Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for February, 2019

My Brilliant Headline – following Cristian Mihai

  • OKAY, Cristian Mihai, I have a positive mindset! I am going to follow the advice you gave in your recent blog: “10 Easy-to-Follow Steps to Writing an Amazing Blog.”
  • And you can see my brilliant headline… up there.

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    Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy on Pexels.com

  • You can tell that I’ve opened the door to this blog with confidence, right?

Open like a boss.

Now here I am… the BOSS! (No I’m just lyin’ – I don’t really boss anybody!

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Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

  • Well, I DO kinda boss my dear husband sometimes. But he is rarely receptive to that tone! I can use persuasive words. That’s a better approach … persuasive words spoken in love!
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Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

It’s important to click on Cristian’s tips here to learn more. His links are just a click away. I NEED to persuade you to GO to his blog often to learn important skills that will improve your blogs and bring you a greater following. That’s one of your goals, right? Of course it is! See the underlined red words? Try moving there, but be sure to come back!!

I NEED your following! Join my blog!

  • Don’t forget to write like yourself.

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    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

  • Use all the tools at your disposal!
  • Bullets help
  • So do colors. (I don’t know how to make my words different colors the way Cristian does… I’m still learning) … but I can add colorful pictures to enhance my ideas.
  • It’s okay to cut and paste and use the ideas of others
  • That’s what I’m doing today. It spices up your blog!salt-1914130__480.jpg
  • Insert killer bullet points. Of course you noticed them here… I know you did!
  • Use Old Posts of Your Own 

    Using Cristian’s ideas helps me clean up old posts and make them more appealing, more readable. This old one was a perfect example:
    http://www.janbeek.wordpress.com/you-color-my-world   – Check it out. I reblogged it from a 2013 post!

  • Subheadings Draw Eyes Forward

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    Photo by wendel moretti on Pexels.com

  • Create fantastic subheads.  So, I created that subheading and your eye was drawn to it, right?
  • Tell a seductive story.
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    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Can I seduce you into sitting a spell and sharing a story with me? One that will draw you in and keep you turning pages?

    Cristian wrote: “Start the story with a seductive sentence.”

    I have written a memoir. I have not published it yet. It is titled, “All My Marbles.” The beginning sentence is,

    “I want you to know that I am a rather strong-willed, sometimes too outspoken, retired career woman who intends to live to be ninety-plus with all my marbles in place.”

    Would you be tempted to turn the page? The rest of that first paragraph reads:

    “Right up to the last, I want to smell good and wear dangling earrings that match my outfit for the day. I hope my children will get the message that there’s no need to get twitter-pated about getting older. As long as you keep your eyes on the NOW, your sense of humor tuned, and allow your style to be uniquely YOU, it’s likely that (unlike my cantankerous mother), you will wear your shirt right-side-out and still ‘give a shit’ at 89!”

  • Pay attention to the details. The details of my memoir include chapters about each of my seven grandchildren after some introductory chapters titled:

    Chapter One –   The Courage of Our Ancestors             8

    Chapter Two –   My Parents’ Confidence                        17

    Chapter Three – The Wisdom of Bob’s Parents              26

    Chapter Four – Love in Us

    (Chapter 4 tells about how my husband (of 57 years now) and I met … and how we managed to stay together in spite of a beautiful but rocky start. The details of this chapter include this lovely wedding photo.

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    That was 57 years ago, February 11, 1962, and today we are more in love than ever.

    Would you be tempted to buy my Memoir if I published “All My Marbles”??

  • In my blog, whose subtitle is “Love One Another,”
    I share daily ideas (130 days in a row now) from my life.
    I’ve been blogging since 2012,
    but just within the last 130 days I became serious
    about making it a daily habit.The Art of Blogging helped me make this commitment.
    Thank you, Cristian and Jason.
  • My life is filled with blessings –
    and I pass along tips for how to
    fuel your life with blessings, too.

    Come to my filling station often.
    My heart is overflowing… WITH LOVE TO SPARE.

    Sometimes I have to pinch  myself to know this is real.
    But –  – – it is!!

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Have a blessed day!

That’s not a command. It’s a request! I’m not a boss who carries a big stick. I’m a co-worker who is journeying this path called life with you. If I can lift your spirits and point you to the ONE who brings me blessings, I will have succeeded with my mission for today.

Spice Up Your Life (Haiku x4)

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Add spice to your life
Salt your days with rest and praise
Take time to relax

Add pepper daily
With personal time to pray
You’ll taste the difference

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Use leisure as time
To greet Jesus in your soul
He is there waiting!

God bless you this day
Health, strength, and vitality
Are His gifts to you

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Photo by Juhasz Imre on Pexels.com

Swan Songs

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Swan Song has the connotation
Of the last performance here –
The last time you will finish something –
A time to bow out and cheer.

This swan on the water is singing
To the tune of something new –
A day to appreciate the river –
Swim freely and enjoy the view.

We may stay in the freezing river
And sing our song to the Montana sky,
Or we may head off to Switzerland
Sing to grape-covered Alps way up high.

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We may go to the market in Spain,
See the display of candy – amazing!

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Or sing our Swan Song to friends
Whose life-times are closing and changing.

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Today I went to a Memorial Service
For five friends whose earth-life had ended.
Their lives were lived to the fullest,
But their last tune was poorly attended.

As I sang of the Old Rugged Cross,
And heard what a friend in Jesus we find,
I reflected on the Swan Songs of these
Who lived long lives, impactful, and kind.

They outlived their dearest earthly friends,
And they spent their last years in a bed
Where gentle caregivers loved them.
They’d have preferred to be home instead.

They’ve taken their stories and sweet songs
To their heavenly home – so don’t cry.
Just celebrate their lives lived in love,
And remember their Lights in the sky.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Each star that sparkles in the brilliant night
Is a reminder of one of these friends.
They lived lives of service; their stories don’t stop;
They’ll keep shining on us ’til eternity ends.

Whose lives are you remembering today?
Look up this evening… see their Lights blinking bright
as you remember their lives and legacy.
God bless them… and you … and have a good night!

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Photo by Hristo Fidanov on Pexels.com

Joyful Volunteering

Have some extra time?

What do you do with it?

Reach out to see some needs,

Volunteer and go through with it!

Make your free time work

To be a blessing for those in need.

Giving sure makes me smirk!

I peel and chop and assist with the feed.

Who will you help with your free time today?

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Wednesday’s Wordlessness

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Increased LOVE, like FAITH, takes EFFORT

via Increased LOVE, like FAITH, takes EFFORT

I had a conversation recently with a friend on the subject of WORKS vs. GRACE. I told him you can’t “work your way into Heaven” Jesus already paid the price for us. But, that doesn’t mean we are off scott-free!! I decided to do a little editing to bring this old post of mine up-to-date with some new formatting to make it more “reader friendly” and then repost it. I hope you will read it, think on it, and give me some comments at the end. Will you?

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Increase Our Faith

via Increase Our Faith

This was a part of my reminiscence in my “Sanctu-aerie” this morning. I repost it today with all the love I can muster. God bless you!

Surrounded by Angels

On a cold and frosty Montana morning
I sit in my sanctuary – surrounded by angels
And the stillness within and without
Takes me to my inner sanctuary

Come and join me this morning
In the beauty of a winter day
From the warmth of my Angel Room
My place of respite, where the Holy Spirit dwells

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The sky is dark and we’re in a cloud

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The angels within sing quietly; they’re never loud

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Jesus prays with me from His place in my cloud

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And reminds me that FAITH is not for the proud

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With humble appreciation, I think of the faces

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Who surround me with love in these heavenly spaces

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I thank God for the trees all frosty with glitter

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I dream of the people gone before me – they flitter

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In and out of my prayers, like the three angels here

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They remind me of prayer partners far away, yet so near.

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I think of the gifts of poets and artists

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The angels surround me – sending thoughts that are part of us

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Some are melancholy, reminding me of my sins

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Others are joyful, and my gratitude spins

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I remember the angel who decorated this egg

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And all the other creative friends – Watch over them, I beg

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Help my friends who are ill and need special care

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Shine Your light on them… let them know You are there

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Bring them comfort and health and wisdom galore

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Hold them close to Your Heart, Lord, give them so much more…

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… than ever they dreamed of; like the birds of the air

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Let them know you are with them; show them how much You care.

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As the darkness subsides and the blue sky emerges,

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Send them all Your GREAT LOVE that in my heart surges…

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Great love for the angels that brighten my day.

And now, my dear friends, I send some your way!

heart shaped red balloonGo on your blessed, lovely, angel-filled way!And thanks for joining me in my sanctuary today.

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Hugs from JanBeek

Breathe Daily Seasons

In the midst of a zero degree day
It helps to recognize daily seasons.
I’m not stuck in the winter when
The day progresses for different reasons.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Awaken to spring
Now pause for a few moments
See blossoming life.

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Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Focus in mid-day
Smell fruitful summer‘s ripening
Invite new fullness.

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Photo by Vali S. on Pexels.com

Afternoon respite:
Sense vulnerability
Autumn‘s letting go.

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Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

Move to the darkness
Experience winter‘s call
Be still and know God.

Happy Monday!

Lana Cole posted this on her ColeCampfire inspirational blog this morning. It’s a great reminder as we begin this new week.

Thanks, Lana.

Which of the blogs you follow inspired you this morning?