Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for July, 2020

Deep Peace

Deep Peace I wish you.
Deep Peace flowing out to you
From love of children.

Deep Peace they bring us
With their angelic voices.
Let us sing along.

Deep Peace from Christ’s light
Shining on the earth’s beauty –
Music pours it out.

For the earth’s beauty,
For the purity of song,
I thank You, O Lord.

Have a blessed Friday night, my friends,
and a lovely, peace-filled weekend.
I hope this music blessed you.
It did me!

I’ll see you tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Point of Light

You can be a point of light.
You can make the difference
in someone else’s life.

Shine light into someone’s darkness.
Be the “Someone” who helps another cross the street.
Be the first person who really SEES someone!

Twenty-twenty – the year of 20/20 Vision

My New Year’s Resolution for 2020 was to “Walk the Talk.”
Little did I know on January 1, 2020
how many opportunities
I would have
to do just that!

You, too, have the chance every day to be the Point of Light for someone.
You have the chance to be what God made you to be, “A Point of Light.”
Someone is just waiting and listening…
knowing you’ll be there.

Be the Point of Light!

Walk the Talk, my friends.
Bee Well… Bee Real.

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com


See ya tomorrow.
Hugs,
JanBeek


Love Dances With Longing

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

Take my hand and dance with me.
I am in need of a day that is free –
Free of the sorrows and the sighs,
Free to dance to the seagull’s cries.

Photo by Julia Kuzenkov on Pexels.com

Some days I long for a day at the beach
With loving hands within my reach
I get impatient for this virus to end
So I can dance on in the waves with a friend

Jeff Cook in These Days
(Daily Devotions for Living by Faith)

“My impatience
usually stems from
my inability to simply fix everything.
Lord, help me be patient with myself and others.”

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

Love dances with my longing heart
As I take up my journal and start
To record the words of Paul
Who also heard the sighing call.

Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

Romans 8:26

“Likewise the Spirit helps us
in our weakness,
for we do not know
how to pray as we ought,
but that very Spirit intercedes
With sighs too deep for words.”

So I sit by the water’s edge dreaming
Of the ocean’s shore and scheming
My next trip to listen to seagull’s cries
And the chance to dance where sea foam flies.


I pray that you have
a peace-filled day, my friends.

I am imagining myself dancing with you on this shore!
Love dances with longing…

See you tomorrow.

Hugs,
JanBeek

There Are Angels Among Us

Angels are with us
In every walk of our life
Most have hidden wings

My angel friend, Terry, sent me this Jana Stanfield video.
She said I am her angel.
Truth is: she is mine!

Can it be that we serve one another
As angels here on earth?
Can it be that you are one, too?

Look at these darling children.
Each of them is an angel here on earth.
They just keep their wings hidden!
(Except for the cymbalist… I think I see his wings peeking out!)

“Somewhere amongst them,
or betwixt them,
or gazing adoringly up at them
just like you,
here I am.”

That was a sentence I captured
on a blog yesterday, but didn’t get the author’s name.
I apologize. If you know who wrote this,
please tell me in the comments below and I’ll add it.
It is angelic writing, don’t you agree?

Sending God’s love
to you, my friends.

I have a host of angels here on earth
who bring God’s love to me on a daily basis.
I bet you do, too.
Think about them today.
Reach out and thank them today
for the joy they bring to you.

Some of my Angels

My daughter, De
Our #2 daughter Laina, and my hubby, Bob

This is Bob’s older brother, Bill, with his wife, Margie.
Bob’s family members are angels in our lives.

With them is our son, Ty, and daughter-in-love, Monika.
We are so blessed to have Tyroneee and Moni as angels among us.

Here is Terry
(the friend who sent me Jana Stanfield’s angel song)
with her husband, our friend, Jim.
Can you just see what angels they are?
We call Terry “SPARKLES!”
She sparkles with love and compassion.

When I came home from the hospital after my recent hernia surgery, Terry sent Bob to get me at the hospital with this angel blanket that’s now draped over my bedroom chair. That’s what angel friends do: they wrap you warmly in their loving arms… and send you kisses!

This collage of photos from my sister, Sally, has several angels pictured on it. My dad to start with – bottom center – what an angel! My sis and my niece, Jodie with her son, Liam and husband, Bill. They are angels in my life, too.

And if you look closely, you can see Sally with TazE… our Boston Terrier. She was going to be named “Angel.” I had that name all picked out for her – until we met her!! TazE was a Tasmanian Devil (Taz) with E for Ears to match her bouncy personality and oversized ears. No, she was not an angel at all. But she has quieted down in her old age (she’s nine now) and maybe she qualifies as an angel in my life at this time. You think?

Chris is one of my three Swiss grandsons. He lived with us for a while last year … and was such an angel in our lives. Our seven grandchildren continue to be angels. Here is my youngest granddaughter, Faith (now 24) … Of course, she’s an angel in our lives!

I hope you have a BFF – (Best Friend Forever) – a long term angel friend – someone you can count on in all circumstances – someone like my friend, Marcie:

She just called me while I was creating this blog…
just to express condolences about my cousin, Cliff.
What a thoughtful, sweet, angel friend Marcie is!!

We all have angels in our lives. People we will love until the end of time… people who exude God’s love. They are compassionate and considerate. They seem to know when we need them and they are there at the most important times. God bless the angels among us!

Each of you who comes to JanBeek
and bothers to read and comment is
An Angel of Mine!

What you mean to me, you’ll never know….
You came at just the right time into my life-
and I want to share it with you…
I appreciate you so much!

Tell me abut some of your angels!

See you tomorrow.
((( Hugs )))
JanBeek

Come On In!

Revelation 3:20

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Come on in!
I can have a meal ready for you in minutes.
Our home is a place where we welcome all who welcome all!
We want you to feel at home here!

Come sit on the porch and enjoy the view to the north!
Turn your head to the east and enjoy the Madison Range.
Come to the front door and knock!

Or just walk right in – because we don’t have a solid wood door where I can put a beautiful knocker. Our front doors are glass. The entry welcomes you with words on the wall that say “The greatest of these is love.” The word art was a Mother’s Day gift from our son & his wife, that first May after we moved here.

Hah!
You can’t read it… it’s backward for some reason…
and it’s blurry… but trust me,
it says, “The Greatest of These is Love”
right above the windows.

Those are the stairs that lead up to my sanctuary –
my “Angel Room.”

A few years later I asked my friend, Lexi,
to paint a red rose next to those words.

So, that is what you see when you enter our home here in Ennis, Montana.

Our Dream House

But, this house has not always been my “dream home.” I don’t have a photo of my original dream house. It was in Heber City, Utah. I lived with that house on my screensaver in California for a year. We were ready to retire, looking for a place away from the growing congestion of California. We saw it near Salt Lake City, Utah. We toured it, fell in love with it, put a bid on it, and I dreamed of living there. But, the Lord had other ideas, I guess. The owner never responded to our perfectly generous offer, even after we went back a year later and put another bid on it.

The house was made of logs from the 1988 Yellowstone fire. Many of the logs still had the scorch marks on them. The front door was a massive wood entry with no handle. It had a lovely knocker like the one pictured at the top of this blog.

When you knocked on the door and someone came to let you in, a painting of Jesus (clearer and more beautiful than the one below) was on the wall just inside. The scripture from Revelations 3:20 was written beneath the painting.

The house seemed God-inspired – and I longed to live there.

However, it seems that Utah was not the place God had in mind for us.

This house, in this Pintail Ridge neighborhood, with lovely neighbors, this church in Ennis with these friends… this was (is) God’s dream house for us. When we put in a bid here, everything went like clockwork. (By the way, the trees were much smaller 15 years ago, and you could see the house from Mallards Roost Road clearly. Now we have a lovely forest!)

You can even see the sanctuary windows
and that back porch where I invite you to sit with me.

In God’s Will

Have you ever noticed that when you are walking in God’s will, the path seems smoother?

When you are walking in God’s will, deals ultimately work out better than you could have dreamed.

When you tune in to God’s will for your life, you end up in a better spot than any place you could have imagined for yourself!!

So, come on in, my friends!
Mi casa es su casa!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.

Sending Love <3

Thank you – so many of you-
who sent your love following yesterday’s blog
when I told you about my heavy heart
following the death of my cousin, Cliff.
Your outreach warmed my heart.

God bless and Keep you!
See you tomorrow.
JanBeek

This Cliff-Dweller is Heavy-Hearted

My heart is heavy.
God answered my fervent prayer.
So why am I sad?

My cousin, Cliff, died.
I received the news today:
God answered my prayer.

I prayed for freedom –
Freedom from this earthy pain.
Our God is faithful.

His family gathered;
All his loved ones surrounded,
And God took him home.

God of Great Mercy,
Thank you for answering prayer.
Now, heal my heart’s hole!

Cliff & Janine
with their two daughters
and sons-in-law,
two sons,
daughter-in-law,
and three grandsons

Cliff and Janine are two of my favorite people in the world!
And now Cliff has left this world…
but he lives on in the hearts of all of us who will always love him.


Janine’s mom is my second cousin, Betty.
Her mom was my mom’s oldest sister’s oldest daughter.

That sounds rather confusing and maybe like a “distant relative”… but there is nothing distant about my relationship with Janine. I was twelve when my family drove from California to Washington to visit mom’s family near Seattle in Issaquah…
and to meet Aunt Evelyn’s first grandchild.

Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Hans were my first connection to the land of Switzerland which claimed our daughter DeAna about two dozen years later! Uncle Hans immigrated from the German part of Switzerland to the state of Washington. Their daughter, my cousin, Betty, with her husband, Nick, lived right across the alleyway from her parents. Knowing we were there, she came over with her new baby, Janine. You know my name in JAN – and so I immediately claimed JANine as my own!!

I was there for Cliff and Janine’s wedding. I claim Cliff as my cousin, too!

Cliff was “Opa” to his three grandsons.
A more doting and loving grandfather never graced this earth!
I am so sad that those three boys will not have
the presence of the Opa as they grow into adulthood.
And the youngest one is too little
to have lasting memories of him.
It makes me cry!

Cliff was a robust man
– a former University of Washington champion rower –
weighing over 200 pounds most of his adult life.
Cancer and the chemo treatments
wasted away his body and took away his strength
– and eventually his life.
But his spirit lives on.

He’ll remain strong and robust forever
in all of us who knew and loved him.

We are a vast array of Cliff-Dwellers!

Love and condolences to
Hans, Stefan, Janine, Heidi, and Erika

God bless you, my Word Press family.
Thank you for praying for my cousin, JANine, and her family.
See ya tomorrow.
JanBeek

Amazing Grace

I couldn’t sign off on this Sunday afternoon without sharing this:

Are you ready to be inspired?
Click on this amazing video
and get ready to be blown away!!


I had not heard this message about the pentatonic scale before…
(Be sure to tune in to Wintley Phipp’s whole message).

I have never heard Amazing Grace sung so beautifully!

I cried with the joy that only God’s spirit can bring through music.
How did this God-inspired song and this God-gifted voice affect you?

Have a blessed Sunday evening, my friends.
I send my love and more virtual hugs to ya,
JanBeek

Birthdays, Thanks, Worship, Music & Prayer

When is YOUR birthday?

Thank you for all the sweet responses and inspiring messages that helped make my 81st birthday so memorable. I love my WordPress community!

I had a “Selah Day” yesterday to pause
and absorb all the many gifts of cards, calls,
messages, cakes, cookies, and candles.
Yes, I’m spoiled!

It’s Sunday, so of course, Bob & I went to church this morning. Our worship service was outside. It’s a beautiful day here in Ennis, Montana. Thank you, God, for the sunshine and mild temperatures in the 70s. Everyone wore masks and socially distanced. The sermon topic was based on two New Testament scriptures: Romans 8:26-30 (A Wonderful Future for God’s People) and Matthew 13: 31-33 (The mustard seed and the yeast).

Hope in Difficult Times
(as usual I took my notes in poetry as I listened.
Here they are:)

Bombarded daily with bad news,
It’s hard to keep our spirits up.
But reading the Bible is a fresh breath
Of positivity and love that fills our cup.

The parables of the mustard seed and
The yeast that magically rises the dough
Are examples of Jesus’ storytelling.
They are hard to easily explain, though.

Trying to explain the parables is like
Describing photosynthesis to a four-year-old.
You can say all you want to explain them,
But we need simplicity in what we’re told!

See the mystery of God’s world.
Don’t try to explain it away.
Look at the wonders of creation
And let the mystery come into play!

It’s okay to read and not understand
How God makes the world work.
It’s okay to wonder and say “I don’t know,”
We can’t see it all – Some’s in the dirt!

Some of the greatest miracles
Of Jesus are buried from our minds.
We can’t see the way His mysteries
Play out – but we see the love that binds!

Look at how the mountains skip,
And the trees clap their hands,
And know that these exaggerations
Are part of the Power where God stands.

Read the Bible not with a microscope,
But with a telescope so that you
Can see the bigness of His Word.
He’s bigger than our understanding – That’s so true!

The music that accompanied our worship service today was so appropriate to this world we currently are trying to navigate. Sing along … the words are here for you on this You.Tube:

Lord, show me the Way, one day at a time!
Help me believe in what I could be – and all that I am.
Just give me the strength to do every day what You want me to do.
So for my sake, teach me to take – One Day at a Time.
Show me the Way!

The other song that we had printed on song sheets so we could sing along was “Mansion Over the Hilltop.” I had not heard it before. Have you?

In our call to confession, we read in unison these words from our bulletins:

“Let us trust in the words of the Psalmist who said,
‘The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves those who are crushed in spirit,’
as we lay our burdens before our God.”

The biggest burden on my heart today is this big guy pictured on the left in the photo below. My cousin, Cliff, is shown here with three of his rowing buddies from the University of Washington. Cliff is losing his battle with cancer.

I lay my burdened heart before God as I asked for prayers for my cousin, Cliff Hurn. He is in his last days of trying to fight off cancer. He has fought the good fight and he is tired. Hospice has been called in and his family has gathered around. Please pray for his wife, Janine, his family, and all of us who love him so much.

I posted about Cliff early on in his battle. The link to one of those blogs is: https://janbeek.blog/2019/11/09/prayers-for-cliff/ You can see him there surrounded by his wonderful wife and two daughters. Please pray for Cliff today.

Photo by Luis Dalvan on Pexels.com

Do you have something
that’s heavy on your heart today?
Tell me about it –
and I will add you and your request
to my prayer time.

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

God bless you, my dear WP Friends.
Have a blessed rest of your Sunday.
See ya tomorrow.
Love and virtual hugs,
JanBeek

Selah

Selah

It is time to pause
Received blessings, expressed thanks
Now stop and absorb

Yes, I thank you all for the
lovely birthday wishes.

It is time to pause
Today is a “Selah Day”
Psalm 61:4

“I long to dwell in your tent forever and take shelter in the refuge of your wings.”

Selah (Pause)
See ya tomorrow.

Have a restful Saturday.
What are your plans?
I’m just gonna “cool it!”
Sending love and gratitude,
JanBeek

Too Many Birthdays

Every time Bob and I see someone who is driving like they don’t have a brain in their gray and wrinkled head, we comment to one another, “Too many birthdays!” We’ve been doing that for years. And guess what? Now we are they!!

Gray and wrinkled Bob with graying TazE…
Hey, her butt didn’t used to be gray!!!

Well, at least HE is they! At 81 (he’ll be 82 in December), Bob is 5 months ahead of me. He’ll always be older! I can smile in the rear view mirror, wear a hat to cover the gray, and pretend I’m still a young chick! Heck, age is just a matter of how you feel, right? HEALTH is everything! Love is essential. God is good!

Yup, today is my birthday…
and for the next 5 months,
Bob & I are the same age.
No way!!

The hair may be gray, and the face has a few added wrinkles with “too many birthdays,” but age is a matter of the MIND. Right? If you don’t mind, I don’t mind!

Just don’t call me old!!

Tell me I’m “bee-YOU-tiful”
like this card I received yesterday
from Bob’s sister!
(Thank you, Bonnie)

And pick a few flowers from your garden to decorate your table…
like my neighbor, Sue, did yesterday.
(God bless her)

Keep singing and dancing
(ya gotta keep movin’),
writing and blogging your thoughts,
dreaming and making those dreams come true,
living your passions,
and you’ll never have
“Too Many Birthdays” –
no matter how many years
the calendar tells you!!

It’s time to open presents,
sing the birthday song,
blow out a few candles (don’t try to count them!)
and praise God for the years
he has given me “Too Many Birthdays!”
I’ll take ’em all – gladly!

I’m happy to be in the passenger seat!
I thank God every day for my health,
and for my driver, Bob!

Have a Fabulous Friday!
I’ll see you tomorrow
and tell you all about
my “Happy (not too many) Birthday!”

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

Come on, friends, sing along.
I’m listening!!

(When I get old, I’m gonna wear more purple…
Just don’t rush me!)
Love,
JanBeek

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