One Thousand Gifts: Friday, Week Fifty-Six

 

Happy Friday, Friends!  I'm still enjoying dahlia and zinnia season.  And we will enjoy lows in the fifties this weekend.  We call it "fake fall" in the South because we will be zapped with extra hot temps in a matter of days!  But I will enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts.

This week's devotion is entitled "comforting grace."  The main point is that we can't be comforted by the Holy Spirit unless we step outside our comfort zone or face hardships.  This makes perfect sense because unless you're in a precarious situation, why would you need to be comforted?  It is a blessing to have God as Comforter, and I agree with Ann that we need to add these hardships that lead to heavenly comfort to our list of gifts.

Thoughts?

We only have four more lessons in this book.  We will be like the Hallmark Channel and start our Countdown to Christmas in October!  Our reading of Jesus Listens for Advent and Christmas will begin on October 7th.  I already have a page devoted to our reading schedule if you look at the top of this blog post.

Here is this week's scripture:

Prayer Requests:

• Continue to pray for Terry and Kris as they decorate, unpack, and get settled into their new home.
• 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!

It's going to be cool enough this weekend to enjoy a hot PSL!

I can't wait!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill