Missed the prompt yesterday … so here it is a day late… or is it two days? Life’s been busy as we were packing and preparing for this trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota . Departure is at 5:55 tomorrow morning! But anyway, here’s my favorite quote. It’s what my mom always told me. But I’m sure it’s not original. Wonder who first said it?
“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt “
Check out my response to the #Bloganuary prompt #20. Click on the link above.
By the way, I love that photo of Bob back in his beekeeper days when he permed his hair. Don’t you? It was taken in our house in Modesto, CA with our Boston, Jacques. He had funny buck teeth (the dog, not Bob).
Do you know why Bob curled his hair? He hates to wear hats. As a beekeeper with naturally oily hair, bees loved to buzz in there and sting his scalp. The curls lifted the hair off the scalp and dried out the oiliness. The bees left his head alone. Interesting, huh?
I hope you enjoy the collection of photos I put on the Bloganuary site today.
Tell me, can you choose a favorite photo that you have taken?
Thanks for visiting JanBeek. See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Nothing is more mysterious to me than the Creation of the Cosmos and the Creator.
Surely there is life on some other planet out there somewhere.
The God who created this Universe and the dodo bird and the butterfly and the sting ray and humans surely created life elsewhere as well. But, the thought of it is a mystery to me. Well beyond my capacity to understand.
“What Book Will You Read Next?” was the Bloganuary prompt yesterday. I was away from my computer all day, so I didn’t get a chance to answer it then. But here is my answer – a day late:
The book next on my reading list is Amanda Gorman’s “Call Us What We Carry.” Amanda is the young lady who wrote the poem that she read at the 2021 USA Presidential inauguration, “The Hill We Climb.” Her book of poems “captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing.” According to the inside flap of the book, “This book is a message in a bottle. This book is a letter. This book does not let up.” I loved Gorman’s poem for the inauguration message last year. I know I am going to enjoy delving deeper into her poetic prowess!
Bloganuary #17 “What’s a Super Power You’d Like to Have?”
I answered the question earlier today, interpreting it as a “Secret Power” – and those answers still stand.
But, I have had time to do my devotionals this morning – and I’ve listened to a few podcasts – and I’ve given this question greater thought.
It’s a Super Power… not just a secret power! Here’s my answer to THAT question for today:
I’d like to have the Super Power to listen with my heart – truly listen to others – and see into their heart, their intent behind their words. In Bayside Church’s devotional on-line today, Kevin Thompson spoke to this issue of listening. Here’s what he said:
“Consider the power of listening. When we hear another person, we see them, value them, place their voice above our own. We restrain ourselves to give them space to speak. Sincere listening is born of humility. It is a genuine act of love. When we fail to listen, we are elevating ourselves above others. We arrogantly assume we already know what they might say or believe they can add no value to our lives. Planning our response when someone else is talking instead of truly hearing what they have to say is a sign of pride. Refusing to see and hear other people is one of the most dehumanizing acts we can take.
“When Jesus commands that we love our neighbors, one way we should do so is to listen to them. That’s not the whole command, but it’s part of it.
“So, which neighbors are you failing to hear? Too often, our lives become echo chambers in which the only people who have our ears are those with whom we agree. People with the same experience, perspective, and understanding provide the voices that influence us. Yet love calls us to a different way. Christians should have the most diverse voices influencing us because we believe everyone is created in the image of God, every person has value and purpose, and we understand the limits to our knowledge and experience.
“Imagine the difference love/listening could make in our world. Where authentic listening takes place marriages flourish. In a world of political divisions, what if the church modeled listening and loving people with whom we disagree politically. In a society divided among socioeconomic and racial divides, what could the church offer if we went out of our way to know, hear, understand, and love those with different backgrounds, upbringings, and experiences than we have?
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE LOVED OUR NEIGHBORS—EVERY NEIGHBOR?
“The fantastic news of faith is that the God of Heaven has given us access to His ear at any moment. He invites us to speak to Him on an ongoing basis. This changes how we use our tongues. But it also changes how we use our ears. Receiving God’s invitation to hear from us, we begin to extend our ears to those to whom we otherwise might not listen. We seek to value them, learn from them, and be in a relationship with a diverse community.
Who is a neighbor you are not currently listening to? Start listening with your heart today.”
It actually doesn’t take a Super Power to listen with your heart … but to see inside the speaker’s heart to their intent … well, that might take a special gift from God – ya think?
Sending love ❤️ and prayers for your health and happiness. It’s so good to be home!
I just returned from my annual physical. In spite of a residual cough from this RSV, my dear doctor tells me I am no longer contagious – and I’ve been given a clean bill of health. Hooray! Bob’s feeling good, too. Thanks for your loving prayers!
Thank you for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow(God willing)
Oh, and tell me – what’s a Super Power you’d like to have?
Bloganuary#17 – “What is a Secret Power You’d Like to Have?”
I want the secret power to have wisdom in all circumstances. I want the secret power to turn all tears to laughter and joy. I want the secret power to end all wars and create everlasting peace on earth. I want the secret power to make Believers of all doubters so we all can meet in eternity someday.
Don’t let the sheer cliffs scare you. This driver knows what he’s doing! Thank God!!
You’d enjoy the ride
Putting trust in the driver
He’s quite talented
We’re just relaxing
In Grandmaman’s lovely home
So blessed to be here!
Here’s Nick & Céline
They treated us yesterday
Pink Asian in Sierre
Great breakfast again
At Grandmaman’s lovely home
Sierre, Switzerland
Listening to bells
Is such a rare privilege
I wish you were here!
Our DeDe is such a blessing!
This is a typical scene of flower boxes in Vissoie. They are beautiful at De & André’s chalet.
Did I show you that brief video earlier? It was in my saved drafts.
This afternoon we had a wonderful lunch with Theu and Célia. Their son, Aurélien, lived with us in 2004-5 when we took a motorhome trip from CA to MT and UT and found our Ennis home. We have such wonderful memories of that year with him as he gained air hours to get his pilot’s license
Live sweet memories of beautiful days gone by cherish the friendships
Thank you, Theu & Célia!
There you see Denise happily engaged in conversation with Célia who was across the table from her. They hadn’t seen each other in a while. We had not seen Theu & Célia since Aurélien’s wedding 8 years ago!!
I hope you are able to maintain long-term relationships like this one. Tell me about a special one you treasure.
Did I tell you yesterday about Sylviane? We started calling her Syli in 1982-3 when she lived for a tear with us in California. She took DeDe to live for a year with her family after she left us.
Young, naïve, beautiful, impressionable DeDe!
The lesson learned here: unless you want your daughter to go off to a foreign country to live the rest of her life, do not invite a foreign exchange student into your home when your dollywolly is young and impressionable!
Here I am with ZuZu, our 1980-81 Swiss son. So… on the other hand…
… if you want to enrich your life exponentially, you might consider just that! Check out AFS and tell them what country you’d like to have change your life!!
My friend, Dana, said she wanted to hear more alpenhorn. Here you are, Dana:
Thanks for vicariously traveling with us one more day! See ya tomorrow. Meantime, have a blessed Saturday.
Bloganuary#16 asked us to write about something we are passionate about. I can’t pick just one! Can you? Do your passions include some of the six things I am passionate about?
Here are a half a dozen of mine:
1. Let’s start with my love of home and family and the delight at being safely back here again. That’s passionately on my heart right now after being gone 3 weeks, getting a miserable respiratory virus, and being cared for so lovingly by our son, Ty & his wife Monika:
Home Sweet Home
2. If you have read any of my blogs before this one, it will not surprise you that I am passionate about Jesus and His sacrifice that saved my soul. I love the Lord with all my heart and pray daily for His Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and actions, and to guard my tongue, and to inspire my writing. I read His Word daily and am passionate about inspiring others to Trust also in His promises.
3. I am passionate about music. Often I include a YouTube music clip at the end of my daily message here. I love to sing. I used to play the clarinet (was quite good once upon a time before arthritis bent my fingers so badly – my skill was thanks to years of private lessons my parents provided for me and hours of happy practice during those ages from 10 to 18 – – – I also play the accordion (you can find posts about that by putting “accordion” in the search bar in the upper right of my blog). I still am passionate about sharing the joy of the accordion with others – – – it’s like carrying a party on your back!
Here’s a wonderful video clip of a great song sent to me by a dear friend this morning:
4. I am passionate about cooking – and providing homemade meals for Bob and me that are pretty as well as nutritious and tasty. Besides music and writing, cooking is one of my favorite hobbies. It’s one of the reasons I love following Caralyn’s posts on BeautyBeyondBones. If you haven’t followed her blog, do yourself a favor and check her out.
5. That’s another thing I am passionate about: finding things, places, people, books and blogs I love and sharing them with others. Here’s a link I hope will take you to the source of the picture below = (Thank you, Caralyn) https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/36990166/posts/3768091539
Isn’t that mango salsa over a nice piece of flakey, cooked-to-perfection halibut enough to make your mouth water?
What are you passionate about? I’d love to hear.
There I am in those days when I was able to serve as a volunteer at the Food Bank. (I can’t right now… until I am sure this RSV is all gone … and until Bob & I return from our trip next week to Mayo Clinic). BUT, that’s #6 on my list of passions: using the time and talents God has given me to serve others with love and compassion.
I bet you do that, too (or are you waiting until you retire?)… Don’t! Begin now… it’s so rewarding! In this COVID world, find a way! Your talents are in passionate need out there!!
God Bless You! Thanks for visiting JanBeek. See ya tomorrow (God willing)
I was off-line as we traveled safely home yesterday. Thank you for your prayers! God heard. God answered. The weather conditions (except for one little patch of dense fog just before Twin Falls – out of Jackpot) and the roads were clear and perfect. We are happy to be home!
Coming through Island Park, guided by the moonlight
The Alpine glow of the sky led us homeward in joyful anticipation
The Bloganuary prompt yesterday asked us to consider a “Life Lesson” worth remembering. I cannot do more justice to this question than to share with you this blog from “Written Word.” It’s perfect!
My response to her was to be sure that heart is filled with the voice of the Holy Spirit. Following such advice will always lead to satisfaction. God bless you!
Keeping up with the daily prompts from Bolganuary can be difficult when traveling. I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed from a fellow blogger today. Have a wonderful Sunday! <3
Thank you for your prayers for our safe travel from CA to our home in Montana. The weather couldn’t have been better. The roads were clear. The traffic was not too bad. We’re halfway home. We feel your prayers! Keep ‘em flowing. We should be home by tomorrow late afternoon.
Thank God for improved health and answered prayers. See ya tomorrow (God willing) … Good night!
Nothing makes the cough disappear and the body feel better than a relaxed evening – half way home – a yummy beef and prawn fajita, an attentive waiter, and a delicious margarita!
