Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for August, 2020

The Resilience of Children

When families break down,
Children are so resilient.
But, sometimes they need help!

Today at Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
in Ennis, Montana, we had two guest speakers.
They were from Intermountain, a program/place for children in need.

.

As you know, if you have been with me a week or more,
I take sermon notes in poetry every Sunday
as I listen to the message.
Here are the notes I took
as I listened to Tyler, Zimmer,
one of the Intermountain representatives
who spoke to our congregation today.

Prior to the message scripture
I was happy to be the scripture reader
sharing these two passage:

Deuteronomy 6:5-7
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments I give to you today
are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home,
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down
and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands,
and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates.”

Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to Jesus
to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them,
for the Kingdom of God
belongs to such as these.
I tell you the truth,
anyone who will not receive
the Kingdom of God like a little child
will never enter it.”
And He took the children in His arms,
put hands on them,
and blessed them.

Photo by June on Pexels.com

“The Resilience of Children”

We need to commend children’s good,
And scold them when they are bad.
When children come to Intermountain,
They are victims of the life they’ve had.

Abused children are engineers of their demise
When they act out of their hurt and pain.
The Bible explains in Deuteronomy
The impression of love for children’s gain.

A girl from Haiti came to Intermountain
Who had been abused horribly as a child.
She was a master of her demise
As she rejected compliments and acted wild.

One little guy came as a selective mute.
He was a master at keeping quiet.
But when he beat me 4x in Battle Mountain,
He told me how bad I am! What a riot!!

These children who’ve been so abused
Are not throw-away kids. They are LOVE.
They can, with help, overcome challenges.
Let’s all pray for them for help from God above.

Amen!

It is not only God who helps them as we pray for their souls and their ability to trust and to bond, but it is the staff of Intermountain, and the people who donate to keep the program alive and effective. Intermountain provides housing, education, clinical counseling, recreation, love and support for the children. AND, it provides folllow-up when the children return to family settings. Intermountain continues their counseling and support in the school setting as well.

To learn more about Intermountain,
go to their website
at https://www.intermountain.org/contact-us/

Hope you had a love-filled Sunday.
See ya tomorrow.
Love ya,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, children, Faith, God, health, Jesus, learning, Life's Challenges, Love, mental health, Montana, relationships, sermon notes

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Youth

Y outh:
O urs
U ntil
T ime
H iccups

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Love and Light to you,
See ya later.
JanBeek

Category:

children, life, Love, Poetry, truth

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S.O.S.

What does S.O.S. mean to you?
It’s an urgent message for help.
But yesterday, a Facebook friend said,
“It means Same ole Shit!”

Oh my! I had not heard that before!
She was referring to a message I posted
On Facebook about the U.S. Postal Service.
She is convinced it’s all legit – not “shit” at all!

Photo by Jaymantri on Pexels.com

The post received 66 responses within a few hours
And it deteriorated to the point where I
Called a “Truce” and wished I had not started it.
But, hey, ya gotta stand up for what you believe, right?

And we have a responsibility to fact check.
Yes, some of the removed boxes were being replaced.
The guy in charge of our postal service now, DeJoy,
Has spread his “S.O.S.” and intelligent people believe him.

Other equally intelligent people weighed in on the conversation.
“I worked for the P.O. and I know these claims are false.”
“The sorting machines being removed are not being replaced.”
“This has been going on routinely for decades. Why blame Trump?”

I don’t care who is to blame, I just care about our U.S.P.S.
And I want to speak up to defend our right to vote by mail.
I need all the boxes protected and all the sorting machines left.
I need to know our election in November is not being compromised.

Photo by fotografierende on Pexels.com

So, I came out of my box of comfort and said, “Stop!”
I came out and expressed my outrage at what’s happening.
Enough other people have expressed their concern that DeJoy
Announced he will stop this nonsense until after November elections.

Jeremiah 29:11

“I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you.
I will give you hope and a good future.”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

We need to TRUST God’s Word and expect the best.
We need to pray to God for His wisdom
And for our courage to step up to the plate
When His perfect time comes.

But, before we grab the bat
And swing at the falsehoods,
We need to ask the SUPREME COACH
To guide us, teach us, and give us TRUTH.

We need to persevere in the face of the S.O.S.
People throw at us – and don’t be deterred.
We need to listen to His voice and grasp
As clearly as we can His purposes for our stand.

STAND UP FOR WHAT’S RIGHT!
Silence is no longer a viable option!!
I love you, even if you think I’m wrong.
Let’s exchange ideas with respect.

Some GOOD people will disagree with me.
May my optimism about a brighter future be contagious.
Let’s draw on the Word and promises of God.
Stand up and carry on with perseverance!

Hebrews 12:1

“Let us run
with perseverance
the race
marked out for us.”

Photo by Jaymantri on Pexels.com

Send me a love letter!

In my Guideposts Mornings with Jesus today,
Jolynn Strandberg wrote:

“Even when I am surrounded by people
who do not understand my convictions,
I hope I will always have the courage
to stand up for my beliefs.”


See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Jesus, learning, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, respect, Serving One Another, truth

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Approaching Magnificence

What’s magnificent?
A sunrise and a sunset –
And time in between.

Lisa Gline’s sunrise

It’s the time between
That builds our magnificence.
How’re you spending it?

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/6989926/posts/2867920578

I am a woman
Pleased to be a child of God.
I am empowered.

Empowered to be
Equipped with tools of wisdom –
Ready to use them.

I won’t be silenced.
I will stand up for justice –
Get what I fight for.

Proud to advocate
For fairness and unity
And equality.

I’m watching the team
Ready to lead the U.S.
Back to sanity.

I’ll vote for respect
To return to our White House –
Compassion and love.

I’ll vote for the strength –
The strength of my convictions.
That’s magnificence!

If decency wins,
World respect will return.
That’s magnificent!

I am committed
To fight for our best ideals.
Ready for sunset.

Elaina Colby’s magnificent CA sunset

What’s magnificent?
A sunrise and a sunset –
And time in between.

How are you spending yours?

Bob spent his day on the Madison River…
He threw this beautiful trout back in….
Catch and Release!
Wouldn’t you say he’s approaching magnificence?

Approaching Magnificence!

Have a good night.
Fight for what you believe in!
You, too, are approaching magnificence!

See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek




Category:

Aging Gracefully, Belief, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, respect

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Revisit HodgePodge on Tuesday

Ya gotta read this post!
It’s full of gorgeous flowers from
derrickjknight

and you don’t want to miss seeing more!
It’s full of a variety of humor and thoughtfulness!

Do you know the word “HodgePodge”??
Is it real or is it one that my mom made up?
When I put it in Pexels to look for a picture,
nothing came up.
But my iPhone dictionary had it!
Here are some synonyms:

  • jumble
  • mishmash
  • collection
  • combination
  • medley
  • miscellany
  • potpourri
  • melange

Don’t you love the concept? It doesn’t say “junk” (which is often what I thought of when I used the word hodgepodge). No, not junk… just a mishmash of unrelated ideas or an assortment of things that can actually be related – like this meat on a grill.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com
A hodgepodge of meats

Need to Share

Today’s blog is a mishmash – a hodgepodge of various things, ideas, photos that caught my eye this week. I saved them because I either loved them or hated them, laughed or groaned at them, and I wanted to share them for your viewing, too.

Love One Another

My blog’s subtitle is “Loving One Another” – so I try to share ideas that represent ways we can reach out in love more fully and unconditionally to one another.

A friend (who was born in Canada but is now a USA citizen) sent me these pictures/memes/jokes/thoughts today. I decided if the election goes the wrong way next November here in the USA, Canada may be my next residency! It appears they have a handle on how to “Love One Another.” Even their graffiti is kinder than ours!!

And if they wear a hat with something written on it, I guess it is positive, too…

Going on with my hodgepodge, I received this meme from a friend today. It made me laugh. I think laughter is what keeps me going these days!

You can’t fix stupid. Don’t even try…
unless it’s YOU!!
Then get some help…
But God says we gotta LOVE everybody!
So, cover those unused socket holes!!
One of my blogging friends wrote a comment this week.
She said to me, “You’re a mess!”
Should I laugh or be insulted?
You have four choices for how to survive this virus:
champ, chump, clump, or chimp.
What will it be?

Oh, Other Options?

You say you have other survivor options? One way my blogging friend, Derrick Knight and his wife, Jackie, are surviving this pandemic is by being voracious gardeners. And Derrick is a phenomenal photographer. Let me add to my hodgepodge today by sharing a couple of my favorite photos he posted recently from his rainy vistas in Great Britain:

Derrick’s peach rose
Magnificent!!
Derrick’s Mamma Mia
Amazing!!
Derrick’s gladiolas
I love ’em!
Derrick’s California Poppy –
My favorite.

Pictures Bring Back Memories

In my past life, some of you know I was a teacher for 24 years and a principal for 9 years and worked in the district office as curriculum coordinator (wearing a hundred hats with all kinds of responsibility and no authority to back ’em up!)… and then I decided to do what I loved most – and go back into the classroom before I retired. I taught a first grade and took them on to second. Oh, what a joy that was! Many of those students are my FaceBook friends today… 21 years later!!

That poppy brought back those memories because the school where I was principal for 9 years was Caswell Elementary in the Ceres Unified School District in California. Our school song was:

“Poppies, Golden Poppies,
Gleaming in the sun.
Closing up at evening
when the day is done.
Pride of California,
Flower of our state,
Growing from the mountains
To the Golden Gate.

We’re the Caswell Cougars,
We are Number One.
Green and yellow banners
Waving in the sun.
Caswell is a place for
Learning and for fun.
We’re the Caswell Cougars,
We are Number One!!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
The Cougar… our mascot

And the HodgePodge Continues…

Cord and Ruby

Yesterday, if you read my blog, you know we went for a farewell ice cream social to say “See ya later” to our two favorite little Sunday School friends, Cord and Ruby. We are praying for their happy resettling on their dad’s home ranch in Jordan, MT. It’s a six-hour drive from here. They’ll have horses and cattle and dogs and cats and lots of room to roam. Our love and prayers go with them. We gave them great big farewell hugs and told ’em how much we love and will miss them.

Vissoie, Switzerland

Great HodgePodge Finish

A great end to my hodgepodge for today is this wonderful photo that I JUST received via the magic of WhatsApp from my daughter, DeAna. She wrote,

“I took this photo
from the parking lot
near our restaurant
this morning
while thinking of you.”

Ah, our children certainly know how to melt a mothers heart, don’t they? Nothing could make me happier than to know that when my daughter sees a symbol of our faith, she thinks of me! What a gift, huh?

Maybe I am not so disturbed after all!!

A Puuurfect Ending

What HodgePodge of thoughts captured your imagination today?
I hope they were
a medley of
love and laughter,
memories and musings
that lightened your soul.

See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Animals, blessings, children, contentment, Faith, Family, flowers, God, Gratitude, happiness, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Memories, photography, prayer, relationships, Sharing

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Was Jesus Rude?

Matthew 15:10-28

“15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

How in the world do you take that scripture and make sense of it in a sermon?

Well, Rev. Steve Hundley at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church in Ennis, Montana tackled it today. Preceding the sermon, Elaine, Steve’s wife, read the scripture using The Message, Eugene Petersen’s version of the Bible. In part, it said,

“It is not what you swallow that defiles a person, but what you vomit up!”

The Canaanite woman who came to Jesus, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” was indeed vomiting up a whole lot of agony. Why did Jesus suggest that helping her would be like feeding bread to the dogs? Listen to what I heard Steve saying about this is his sermon today:

Jesus called a desperate woman a dog!
She was a Canaanite who child’s life was grim.
Why would Jesus insult her like that?
She threw His words right back at Him.

We can relate to her and her dark side.
We all have a little bit of the devil in us.
But, not Jesus … No! He was perfect!
So why did He call her a dog?

Was He rejecting her because she wasn’t Jewish?
No, it can’t be true. He must have been saying,
“I have a special spot in my heart for the Jews.”
Maybe He used this to show the disciples their playing.

Playing with the idea of parroting back to them
Their rejection of others – their callous attitude.
Jesus seemed to be sending the mother away.
Gladly, we can see Jesus help her and sense her gratitude.

We are living in strange times – a nation divided.
There are desperate voices shouting out. You have a choice.
Whose voices will you hear? How will you respond?
Are your words and attitudes matching Jesus’ voice?

When you hear the desperate mother cry,
Do you hear her pain and heed her pleas?
She boldly calls with faith for her child’s healing.
May we also listen, hear, and respond with help to such as these.

Amen.

Lord, speak to our hearts that we might know Your heart more clearly.

“Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere.
Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share.”

I am off this evening to say good-bye to our favorite Sunday School kids.
Love with Thy children thus to share…
This adorable pair is moving from Ennis to go with their parents
to Jordan, MT where their dad will take over the family farm.
I can’t tell you how much we will miss them.
But of course, we will pray for them
and hope their transition to their new home is a smooth one.

God bless Cord and Ruby!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek and reading the sermon notes.
Please add Cord and Ruby
and their parents, Suzanne & Casey,
to your prayer list.
And ask God to send some new little kids to our church, okay?

Thank you.
See you tomorrow.
Love,

Cheers!

JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Belief, Bible Lessons, children, Faith, God, Gratitude, Jesus, learning, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Poetry, prayer, relationships, sermon notes, writing

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Which Place is Best for You?

This place is the best for me.
I love living in Montana.
After watching that video,
Can you understand?

There’s no place like Montana,
But Switzerland comes real close.
Both have beautiful mountain majesty!
I love visiting our family in Valais.

What places do you love?
Where do you like to visit in this world?
My grandson shared the following pictures today.
Italy’s one of my other favorite places.

Mike and his girlfriend, Tania,
Are vacationing in Italy this week.
They are enjoying great days in the sun,
Hiking, shopping, swimming, loving it!

Mike & Tania – such a cute couple!
Tania on a shopping trip in Italy
Tania – out for a swim – beautiful young lady, huh?
They have a great view from their balcony.

Meanwhile, back in Switzerland,
my middle grandson, Nick,
is out for a hike with his girlfriend, Celine.

So good to see Nick & Celine so happy!
What a place to hike, huh? That’s Nicky out there!
It’s hard to beat Swiss scenes like this!

Back in Sierre, Switzerland,
our daughter, DeAna,
is enjoying an afternoon
with my youngest grandson, Chris

De and Chris in Sierre, Switzerland
This could be their hiking path.

Not to be outdone, our son, Ty, is enjoying life, too.
He and his oldest son, Sam, are relaxing
in the high Sierra-Nevada mountains.
This is the view Ty sent me today:

Ty’s view from his hammock

Ah, summertime, and the livin’ is easy…
Fish are jumpin’ and the mountains are high.
On this lazy summer Sunday, what are YOU doing?
I’m gonna post my sermon notes from this mornings message.

Then I’m gonna go enjoy the lovely outdoors, too.
What are you doing this beautiful Sunday afternoon?
Go out and appreciate the beauty around you,
And remember to thank the Lord for His handiwork.

Tell me about your day… what did you do?
If you could put yourself into one of those photos today,
Which place would be best for you?
I’m wishing this pandemic was over so I could go to one of them!

But, life is good… I’m not complaining.
Thank God for the internet and for kids who care –
Care enough to include Grammy & Grampy
In their adventures today. Oh, how I love ’em!

See ya later.
Thanks for visiting.
Please leave your comment!

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, Family, God, Gratitude, happiness, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, photography, Poetry, relationships, Travel

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Difficult People

Thank you, Bob Goff,
for this meme:

Bob Goff posted this on FaceBook

We are told we should
Just love difficult people –
No judging allowed.

That’s really hard, friends!
It’s easier to love you.
You’re not one of them.

Or are you?

But only sometimes,
I imagine that I am…
Right?? What do you think?

The Devil’s in there!

Thanks for your faithful visits
to JanBeek
See ya tomorrow 🙂

Category:

friendship, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, Poetry, relationships, truth

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Another Beautiful Montana Day

Days in Montana
Are out of a fairy tale:
Unbelievable!

Come for a trail ride
On Lucille, our ATV,
Into the mountains.

Today North Meadow –
First past gorgeous Sure Shot Lakes,
Then to reservoir.

The fish were jumping –
Little ones jumped on the fly.
Big ones were cautious.

Lunch was relaxing
With our dear friends, the Washburns.
Wish you could have come!

Fireweed @ Sureshot Lake
Step up for a closer view!!
This place (Sureshot Lake) is a boys’ paradise!
Great friends: Roy & Barbara Washburn
Barbara’s first fish…
Quick, get the hook out
and throw him back in!
Barbara’s second fish was even smaller!
Eventually she got a 7″ one.
Meantime, Roy caught eight fish – medium-sized –
While Barbara struggled to catch the minnows!
And Bob caught one every other cast!


The fish are jumpin’ –
Summertime – livin’s easy…
And life is peaceful!

I actually was able to hear Ella Fitzgerald sing this
in person when I attended her concert in Reno, Nevada
when I was in college in the 50’s. What a thrill!!
Lunch break time.
I sang “Summertime” to Bob
as we relaxed after lunch.
And then after lunch & relaxation,
The guys kept fishing!

Barbara & I enjoyed the scenes
And did a little hiking
Trails above the lake

TazE came with us
We enjoyed the clear blue skies
With clouds drifting by.

They call this Big Sky
There’s a very good reason
Unimpeded views!

Makes you want to keep on singing!!

Nothing beats Ella combined with Sachmo!!
I love Louie Armstrong, don’t you?
Quake Lake

Quake Lake’s a wonder.
Have you heard the great story?
Come – and I’ll tell you!

Thanks for joining me for another beautiful Montana day. It’s so wonderful to live in this great state with the wide open spaces… especially during this pandemic.
Nothing heals like Mother Nature at her finest… in Madison County, Montana.

See ya tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting
JanBeek




Category:

blessings, contentment, Fishing, friendship, Gratitude, Haiku, life, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, music, nature, peace, Poetry, relationships

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Stream of Consciousness

Today D’Verse poetry introduced me to:

BILLY COLLINS, Stream of Consciousness Poetry, TED Talk

D’Verse Poetry then invited readers to write a Stream of Consciousness poem. After listening to Billy Collins, former USA Poet Laureate, reference “The wheel and the suitcase,” on his Ted Talk, I was inspired me to use that prompt and write my own stream of consciousness poem.

Do click on the Billy Collins link and listen to his delightful TedTalk. You’ll be glad you did. He is extremely talented and very entertaining!

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

The wheel was invented
By cavemen or women
Long before air travel
And the suitcase was invented
Long before the covered wagon
Carried lovely luggage 
Into rugged western regions
But It took longer than
The invention of the wheel
Or the need for a suitcase
For some smart person
To put the wheel
On the suitcase
I wonder what 
Two unlikely objects
Will be creatively joined
By some smart person
Tomorrow?

https://dversepoets.com/

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Will you be that smart person?
Not I!

Here’s to inventors!

See ya tomorrow.
Have a good night.
Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

Life's Challenges, Love, Poetry, Travel

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