One Thousand Gifts: Friday, Week Fifty-Five

 

Happy Friday, Friends!  How has your week been?  We've been renovating our basement room into a media room.  I painted it a couple of weeks ago, and we had to move furniture around, install a TV, and I've been working on fluffing it, getting it ready for the rest of baseball season and college football season.  I feel so grateful that my stamina and energy has been good.  God has truly blessed me with good health!

One reason we did the work is that we're trying to actually limit TV and screen time.  Our main level will be used more for conversation and reading.  Going to the basement takes more effort, and our hope is that we will spend more time outside this fall (weather permitting) and less time staring at screens.

Have you been working on any projects around your home?  I know Kris has, and honestly I was feeling so good about our project until I read Kris's blog and saw all the work she and Terry have done.  Y'all are super humans, My Friend!

This week's lesson is entitled "happiest grace."  I loved it because it really is that simple:  the best gift, the only one that surpasses everything is Christ's gift of salvation.  It's the basis for unshakable hope and joy.

I kept going back and rereading this one.  What are your thoughts?

Here is this week's scripture:

Prayer Requests

• Pray for Terry and Kris's move.  Pray that everything will go well for them as they decorate, unpack, and get settled.
• Carla's son Sam has friends who will be deploying to Iraq. Please be in prayer for our military and military families... this is a Wisconsin National Guard unit that is deploying to Iraq.  Sam is not deploying, but he has friends in this unit.
• Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job. AI has taken away many jobs in his industry.  Mike might have the opportunity to redo a game with a friends.  Let's pray that this works out for him, and it will lead to more opportunities.
• Rita asks for prayers for her sweet daughters as their graduate school semester is beginning.  Pray for them to have a healthy and productive work/school/life balance.  
• Pray for Christian leadership in our country.  Also pray that God will turn our hearts to him, and he will lavishly bless us with his steadfast love.
• Please pray for a job opportunity for our oldest daughter Shanley (her post doc will be coming to an end).  Also, our son-in-law Christopher is applying for a CMO position within the pediatric practice/company he works for.  Please pray that God's will be done for their job opportunities.  
• Rita has a praise regarding helping her SC sister relocate: small signs are pointing toward possible options for an apartment and for the logistics of moving. It's hard, and she's thankful for numerous siblings offering to help!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill