Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for January, 2022

My Ideal Day

Bloganuary #13 asked,

“What’s Your ideal day look like?”

Open hands
Open heart

Psalm 34:10b
“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

Isaiah 26: 3-4
“Those of steadfast mind
You keep in peace—
because they trust in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord God
you have an everlasting rock.”

My Ideal Day is filled with:

  • Enough
  • Peace
  • Trust
  • Faith
  • Love
  • Friendship
  • Affirmation
  • Health
  • Music
  • Writing time
  • Reading time
  • Blessings
    …. to fill my cup to overflowing so I can share.
Share hugs and love

An Ideal Day ends with:

  • Gratitude for today
  • Peace of mind
  • Hope for tomorrow
  • Joy abounding

Romans 15:13

“Now may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you will abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

And then I have
a good,
long,
restful
sleep-
zzzzzzz

My ideal day ends
with this peaceful music
and these beautiful scenes
(click on video/music below)
as I fall asleep
praying for you,
my friend.


Bee well!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing)…

Me with my daughter-n-law, Monika

P.S.
We’re packing today
and heading back
toward Montana
tomorrow after two weeks
of recuperation time
from RSV
with our gracious,
kind,
generous
son and his wife.
God is good!

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, blogging, contentment, Faith, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, happiness, health, Jesus, life, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, peace, prayer, relationships, respect, Serving One Another, writing

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Happy Wordless Wednesday

Wordless in Placerville

See ya tomorrow

Category:

contentment, Love, Montana

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Emoji Preference

🤗

If it’s not a hug, then it’s another symbol of

❤️

LOVE

🙏🏽

When Bloganuary #12 asked the question,

“What’s your favorite Emoji?”

I thought this isn’t a very thought provoking subject. But I guess if you answered with a

🧻 or a 💊 or a 🥨 or an 🫒, then we’d have something to talk about, right?

🤪 I often send this one when I’m being silly … or I send this one 😴 each evening when I text “Good night” to my grandson. Those are pretty mundane.

I accidentally sent this Emoji to a friend 👙 recently. We both had a good laugh. It was not what we were talking about at all. Have you ever sent the wrong one by mistake?

One of my most frequent ones is this: 🐝 … I use it to remind my friends to 🐝 well! I’m still suffering with the nasty cough 😷 from this RSV. 😤😩😮‍💨

I wonder 🤔 when I will breathe normally again?

Keep praying 🙏🏽 for my return to good health, ok? God is listening … and I’m sure He wants us to be able to return home to Montana by this weekend! What are YOUR plans?

Love, JanBeek 🥰

Category:

blogging, Love, prayer, writing

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Live Boldly!

Bloganuary #11 asked us this question:
“WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE BOLDLY?”
I called it #10 accidentally when I posted it tonight.
It’s really for tomorrow’s prompt…
But hey, part of living boldly is getting ahead of yourself, right?

Here it is… It’ll be the 11th before you read it no doubt.
https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/live-boldly/

I borrowed this photo from the Bloganuary picture file.
Gotta find out who this beautiful bold blogger is!
If you know, please tell me!

Isn’t she a bold one, Mr. Grinch?

See ya tomorrow. Sleep tight…
… and pray that my miserable coughing stops
so I can get some sleep!

Love ya,
JanBeek

P.S. Did you click on that link and see how I answered the question?
How would YOU answer it?

Category:

blogging, Love, Poetry, prayer, writing

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Two Bodies –

Yesterday’s Bloganuary#9 prompt was one I skipped.
I missed a day because I didn’t want to write about the topic:
Assumptions I Think People Make About Me.

Ya, people probably assume…
but my mom always told me
when you assume,
you make an
Ass-
u-
me!

So I have negative feelings about assuming anything.
I’d rather dig out an old blog from the drafts file…
something I started a year or so ago and never finished.
I’d rather read other people’s answers about assumptions.
I’d rather skip a day of blogging
and just apply the 4R’s.
I needed to do that!

Rest
Relax
Rejuvenate
Read

So I did!

And here’s that old blog
that I never finished last August
right around the time my daughter, DeAna,
was having a birthday.
It was titled,
“Two Bodies”:

Two bodies
Two sides of the earth

Two people
One birth
Two hearts
One mind
She’s my daughter
Love binds.

Yup, I decided to skip #9 altogether.
I don’t like assumptions,
even if they are positive ones.
I’d rather talk about today’s prompt.

Bloganuary#10
asked me to post 5 things I’m grateful for.
I can do that… but don’t expect me to limit it to 5!!

You’ll find my answers here:
https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/5-things-im-grateful-for/

Check it out…
and tell me,
besides your life itself,
what are you grateful for?

I’m grateful for you…
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
… unless I decide to skip it!

I’m still at Ty & Monika’s in Placerville –
recuperating from RSV.
It’s a bugger!!

Category:

children, Family, Gratitude, health, Life's Challenges, Love, Poetry, relationships, writing

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Why Do We Write?

Here is a link to my post on “Bloganuary” today.
The prompt for today is “Why Do You Like to Write?”

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

I tried posting on the Bloganuary WordPress site
rather than writing the message here.
I am trying to see if that results in more WordPress readers
who also are taking this 31 day challenge to answer
a given prompt each day. We’ll see.

https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/08/why-do-we-write/

I am still in Placerville at my son, Ty’s house.
My coughing and sneezing was so bad this morning
that I was banned to my bedroom! No fun!!
But this RSV (respiratory virus) is highly contagious –
and I do not want to give it to Ty & Monika.
(I hope I have not done so already!)

Bob is feeling better,
but getting very tired of being house-bound.
His miserable cough is almost gone.
Praise God for answered prayers!

Now it’s my turn to turn the corner…
Keep those prayers coming!
I need ’em!|
Love,
JanBeek


P.S.
At least I have a warm house
to stay in –
with loving family
to take care of me –
and there’s sunshine outside!
I am not complaining!
Could be a lot worse!!

Category:

blogging, Family, Gratitude, kindness, Life's Challenges, Poetry, Serving One Another, writing

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What Makes You Laugh?

Bloganuary#7 Prompt asked,
“What Makes You Laugh?”

If we can laugh at ourselves
We’ll always have something to laugh about.
If we can chuckle at our idiosyncrasies,
We’ll be happier, no doubt!

We can overcome difficulties faster
If we look at them through lenses
That are tinted with lots of humor.
Laughter is a medicine that cleanses!

Photo by Flickr on Pexels.com
JOY is in ReJOYce!


The Bible has several examples of laughter.
Here are three:
1. Sarah laughed in unbelief.
2. Abraham laughed in wonder.
3. Then they both laughed in joy!

I find it interesting that I find no scripture of Jesus laughing. Do you know of any?

I agree with these illustrations.
Surely He laughed when He was with the children!

Besides laughing at yourself, what else makes you laugh?

A good meme?
A funny grandkid?
We can’t help laughing.
It’s better than complaining or crying!
Laughter is a blessing.

Honey, it’s you!
And it’s OK!!

What makes YOU laugh?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

These examples of laughter make me laugh in wonder
because they sound more like my respiratory virus cough
than they do real laughter! Come on, you can do better than this.
Give me a laugh!!

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, God, happiness, humor, Jesus, Life's Challenges, Love, mental health, Poetry, relationships

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“Who are you most inspired by and why?” 

Bloganuary #6 asks us to consider the main Source of our inspiration.
That’s a no-brainer! As a Christian, the answer has to be Jesus!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

With the inspiration provided by scripture, prayer, daily devotionals, and a constant walk with my Lord, I am inspired every day be seek His Will for my life. I am inspired to seek His Truth. I am inspired to share His Love. I am inspired to share the Good News!

16 For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

I pray that Jesus inspires you, too.

Now, if I have to choose someone who is on earth today… a living human who inspires me, I would not be able to narrow is down to one person! Here are a few:

  1. Derrick Knight – he inspires me to blog every day as he does, and to respond to all who leave a comment on my post (just as he does).
  2. Ty and Monika – our son and daughter-in-law – they inspire me with their big hearts and open hospitality, their love for one another, their family and neighbors, and their faithfulness. They inspire me to be more open and communicative about my faith in Christ.
  3. Marcie Fernandes – my long-time friend – she inspires me to be more forgiving, more open to seeing the good in others, less quick to be judgemental.
  4. DeAna & Andre’ – our daughter and son-in-law – in Switzerland – they inspire me to be more “in the moment.” Carpe’ Diem!

It would be fun to have those six folks together here at Ty & Monika’s in California right now, but they are spread from here to England to Tennessee to Switzerland! They all live in my heart and my prayers each day, though.

Who inspires you and why?
It’s a thoughtful question, don’t you agree?

Jesus inspires me
to rely on Him

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, Family, friendship, Gratitude, Jesus, Life's Challenges, Love, relationships, Serving One Another

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Update on 2Beeks

Bob & I have “2Beeks” on our car’s license plate.
With the last name of Beekman, the nickname “Beek” is a natural.
Sometimes we catch people driving past us, looking strangely at us.
I imagine they are looking to see if we have particularly long noses!

I have a few new followers who joined JanBeek this month.
I think WordPress’s “Bloganuary” has brought them here.
Thank you!

If you are one of them, you may not have seen the post
where I showed our family a few evenings ago
sitting around the dinner table discussing our ancestry.

We gave Bob a bad time about his “honker” (beak by another name)
and we showed him how he inherited it from his great-grandfather!
Tonight we are giving Bob a bad time for another reason:
His honker is doing a lot of honking! He has RSV.

This respiratory virus put him in the hospital in Napa on January 1st.
What a way to start the new year, huh? RSV is nasty!
After spending the night there, he was dismissed Jan. 2nd
and we were able to travel back to our son’s to recuperate.

This is not the way we hoped to begin the new year.
But the good news is we had the option of coming
back to Placerville – it was a sunny CA day today.
The recuperation time is greatly appreciated!


Bob’s cough is getting better… and soon we will be
able to hit the road and return home to Montana.
It’s not what we intended, of course, for this “vacation.”
We wanted to visit friends in Pebble Beach –
and spend time with Bob’s brothers in the CA valley.

But, we are grateful that when this curve ball
was thrown at us, we had a beautiful alternative.
Thank God for loving family and friends, right?
God has a plan for why this has happened!

“And we know that for those who love God
all things work together for good,
for those who are called
according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

God knew we needed more rest and relaxation!
Our house isn’t ready to return there now anyway!

Our soft and marred fir floor’s being replaced with amazing old wood from a 1921 silo!

We hope your year has started off happily.
We pray you’re healthy and dong what you want to do.
We trust the Lord has us right where He wants us.
And we hope, dear friends, the same is true for you.

Happy New Year!

What’s an update on what’s happening in your life?
I’d love to know how your New Year began.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, Family, God, Gratitude, health, holidays, kindness, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, prayer, relationships, Serving One Another, Travel

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Bloganuary #5 – New Learning

Our Bloganuary prompt for today is:
“What is something you wish you knew how to do?“

I wish I knew how to fly
Really fly into the sky
Fly without a plane
Fly alone way up high

I don’t wanna wait
Until I have angel wings
I wanna fly today
Without cumbersome things

I wish I knew how to fly
So I could visit you
I’d land on your doorstep
Right outta the blue!

What do you wish you knew how to do?

Aren’t these Bloganuary prompts fun?
Thanks for playing along!

In other words..
I love you for visiting
JanBeek

See ya tomorrow {God willing}

Category:

blogging, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, music, optimism, Poetry, Travel, writing

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