Week Twenty-Three
Happy June, Friends!
Wow, it has been the best week of my life! My Little Starling was born, and I'm a grandmother!!! :D
Y'all.....full disclosure....I'm distracted! All I've been doing is looking at photos and shopping.
I'm sorry that this lesson is going to be brief, but it actually has less to do with Starling and more to do with the fact that they began our bathroom demolition this week! I must admit that although they did an amazing job (especially cleaning up the mess), I had to get our elderly dogs away from the noise.
Another distraction has been the disappearance of our neighbor, Weston Higginbotham. The Higginbothams live directly behind us (our backyards touch). Y'all might have seen on national news or in the paper about his disappearance while on a family trip to Japan. He's twenty years old, a student at Auburn University, and is tall and very blond. He would certainly stand out in Japan. He's been missing for a week now, and I cannot imagine the hell his parents Keith and Nancy are going through right now.
So I want to say I'm sorry that this post is NOT one of my best ones. But I love the gist of the lesson:
Let these truths of the Psalms become "ear worms" to comfort your heart and your soul.
I want to pray this week's verse from Psalm 59 for the Higginbotham family.
Prayer Requests
- Carla would like for us to pray for the military build up at the door of Iran. Pray for our leaders to seek wisdom. Continue to pray for our military, our young men and women who are at that door waiting what orders might be coming. May God protect them.
- Pray for Kris and Terry as they decide where to live when they retire.
- Pray for Kris's son-in-law Tim. UPDATE: Tim was fired for his job after 17 years on at the fire department. Please say a prayer for Tim that he can get another job quickly. He is devastated by all of this.
- Carla has an extended family member stationed in Kuwait named Haley. She is her cousin Steve's daughter. Please pray for her safety!
- Carla's Sam has several Wisconsin Guard friends stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Sam had an update for us from his teammates who are currently deployed in the war zone. Please be in prayer, they have been bombed several times. Continue to pray for safety.
- 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.
- Kitty would like for you to pray that her daughter sells her barndominium and can find a home closer so that she’s not driving two hours a day.
- Pray for my health as my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome has come back in full force. UPDATE: I will be seeing an allergy specialist Tuesday.
- PRAISE: My Little Starling is doing well, and so are mom and dad. She's wee (wearing premie clothes), but she is thriving.
- URGENT: Please pray for the Higginbotham family as they travel home from Japan. Pray travel mercies and that the Holy Spirit will comfort them as they grieve.
- Please pray for Kitty's brother who has not been doing well, and her sister who's been his caregiver.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Hello, Friends! I slept in this morning. Mr. Prayer Warrior did not wake me up, neither did the Westies. I woke up to a super-quiet house. It was so nice! I needed the rest.
I'm not close to being 100%, y'all. This cold has been wicked, and it will be two weeks tomorrow. I think the problem is I start feeling better, then I do too much, and I have a setback. UGH!
What did y'all think about today's lesson? I love the title More Wonder! In order to experience God's wonderful creation we have to experience it. Did you try the social media sabbatical? I did not completely, but I did limit my time this week. And do you know what? I was able to finish a painting I'd been working on for months! I did not get to experience as much nature because our air quality has been horrendous with allergens, but at least I found joy in other ways. I did spend about half an hour this week watching the rain as it watered our flowers in our garden and containers. It was very peaceful.
This afternoon I'm making the tea recipe from last week. I will share it next Friday! :D
Please share with us what joy you found this week!
Below is a poem about learning by Amanda Gorman, and I thought it was applicable to our lesson.
Every Day We Are LearningEvery day we are learningHow to live with essence, not ease.How to move with haste, not hate.How to leave this pain that is beyond us, behind us.Just like a skill or an art,We cannot possess hope without practicing it.It is the fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.
Isn't it true that More Wonder! feeds our hope! Let's be cognizant of feeding it this next week.
Below is this week's scripture.
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.
- 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 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.
- 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!
- Praise! Kitty had a wonderful time with her family on her trip, and Grandson Riley even made it after coming home from South Korea for his leave.
- Pray that I can get over this cold. Please continue to pray because my asthma is also ramped-up.
- Prayer requests... for all our National Guard and also the Marines deployed in LA.
- Carla's son Sam is at Fort McCoy: please be in prayer as a protest is planned in Milwaukee.
- Let's also pray that the 250th celebration for our Army will go as planned, and pray for all the communities in our country planning on holding the "No More Kings" protests.
- Pray for our law enforcement this weekend especially!
Now I'm off to drink copious amounts of hot tea!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy New Year, Friends! I hope you are enjoying the first week of 2024 so far. We are so blessed to be able to study devos together and pray for one another.
This week's devotion is entitled "hunting grace." It could also have been entitled "hunting beauty," couldn't it! I thought this was a very sweet lesson because it does focus on making that conscientious effort to find beauty and grace in the midst of our messy and chaotic lives.
Here is this week's scripture:
Prayer Requests:
- Kitty asks that we pray that her Grandson Connor and his dad will make amends; Son Mike will find a job; and Son in law Eric will be able to manage his cervical dystonia.
- Pray that God will keep a hedge of protection around each of our families, especially concerning our health (physical, mental, and spiritual).
- Thank-you, God, for your constancy in answering our prayers!
- Pray for unity in our country, and that God will show us mercy and continue to bless us.
- Carla has a request for her community as crime is increasing. She also requests that we pray for courage for the citizens of Cameron.
- 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 2024. Pray for the 157th!
- Praise: Our families traveled safely over the holiday season. God is so good!
I hope you have a cozy weekend, Friends!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Happy Epiphany, Friends! Today our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters celebrate Christmas.
I loved this week's reflection, and I especially like the title: Aging Gratefully. Maggie covered a whole lot of issues concerning our older demographic, and I especially liked reading what scripture says about how we should approach our older years:
For through wisdom your days will be many,and years will be added to your life.~Proverbs 9:11Gray hair is a crown of splendor;it is attained in the way of righteousness.~Proverbs 16:31Even to your old age and gray hairsI am he, I am he who will sustain you.I have made you and I will carry you;I will sustain you and I will rescue you.~Isaiah 46:4
I love the promised made in these verses, don't you?
Prayer requests?
We have several requests from Rita. Her family is under attack, and we need to lift them up!
Please pray for:
- Rita's daughter M who has had a terrible GI bug.
- Rita's granddaughter Baby J is in the hospital with RSV.
- Daughter M's family dog had surgery today (a Welsh terrier).
- Rita has a praise that daughter B is over her illness!
- Let's also lift up daughter M's manager who has been so kind to M during her illnesses and her family's illnesses. Thank-you, God, that M has such an understanding and kind manager!
If y'all have any requests, place them in Comments or email me!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy New Year, Friends! I hope that your New Year's celebrations were fun, and that you are still celebrating Christmas at least just a wee bit because today is the Ninth Day of Christmas!
I always see the verse in the graphic around New Year's Day. I thought I'd share it because I've seen it often the past several days!
This week's reflection is about aging gracefully and ageism. I only skimmed it, but Rita has read it already, and she enjoyed it!
Prayer requests?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! God has a sense of humor, doesn't he! Here we are, in the midst of Omicron, and we're talking about greeting each other with hugs and kisses! He knew that we'd be reading this guided journaling page this week, LOL! Shelley was quarantined because so many of her coworkers have it, and I know of several people who have it now.
So here is this week's writing prompt:
Do you typically greet someone with a handshake, hug, or high five? How does it feel to be greeted by others in this way?
I'm definitely a hugger, so I tend to hug people I know well when greeting them. At church, during the exchanging of the peace, I tend to shake hands unless I know someone well. Between the exchanging of the peace and holy communion, it will be months before I can go back to church in person, unfortunately! I watch it on YouTube.
What about you??? I bet you Midwesterners are big huggers.
Prayer requests? I am feeling pretty well, and I know it's because of prayer and God's goodness and mercy towards me. Thanks for praying, y'all!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
I loved the photo in the new section of the book...
I had to share it here on the blog!
Happy Monday Morning, Friends!
I thought the introduction about greeting fellow believers with a "holy kiss" fascinating. I can remember when I first visited my husband in his hometown of New Orleans, I was surprised how almost everyone who met me kissed me on the cheek!
I guess we aren't getting that up close and personal during the cold and flu season, but I'm still interested to read about how greetings lead to happiness.
Have a blessed week!
Prayer requests?
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
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