Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Treat from the Kids

May 18, 2026

Our son, Ty in CA, and our daughter, De in Switzerland , combined forces and bought us a gift certificate for Mother’s Day to one of our favorite Bozeman, Montana restaurants: Dave’s Sushi. Today we used it with great delight!

Mmm … a Bliss roll for me and a John Wayne for Bob.

Who do you think enjoyed theirs more??

Cheers! My Bliss roll was magnificent! But we both equally enjoyed the house red … a delightful blend.

Look at those sushi rolls again.

Beef on sushi!? Not my choice. But Bob loved it.

And we had enough left on our gift certificate to give Thomas , our terrific waiter, a nice tip.

Thank you, Thomas. Thank you, kids! We’re so glad you made me a mother!!

Now tomorrow we’re headed to Chattanooga. Stay tuned, my blogging friends. I’ll let you travel along vicariously.

We’re praying for warmer weather in Tennessee. It’s been a crazy May here in Montana. Today we had gray breezes, restless puffy clouds, snow, rain, and then bright sunny skies…. All within 5 hours in Bozeman. Crazy!!!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Category:

Family, food, Giving, Love, Montana, relationships, Travel

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Mothers

May 10, 2026

M others

O nly

T hink of

H elping

E veryone

R egardless of their

S ituation

Hope your day was beautiful and you had (have) that kind of helpful mother (I did!)
And I am blessed with this very loving helpful son and…
… these two very sweet, helpful, loving daughters.

I am sure a lucky mama!

I hope your Mothers’ Day has been blessed, too.

Happy Mothers’ Day

Love, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, Family, flowers, Gratitude, Love, relationships

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Living Stones

May 3, 2026
close up of natural stone pattern on pebbled ground
Photo by Carsten Busch on Pexels.com

Sunday, May 3, 2026 – Sermon Notes
Brian Conklin – interim pastor
Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
Jan’s sermon notes:

“Skipping across the lake’s surface
The perfect stone seems to dance.
Looking for something specific,
God has chosen us as Living Stones.

Person skipping a stone across a river surrounded by trees and mountains

Peter says we’re built on the cornerstone,
The most important part of the building.
Jesus Christ is our cornerstone –
But He was rejected by the world.

Moses struck a stone; there were stones
That allowed Christ followers to walk
Across the Jordan without sinking.
Stones are instruments of God’s work.

Close-up of textured rock at edge of calm lake with distant tree line

God is our steady, certain rock.
Each of us is built in His image.
Like rocks, if we are fitted together,
We can be built into a spiritual house.

God never intended us to be a lone stone –
A stone out in the field by ourselves.
Faith allows us to be built into a Holy Priesthood –
A place where God is encountered.

We are offerings of love, mercy, and forgiveness.
Our lives make God visible on earth.
Sometimes we feel like a lone stone,
But we belong. We’re connected. We matter.

Large textured rock on grassy terrain with mountains and sunset sky behind
We’re not designed to be lone stones!

We are held together by grace.
Living stones are not identical, but
As unique individuals, start asking
“What is God building among us?”

Where am I placed and why?
Can I bear the weight of others?
I am strong enough and I am fit.
I’m willing to be placed and be a light in the darkness.

Are you?
Anywhere??

One sparkling stone among dark stones

God Bless You!
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Poetry, sermon notes, Serving One Another, writing

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Wisdom

May 2, 2026

James 3:17-18

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

Psalm 46:10

“Be still and know that I am God”

Have a lovely day filled with peace and the wisdom that comes from heaven.

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, contentment, Faith, Love, peace

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Help!

April 29, 2026

We live in a beautiful place with a beautiful view and wonderful neighbors.

Our property has about 4 acres and in the center of those is where our house sits surrounded by 13 evergreen trees.

The lawn and trees require a lot of care to keep the trees healthy year round and the sprinkler system working in the spring, summer and fall.

This is the time of year when turning the sprinklers back on and repairing broken ones and adjusting the direction of the water’s flow has to happen.

We couldn’t possibly do all this by ourselves.

Thank God for the helpful guys in our “hood” who volunteer their services annually because without their help, I’m sure we would find it very difficult to live here!

Live love laugh with JanBeek ♥️👌🏽

Category:

blessings, friendship, Gratitude, kindness, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, relationships, Serving One Another, trees, writing

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Join the “Hop”

Every week we are invited to hop onto Six Sentence Stories. Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.

Link is live Wednesday 6:00 PM, ends way late Saturday night.

Can be prose or poetry.

Try your hand at it!

This week’s prompt is HELP!

The website is here:

https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/author/girlieontheedge1/

Here’s my take on that word “Help”

Love,

JanBeek ♥️👌🏽

Category:

Love

4 Comments

Three Sentences

April 28, 2026

I was invited today to write a poem of
3 sentences
6 lines
including
a statement
a question, and
a conclusion.
Here’s mine:

Social media is as deceptive
as a hissing coiled snake.

At any minute do you think
it will uncoil and strike?

Yes, but its strike will unleash
questionable details distorting Truth.

vibrant green snake coiled on rock
Photo by Juan Diavanera on Pexels.com

Try your hand at a 6 sentence poem.
What topic pops into your mind?

Sending love your way
with a prayer for Truth
to survive and thrive!

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

Poetry, truth, writing

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Good Shepherd Sunday

April 26, 2026

Today’s sermon focused on the Good Shepherd.
Here are my notes
from interim pastor
Brian Conklin’s message today.

Psalm 23 is one of the Bible’s
Most memorized and loved scriptures.
It is powerful, impactful, comforting.
The care and protection are heartwarming.

The word shepherd means to be a friend –
Be a faithful companion who cares.
God is our friend, our closest companion.
He is faithful; his presence surrounds me.

God guides me along the right paths.
Solitude and quiet are part of my DNA.
I reflect, marvel, and hear God’s voice.
Solitude is not a sad time for me.

Life is tough; we encounter dark valleys,
But as a person of faith, I’m comforted.
I feel God’s presence and everlasting peace.
My cup overflows… abundance is mine.

In a world of scarcity, I am blessed.
God provides a voice to be trusted.
His voice encourages me to follow Him to still waters.
His still, small voice leads me to light, love and hope.

He is with me.

Hallelujah!

Amen?

Love,
JanBeek
(with my friend Stephanie at fellowship after church today)

By the way, we discovered today
that Stephanie has a look-alike in Switzerland!
My daughter, DeAna, sent me this photo
of her choir girlfriends who were out enjoying social time together.
It’s not hard to find Stephanie’s look-alike!
I think they could be long-lost twins!!

83d6d6dd-13bf-4363-9c78-9bb3557374ed

Our daughter, DeDe, is the third from the right.
Looks like they’re having fun, doesn’t it?

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, God, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, peace, sermon notes, writing

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My Morning Visitor

April 23, 2026
Injured moose
I didn’t let Kenny out on purpose!

We seldom see moose in our neighborhood during the day. They sometimes come down out of the mountains at night to nibble on our evergreens when their natural habitat up in the Gravellies or the Madison Range is snow covered. But this guy showed up in broad daylight.

Just sitting outside my kitchen door !

He had a ragged spot in his back and a bum leg. Probably had been injured by some other animal that attacked him.

After I got Kenny back inside, Bob & I chased the young moose off to the neighbor’s. He was nibbling on our trees! Fortunately, after I contacted the neighbor and explained, he called the animal protective services. Hopefully they came to help… I don’t want to think about how.

What do you think?

Protect our animals! And yourselves, too!!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Love, Montana, pets

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April Snow Continues

April 16, 2026
Gorgeous! But after my last post of April flowers, this is surprising, isn’t it?

It’s Ennis, Montana… and yes, friends, it can snow here on July 4th! So, this April snow should not be a surprise. In fact, after a relatively dry January through March, we are grateful for the moisture in April! It snowed all last night… and then more today. With no wind to blow it off the branches, ain’t it gorgeous?

I am up in my sanctuary, looking out at the magnificent snow covered trees and thanking God for them.

Smile, God loves you.
And so do I!

I’m praying for you,
For our world, and
For peace, please.

Love ❤️

JanBeek

Category:

blessings, God, Gratitude, Love, Montana, nature

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