Week Forty-One
Happy Friday, Friends!
We are expecting tropical storm weather here in Central Alabama this weekend, so I'm trying to finish preparations this morning.
This is the last lesson in the book, and we'll revisit favorites for the rest of the year. Please send me the page numbers of lessons you loved soon.
I really love Psalm 150. I always try to imagine what the music sounded like when the ancient Hebrews sang it with the instruments.
I hope that this little book has brought you some peace. I know it has me, and it has also reminded me of my purpose in praising God in all circumstances.
Below are two graphics from the scripture from this lesson and Psalm 150.
Praise the Lord.Praise God in his sanctuary;praise him in his mighty heavens.Praise him for his acts of power;praise him for his surpassing greatness.Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,praise him with the harp and lyre,praise him with timbrel and dancing,praise him with the strings and pipe,praise him with the clash of cymbals,praise him with resounding cymbals.Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.Praise the Lord.~Psalm 150
We have quite a few prayer requests. Pleas check back during the week in case of updates.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Mary's family and friends as they grieve over her passing. She will be missed, won't she! I was always inspired by her blog posts and enthusiasm for celebrating the seasons.
- Pray for Kris's husband Terry to find something here in Illinois full or part time so they can stay there for a few more years. UPDATE: Terry is up hopefully for a good job here in Illinois. Prayers he gets an interview.
- Continue praying for Kitty's son Mike as he continues on his journey of no pain meds. Mike is off of pain meds for several weeks and is weaning off several other prescriptions. Mike is requesting that we pray for his mental health.
- Molly bought a home that’s 15 minutes from her work! What a praise! Molly sees the beauty in how this all worked out according to God’s plans.
- Let's pray for all of our health, and for the health of our families.
- Pray for Carla's son Sam and his new wife, Cate, who were married on August 29th. Pray for the happy couple as they begin their new adventure!
- Kris's Grandson Edmund will be a Big Brother in March! God is so good! Let's lift both mother and baby up in prayer.
- Please lift up Rita in your prayers! She is beginning PT for her wrist.
- Pray for Rita's brother's companion Betty who was diagnosed with squamous cell from her lung biopsy. Betty has started radiation. Also pray for Rita's brother Joe. UPDATE: Joe's results came back, and he does have cancer. Please pray that his scheduled 10/23 pet scan will result in localized cancer. Please lift them both up in prayer.
- Kitty's brother is home from the skilled nursing care. Please pray that he can manage.
- Pray for Kris's SIL Tim who still needs a job. He has to test into another hospital system and they do not have an opening until the middle of this month.
- Pray for our male Westie Finlay. His vet found a large mass on his bladder. He will need further testing to determine the type of tumor and how to proceed. UPDATE: Finlay had further testing this week, and his tests have been sent to Auburn University. We hope to have the test results back on Monday afternoon.
- Kris will be admitted into the hospital Tuesday and will have surgery on Wednesday. She will be in the hospital for about 4 to 5 days. Pray for her surgical team, and that Kris will recover quickly without any complications.
- Please pray for Trip. He is still recovering from knee surgery, and pray that he will fully recover full motion in his foot.
- Please pray that I can get better sleep and rest.
- Pray for Kitty's grandson Connor (the one that was a Marine and was in Afghanistan when the thirteen Marines were killed). He has cluster migraines, and he needs to get an appointment at the VA to get referred to a neurologist.
- Rita has an urgent, unspoken prayer request.
- Be in prayer for Carla as she will be sharing her witness at a Women's Retreat at her church. Pray that all her words will be directed by the Holy Spirit, and that her testimony will encourage, enlighten, and inspire those women who hear it.
- Pray for those in the path of Hurricane Isaias. Most of Alabama is under a state of emergency.
Please schedule your annual mammogram if you have not done so yet.
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! Do you have any special plans for Memorial Day Weekend? We plan to go to the lake and relax!
This week's devotion is entitled:
This is one of my favorite devotions so far. I love how Ann takes the sweetest quote from her daughter: "Why is there all this loveliness?" The lesson is so needed because we tend to question the opposite, don't we? It's important for me as an artist to remember that there is a biblical standard for beauty and loveliness. In this upside down world depravity and ugliness is pushed in our very faces, and we are told that it is lovely. We are told not to believe our lying eyes.
The lesson's primary focus is the questioning of why God allows so much evil, of blaming him. I'd rather praise him for the beauty, for how he shares his goodness. As Father God is described in the lesson, He is a Giver.
Thoughts?
Here is this week's scripture:
I also had a graphic made of Romans 1:21 from the NIV:
Prayer Requests
- Rita asks for us to pray for her younger daughter's relationship struggles, and that she will listen to God's spirit within to make the right decisions.
- 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.
- Please continue to pray for our military and military families.
- Continue to pray for Carla's son Sam and the 157th! Sam is in Louisiana training. Let's pray that God will help him adjust to the heat and humidity.
- Pray for a safe, happy, and meaningful Memorial Day for our nation.
I'm making a pour-over coffee this morning. I'm getting the hang of it, and I like making coffee this way!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, Friends!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Friends! Did you have a wonderful Pentecost Sunday? We did! I meant to share the following prayer with y'all Friday, but I forgot.
This week's lesson is entitled "lovely grace." I liked this one, and I'll explain why on Friday.
Below is this week's scripture:
Prayer Requests:
- Rita asks for us to pray for her younger daughter's relationship struggles, and that she will listen to God's spirit within to make the right decisions.
- 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.
- Praise for Kitty's SIL Eric: His surgical redo went well, and he starts his new job today! Thank-you for praying, friends!
- Please continue to pray for our military and military families.
- Continue to pray for Carla's son Sam and the 157th! UPDATE: Sam will be leaving for training in Louisiana May 23rd (Thursday) for 5 weeks.
- Pray for leadership in our country, leaders who will care about America and Americans above global interests.
- PRAISE: Shanley Belle and Christopher are safe at home in Ann Arbor, and Shanley was pleased with her presentation. Thank y'all so VERY MUCH for your prayers!
Have some coffee, and read your devo!
Be a blessing to those in your circle this week.
Y'all are certainly blessings to me!
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! I hope you're having a peaceful morning. There is only one source for peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." ~John 14:27
I'm late posting today because I made the mistake of turning on the news this AM.
I want a do-over for my morning!
I hope you enjoyed the lesson about Theophilus this week. Here is the scripture from the reflection:
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.John 15:14-15
Thoughts about your being a friend of God?
Writing this post is making me hungry for breakfast. ;P
What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Prayer Requests
- From Carla: Hello, continue to pray for our military that are helping with the situation in Sudan and Africa. Also, pray for Sam and the 157th.
- Let's continue to pray for Kitty's son Mike to find a job, and for God to turn her daughter in law's heart to want to spend time with the family.
- We are being invaded from the south, and we no longer have national sovereignty. Please pray for God's intervention. Pray for our republic before it's lost forever.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday Morning, Friends! How was your weekend? We've been working very hard in our garden. We lost gardenias and many camellias during the Christmas freeze, and we've been replacing them and the other shrubs we lost. It was a beautiful weekend to work outside here in Central Alabama, and I think we (finally) finished the job!
We're starting a new section in This Life We Share this week: The God of Your Journey. I have not read the lesson yet, but I love the quote at the beginning of the introduction to the section:
Prayer Requests:
- From Carla: Hello, continue to pray for our military that are helping with the situation in Sudan and Africa. Also, pray for Sam and the 157th.
- From Kris: One of our fellow bloggers sweet pup is not doing well so prayers that she will turn the corner with her health. Prayers for a beautiful new week as we enter into May.
- Praise from me: We have had the most beautiful weather this past week. I love this time of year (Blackberry Winter).
- Let's continue to pray for Kitty's son Mike to find a job, and for God to turn her daughter in law's heart to want to spend time with the family.
Have a great week!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! How is your week so far?
Have you been thinking about forgiveness a lot this week? I have been, and I really like the quote from this week's lesson:
"Forgiveness is simply the act of changing your attitude toward the offender: it's moving from a desire to harm toward an openness to be at peace."
Here is this week's writing prompt:
Write about someone in your life you need to forgive. Why haven't you forgiven this person? What could forgiveness look like in this particular circumstance?
I have had a difficult time forgiving someone who tried to embarrass me in a public forum. I was set-up. What helped me forgive this person is I realized that he is a very miserable, bitter, and hateful person. He's also a bully. My thoughts about this person turned from anger to pity. I truly pity him because he clearly does not have joy in his heart, and I find that so sad.
What about you?
I have been living off caffeine this week because I haven't been sleeping due to steroids. It seems to get worse weekly!
Prayer requests? Please pray for rest for me.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Friends! I hope that y'all had a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day. It was an exhausting week for me, but after a Mother's Day brunch with Shelley and Trip, I took a long, much-needed nap yesterday afternoon. What did y'all do yesterday for the big day?
We're starting a new unit this week on finding happiness in forgiveness. This is a tough subject in my opinion!
Do y'all have any prayer requests? Please pray for Jackie from the blog Purple Chocolat Home as she will be having hip replacement surgery soon. Also please continue to pray for my mother and her medical testing. Thank you so much!
It's definitely coffee time now!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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