.
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends!
I am so looking forward to a laidback weekend at home with no plans other than church. How about you? Do you have any weekend plans?
I enjoyed this week's devotional. I finished reading the Book of Romans today, so the timing of this lesson is perfect. Romans is considered the best biblical book for introducing Christianity, and one of the first lessons from the very first chapter is the importance of thanking God:
The devotional's scripture from Romans Chapter One includes verses 18-21 and verse 28.
A lack of doxology leads to depravity.One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, page 21.
Paul explains in verse twenty that people have no excuse to not believe, praise, and thank God because his eternal nature and divine power is shown in nature. The Psalms are filled with the same thought.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
The heavens are telling of the glory of God;And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.Day to day pours forth speech,And night to night reveals knowledge.~Psalm 19:1-2Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.~Psalm 36:5
And another one:
What are your thoughts about this week's devotion?
I am so grateful for this devotional at this time in my life. We are at war spiritually, and with so many things going on with the world meant to discourage believers, thanking God continually throughout the day can't help but encourage us.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim's sweet dachshund named Snickers who's been having seizures. Kris says he is doing so much better thank you Lord. From her seizure she had her discs in her back go out and was paralyzed and there was not much hope but now with her great Vet and some research she is able to stand and move her back legs. They are hoping with time she may be able to walk without a doggies wheel chair. Prayers so appreciated for this sweet little fur baby. Kim is also expecting, so let's pray for mom and baby.
- SAM IS HOME!!!! Woot, woot! God is so good! Pray for Sam's tender heart and all the members of the 157th as they transition to civilian life.
- Kitty is asking for prayers for her SIL, Eric, who has cervical dystonia. After waiting forever to see a neurologist and then having to wait weeks to get Botox treatment on the areas, he’s still in so much pain. He may need to get a brain stimulator and yesterday the doctor told him that even with that, he may have only 4-5 years. Please pray for her daughter, Molly, who is so positive, that she will remain positive. Thank you, friends.
- Pray for the people of Hawaii. May God show them His love, mercy, and grace.
- Please pray for our sweet Blog Friend the Nana Diana and her husband John. John is struggling right now.
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Friends! How are you? Mr. Happy and I both picked up a bug over the weekend, but we are both much better this morning. Fortunately we were at the lake by ourselves and able to rest and relax.
This week's devotional focuses on Romans Chapter One, and it's a wonderful lesson. The Apostle Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans to teach them how they should behave: It's a super manual for Christian living!
Here's a preview of the scripture:
But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.~Romans 1:19-20 (The Message)
I am so very thankful for my Happy Prayer Warrior Friends.
I love y'all!!! :D
Prayer Requests
I decided to repeat Friday's list. I'm still praising God for Sam's return, and I'm hopeful that everyone we've been praying for is feeling better, stronger, in a better place mentally, and/or having a change of heart.
Let us know in comments if you have any updates, new requests, or new praises.
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim's sweet dachshund who's been having seizures. Kim is also expecting, so let's pray for mom and baby.
- SAM IS HOME!!!! Woot, woot! God is so good!
- Kitty is asking for prayers for her SIL, Eric, who has cervical dystonia. After waiting forever to see a neurologist and then having to wait weeks to get Botox treatment on the areas, he’s still in so much pain. He may need to get a brain stimulator and yesterday the doctor told him that even with that, he may have only 4-5 years. Please pray for her daughter, Molly, who is so positive, that she will remain positive. Thank you, friends.
- Pray for the people of Hawaii. May God show them His love, mercy, and grace.
Stanley Steemer is coming to clean our carpets this morning.
Praise God!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! Are you ready for the weekend? I know I am! Do you have any fun plans? If so, tell us in comments!
This week's devotion is entitled "choosing grace." It was sort of a tough one to read because it repeatedly points out that life is TOUIGH! It's HARD!
Here are more sunflowers to make you feel better:
In spite of all that the world throws at us, we can always choose God's grace.
I'm reposting the only scriptural reference for this week's devotion:
Would you like to share your thoughts about the devotion?
Prayer requests:
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim's sweet dachshund who's been having seizures. Kim is also expecting, so let's pray for mom and baby.
- SAM IS HOME!!!! Woot, woot! God is so good!
- Kitty is asking for prayers for her SIL, Eric, who has cervical dystonia. After waiting forever to see a neurologist and then having to wait weeks to get Botox treatment on the areas, he’s still in so much pain. He may need to get a brain stimulator and yesterday the doctor told him that even with that, he may have only 4-5 years. Please pray for her daughter, Molly, who is so positive, that she will remain positive. Thank you, friends.
I woke up early due to 4AM severe thunderstorms.
Now it's time for me to drink copious amounts of coffee! *giggles*
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Good morning, Friends! I want to thank you so much for your travel mercy prayers for Trip and me: We had a lovely (although quick) visit with friends in New Orleans! How was your weekend?
This week's devotion is entitled "choosing grace." I'm not sure what is meant by this because I haven't read ahead...I don't know if it's about choosing to extend grace to others, or to accept God's gift of grace. We should definitely practice both! Maybe the scripture from the lesson (below) gives us a hint:
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
I need lots of coffee this morning because I'm tired, and I have several errands and chores to do!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends!
I hope you've started our new devotional: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I read the introduction and Devotion One. I can't tell you how happy I am to start this study: I think it will be life-changing for all of us. I'm so excited!
I also downloaded the freebies from Ann's website, and I went to Kinko's and printed everything out on cardstock and high quality paper.
I have a binder for the originals and the pink one is for the Daily Gifts handouts. I doubt I'll fill out the Daily Gifts each day, but I hope to do it at least two or three times weekly.
I love the idea of the gift jar, too.
I decided to use a crate I made a few years ago instead of a jar because I don't have an empty jar. All my jars are filled with art supplies, like oil paint mediums, etc.
I have tiny little file folders for each month. August is ready!
I placed the little slips of paper in a yogurt pot.
I'm also looking forward to filling out the one thousand gifts numbered list in the back of the devotional. :D Have you started your list yet?
This week Ann shared a "surprising grace" in the devotion. Can you share an instance when you were expecting one outcome only to have God completely surprise you with His grace?
The lesson also touches upon how thanking God is a sacrifice (not just the literal levitical sacrifice), especially under certain circumstances. This is illustrated in this verse:
Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High.~Psalm 50:14
There are several biblical references in the devotion, and here is one of them:
One gift I cherish is the honor to pray with y'all. Here are this week's Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL that she will want to participate in family events. Let's not give up! Let's bombard God with prayers that He'll turn her heart!
- From Rita: Friends, please pray for my daughter's personal marriage/family situation. She needs strength, wisdom and encouragement for her stressful situation. Thank you.
- I have a praise: All my health test results are fantastic! God is so good. Also, please pray for travel mercies for Trip and me as we're going to New Orleans today for the weekend.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
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