Why I left my last job? The company shifted the office and didn’t tell me where it was. Where I see myself in five years? I’d say my biggest weakness…
The Interview
I just have to pass this along today. It gave me more than a few LOLs😂 and chuckles. I needed that this morning. It’s more than a little zany!! Have a great week my friends.
Thanks, Gottfried. Love, JanBeek 🙃😂
If I had space in my WordPress photo gallery, I would show you a series of photos of this place in Ennis, Montana where we are blessed to live. BUT, to add more photos, I have to erase older photos. The program tells me I am at 100% capacity! How does Derrick Knight manage to post so many beautiful photos of his garden on https://derrickjknight.com every day without running out of space? I need to discover his secret!
Meantime, what I did was put the photos on a Facebook post – and give you the link here so you can go there to see where we are inviting you to come visit. I hope you will/can check it out!
https://www.facebook.com/jan.beekman/
I’ll put one here as a teaser – hoping you’ll click that FB link and go see more, OK?
Bob & Jan love company… and now that my hand is better and I can be a hostess again, I hope you will consider a trip! We are just one hour from Yellowstone – and the entrance (nearest us) to the park is open now – and the road that takes you to Old Faithful is open, too… following those terrible floods a few weeks ago. Beekman B&B is full July 2-6, but after that, July is clear on our calendar!!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. It’s our daughter’s 35th anniversary this weekend… DeDe, the one who lives in Switzerland. We look forward to visiting them in the end of August.
Meantime, my devotional today in “Mornings with Jesus” encouraged me to “Find a quiet place. Write down any problems that surround you. Thank Jesus for being bigger than those problems.” It is not hard to find a quiet place here… and it is easy to live gratefully for daily healing of my broken finger and hurting hand, and to thank God for the beauty of nature and the peacefulness of this place. Come see for yourself!
Tell me what you’re doing this lovely weekend…
See ya Monday (I’m taking a day off tomorrow)
Hugs,
Jan Beekman
The word for 2022 (that I chose on January 1 before I knew how MUCH I would need it) is STRENGTH.
What kind of strength do we need each day in order to survive and thrive? I asked myself that question today as I realized it’s been the longest stretch of non-blogging that I have had in several years. My last post was when I dug to the bottom of my strength barrel and pulled out “Speechless.”
The deaths in Ukraine and that ongoing conflict drained me. The Texas mass shooting sucked the drops that were left. I felt lifeless. Then I discovered that two of my dear friends I do Bible Study and Bingo with each week in our nursing home – two of them – died this week. My heart is hurting!
Where does my strength come from?
Isaiah 41:10
“God strengthens you
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
God has promised us His strength.
He will never give you a trial you are unable to handle.”
Personal Strengths Defined
Notice that the last of those personal strengths defined is “Transcendence,” and the last of its characteristics is Hope. Seems to me those should be first. They transcend all the others in my mind!
Without hopefulness
Life has no sense of purpose
Can’t cope without hope
Hope renews our strength
Hope helps us face tomorrow
Hope is essential
Take my life, Lord.
I give it to You.
Take myself.
Renew my strength.
Take my hand – and let it move – please!
Take my hand – and let it move – at the impulse of your love!
I pray the pins come out easily!
(One more week til that appointment)
I pray the joints move with ease as I exercise them
in the ways I have been taught to do.
I pray I am able to use my life again
consecrated to the Lord
and the work He has for me.
Let’s hear that hymn again…
and let’s internalize it.
Let’s renew our sense of HOPE
and let’s express it in ways that
encourages others to give –
Give HOPE for this day,
Hope for all healing,
Hope for His Love
to flow through us always!
Sing along!!
I’m back…
the one-handed bandit…
Back to send words of
faith, love, joy, hope, and unity
to a hurting world.
Pass it on, my friends!
The world needs the strength you have to give.
See you tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek
in his blog titled
published yesterday, April 24, 2022,
wrote this poem:
Marriage is a strange equation where
You take 1 Person
Add another Person
You get a Couple
So far so good
Now you add 0 Expectations to it
And you get infinite Love
Mind-boggling!
I wrote to Frank saying, “Hmmm… zero expectations? How do you do that?”
He responded, “I guess we should try and reduce it little by little. Eventually, it will get to zero.”
What do you think? Do you agree that zero expectations = infinite love?
I follow Frank’s blog along with over 22,700 other admirers of his poetry. If you will forgive me, I wish to rewrite his latest. It seems to me that marriage does not have to be a strange equation. It can be:
Marriage can be a perfect equation when
You take one person
Add another person
And get a couple
Then you add the Love of Christ
Next place the Holy Spirit in the center
You add God’s expectations of compassion
Mix in the joy of respect and faithfulness
And you get unconditional, infinite love
Now, that’s Mind-boggling!
True Friendship requires the same equation!
Take one person, add another, stir in Christ’s love
Center the Holy Spirit between you and
Sprinkle generously with compassion and respect
Remain faithful to one another, and
Keep a confidential, active, listening ear
You get unconditional, infinite love.
Isn’t that mind-boggling?
If you were asked to create a collage of true friends who epitomize that equation, who would you include? Long-time friends, family, neighbors, church friends, internet friends, friends in heaven, those you haven’t met yet? Think about it! My collages below are by no means complete… but for starters:
Are you a reliable friend?
Do you see yourself fitting into the equation?
Does your collage of friends include
those neighbors who stick “closer than a brother”?
Marriage and Friendship
are related!
They both carry with them
great expectations!
24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Knowing I was hurting physically because I fell and disclocated/broke my pinky finger, friends sent cards, delivered food, sent texts, called, and dropped by. Did I EXPECT such an outpouring? Not at all! But did it do the trick? You bet! Those friends delivered the cheer and encouragement that we all need when we are feeling blue or tired or sick or (as in my case) a little stupid and careless.
Knowing my granddaughter and I were hurting emotionally because she just learned of and shared with me the news of her miscarriage, friends called, wrote, texted, responded on my blog & on FB, and reached out to Hope as well. Did we expect such an outpouring? No! But was it helpful and appreciated? You bet!
Hebrews 10:24-25
Let us think of ways to motivate one another
to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together,
as some people do,
but encourage one another
The Bible is full of expectations for us.
God expects us to lift one another up.
He commands us…
The greatest of these is
LOVE.
His last and final commandment:
Love one another!
Reach out to a friend today.
Reach out in love.
Do you do it because you expect something in return?
Of course!
My mom always told me,
“Whatever you send into the life of others
comes back into your own.”
(I’m sure she read that
in the Bible somewhere!)
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Who’s in your collage of friends today?
Tell ’em about it!
(Share my blog with ’em!!)
When does a WordPress blog become spam?
When I get 13 notifications in one day…
and then 13 more the next day…
and more the next day … on & on…
all from the same blogger,
filling my notifications
with posts that have
no way to respond.
What do I do?
How do I
STOP IT??
Cristian Mihai
and his
The Art of Blogging
has become a pest!
I believe in his help –
and have used it in the past.
I have donated monthly to his cause.
But now I want it to stop.
It has become a nuisance.
Help!
Done with War Aren’t we so weary of war? Aren’t we so tired of old men wanting more power and sending young men and women to fight and die in battle?…
Aren’t we so done with war?
Do you ever doubt your niche?
Yesterday I posted excerpts from
Gottfried’s Banter, a blog whose niche
is humor. No, I wasn’t suggesting
that my blog should try to fit that niche.
Humor like Gottfried’s doesn’t come
naturally to me like it does to him.
No, it’s not numbers,
It’s my purpose that dictates
My niche and my style.
It’s my gifts that spell
The reason for my blogging.
How about your niche?
What’s your intention?
Do you need one hundred one
Questions to find out?
The Art of Blogging,
Cristian Mihai, has questions
Yes, one hundred one!
Check it out
(if you doubt your intentions!!)
Cristian Mihai, The Art of Blogging
My by-line tells you
What my purposes here are:
Love, Joy, Peace and Faith
Add Unity, too
I aim to help us just love
Keep God’s love centered
I aim to inspire
Often I use poetry
As chosen genre
My mind seems to think
In this lovely Haiku form
Yes, five-seven-five
Often my pictures
Feature our diversity:
Yesterday’s children
Not a melting pot
But a colorful salad
Each adds its color
Each adds the beauty
We’d miss if we’re all the same
Call it gratitude
In that attitude
Of gratitude I can find
The peace God gives us
It is peacefulness
That defies understanding
I pass it to you
My purpose is peace
My goal is spreading the joy
And love from Jesus
Some say religion
Is the main focus I have
But it’s more than that
Love, joy, peace, and faith
Are the stepping stones I climb
To find unity
Sometimes religion
Gets in the way of all that
Sometimes it divides
I’ve heard the saying,
“Sunday mornings are the most
Divided of times.”
Some use religion
To ensure their salvation
But Christ is much more
He is more than church
More than denominations
He’s universal
Luke 2:10
And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.”
My blog’s main purpose
Is to unite everyone
In a common love
I blog of respect
Blog of the Source of my joy
Blog to inspire you
Blog to encourage
Live in constant hope
Believing in God
There is just one God
You may see Him differently
But we all see Him
We know He’s in us
We know He created us
We see His great works
We know a Big Bang
Didn’t make a butterfly
Nor create the world
So, I aim to lift
All our eyes to see the Lord
As a part of God
Just as I see you
A child of the Creator
We’re born to inspire
That’s my sole purpose
That’s why I am blogging here
Why are you here, Friend?
Have a blessed day.
Stay warm! It’s 2 degrees, snowy and blowy here!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
If you could “Bee a Tree” what would you bee?
Check out my answer on the Bloganuary site at
https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/30/bee-a-tree/
If you have known me a while, this answer will bee a no-brainer!
Thanks for buzzing in to visit JanBeek today.
I will post my sermon notes later today.
I hope you had a lovely Sunday morning.
We did!
It was so good to bee back with our Ennis church family!
What tree would you bee??
Here’s a darling children’s picture book about trees.
Do you have a child nearby
(like maybe inside you)
who would enjoy learning some basics
about trees?
How am I changing the world?
That was the question for
today’s January 29th #Bloganuary prompt.
How would you answer it?
I changed the world when I was born
Because I am as unique as one can be
I change the world I live in
Because there’ll never be another me
I changed the world when I gave birth
to my first child, Tyronee Bee.
He changed the world around him, too,
Because he has deep faith, the same as me.
Ty is letting Jesus take him and Monika
To the place God has for them both
They tackle each day with perseverance
And let God guide their daily growth
They reach out to those around them
And share their wisdom with finesse
Their hearts are full of love and wonder
It’s obvious, those they touch, they bless.
I changed the world when I gave birth
to my second child, DeDe Bee
Her nickname is Miss Sunshine
Her sparkle touches you and me
She smiles at life through thick & thin
And “Carpe’ Diem” is her motto
Her days are filled with sweetest song
A smooth, clear tone with no vibrato
I change the world when I can travel
To see my kids and encourage them
I know the Good Lord guides their paths
And nothing can discourage them
I know if I am weak and needy
They’ll help me out however they can
They’ll do the same for all they meet
They know no stranger – child, woman, or man
I change the world when I reach out
To gather friends and take them in
Enlarge our family with additional members
Reach out, expand, let others just blend in
They change their worlds in return
And the circle just grows larger
Connecting lives where e’re they go
Giving others energy – a super recharger
I change the world when I give hugs
Virtually or in gentle person
Without the care and love of others
The world of loneliness would worsen
So, never doubt your worth, dear friend
Never imagine that you don’t matter
Every kind word that you speak
Is like seed in wind – let them scatter
Influence
You matter
You change lives
Of those around you
Love
Your world may involve only one
One other person to interact with
But that person means the world to you
And that’s the world you’re packed with
So never underestimate your worth
To just one – or to a world of plenty –
You change the world where you are
Folks who do not matter? There aren’t any!!
Many thanks to my faithful long-term friends here –
And a hearty welcome to my new followers!
You make me smile…
You change my world.
Have a great weekend.
It’s so good to be home!
Go out – or stay in – either way,
You change the world around you.
Never doubt it!
Thanks for visiting
JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Some of my friends need
Time alone to regain strength
I need time with them
In the Bloganuary #27 prompt yesterday the question was asked:
In my response, I used a Haiku poetry format
in part of the answer to explain why solitude
is not a “must have” on my agenda.
In fact, I am never really alone.
God is with me… and so are YOU!
Click the title below and tell me,
how would you answer that question?
It sure is good to be home.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sending my love your way –
with gratitude for your prayers for Bob.
Hugs,
JanBeek <3
Hugs to You !!
Inspire to Love
Let the SonShine!
You inspire me to respond
Learning to Live; Living to Learn; Learning to Love; Living in Love
