Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for June, 2020

Antelope and Attitudes!

Antelope are adorable in the field…

… but they need to stay out there!
No, Annie, don’t come down our driveway!

Yesterday we had a beautiful bed of red petunias in our wheelbarrow…

This morning the blossoms were gone!
See that chewed off stem there?
Darn those antelope!
My attitude toward them today is not very loving.

Fortunately, they left the geraniums alone.

And they don’t seem interested in the columbine…

…or these sweet yellow ones ( I think they’re lilies).

So, while I may be dismayed
over the loss of our petunia blossoms,
I still have reason to be happy, right?

I found a new book yesterday.
It’s a type of journal.
I’m going to have fun with it:

I don’t have much to stress over,
besides stray, hungry antelope,
but life always throws us curves, right?
It’s always a challenge to stay calm when trouble strikes,
and achieving balance is a constant pursuit for me.

So the topics in this little book
caught my eye…
especially the “Stay Positive”
and
“Dream.”

Set your plans for the year ahead,
And then make them happen.

Yes!
One way to be happy and find joy in life is to dream.
Live in the NOW, but
never stop dreaming about a better tomorrow.


I signed up for Bob Goff’s “Dream Big” Workshop.
Do you have big dreams?
You’re never too old to dream big, you know.
At age 80 and 81, Bob & I find that
our dreams keep life moving forward!

I am dreaming
of a trip in the spring of 2021
to Switzerland
to visit our daughter and her family.

I took this picture on one of our previous trips,
high in the Alps at a restaurant overlooking their valley.

I dream of the day
when it will be safe to travel,
to freely socialize,
and to gather with friends again
to enjoy our pastimes.

Enhance your life with a pastime that lifts your soul.

What pastime lifts your soul?
I love writing (can’t you tell?)
and your responses to my daily posts
lift my soul.

I also love music 🎶 –
both listening to it –
as well as playing my accordion
and playing in the bell choir.

I enjoy playing for friends at our Madison Valley Nursing Home,
however with this pandemic, they are off-limits now.
But they are safe… no cases of COVID-19 there.
Keep looking at the bright side.
Thank God for their health and ours!

We can’t gather as a group to practice our bells right now.
But, think positively!
This pandemic can’t last forever!
I pray daily for a vaccine or an effective treatment.

Think Can’s – Not Can’ts

Don’t dwell on the “can’ts”…
Concentrate on the “cans!”

I CAN enjoy this beautiful day
and go for a walk with TazE
in Lion’s Club Park
along the gorgeous Madison River.

I CAN meet new friends,
chat with this adorable little girl,
get acquainted with her mom,
and keep social distance at the same time.

I’m not standing as close as the picture looks!
I edited it so you’d get a good look at that little cutie.

Lion’s Club Park has this great little lake
where kids can fish and keep ’em.
Our Madison River is a “Catch and Release” only.
Today the fish were jumping.
I CAN enjoy this beautiful day!!

I CAN visit with my family in Switzerland via social media.
Thank God for the internet!
We got to share Andre’s birthday with him via the computer.
Doesn’t his smile make you smile?

Andre’ Solioz, my son-in-law

Happy Birthday, Andre’

Heck, when Bob and I were dating back in the 50’s,
and he was stationed in Germany,
it took two weeks to get a letter to him…
and another two weeks to get a response.
No such thing as computers –
and phone calls were too expensive!

Think of how blessed we are today!
Instant communication!

Back home, the lawn is mowed.
The grass is going to green up again
because the automatic sprinklers will water it
and the sun is shining to encourage it.
Thank you, Bob, for your work on the mower yesterday.
(Don’t you love his creative designs?)

This is livin’

Today Bob is out fishin’ …
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy!
Fish are bitin’ and the …

How does that song go?
Let me leave you singing it.

Guard your flowers…
and watch your attitude!

Every day is so full of blessings.
Count them!

See you tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, contentment, Family, Fishing, flowers, God, Gratitude, happiness, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, mountains, music, peace, photography, relationships

Tagged with:

We Need Faith

Faith to SEE…

See not just yourself,
but what matters is that we
see the best in others, too!

Faith to FEEL…

Feel their anguish and pain
as well as their joy and gratitude

Faith to DO…

DO reach out in faith
and love to one another!

Faith to LIVE…

Live the peace of God…
sow love!

We Need Faith

Words by John Thornburg


We need a faith so color blind,
So free from time-worn lies,
That when we look from face to face,
We see the eyes of God.

We need an ethic of respect,
An honest pledge of trust,
That when we share the deepest things,
We feel the warmth of God.

We need to act as well as speak,
To see each other’s sweat,
That as we we labor side by side,
We do the work of God.

Come, Christians, look for character,
And not for shade of skin,
That as we rend the walls of race,
We live the peace of God.

In the YouTube video below, hang in there through the introduction to the song, and then let the words, the music, the interaction of the performers, and the joy of the audience and children LIFT YOU UP… “Raise you up to more than you can be!”

With FAITH and God’s help,
we CAN and we will
be part of the healing solution
for this divided world.
We WILL be part of the change
we hope to see in our world.
We PLEDGE to be agents of UNITY!

All you need is LOVE, FAITH, and DETERMINATION to
see the eyes of God,
feel the warmth of God,
do the work of God, and
live the peace of God.

Together, we can be the change we wish to see in the world.
Let’s get to work!

Thanks for joining me.
See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek



Category:

Belief, blessings, children, Faith, God, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Poetry, relationships, respect

Tagged with:

If You’re Happy…

If you’re happy and you know it,
How do you show it?

In this joyful video,
Children from around the world
Teach us how to let others know it…

I dare you to play this video and NOT SMILE!!
Come on, sing along – and JUST DO IT!!

A-Z What Makes You Happy

Years ago I did an A-Z series on what makes me happy. It started when I was stuck at a railroad track with a stalled train blocking my way to a luncheon engagement. I already was late, and now I was grumbling. Of course, my mood and grumbles didn’t move the train. I decided to change my mood and start thinking happy thoughts instead of growling at the Lord.

Those minutes sitting at the train tracks turned into a 26 day blogging series that included a letter a day: A = ______, B = ______, C = _______ …. you get the idea.

Today I found a new friend… I reposted her blog from today on WordPress and then started to peruse her site. What a delight!

Abide In God

Her by-line says her mission is: “Seeking faith and wisdom in God’s word, a supportive website for the Christian journey.” In her “About” section, I found her picture. I love being able to visualize my fellow bloggers, don’t you?

There is such kindness in her eyes!

Get to Know Blogging Friends

I am having fun getting better acquainted with this delightful mother of a 23-year-old daughter and grandmother of a darling little boy and adorable twin girls. She (I have yet to discover her name) reminds me very much of my across the street neighbor, Penny. So for now that’s what I will call her.

P.S. I just received a response from “Penny.” Her name is Lesley!

Today if I did the A-Z exercise in what makes me happy, I’d have to substitute A = apples (or whatever I said way back then) to A = Abide in God.

What would you put for your A = ______ ?

Pursue Connections

Lesley has a few sub-blogs. If you click on “Abide in God” up there, you will see her other sub-titles. One of them is “Today I am Thankful for…” But when I click there, it says its content is password protected. Lesley – if you are reading this, I want to join that part of your journey. How do I get in? I am knocking at the door!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hello, Lesley – Let me in… I like your link to supportive websites and the reference to James 1:5

With supportive friends like you out there, and the Bible as our guide, this Christian walk can be more do-able! It makes me happy to know that I have you as a soul sister whose purpose matches mine. Together, we can:

Today what makes me happy includes: F = Finding your blog and Following it.

Another blog I follow that makes me happy every day is: D = Derrick’s garden! derrickjknight – If you don’t know Derrick and Jackie, do yourself a favor and go meet them today!

I come to their garden alone … not really alone, for Jackie & Nugget are there… and Derrick is behind the camera, and the dew is not still on the roses:

Jackie, Derrick’s dear wife (master gardener) is busy at work. Her smile makes me happy. J = Jackie’s smile!
(Thanks, Derrick, for your beautiful photography.)

Thank you, Jackie, for sharing your wonderful gardening results with us. I can’t grow roses here in Montana. The antelope eat the buds and chew off the leaves! So I am deeeelighted that you share yours.

Be Happy With What You Have

Show others your joy!
A part of being happy
Is looking around.

Appreciate life
And be thankful for your friends;
Share in their blessings.

Don’t focus on lack.
But look at what you have got,
And thank our Father.

Have a Wonderful Week!
Thank you for visiting JanBeek today.
I hope it made you happy.

Share with me something that brings you joy.


See ya tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blogging, children, contentment, Faith, Family, flowers, friendship, God, Gratitude, Haiku, happiness, Jesus, Living in Harmony, Love, music, nature, photography, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another, writing

Tagged with:

A Litany For Those Not Ready For Healing

This post is so powerfully and thoughtfully written. Every person in the world – and especially in these dis-United States – should read this!

Click on the title to read it.

Category:

Love

Tagged with:

Montana ATV Father’s Day

If you lived in Montana – west across the valley from the Madison Range – with two mountain ranges north and south of you filled with trails for All Terrain Vehicles, and you had an ATV, how would you spend Father’s Day?

Yup, you guessed it! We went on “Lucille” (our red-headed ATV who is a BALL) up into the Tobacco Root Range to the top of the world this afternoon.

Come and take a ride with us… way up to the snow area where snow drifts caused us to have to turn around and head back down. We’ll start up there and head down

Below that snowy area, there is a gorgeous lookout where we can view the valley below. I took a few photos from that lookout to share with you.

Looking east to the Madison Valley and the Madison Range.
See our Boston, TazE, by the road there?
Looking west from the Lookout
The fields were covered with beautiful little flowers.
On our way up to tha lookout, we stopped at Sureshot Lake.
TazE appreciated the break after the bumpy ride down.
You can see the lake below to the right of the window.

We saw twice as many campers in the camping areas this trip compared to any other year, and we’ve been traveling this route for nearly ten years. During this COVID-19 pandemic, word has gotten out. Montana is a great Big Sky place… with lots of fresh air, space, and unbelievable beauty.

And this “crowd” of campers is nothing compared to what you’d experience in California or Florida or other vacation destinations!

Time to head toward home…. there’s our Madison Valley down there.
These are called “Jack Fences.” They don’t have to be buried, so they survive the snow and freezing temperatures longer than posts that need to be pounded in.
Tucked back into these mountains are some really beautiful horse farms.
TazE knows when we get close to home. She gets up and goes on high alert!
We’re happy you joined us for our Father’s Day adventure.
Back to the pickup near this lily pond in McAllister.
Time to put “Lucille” on the trailer and go home for a barbecue.

Here’s lookin’ at you!
Happy Father’s Day, my friends.

Til next time – Happy Trails to You!
See ya tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

flowers, holidays, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, pets, photography, Travel, trees

Tagged with:

He Left Us

He Left Us

He left us his roses and hydrangeas,
and his garden with zucchini,
but he forgot to take the old wheelbarrow,
and he forgot the bocci ball court.
He left his mother’s crucifix on my wall,
his watch in the top dresser drawer,
the Balsamic vinegar in the cupboard,
but he forgot to take his Gallo Burgundy.
He left in each of us his love of family,
his teary-eyed sentimentality, and he left
the aches and pains of his earthly body,
but he forgot to take his spray paint, and
his love of convertibles with the top down.
He left the wife he loved so faithfully,
the family and neighbors who miss him so,
and the unconditional love; but he
forgot the collection of nude calendars,
and he forgot to take his twinkle.
I know – I have it!

I thank God that my daddy and I had such a wonderful relationship. I am so grateful for Dad’s unconditional love and warm hugs. This photo was taken in the early 1960s when I was in college… home for Father’s Day weekend.

And here is my dad with Mom, “the wife he loved so faithfully,” at their 30th anniversary, back in 1968. Can you see the twinkle is his eye? He and Mom were married for nearly 60 years before he died in 1998.

Happy Father’s Day to my dear hubby, Bob, father of our children, Ty & DeAna. In this photo, he was enjoying a day out on the Madison River last year on Father’s Day weekend. The weather prevented us from getting out today, but the fish are waiting. We’ll get out there soon.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there.
How will you spend YOUR day?

In another couple decades, when Bob & I leave this earth,
his poem will look far different from my dad’s.
Parts may be the same, because
he will leave his unconditional love
in the hearts of all who know him, but
other parts will be quite a contrast:
no Gallo Burgundy for him!
And he won’t leave his Runquist Wines behind… no way!!
It will all have been consumed…

Cheers, my friends!
(Sante’ – as we “prost” in Switzerland)

Enjoy your Father’s Day.
See ya tomorrow.
Hugs, JanBeek

Category:

children, Family, Fishing, God, Gratitude, holidays, Love, Memories, Montana, Poetry, relationships

Tagged with:

Best Laid Plans

Well, my WP friends, I told you I’d post pictures this afternoon of our river float, right?

Nope, that’s not my photo. I found it on the internet. It’s where I’d like to have been – with that blue sky dotted with clouds, but alas…

Bob’s out weeding – no blue in our sky!

Take a look at that gray sky. Does it look like an inviting time to go out on the river? Temperature’s not bad, though – even though rain is threatening. Look, Bob’s weeding the garden in his shorts!

Come sit on the porch with me; we can watch him work!

Look at that sky – Threatening!

That’s the direction of the river… and if this were a video, you’d see the trees and bushes blowing in the wind. It isn’t a pretty time to be out rowing!

So, let’s have some fun at home instead.
Set those best laid plans aside.
Make lemonade with those lemons!

That wind and those clouds were sent by God. I wrote a Haiku this morning about the way the wind blows the clouds away. Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day.

Meantime, let’s just find some ways to smile and enjoy some laughter inside on this Saturday afternoon.

I needed a therapy dog because my husband has a habit of walking around without clothes on. Well, we ARE separated from other houses by a few acres, right. But still…

Hah!
No, I’m just kidding…
he never walks around OUTSIDE naked!

With all this refrigerator time, I should start using my recumbent bike more often… develop some sort of exercise routine and keep my TOPS weight under control, right? But…

Did that one make you chuckle?

I was looking for something to distract me this afternoon from the coverage of Donald Trump’s rally where all those people are crowded into an arena and only about one in ten are wearing masks.
So I logged on to Derrick’s garden.

Do you follow Derrick’s delightful posts at derrickjknight ? Today his post was “Night and Day” – and his roses were captivating. Check him out! He and Jackie have a flower garden second to none. And Derrick’s photography is magical.

Here is a rose for you from their garden:

Have a Happy Father’s Day, my friends.

If you don’t get to go where you wanted to go
(for whatever reason),
make the most of it where you are.

And don’t worry about being too sexy…
God loves you just the way you are,
and so do I!


What did you do today?
And which of my offerings make you laugh out loud?
Share!

See ya tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Family, Fishing, flowers, Gratitude, happiness, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Montana, pets, photography, relationships

Tagged with:

Reblog #8 – Be at Peace

Seek the stillness Seek the tranquility See the peace within The calm in you and me

Photo by Lisa Glines

Imagine a peaceful lake Breathe contentment into your life Relax and be a gentle presence Turn away all stress and strife

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in all situations, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Photo by Nick Kwan on Pexels.com

Do not let the wind Disturb your tranquility The wind moves the clouds The clouds paint pictures The clouds bring much needed rain Wind whips them away Let the wind help you Blow away any distress And just be at peace

Smile, my friends!

I gotcha covered in prayer. Have a peace-filled day. When this post was first written, Bob & I were headed out in the boat to float the Madison River. Since then, we have sold the boat. A lot has changed in our lives.

I took this photo on my walk earlier the day this post was first written.
I promised that I would take photos on the river float and post them here for my WordPress friends. I don’t think I did that! But, I can remedy that now… Here are a few gorgeous shots of the Madison River Enjoy! Susan's Golden Madison River Madison River - scarlet sky   Madison River @ Macatee Jan w TazE @ Madison River Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow. Hugs, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Family, Fishing, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, mountains, peace, photography, Poetry, relationships, Travel

Tagged with:

Sky Writing

Paul Holdorf clouds

The day began in wondrous splendor

With a sky of amazing hue

It carried on until the evening

Mixing gray with white with blue.

The sunrise was super amazing

Grab the camera! Catch the gleam!

Find the Angels in formation

Rays extend in glorious beam.

You might wonder at the Master

Who created all we see.

How’d He come up with these paintings

That He shares with you and me?  


Sharing Our Writing

Today my Writers’ Group friend, Janet Muirhead Hill, joined me to share what we’ve been working on. (I was disappointed that three others who might have joined us were unavailable today. Hopefully they’ll be here for our next meeting).

I was inspired to write the poem you see above. Janet shared the book she has just completed and published, Prism. It was started by her deceased sister, Joan Bochmann, who knowing she was leaving this earth before she could complete it, asked Janet to promise she’d finish it for her. Here it is… available on Amazon … I have my own autographed copy… yay!

Janet's Prism

Writing Together

During our time together, Janet and I used a prompt by

Clint Bulongo, life’s adventure world.

Hi — life’s adventure Zambia.

and we finished these two incomplete sentences:

  1. It is the world outside where we find …
  2. It is the world inside where we find …

Do click on Clint’s link above and see how he finished those sentences. His site is a new discovery. Living in Africa, his photos are phenomenal, and the way he helps us glimpse at his beautiful country through his words and photos is such a gift!

I wrote the following using his prompts:

“It is the world outside where we find
birds, trees, clouds, friends, travel opportunities, and space.
It is the world inside where we find
peace, God, self-confidence, acceptance, and opportunities.
We are especially blessed when
from the inside
we can hear and see the birds,
we can look out at trees, clouds and blue sky,
we can feel peace and acceptance from friends,
we can plan travel and invite friends to travel here,
and from the inside
we have space to grow spiritually
and the self-confidence to capture opportunities to do so.”

From the inside, we remain child-like,
free to paint as well as write,
free to dance as well as stand,
free to openly express our true selves.
Free!

Dance and Create

After that initial activity prompted by Clint Bulongo’s blog, we tried our hand at creating “Eifchen.” This form of poetry was introduced to me this morning by bigskybuckeyeLifeElfchen

Life’s Snapshots (Elfchen Series #19)

Using his definition of this German-inspired poetry, Janet and I wrote our own “Elevenies.” I wish I had saved hers to share with you. Richard, at bigskybuckeye had three of them on his post. Here’s one of his:

Change

Overwhelmed
Life’s pace
Quickens and races
Time to reorder life’s
Priorities

And here is one that I wrote:

Eleven

Numbers
Bear meaning
Forty is magical
Seven represents God’s completion
Prioritize

Try your hand at an “Eifchen”! Dance with it freely, like my Boston Terrier, Taze, is dancing up there. Don’t let anything stifle you!!

After sharing our “Elevenies,” we read to one another some samples we brought with us of writing we had been working on at home.

Share Your Writing

Janet shared an introduction she has written to go with her book, Prism.

Then I shared some of my journal writing. One of the things I shared was the peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi sung by Susan Boyle. Janet was not familiar with Susan’s angelic voice. This is too beautiful to keep to myself. I’ve shared it with you before, but it is worth hearing again:

I sang along with the words to the song, written on a page in my journal. Janet listened – enthralled – to this gorgeous rendition of the prayer.

Then Janet said, “Oh yes, I used to have that prayer memorized. Haven’t thought about it in a while.”

Time to put those words in our souls, my friends.

Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, Lord.
Help me seek to console,
to understand,
to bring hope and light,
and to just love!

Do you have a place for writing,
and people who love to write
with whom to share your writing?
Tell me about it – and them.

See ya tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

art, blessings, blogging, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, learning, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Poetry, prayer, relationships, Serving One Another, Sharing, writing

Tagged with:

Music from Switzerland

Our daughter, DeAna, sent us this video this morning of her duet with Sylviane, her “Swisster.” It warms my heart to see and hear them singing together. De is the one in red.

“Syli” (as we nicknamed her) lived in our home/became our daughter and De’s “Swisster” in Modesto, CA when De was a senior in high school. DeAna then lived with Syli’s family in Sierre, Switzerland the next year. When she came home, she brought Syli’s first cousin, Andre’, home with her! They were married a year later.

Seeing and hearing these two sing together is such a joy!
(Sit back a couple minutes and enjoy)

De & her “Swisster”

Our grandson, Chris, was named after Syli’s brother, Christian.
Christian was our AFS exchange student in 1980-81.
That’s how this whole Swiss connection got started.

If you have followed my blog for awhile,
you met our grandson, Chrissy,
when he came to Montana last year
and attended the Job Corps program.

And you saw Chris
with his girlfriend, Natalia from Colombia,
in this related post:

Love on the Internet

In this next video, De and Chrissy are singing a duet to Natalia.

It’s a beautiful day here in Montana – and a wonderful way to start the day with these videos from my DeDe. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Here’s my view yesterday afternoon.
Today the clouds are gone and the sky is blue blue blue:

Those antelope babies I showed you a couple days ago were back yesterday afternoon, crossing that field between us and the “next door” neighbors. We call that path “The Antelope Highway.”

Look carefully. There are four little ones with a yearling. That one trailing is not old enough to be the mama. Must be a babysitter!

One of the little ones ran on ahead. They are so cute!
OK, enough cuteness for this morning…
I gotta get busy.

Bob just left to go fishing, and…
my Writers’ Group is coming to the house this morning.
It’ll be our first meeting since all this COVID-19 stuff.
We can socially distance in my living room.

I’ll tell you all about it this afternoon.
Come on back!

See ya later.
Love ya!
JanBeek

Category:

Animals, blessings, children, Family, Living in Harmony, Love, Memories, Montana, music, relationships, Travel

Tagged with: