Hello, Friends! We welcomed spring this week. I have seen several days of blue skies like the one above the past couple of weeks. What about you? Are the skies blue in your neck of the woods?
What's the first thing you think about when someone says the word "spring?" I think of Easter, flowers, and Easter candy and treats as Lent comes to an end (although since Easter is so late this year, we have a little bit of Lent left on the calendar).
This week's lesson is entitled "Lighten Your Pack," which is apropos as I've been traipsing around parts unknown with a very heavy backpack. I am not a light packer for sure! I understand that this lesson is about spiritual burdens not necessarily the physical ones. I like that Jesus wants to carry our burdens for us, and he expresses it using a lovely metaphor:
This is this weeks Bible verse:
Prayer Requests
- Pray for our military securing and protecting our southern border.
- Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job that uses his talents.
- Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor, that he will find a path to follow and good relationships.
- Carla is running for Trustee for her local Village Board. The election is April 1st. Let's be in prayer that Carla can continue to be the change she wants to see in her village.
- Rita's daughters need our prayers. One is finishing up her masters this semester, and the other is having an especially hard time balancing work/school/home life. Pray for God's strength, patience and guidance as they each navigate their own course.
- Please keep Rita's sister who moved to West Virginia in November in prayer as she's healing from knee replacement surgery.
- Travel mercies for Trip and me for this week.
- Please pray for Carla's friend C.M.H who has joined the United States Army. Carla and her family are so proud of him. He will be 23 in June, and he is a dear friend of her boys. He was in their homeschool group. He will leave for basic training in May.
- URGENT: Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in the hospital.
IMPORTANT: I do not know if I will be able to update my posts on the trip. Please come back and read comments for any new prayer requests the next couple of weeks. Thank-you!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! I hope your week is going well. Did you have a nice St. Patrick's Day? How did you celebrate? We celebrated with bangers and mash. Hopefully you are enjoying spring weather wherever you are!
This week's lesson is entitled "Roll with It!" The title is Farrell's advice for how to handle change. Some people do not adapt to change very well at all; my husband definitely does not. I tend to handle it a little bit better than Mr. Happy because I live more in the moment: I don't dwell on the past, and I don't plan too far ahead, either. That's probably why I don't make a great lifestyle blogger because when other bloggers are posting about Christmas, I'm still in pumpkin and Thanksgiving mode! But like most people, I can find change and the unknown a bit daunting.
Farrell shares two Bible verses in this lesson, and both are about change.
I think if I could remember that God wants us to change and grow, that he is the arbiter of change, then I would be more comfortable and accepting of change.
In this lesson Farrell shares a favorite cobbler recipe because the delicious and familiar (i.e. comfort food) is the best response to change. I have not tried out her recipe yet, but I will in a couple of weeks and share it with you then. I think this is why here in the South we feed people so much food during a crisis, especially after a death. We all have our go-to recipes for sharing during such times.
What are your thoughts about this week's lesson? Do you "Roll with It" or "Stress and Hyper-focus?"
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for our military securing and protecting our southern border.
- Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job that uses his talents.
- Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor, that he will find a path to follow and good relationships.
- Carla is running for Trustee for her local Village Board. The election is April 1st. Let's be in prayer that Carla can continue to be the change she wants to see in her village.
- Carla mailed her postcards for the election this week. Let's pray that her message will be well received and that her neighbors will feel inspired to have her represent them on their village board.
- Rita's daughters need our prayers. One is finishing up her masters this semester, and the other is having an especially hard time balancing work/school/home life. Pray for God's strength, patience and guidance as they each navigate their own course.
- Please keep Rita's sister who moved to West Virginia in November in prayer to be able to have her knee surgery on Monday, March 17th. She is also treating a UTI. UPDATE: She was able to have her surgery Monday!
- Travel mercies for Trip and me for the next two weeks.
- Please pray for Carla's friend C.M.H who has joined the United States Army. Carla and her family are so proud of him. He will be 23 in June, and he is a dear friend of her boys. He was in their homeschool group. He will leave for basic training in May.
- URGENT: Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in the hospital.
IMPORTANT: I do not know if I will be able to update my posts on the trip. Please come back and read comments for any new prayer requests the next couple of weeks. Thank-you!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
blooming shamrock
Happy Friday, Friends! I hope you have had a wonderful week. We are expecting severe weather tomorrow here in Central Alabama, and I'm praying that the storms won't be as strong as predicted.
This week's lesson is entitled "It's a da Vinci." Can you imagine having a priceless work of art in your home and not even know it? Here it is:
Salvator Mundi
Leonardo da Vinci
c. 1499-1510
oil on walnut panel
25.8 in ×19.2 in
Salvator Mundi means "Savior of the World." Christ is making the sign of the cross as a blessing to the observer. He is holding an orb which represents his authority as King of Kings. Christ was usually depicted in paintings facing straight forward. It was not considered appropriate to paint anyone else in this manner. However, Albrecht Dürer painted a self-portrait facing straight, and this was deemed unfitting. It is signed: Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg... age 28.
Self Portrait
Albrecht Dürer
oil on wood panel
26 1/4 in × 19 1/4 in
The point of the lesson is to remind us that are souls are "Materpieces of Creation." Farrell also shares this Bible passage with us:
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.~2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Clay jars held expensive treasures during the first century like anointing oils. Farrell loves essential oils (and so do I) and she shares a recipe for them at the end of the lesson. I did not make any because I was given some at Bible class a few weeks ago! Our teacher brought in so many different varieties, and we were able to chose the ones we wanted. I chose the bergamot, and I really like how it smells.
This essential oil is made by Hiqili, and it's supposed to help with restlessness and nervousness. It can also help suppress anger, which I often need while driving on Highway 280!
I also have a blue oil by Aveda. When I run out of these, I will try Farrell's recipe and make some of my own essential healing oils because our local Sprouts has all the ingredients necessary to make it.
Here is our Bible verse for the lesson.
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Before I get to the prayer requests, I wanted to share a graphic with you on fasting. Kitty shared these thoughts with me last week, and I think that we can all get behind this kind of fasting during Lent.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for our military securing and protecting our southern border.
- Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job that uses his talents.
- Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor, that he will find a path to follow and good relationships.
- Carla is running for Trustee for her local Village Board. The election is April 1st. Let's be in prayer that Carla can continue to be the change she wants to see in her village.
- Carla mailed her postcards for the election this week. Let's pray that her message will be well received and that her neighbors will feel inspired to have her represent them on their village board.
- Rita's daughters need our prayers. One is finishing up her masters this semester, and the other is having an especially hard time balancing work/school/home life. Pray for God's strength, patience and guidance as they each navigate their own course.
- Please keep Rita's sister who moved to West Virginia in November in prayer to be able to have her knee surgery on Monday, March 17th. She is also treating a UTI.
- Travel mercies for Trip and me for the next two weeks.
- Please pray for Carla's friend C.M.H who has joined the United States Army. Carla and her family are so proud of him. He will be 23 in June, and he is a dear friend of her boys. He was in their homeschool group. He will leave for basic training in May.
- URGENT: Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in the hospital.
I love Irish soda bread and hot cross buns this time of the year. Do you?
IMPORTANT: I do not know if I will be able to update my posts on the trip. Please come back and read comments for any new prayer requests the next couple of weeks. Thank-you!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! We have entered the solemn season of Lent, and I hope that you are finding time to draw close to God.
Y'all, I absolutely loved this week lesson because I, too, love bees. I have two books about how to plant to attract bees, and what to do in your garden to feed and water them. Farrell's lessons she's learned as a beekeeper and how they can be applied to anyone's life are instructive and inspiring. Getting involved with any new activity takes courage. The imagery of finding "inner calm in the tension" while tending bees is a perfect lesson for how to approach and respond to situations in everyday life.
She shared one of her favorite salad recipes utilizing honey, "Sweet Nectarine, Pistachio, Basil, and Honey Mozza Salad." Did you try it? I assembled it for us earlier in the week, and it was a big hit! I found Chilean nectarines at Publix, and they were surprisingly good (I was concerned because they aren't in season).
Cherry tomatoes, nectarines, and fresh basil
I had to giggle at the recipe because it called for a bushel of tomatoes, and I substituted that for a pint.
Here is the scripture for the lesson:
I want to share a reflection this morning from my inbox written by Boltz Weber. It's a meditation about the beginning of Lent.
On Ash Wednesday we read from the prophet Joel:"Yet even now, says the Lord,return to me with all your heart."~Joel 2:12Which I take to mean, You mortal, you will die, you belong, heart and soul, to God.This is Lent to me. Lent is about spiritual exfoliation. Lent is about returning to God with all our heart.
I think this is a sweet lesson to focus on during Lent because I have always found Ash Wednesday a little disturbing and upsetting.
Do you have any thoughts about Ash Wednesday, Lent or the lesson you'd like to share?
Prayer Requests
- Pray for our military securing and protecting our southern border.
- Pray for Kitty's son Mike to get a job that uses his talents.
- Pray for the Americans displaced by the derailment (East Palestine, OH), fires (Maui and California) and Hurricane Helene (East Tennessee and Western North Carolina). Pray that they will receive the help they need to rebuild.
- Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor, that he will find a path to follow and good relationships.
- Pray for our daughter Shanley Belle as her post doc is coming to an end. She is in the midst of a job search. Please pray for God's guidance in her next step. UPDATE: She has had two job offers so far. Please continue to pray for guidance and discernment for her.
- Carla is running for Trustee for her local Village Board. The election is April 1st. Let's be in prayer that Carla can continue to be the change she wants to see in her village.
- Rita's daughters need our prayers. One is finishing up her masters this semester, and the other is having an especially hard time balancing work/school/home life. Pray for God's strength, patience and guidance as they each navigate their own course.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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