Week Thirty-Three
Happy Friday, Friends! How was your week? I hope you had many opportunities this week to be mindful and slow down. Based on the email I sent to y'all, you know that I didn't, but I do hope that I will have a very slow Saturday!
I mentioned the mindfulness because that is what our lesson is about this week. Entitled "Don't Be a Tourist in Your Own Life," Farrell uses an example from her own life (a family trip to Yellowstone National Park) to illustrate what not to do. Not that whirlwind trips are bad, per se, but it is much more meaningful and beneficial to our health not to mention the quality of our lives to slow down and be present in the moment.
Over the weekend we had a whirlwind trip to Chicago. We spent almost all day on Saturday in Wrigleyville, and we went to a Cubbies game. We spent most of the day Sunday at the Art Institute (my other Chicago mothership). I noticed on the back of the Visitor Guide a list of "What to See in an Hour." This included a variety of twelve different works of art created across the centuries. Keep in mind this was before I'd read our lesson, and I remember thinking: "How sad!" My SIL and I made plans to go early since we're members before the general public can access the museum. That's when we began our journey through the Gustave Caillebotte Exhibit. Then we had a short list of must sees (for me, definitely the Impressionists and "Pardon in Brittany" by Gaston la Touche.) We also took a break for tea and coffee in the Member's Lounge. Although it was a whirlwind trip, we did not rush our activities and events.
Farrell also writes about how mundane chores can be meditative practices or "chapel experiences" that force her to slow down and focus on the chore at hand, bringing her "increased peace and joy." She specifically mentions the ritual of making granola for her family, and she included her recipe. I have not been home enough lately to make anything, but I was able to pick-up some granola while I was out because it sounded yummy at the time.
This is called peanut butter cookie granola, but don't let the name fool you. It was the healthiest option based on ingredients at my grocery store.
Were you able to make Farrell's recipe?
I want to try it when I get the chance.
In my weekly Bible study at church we are reading Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World. She says that when people ask about her prayer life, she describes hanging laundry on the clothesline. She relishes concrete accomplishments compared to the abstract. But what struck me most is her mindfulness as she goes about her chore. She is thinking about how grateful she is to have a body that can move and work, and she even mentions how she is thankful for the trees in Maine that provided the wooden clothespins. As she observes the breeze drying clothes throughout the day, she "imagines prayers spinning away over the tops of the trees."
This is good work, this prayer.This is good prayer, this work.~Page 46 from Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World
Here is our Bible verse from the lesson:
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 is praising the progress of her brother's rehab, and also the fact that her sister they moved from SC went to see a therapist last week!
- Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer. She has a 2nd surgery to remove what is believed to be another cancer on her lung scheduled for the 29th.
- 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. 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 started her chemotherapy treatments last week, and she is struggling.
- 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.
- Praise: Kris had a wonderful time on her trip to Tennessee!
- Pray that my mother's house closes this afternoon without a hitch.
- Speaking of real estate prayers, pray for Carla and her husband as they are listing their home and moving closer to their sons. Pray that God will guide them every step of the way!
- Carla is requesting prayers for her friend Conner who went to MEPS this week, he passed, he is now in the delayed entry program for the Marines. He will go to bootcamp June 2026 after high school graduation.
- 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!
Once my mother's house closes this afternoon, I hope I don't need to go to my hometown ever again!
On Saturday, I want to watch it rain, and if it doesn't, I want to watch the hummingbirds and bees as they get nectar from our million bells.
Have a relaxing and blessed weekend, Friends!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! Beware the Ides of March! ;P
I am so excited this morning because Mr. Prayer Warrior is having breakfast at home, which is rare! I have no idea what he'll want, but we have plenty of options.
What do you typically have for breakfast?
I usually only have a coffee bomb during the week.
This week's lesson is entitled "manna grace." It was another tough one on grief, and I admit I chose not to reread this one. There are way too many "what is it" moments these days, and so many mysteries we cannot comprehend. Yet.
Thoughts?
Here is this week's scripture:
Prayer Requests
- URGENT FROM CARLA: A local pastor is currently trapped in Haiti. Pastor Steven Svendsen. Please pray for his safety and swift evacuation from this dangerous country. (The Biden administration has stated that Americans are on their own in Haiti.)
- Kitty's son-in-law Eric found out yesterday from his doctor that insurance has declined to pay for his upcoming surgery. The doctor is going to appeal, and keep him scheduled. She asks that we pray insurance will agree to pay for this surgery for the brain implant for his cervical dystonia.
- Sam is back to his monthly Drill schedule with the Wisconsin National Guard. Prayer request is for strength and wisdom. Longer drill periods have been set for this year. Pray for the 157th!
- A group of Wisconsin National Guard will be deploying to Syria. Please continue to pray for our military and military families.
- Remember Rita's daughters in your prayers as they head into their spring semester of graduate studies while working full-time. She is particularly concerned about their levels of stress.
- Please pray for my friend Dawn who is fighting leukemia.
- From Carla: a local 57 year old truck driver was killed by an illegal. The illegal did not have any United States I.D. or a driver's license. He handed the deputies two I.D.'s from Mexico. Praying for the family of the truck driver, leaving behind a wife, children and grandchildren.
- Kitty asks for prayers for Mike to get a job.
While my coffee is brewing, I'm typing and watching a storm roll in. This is the last weekend of winter, and we're entering into our severe weather season.
I hope y'all have a peaceful weekend!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Sweet Friends! How was your weekend? Mine was spent fixing bugs on my blog. I also got a lot of chores done, too. I must admit that I'm a wee bit bleary-eyed this morning; the beginning of daylight savings time isn't exactly my favorite time of the year!
I have not read this week's devotion, but as soon as this post is live, I'll make some coffee, settled down, and read it. I'm intrigued with the title: "manna grace." Wouldn't you like to see manna, and then try to make something with it? It has been described as being like coriander seeds (Numbers 11:7).
Here is this week's scripture:
This verse was part of my daily Bible reading on Saturday!
Before I share the prayer requests... I want to share with you some great news Kitty shared with me over the weekend. We have diligently been praying that her grandson Connor and his dad would make amends, and they have! God is so good, and it has been a privilege seeing how he answers our prayers, and it's been super cool to see how he has been working in our families.
Prayer Requests
- URGENT FROM CARLA: A local pastor is currently trapped in Haiti. Pastor Steven Svendsen. Please pray for his safety and swift evacuation from this dangerous country.
- From Carla: Praying for the family of Laken Riley. My heart breaks for them. My Texas family asks for prayer regarding the fires and border.
- Let's pray that God will protect our American citizens against foreign entities who want to harm, kill, and destroy.
- Sam is back to his monthly Drill schedule with the Wisconsin National Guard. Prayer request is for strength and wisdom. Longer drill periods have been set for this year. Pray for the 157th!
- A group of Wisconsin National Guard will be deploying to Syria. Please continue to pray for our military and military families.
- Remember Rita's daughters in your prayers as they head into their spring semester of graduate studies while working full-time. She is particularly concerned about their levels of stress.
- Please pray for my friend Dawn who is fighting leukemia.
- From Carla: a local 57 year old truck driver was killed by an illegal. The illegal did not have any United States I.D. or a driver's license. He handed the deputies two I.D.'s from Mexico. Praying for the family of the truck driver, leaving behind a wife, children and grandchildren.
- Kitty asks for prayers for Mike to get a job and that Eric receives relief for his upcoming surgery in April for his brain implant for his cervical dystonia.
Have a great week!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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Happy St. Patrick's Day, Friends! Are you celebrating today? At the very least you should wear green so you don't get pinched. ;P
Today's lesson is about our single friends, and how we should accommodate them in our churches, ministries, and lives. Here is the scripture from this week's reflection:
Our church doesn't have anything that's strictly for married couples. I know that some churches do, but I'm unaware of it at ours. I have seen a few ladies in my life mistreat and exclude single women, but most don't. There were several practical examples of inclusion in the lesson, and I think we need to try to do things in person when we can.
Thoughts?
Below are today's prayer requests. If you have new ones, or if I forgot one, please include it in comments.
- Please pray for the people suffering in East Palestine, Ohio. God, please let there be justice for them.
- Please pray for Kitty's son that he gets a job and for her family that they can be united.
- Pray for Sam and the 157th, our active duty military, and our veterans.
- Our country needs godly leaders. Let's pray that God will send us leaders who fear Him.
- Please join me in praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our country at 7:14 AM and PM when you can.
- Rita has a prayer request for various health concerns within her family that are currently in crisis management to resolve. Also pray for Baby J's continued recovery.
- One of Carla's dear friends has a family friend who is being deployed to Poland/Romania. Praying that the preparations for his deployment go well as he prepares to leave his young family to honor this deployment.
- Please add Kitty's DIL, Kristen’s family, and the repose of her beloved mom’s soul who passed last weekend. Kitty expressed that she was such a lovely woman!
- Please pray for my oldest daughter Shanley Belle (toxic work environment).
I hope y'all have a great weekend! Trip and I celebrate 35 years of marriage Sunday.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Monday, Friends! I hope you are well, and enjoying a beautiful spring morning. Because of your prayer's and God's grace, I am feeling human again! Later today, Shelley and I will take the Westies out for a long walk. I am so thankful!
I love this week's reflection about our single friends, especially their roles in our churches. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and I look forward to reading your thoughts on Friday.
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for the people suffering in East Palestine, Ohio. God, please let there be justice for them.
- Please pray for Kitty's son that he gets a job and for her family that they can be united.
- Pray for Sam and the 157th, our active duty military, and our veterans.
- Our country needs godly leaders. Let's pray that God will send us leaders who fear Him.
- Please join me in praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our country at 7:14 AM and PM when you can.
- Rita has a prayer request for various health concerns within her family that are currently in crisis management to resolve. Also pray for Baby J's continued recovery.
- One of Carla's dear friends has a family friend who is being deployed to Poland/Romania. Praying that the preparations for his deployment go well as he prepares to leave his young family to honor this deployment.
- I have a praise: I am better, and I think I will be able to handle most chores and activities this week.
Please include any other prayer requests in Comments or email me and I'll include them in Friday's post.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! I hope y'all have had a nice week so far. I've had a week of testing, and my final test (ultrasound) is this morning. Severe weather is expected here today, and Birmingham suffered terrible flooding earlier this week.
Here is today's writing prompt:
How does it make you feel that Jesus prays for you?
It makes me feel loved, and yet it also humbles me, too. I hope he's praying for me today!
What about you? Do you have any specific prayer requests?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
I wanted to share a few of our pansies because they have done nicely this winter. They actually enjoyed being covered in snow Saturday morning.
Happy Monday, Friends! How are y'all? I hope you've been enjoying pretty late winter weather. We were in the high seventies on Friday, then it iced over Friday night and started sleeting and then snowing. We woke up to about an inch of snow Saturday morning! Yesterday there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but it was a little cool. We took the Westies to the park and no one was there!
This week in our guided journaling we continue to explore the importance of finding happiness in prayer. There are several bible verses discussed this week, too, and they are very encouraging as Jesus intercedes for us.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. ~Hebrews 7:25
Prayer requests? I want to thank y'all for your continued prayers. This week I have an appointment with my oncology cardiologist (on Tuesday), and imaging is on Friday.
Have a blessed week!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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