SoulFull Week Twenty

 

Last weekend I attended a flower arranging class.

It was a birthday gift.

Happy Friday, Friends!

How has your week been so far?  Do you have any plans for Memorial Day Weekend?  We are planning to spend a little bit of time at the lake.

What did you think about this week's lesson?  How do you "Press On?"  What have you tried that didn't work, and what DOES work for you?

I agree that gathering around the table does help "lift the clouds."  All thoughts of home when we are all together help me lift the clouds.  Did any of y'all try the Mediterranean Chicken recipe?  I confess I did not because....the Take-Out Tuesday at our country club was Chicken Cacciatore this week.  Farrell's recipe is a LOT like Chicken Cacciatore, so I gave myself a break and ordered Take-Out Tuesday!  It's nice to have the recipe in the book, though, and if I do ever make it, I'll share it.

Speaking of home....I like this Bible verse:

This verse definitely helps the clouds lift.

Below is a reflection that compliments the thoughts in this week's lesson.

There's no throne room, but a kitchen,

a table we sit around that we all have scrubbed.

We share meals, and stories, and chores,

the small closeness of a family warmly knit.

The conversation over the bread and wine

is intimate, honest, and easy. There are in-jokes,

plans and memories, things we noticed,

dreams, what we've gone through together,

thoughts about the events of the day. And those looks

across the table, lover's gazes, or how parents 

watch children they cherish, the wordless nearness

of siblings who love each other. Sometimes

it gets late and we don't bother to turn on the lights,

we just keep talking in the dark, or sit,  silent. 

There are mistakes, of course, and arguments,

but always forgiveness. When we go to our rooms,

or out the next day into the world,

it seems we never really leave each other. 

The home is inside us. 

~Steve Garnass-Holmes

Here are the Bible verses for the lesson.  Psalm 139 is also mentioned.

Prayer Requests

• Please continue to pray for Kris's MIL.  Pray that she will be amenable to having the in-home healthcare help Terry and Kris found for her come into her home and help out.
• Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor as he trains as a corrections officer.
• Pray for Carla that she will be able to effect real and meaningful change in her village.  She is serving on committees, and her village needs her conservative leadership!
• PRAISE:  Carla is getting a new family member!  She's getting a daughter-in-law (Sam proposed to Cate, and she said YES)!  Pray for all the pre-wedding planning and counseling for the happy couple. 
• Pray for Kitty's son Mike that he can find a job that uses his talents.  He is a very talented artist!
• Keep praying for Rita's daughters because they are thriving!
• Please keep Rita's sister who moved to West Virginia in November in prayer as she's healing from knee replacement surgery.
• 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 at Fort Jackson May 22. He is her son Atticus' best friend.  What is interesting about this... Carla's son Sam also did his basic at Fort Jackson.
• Pray for my mother as she settles into her new assisted living home.  
• Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon.  She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking.
• Pray for Rita's neighbor who has a stage four cancer diagnosis. 
• Pray for Carla and family as they decide whether or not God is urging them to move.  Her village is becoming more and more draconian by the day!
• Pray for safety for all of our families over the Memorial Day weekend.

Until next time...

Happy Memorial Day!

Ricki Jill