Good morning, Friends.
It has been a week...what can I say? Early Monday morning, I was on my way to a doctor's appointment, and I wanted to order Starbucks coffee via the app. It was turned off, which was strange because Mondays are the slowest day of the week at this store. So I thought I'd just go through the drive through, and when I approached Starbucks there were many emergency response vehicles. Apparently a lady drove her car into the building as she was approaching the drive through lane. It was a miracle no one was seriously injured because no one was outside on the patio, and no one was in the front part of the café. (BTW this is our local store where our daughter works.)
You can read more about it HERE. It was a Tesla. And that's all I'll say about that.
So our week started out with drama and stress, and unfortunately we had a real estate deal fall through, too. But I have had a few bright spots because I substituted for my art teacher while she's in London. And we got a few rain showers yesterday which was a nice respite from the heat.
How was your week? What did you think of the lesson? I admit that I didn't want to think about grief this week, nor did I want to read about it. Not my favorite lesson...but I did like the scripture she shared:
Actually, the beauty of this book is that you can go back and read other lessons, so I re-read last week's lesson because I liked it so much, and I also cooked the Poisson en Papillote Sunday night.
This is Trip's plate. I do not like olives, but Trip loves them. I put an olive tapenade on his fish with the olive oil, thyme, and cherry tomatoes. He loved it! I also served crowder peas, pink eye peas, and roasted vegetables. All were in our community supported agriculture box last week.
What was on your menu this past week?
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Rita requests we pray for Tommy, who had a stroke in late June. He is now in rehab, and needs encouragement to get as strong as he is able, and to be able to adjust to his life changes.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
I think I'm in the mood for a pour over this morning with a coffee bomb. Coffee bombs are supposed to be good for your brain!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! How has your week been so far? Mine has been pretty good: Summertime has finally arrived in Central Alabama: It is sunny and hot!
Trip had a great birthday yesterday. Shelley and I enjoyed shopping for him this week, and I cooked him everything he wanted last night for dinner. I did not cook the Poisson en Papillote from the lesson, but he wants to cook it on Sunday. Did any of y'all cook it?
I did cook a wonderful tomato and peach salad with roasted peaches and tomatoes.
Here are the tomatoes and peaches drizzled with a little olive oil all ready for the oven.
The salad I made with them was the hit of Trip's birthday dinner, and you can find the recipe HERE.
It has been a great peach season so far this summer!
What did you think about this lesson? I thought Carla would love it! I enjoyed it, and now it's nice to know Farrell's connection to Jackson Hole. I also loved how she encourages her readers to keep on trying to connect to God in a deeper way. The list of lessons were wonderful, weren't they!
I also wanted to share a poem with y'all from Mary Oliver.
Why I Wake EarlyHello, sun in my face,hello, you who make the morningand spread it over the fieldsand into the faces of tulipsand the bidding morning glories,and into the window of, even, themiserable and crotchety------best preacher that ever was,dear star, that just happensto be where you are in the universeto keep us from ever-darkness,to ease us with warm-touching,to hold us in the great hands of light-----good morning, good morning, good morning.watch, now, how I start my dayin happiness, in kindness.
Here is this week's Bible verse:
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Rita requests we pray for Tommy, who had a stroke in late June. He is now in rehab, and needs encouragement to get as strong as he is able, and to be able to adjust to his life changes.
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
- Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
- Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
- Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
- Praise: Shanley Belle is thriving in her new position as a clinician in a private practice. Her post doc ended in May, and she is about one month in. Thank-you for your prayers for her!
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
- Kris has a praise and a request: Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
This is what I have so far. Please let me know what I need to add, especially updates about ill family members and friends.
Today is a day for iced coffee. It's already 77 degrees (but feels like 89) outside at 6:56 AM! I might try some cold foam on top. Our local coffee shop has a strawberry blend that might be good with vanilla cold foam!
I hope y'all have a blessed weekend!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Hello, Friends! I hope you enjoyed a special Independence Day weekend with your family and friends. Thank-you for your travel mercy prayers for Shanley Belle and Christopher. It was so nice having everyone together.
I don't know about y'all, but it seems like this past week has been one of the most upsetting in a very long time. Our lesson about fear struck a nerve with me: It was very relevant. I also put to use several of Farrell's recommendations to "temper the fear."
The enemy is the source for all fear, not God. He also wants to steal our joy. I'm determined that he will not be successful. Along with tempering the fear, I've also strived to find joy this week, and it hasn't been easy. I have had to deal with my mother's business all week, and I'm struggling not to be angry at the world.
Instead, I've taken Matt Haig's words to heart this week: He writes about "one beautiful thing."
Experience one beautiful thing a day. However small. However trivial. Read a poem. Play a favorite song. Laugh with a friend. Gaze at the sky just before the sun's final tumble toward night. Watch a classic movie. Eat a slice of lemon drizzle cake. Whatever. Just give yourself one simple reminder that the world is full of wonders. Even if we are at a point in life where we can't appreciate things, it sometimes helps to remember there are things in this world to enjoy, when we are ready.
Here is this week's scripture:
Please read over the prayer requests, and let me know what needs to be updated.
- 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.
- 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! UPDATE: Mike has been working on a game with his friend and they have to get it done in three months. Mike can do his part but his friend needs to stay focused. Kitty asks for prayers for him, too.
- Keep praying for Rita's daughters because they are thriving!
- 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 turned 23 in June, and he is a dear friend of her boys. He was in their homeschool group. He is in basic training at Fort Jackson, and he is her son Atticus' best friend. What is interesting about this... Carla's son Sam also did his basic at Fort Jackson.
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor who has a stage four cancer diagnosis.
- Pray that our leaders will ask God for direction as they make national security decisions.
- Kris's friend passed away from a massive heart attack. Please be in prayer for his widow, family, and friends as they are all in a state of shock over his unexpected death.
- Please be in prayer for Rita's brother Tommy who had a stroke (Tuesday, June 24th).
- URGENT: Pray for my best friend Barbara. She has cancer, and had to have a colostomy last week. Also, her husband also has stage four prostate cancer. Please be in prayer for them. UPDATE: Barbara is home, and is in good spirits. She still hasn't had her scans yet.
- From Kitty: Eric, Molly’s husband, lost his job last week. The company is closing the office. He’s applying for unemployment and also for disability. Molly is very positive.
- Kris has another friend who had a heart attack and is on life support. He is only 52 and has a 6 month old baby that needs her daddy.
I'm heading to my hometown this morning to take care of some business my mother neglected. I'm trying so hard not to be angry with her because these are things I thought she took care of years ago.
I hope you have a lovely weekend. I will try to find my joy by cooking several recipes with the fruits and vegetables from this week's community supported agriculture box.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Independence Day, Friends! We are so blessed, aren't we! I am so thankful for our inheritance and our natural rights endowed to us by God. I hope you are celebrating this special day with family and friends.
We are at Lake Martin, and we have had issues with our internet. On Tuesday we had to have Charter send us a signal to get our internet going again, and we had to do the same thing last weekend. I might not be able to update the blog until Monday, so please come back over the weekend to see any updates/prayer requests. Thank-you for understanding. I don't trust myself to update the blog on my phone. I'm afraid that I will mess it up badly if I try it!
I enjoyed this week's lesson. I get it, that we have choices to make, and we are responsible for and do have control over many choices. The PB&J lunch analogy had me thinking fond memories of homeschooling. Shelley used to call me her teacher and lunch lady. Some days I felt like I spent too many hours in the kitchen, yet I still miss them.
We made tartines for lunch often and Shelley's favorite was Croque-Monsieur. I even blogged about it years ago.
Here is the recipe:
Here is this week's scripture. I think it's so appropriate given how Patriots 249 years ago began a fight for their very lives, and the soul of this country was born. Our country was ordained by God because how else could a ragtag band of Patriots defeat the British Empire and the world's strongest standing army and navy? God is good, and my prayer for our nation is that we return to God and serve Him.
- 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.
- 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! UPDATE: Mike has been working on a game with his friend and they have to get it done in three months. Mike can do his part but his friend needs to stay focused. Kitty asks for prayers for him, too.
- Keep praying for Rita's daughters because they are thriving!
- 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 is in basic training at Fort Jackson, and he is her son Atticus' best friend. What is interesting about this... Carla's son Sam also did his basic at Fort Jackson.
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Pray for Rita's neighbor who has a stage four cancer diagnosis.
- Pray that our leaders will ask God for direction as they make national security decisions.
- Kris's friend passed away from a massive heart attack. Please be in prayer for his widow, family, and friends as they are all in a state of shock over his unexpected death.
- Please be in prayer for Rita's brother Tommy who had a stroke (Tuesday, June 24th).
- URGENT: Pray for my best friend Barbara. She has cancer, and had to have a colostomy yesterday. I am in a state of shock, and her husband also has stage four prostate cancer. Please be in prayer for them. UPDATE: Barbara is home, and is in good spirits. She still hasn't had her scans yet.
- Pray that we will accept the best contract to sell mom's house. UPDATE: We have a accepted a contract, and the closing should be mid-August.
- Please pray for my mom because she fell in the bathroom over the weekend. She was not hurt, thankfully.
- From Kitty: Eric, Molly’s husband, lost his job today. The company is closing the office. He’s applying for unemployment and also for disability. Molly is very positive.
- Pray travel mercies for Shanley Belle and Christopher this weekend.
- Kris has another friend who had a heart attack and is on life support. He is only 52 and has a 6 month old baby that needs her daddy.
Until next time...
May God continue to bless the United States of America!
Love you all!
Ricki Jill
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