Happy Friday, Friends! How has your week been? My weekend started off lovely because I attended a creativity workshop last Saturday, and then I took my boy Westie to the vet because of a suspected ear infection. Not only did he have an ear infection, but he developed an eye ulcer from scratching his ear on the carpet. Finlay is on four meds plus two eye drop prescriptions and one eye lubricant three times daily. PLUS he now has to wear the Cone of Shame 24/7 until at least Tuesday. I haven't been able to see my mother all week. Hopefully Trip or Shelley will be able to spell me this afternoon so I can go and lay eyes on her.
This week's lesson was bittersweet. We have read a few excerpts about Farrell's friend Tallu and her battle with cancer throughout this book. She sounds like a lovely person who did care about things that truly matter. I loved the message from page 205:
We have to practice what we hope for. As if what we hope for might be possible.
One aspect of their friendship was the sharing and reading of poetry as spiritual practice. Farrell even shares a list of her favorites at the end. I was familiar with a few of the poems, and I hope to have a chance to look-up the rest soon. At the creativity workshop on Saturday, my art teacher Dori shared a wonderful poem by Native American poet Mary Standing Otter that I think is fitting for our lesson this week.
Someone
Right now there are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.
Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favorite food is, and treat you to a movie.
Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. From where they are, they just can’t see it .
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to arrive, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.”
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe.
Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity.
Someone is coming back from the dead.
Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable.
Someone is curing the incurable.
You. Me. Some. One. Now.
~ Mary Standing Otter
Here is this week's scripture:
Prayer Requests
Please let me know if I have missed any updates or new requests.
- Pray for Rita as she mourns the loss of her sister.
- Please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer. She is recovering from a 2nd surgery to remove what is believed to be another cancer on her lung.
- 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. Also, pray that they will get good news on a proposal (a separate project).
- Keep Rita's daughter Megan in your prayers as she delves into her 3rd and final year of Nurse Practitioner program. Her anxiety is pretty high with the new schedule of work, school and home life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer. She is struggling, y'all. UPDATE: She was able to get chemo this week! Praise!
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. She is so thankful, as we all are!
- Carla and her husband has decided to stay in their home and not sell it and move. Pray that God will give them peace in their decision.
- Pray for my mother. She is really declining.
- Rita asks that we pray for her oldest daughter's Jewish friend. She dropped out of her 2nd masters' program at Michigan due to the anti-semitic tension she experienced last year, and is planning to move to Israel in October (she has dual citizenship) to see if a budding romance will work over the next 1-2 years. Please keep her in your prayers for her safety, relationship fulfillment, and eventual safe return to the US (with, perhaps, a soulmate for life).
- Rita's daughter Megan had rotator cuff surgery a couple of weeks ago. Pray for her speedy recovery.
- Pray for Jenna Meon.
- Pray that the peace will hold in the Middle East.
- Please pray for our Westie Finlay. He is my best little buddy, and never left my side during my cancer treatment.
Our local Fall Festival is Saturday. I doubt I will be able to go, but hopefully one of the other adults in the household can go and purchase a few pumpkins for the Trick-Or-Treaters next week.
Have a safe and happy weekend, Friends!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
It has been a rough week, Friends. Our Sweet Rita lost her sister, Jackie. She is the first sibling (I think out of seven) that she's lost. Rita's "Jenga Tower" was definitely shaken this week. Rita, I hope that you have been able to read this week's lesson. If not, it is waiting for you when you have the chance. I think it's a very apropos lesson for us when we experience loss.
I made the soup recipe early in the week, and I'm so glad that I did because the wheels came off our wagon later in the week. It was nice having something already cooked on those nights I was too tired to cook.
This is pretty much all of the ingredients for the soup. What's missing are the beans: I already had them cooking on the stove when I made this photo. I didn't use lentils like the recipe suggested. Instead I used some of the delicious Rancho Gordo beans I had on hand, the Santa Maria Pinquito Bean.
I also added beef Polska Kielbasa sausage to it as well.
Here is this week's Bible verse:
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Rita as she mourns the loss of her sister.
- Please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer. She is recovering from a 2nd surgery to remove what is believed to be another cancer on her lung.
- 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. Also, pray that they will get good news on a proposal (a separate project).
- Keep Rita's daughter Megan in your prayers as she delves into her 3rd and final year of Nurse Practitioner program. Her anxiety is pretty high with the new schedule of work, school and home life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer. She is struggling, y'all. UPDATE: She was denied chemotherapy for a second time this week due to low white blood cell count.
- 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.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. She is so thankful, as we all are!
- Carla and her husband has decided to stay in their home and not sell it and move. Pray that God will give them peace in their decision.
- Pray for my mother. She is really declining.
- Rita asks that we pray for her oldest daughter's Jewish friend. She dropped out of her 2nd masters' program at Michigan due to the anti-semitic tension she experienced last year, and is planning to move to Israel in October (she has dual citizenship) to see if a budding romance will work over the next 1-2 years. Please keep her in your prayers for her safety, relationship fulfillment, and eventual safe return to the US (with, perhaps, a soulmate for life).
- A tragedy has hit a small town just 3 miles from Carla's home in Cameron. A young man shot up his girlfriend's family and while doing so recorded it LIVE on Snapchat!!! They live in such small towns, that this shakes our communities. The shooting took place in Barron, Wisconsin Wednesday at 2pm.
- Rita's daughter Megan had rotator cuff surgery a couple of weeks ago. Pray for her speedy recovery.
- Pray for Jenna Meon.
- Pray that the peace will hold in the Middle East.
I hope all of you find a little bit of joy this weekend.
I love you all!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! I hope you've had peaceful week. This week's lesson was very peaceful, wasn't it! Entitled "Faith Gazing," Farrell talks about an outing to a remote beach with her family in 2016 to watch the Perseid meteor shower. She began the lesson with this quote from Barbara Taylor Brown. It's from the book I have pictured, above (An Altar in the World), and it was our book club selection this fall at my church. Here is the quote:
Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.
I enjoyed discussing this book with the ladies in our group, and one of my favorite chapters was the one entitled "The Practice of Walking on Earth" which focuses on groundedness. Barbara Taylor Brown writes quite a bit about walking in the book, whether it's walking in a labyrinth or out in nature. Getting out in nature is a healthy way to commune with God. It gets us off our devices, and it allows us to focus on God's creation. God speaks to us through his creation, and I can't think of a more pleasant way to ponder God's presence in our lives. Here is a favorite quote from this chapter:
It will help if you do not expect God to speak to you. Just give your full attention to where you are, for once. Walk as if your life depends on it...
This weekend, we are going to the lake for a much needed break. We are planning to spend lots of time outside in nature and taking several walks. It is my prayer for our little prayer warrior group that we will spend some time experiencing God and his creation this next week. We might not see a supernatural sign of God's presence, but hopefully autumn's beauty in our respective neighborhoods will encourage us and strengthen our faith that he truly has a loving plan in place for us all.
Here is this week's Bible verse:
Prayer Requests
- Please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer. She is recovering from a 2nd surgery to remove what is believed to be another cancer on her lung.
- 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. Also, pray that they will get good news on a proposal (a separate project).
- Keep Rita's daughter Megan in your prayers as she delves into her 3rd and final year of Nurse Practitioner program. Her anxiety is pretty high with the new schedule of work, school and home life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer. She is struggling, y'all. UPDATE: She had a bad fall, and broke a tooth, jaw, and nose. Please pray that she will monitor her strength, blood sugar, and blood pressure to help minimize her chance of falling.
- 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.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. She is so thankful, as we all are!
- Pray for one of my daughters. She is struggling spiritually right now.
- Carla and her husband has decided to stay in their home and not sell it and move. Pray that God will give them peace in their decision.
- Pray for my mother. Pray for God's will concerning her placement, whether she should stay in the facility she's in now, or whether we should pursue having her committed to a long-term mental health facility.
- Rita asks that we pray for her oldest daughter's Jewish friend. She dropped out of her 2nd masters' program at Michigan due to the anti-semitic tension she experienced last year, and is planning to move to Israel in October (she has dual citizenship) to see if a budding romance will work over the next 1-2 years. Please keep her in your prayers for her safety, relationship fulfillment, and eventual safe return to the US (with, perhaps, a soulmate for life).
- A tragedy has hit a small town just 3 miles from Carla's home in Cameron. A young man shot up his girlfriend's family and while doing so recorded it LIVE on Snapchat!!! They live in such small towns, that this shakes our communities. The shooting took place in Barron, Wisconsin Wednesday at 2pm.
- Rita's daughter Megan had rotator cuff surgery last week. Pray for her speedy recovery.
- Travel mercies for Rita's oldest daughter and sil. They are traveling overseas.
- Pray for Jenna Meon.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week!
Now go outside! ;P
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, and Welcome October! How was your week, Friends? I'm still spending lots of time taking care of my mother's business. It's a challenge, yet I'm thankful that I'm healthy enough to do all the things. So many people I know are having health problems, and I think stress is to blame for some of it.
I'm trying very hard to manage my stress level. What about you? Do you have any tips or tricks about stress management to share with us? I think hugs given and received help. I loved Farrell's story about Mikey's Deli on the Santa Monica Pier. Hugs are the best, and I am totally there for a café serving hugs.
This is a photo I took of the Santa Monica Pier on December 30, 2023.
I did not go to Mikey's Deli, and I hate I missed out on it!
Loving others and showing affection is so important in our world. Love overcomes hate, and it is a constant choice on our part. This week I read a devotion from Richard Rohr. This is what he said about making "a choice for love."
I'm giving you a new commandment so you'll know where I am, and who I am: "You must love one another."There is no other way we can know who God is---- or who we truly are--- but to love and be loved. Love is not something we decide to do now and then.Love is who we are. Our basic, foundational existence --- created in the image of the Trinity--- is love. Remember, Trinity is saying that God is not anisolated divine being. God is a quality of relationship itself, an event of communion, an infinite flow of outpouring.Love, like forgiveness, is a decision. It's a decision in our minds and in our hearts. And we better make it early in the day, because once we're given a few hours into low-level resentment, anger, or disappointment, it's too late. When we are not choosing love, we'll use any excuse to be unhappy or irritated.We have to recognize ahead of time when we are not living in love. This is surely why a morning prayer or practice is so important--- to allow us to choose to love each and every day.
Speaking of expressions of love.... I made the Moelluex au Chocolat recipe. Molluex means "soft" in English, and these soufflés are super soft and delicious. They are like a hug in a ramekin, I tell ya! They were easy, although the folding-in of the meringue was a bit slow and tedious, but OH! so worth it!
I enjoyed this lesson so much this week. What are your thoughts about the lesson?
Here is this week's Bible verse:
Prayer Requests
Our list is getting rather lengthy, but that is okay, y'all. It is a privilege to pray for you, your families, your communities, and our nation. Thank-you for being a prayer warrior!
- Please pray for our blog friend Emily (McGriff) and her husband Jim because they both have COVID. Emily's blog is The French Hutch.
- Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon. She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking. She is still struggling with her standing.
- Please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer. She is recovering from a 2nd surgery to remove what is believed to be another cancer on her lung.
- 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. Also, pray that they will get good news on a proposal (a separate project).
- Keep Rita's daughter Megan in your prayers as she delves into her 3rd and final year of Nurse Practitioner program. Her anxiety is pretty high with the new schedule of work, school and home life balance.
- Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer. She is struggling, y'all. UPDATE: She had a bad fall, and broke a tooth, jaw, and nose. Please pray that she will monitor her strength, blood sugar, and blood pressure to help minimize her chance of falling.
- 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.
- Carla's prayer request is for all the young people entering the military, the love they feel for the USA to become warriors to fight to keep us free. She is so thankful, as we all are!
- Pray for the victims and families of the Minneapolis Annunciation Catholic Church who were attacked in an act of despicable hate by the young man this week. Please pray for the safety of our Christian children in this country.
- Please pray that the violence from trans activists will end, and that they will get the mental health help that they so desperately need.
- Pray for the victims of the Colorado school shooting.
- Pray for Charlie Kirk's family, friends, and our nation as we heal from his assassination.
- Pray for one of my daughters. She is struggling spiritually right now.
- Carla and her husband has decided to stay in their home and not sell it and move. Pray that God will give them peace in their decision.
- Pray for my mother. Pray for God's will concerning her placement, whether she should stay in the facility she's in now, or whether we should pursue having her committed to a long-term mental health facility.
- Rita asks that we pray for her oldest daughter's Jewish friend. She dropped out of her 2nd masters' program at Michigan due to the anti-semitic tension she experienced last year, and is planning to move to Israel in October (she has dual citizenship) to see if a budding romance will work over the next 1-2 years. Please keep her in your prayers for her safety, relationship fulfillment, and eventual safe return to the US (with, perhaps, a soulmate for life).
- A tragedy has hit a small town just 3 miles from Carla's home in Cameron. A young man shot up his girlfriend's family and while doing so recorded it LIVE on Snapchat!!! They live in such small towns, that this shakes our communities. The shooting took place in Barron, Wisconsin Wednesday at 2pm.
- Rita's daughter Megan is having rotator cuff surgery this morning. Her prayer is for a successful outcome and speedy recovery.
- Travel mercies for Rita's oldest daughter and sil. They are traveling out of country today, and let's pray the government shutdown does not complicate their travels.
- I am having out-patient surgery this morning at 8:15 CDT. As always, y'all's prayers are appreciated!
I'm treating myself to a PSL after surgery this morning.
YUMMY!
I will have to put my feet up a little this weekend, and I'm planning to binge watch a few British TV shows and watch Cubs Baseball and Alabama football.
What are your plans?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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