Happy Monday, Friends! I'm sorry for posting a little later this morning...I've been distracted by the 9/11 tributes, especially Real America's Voice's coverage. They are doing an amazing job, and may we always hold the victims and their families in our hearts. We need to continually pray for our country, and pray that we'll have bold leaders to repeal the Patriot Act.
Our devotional this week is entitled "trusting grace," and the scriptural reference is Philippians 4:6. I have a graphic for it plus verse seven from The Message:
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the people suffering in Maui. Let God shed light on the truth of what happened there.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim as she only has about four more weeks until she gives birth to her first child. Let's pray for an easy labor and delivery, and a healthy, happy mom and baby!
- Please, God, send us strong leaders who will put you first and then the citizens of our country.
- Pray that the division in our country ends, and that we can truly be one nation under God, and indivisible.
- Let's continue to pray for our gold star families and our active military.
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL, Julie, that her heart will change; for SIL, Eric, that he will see some relief for his cervical dystonia; and for her son, Mike, that he will get a job.
- Pray for my friend's husband Phinizy as he's having minor surgery Tuesday morning. Pray for fast healing and a negative biopsy.
- As a group, let's commit to the constant adoration of Christ and praise of God!
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Friday, Friends! How was your Labor Day? I love these short business weeks, especially when Mr. Bookish and I get to sleep in a little on a Friday morning!
This week's lesson is entitled "anti-anxiety grace." I was taken aback by John Calvin's quote that "the stability of the world depends on rejoicing in [God's] works." I found this quote both comforting and frightening for obvious reasons.
What Ann has learned from scripture and Calvin is this:
The answer to anxiety is the adoration of Christ."One Thousand Gifts," page 30.
Now that's an easy solution that can quickly become a habit!
Thoughts about the devotion?
Here's a reminder of the Psalm from our lesson, and the highlighted portion is in the graphic below it.
My heart is not proud, Lord,my eyes are not haughty;I do not concern myself with great mattersor things too wonderful for me.But I have calmed and quieted myself,I am like a weaned child with its mother;like a weaned child I am content.Israel, put your hope in the Lordboth now and forevermore.~Psalm 131
Prayer Requests
- Pray for the people suffering in Maui. Let God shed light on the truth of what happened there.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim as she only has about four more weeks until she gives birth to her first child. Let's pray for an easy labor and delivery, and a healthy, happy mom and baby!
- Please, God, send us strong leaders who will put you first and then the citizens of our country.
- Pray that the division in our country ends, and that we can truly be one nation under God, and indivisible.
- Let's continue to pray for our gold star families and our active military.
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL, Julie, that her heart will change; for SIL, Eric, that he will see some relief for his cervical dystonia; and for her son, Mike, that he will get a job.
- Pray for my friend's husband Phinizy as he's having minor surgery Tuesday morning. Pray for fast healing and a negative biopsy.
- As a group, let's commit to the constant adoration of Christ and praise of God!
Amen!
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Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Happy Labor Day, Friends! Do you have special plans today? We're planning to grill later, watch baseball, and maybe take a boat ride.
This week's devotion focuses on Psalm 131.
My heart is not proud, Lord,my eyes are not haughty;I do not concern myself with great mattersor things too wonderful for me.But I have calmed and quieted myself,I am like a weaned child with its mother;like a weaned child I am content.Israel, put your hope in the Lordboth now and forevermore.~Psalm 131
Psalm 131 was written by David. It's a song of ascent, which means it was written to sing while walking uphill. I should note that in order to reach Jerusalem one had to walk uphill.
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Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the people suffering in Maui. Let God shed light on the truth of what happened there.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim as she only has about five more weeks until she gives birth to her first child. Let's pray for an easy labor and delivery, and a healthy, happy mom and baby!
- Please, God, send us strong leaders who will put you first and then the citizens of our country.
- Pray that the division in our country ends, and that we can truly be one nation under God, and indivisible.
- Let's continue to pray for our gold star families and our active military.
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL, Julie, that her heart will change; for SIL, Eric, that he will see some relief for his cervical dystonia; and for her son, Mike, that he will get a job.
Until next time...
Blessings!
Ricki Jill
Ricki Jill
Another photo from my bestie, from the mountains of North Carolina
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Happy Friday, My Lovelies! It's September! It's also Labor Day Weekend! Do you have any fun activities planned for the long weekend?
I've already received a couple of emails from y'all, and the consensus is that y'all really enjoyed this week's devotion. I think that many of us learned something new about the etymology of the Greek word eucharisteo (from whence the word Eucharist comes) which means "he gave thanks." I love that the root word is "charis," which means grace, and that its derivative "chara" means joy. Our Christ did just that: He gave thanks knowing what he was about to face on the cross. It is fitting that grace and joy are embedded in the word eucharisteo, because His grace gives us our greatest joy. All of this information can be found on Page 27 in our One Thousand Gifts devotional, and Anne does an amazing job relating how our joy is tied to thanksgiving.
Here is our scripture:
Also, this week I keep seeing the following scripture, and I wanted to share it with you:
After the death of Moses, God spoke to Joshua to encourage him before leading His people into the promised land.
(Whenever I see a Bible verse several times from random sources, I pay attention, and I will always share it with y'all.)
I have sad news: Sarah Young, the author of the popular Jesus Calling devotional books, has passed away. From the email I received from Harper Collins Publishing:
Sarah believed that praying daily for the readers of Jesus Calling was an amazing privilege and a God-given responsibility. She committed time every morning to these prayers, often in the sunroom of her Tennessee home. Even as she struggled with her own physical health, and battled cancer, she continued the ministry of these daily prayers.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the people suffering in Maui. Let God shed light on the truth of what happened there.
- Pray for Kris's daughter Kim as she only has about six more weeks until she gives birth to her first child. Let's pray for an easy labor and delivery, and a healthy, happy mom and baby!
- Please, God, send us strong leaders who will put you first and then the citizens of our country.
- Pray that the division in our country ends, and that we can truly be one nation under God, and indivisible.
- Let's continue to pray for our gold star families and our active military.
- Please pray for Kitty's DIL, Julie, that her heart will change; for SIL, Eric, that he will see some relief for his cervical dystonia; and for her son, Mike, that he will get a job.
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Blessings!
Ricki Jill
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