Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category

I Can Be a Light – You Can, too

In a world filled with war and hate
I can shine a light of love from me
In a world filled with animosity and division
I can shine a light of unity

In a world filled with hopelessness and despair
I can lift the light of hopefulness
In a world filled with fear and worry
I can shine a light of faithfulness

I can be a light in the darkness
Because the love of Christ shines through
The grim shadows of despair
And that light also is in you

As a wonderful God-created child
You are part of a magnificent whole
So let that Spirit buried in you
Shine forth from your blessed soul

Your light shines from your creator
Just as mine sparkles brightly, too
So fill this world with the light of love
Let’s let Love’s Light shine from me and you!

Psalms 18:28

28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

I find joy in sharing that light.
I hope you do, too!

Bee well…
and Bee a Light!

Have a wonderful Sunday!
My love and a lotta hugs
are tucked in here for you.

JanBeek

Power Up!

lighted incandescent bulb
Photo by Gursharndeep Singh on Pexels.com

You have access to all the power you need
You just gotta be sure to plug in
Connect to the source of your power
It’s available to you even if you’re shut in

crashing waves
Photo by Ray Bilcliff on Pexels.com

Like a mighty wave or hurricane
Power can evoke awe or cause destruction
What’s the source of your power?
There’s a ready source… what’s your deduction?

I bet you know where I’m going
With this line of reasoning.
Yup, the power I have in mind
Is filled with the best spiritual seasoning!

baptism of jesus christ stained glass
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“And they were filled with the Holy Spirit…”

Acts 2:4

In yesterday’s
Mornings With Jesus devotional
comments by Karen Sargent,
she shared an experience she had with power cords.
She was preparing for a presentation
using various technology.
Thinking she might need an extension cord,
she added it to her equipment.
However, after setting everything up,
she realized she didn’t have
the part she needed.
Sargent wrote,

“… There was a problem. In one hand I held a three-prong plug on my laptop cord. In the other, a two-prong plugin. I checked the projector cord. Three prongs. Without the ability to tap into the electrical source… my technology was useless. I couldn’t power up.”

white power bank and blue coated wires
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

Sargent extrapolated, “That wasn’t the first time I’d failed to tap into a power source. Sometimes I function on two-prong faith. I know Jesus can do anything… And through Christ who strengthens me, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13). But how often do I connect to the power of the Holy Spirit, the mighty third prong?”

Karen Sargent’s message spoke to me.
Yesterday friends helped us install
Our Christmas tree here at home –
Tucked in along the north-east wall.

We plugged the lights in after
A lot of struggle to assemble it.
Look closely at the lights there
A section is missing … do I resemble it?

Do I lack a portion of my power
Because I’m not plugged in totally?
The message hit me with a jolt.
It fit my plight anecdotally!

photography of red string lights hanging on green trees
Photo by Irina Iriser on Pexels.com

Karen Sargent ended her reflections with these thoughts:

“After His resurrection,
Jesus breathed on the disciples
and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Spirit’
(John 20:22).
But it wasn’t until Jesus ascended into heaven
that the Holy Spirit empowered them.
Unlike that useless extension cord…
the ultimate power source,
The Holy Spirit,
is always on hand.”

close up photo of black cable head
Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com

What stops you from plugging in?

Sargent invited her readers to
“Ask Jesus to reveal what being empowered
by the Holy Spirit would look like in your life.”


Enjoy the most awe-inspiring
Christmas season ever
as you fill yourself with
the Holy Spirit.

And let Him provide you with the
strength you need to reach out
in love to all those you connect with.


Power Up, my friends!

Love & Blessing to you,
and hugs from
JanBeek

Bee Like a Lobster?

close up shot of lobster claw
Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com

Do you want to bee
Like a lobster every day?
They never stop growing
In a physical kind of way.

Each day they are alive,
They eat, reproduce, and grow.
One grew to forty-four pounds
It was a whopping 3′ long – Whoa!!

I want to bee a lobster
Who constantly grows, too.
But my growth would develop spiritually
Each day I travel through.

Too often we become lazy –
Satisfied with our status quo.
But lobsters are never complacent.
No wonder they continue to grow!

I need to revive my commitment
To nourish my mind and my heart
With the same tenacity as the lobster.
Today’s a great day to start!

close up of lobster
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Keep Growing!!

“But grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 3:18

Today’s post was inspired by an entry in All God’s Creatures, a Guideposts publication. Shirley Raye Redmond wrote a commentary titled, “Keep Growing” for the November 27 entry.

She ended her thoughts with this quote by Oswald Chambers:

“Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of years,
but by obedience to the will of God.”

dog s paw on a human s hand
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Isn’t it interesting that when I search for photos related to obedience, the pictures all are of dogs? Not us human beings. No, the word conjures up obedient dogs! Would that we could be as responsive to discipline as a dog is! Or as committed to growth as a lobster!

Look up for your purpose!

Bee like a lobster
Or a dog –
Committed and Obedient…

Keep Growing!

Love,
JanBeek

Just “Bee”

It’s okay to “Bee”
Just “bee” without any fret
Just “bee” contented

Release any pain
Let go all uncertainty
Turn over the keys

Relaxing is hard
Whence comes the ability
To just simply “bee”?

Psalm 42: 5-11

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

8 By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”

10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

To “Just bee” in peace
Gratefully receive God’s good
Live life without lack

Gratefully receive
The grace God is giving you
To see your blessings

“Just a little more”
Is not the way to JUST BEE
Praise God for your gifts

The real truth is
We have more than enough
To live gratefully

young woman sitting in apartment on second level with plants
Photo by Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels.com

Take a look around
You might just be overwhelmed
When you really see

See all your blessings
We are so much better off
Than most other folks

Let Us Pray
(from In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley)

God, it is easy to focus on that is wrong in my life
rather than what is right.

I find myself overwhelmed
by all the injustice, pain, and division in the world.

Forgive me for the times I’ve chosen to feed negativity,
to spread hopelessness among my friends and family.

But I’m not alone in my grief,
You are heartbroken by these things, too.

So Lord, I pray for Your guidance in sorrow.

I want to lament all that is wrong –
without being consumed by it.

Teach me to balance grief
with the assurance of Your love.

May my heartbreak, empathy, and faith
play a role in Your healing of the world.

Amen

So, let us just “bee”
Bee friends; Reach out to others
Live life without lack

We’ve more than enough
Of God’s love and compassion
Jesus gave it all!

Like a honeybee
Let’s distribute what we have
To make life better…

for everyone!
Let it “Bee”


To just make your world
“bee” a better place today,
What can you just give?

Love,
JanBeek

Feeling Uncomfortable?

Why did my Bible study this morning suggest
it’s not just OK,
but advisable
that sometimes we feel uncomfortable?

I thought of my son-in-law, Andre’,
when I thought of discomfort!

But then I realized,
No, not that kind of discomfort!

The scripture that prompted the remark
about being uncomfortable is this one:

“The Samaritan woman said to [Jesus],
‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.
How can you ask me for a drink?’
(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).”

John 4:9 (NIV)

Obviously, the woman was uncomfortable talking to Jesus. But Jesus intentionally engaged in conversation with the woman. According to Ericka Loynes, who wrote the commentary for the devotional in Guideposts “Mornings With Jesus,” His intent seemed to be to “change the landscape of the current culture.”

“Embracing change can be difficult,” Loynes went on to write. She acknowledged, “The more often I get out of my comfort zone, the easier it will be to adjust to the changes around me.”

Stepping out may seem scary, but as this meme reminds us, it is imperative if we want to become stronger and grow. So, Loynes ends her commentary by asking the reader to take a faith step: “Ask Jesus to help you get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

It’s worth thinking about, don’t you think?
Like Jesus, who can you step out
and talk to today
who is not among those
you generally hold in conversation?

Try it!
Try stepping out of your comfort zone.

There are plenty of folks out there
who could use your brand of positivity!
Do you see folks
who look like they could use
some encouragement?
Follow Jesus’ example!

You may find some comfort in being uncomfortable.
I’m gonna try it.
You with me?

Love,
JanBeek

Quote

Let There Be Peace

The word for today is PEACE.
In a world of chaos, dear Lord,
Let there be peace on earth.
Let me be an instrument of that peace.

We may not be able to control
What everyone else on earth does,
But we can control what we do.
Are you determined to be a peacemaker?

I want to be a peacemaker.
In spite of the chaos in this world,
I want to make peace where I am.
That may be all I can control.

And I can pray to our Father in Heaven,
“Let there be peace on earth!
Place the message of peace
In the hearts of today’s rulers.”

“Lord. I know you have overcome the world.
I know you also have given man free will.
Lord, place common sense and compassion
In the wills of those who are waging war!

Let there be peace on earth!!
And help me find peace in my little corner of it!”

As St. Francis of Assisi prayed,
“Make me a Channel of Your Peace.”
I love Susan Boyle’s voice singing that prayer.
Take a minute to listen to it… and internalize it!

To find peace in my place in the world,
I may have to turn off some of the news.
I MAY HAVE TO SHARPEN MY SENSE OF HUMOR,
And pass some chuckles on to my friends!

Just once,
I want a username and password prompt
to say
CLOSE ENOUGH.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com

I may have to find reasons to laugh
In spite of the sadness and devastation.
I may have to look for reasons to laugh,
Reasons to pass along a sense of optimism.

I want to be a realistic optimist!

The pessimist complains about the wind
The optimist expects the wind to change
The realist adjust his sails

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Love to you,
Jan Beek

What will you do today to add peace
to your little corner of the world?
I am looking for the peace
of editing this post
and getting rid of the
oversized font!
What’s happening??

woman in gray tank top
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.

Valued Trait

Today’s prompt on WordPress was:
What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

Each of us is given special gifts.
The trick is to recognize yours.
When you find it, then
make it your favorite trait.

And use it to the fullest!

This scripture is one of my favorites…
and it reveals a trait I cherish:

Hebrews 13:2

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by this some have entertained angels
without knowing it.”

My special gift is hospitality.
I love having family and friends
come to spend time with us.
Here is our dear 1980-81 AFS son,
Christian Zufferey (ZuZu), from Switzerland.
No, he’s no stranger to us!!

(Our DeAna married his first cousin!!
What a love story that is!)

This week DeAna, and her hubby, Andre’
surprised us by arriving with ZuZu
and his wife, Celia, for a four day stay.
Here they are this morning… leaving us (boo-hoo!)

But, we were blessed to have them
come and spend those days
(just not nearly long enough) –
and to have Chef Andre’ prepare great meals!

How wonderful it was also
to have our grandson, Mike,
and his wife, Tania, with us for a week
this month. They were so helpful!!

Now this hospitality business
would have a full opportunity
to be put into practice IF our son
Ty & his wife, Monika, would come!

The good news is that Peter,
one of Bob’s wrestling students
from back in the 1970’s in CA,
will be joining us in October for awhile.
Yay!

Why don’t you consider
Letting me use my favorite trait,
HOSPITALITY,
On you one of these days?

What’s your special gift – your favorite trait?

Love to you,
JanBeek

Advice

Daily writing prompt
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The value of tidbits of advice differs as we hear them at different times in our lives.

As a young child, my mom’s advice always included words of encouragement:
“Let your light shine.”
“You can be anything you decide you want to be.”
“You are more than good enough.”
“Take it one day at a time.”

Mom certainly let her light shine!!

Later in life, I have discovered that I can receive valuable advice daily by reading my Bible, reading devotionals written by Christ-like, modern-day disciples, and listening to compassionate friends. They say things like:

We should never tire of seeking advice and heeding the words of wise counsel.
http://www.Motivational Words of Wisdom.com always has sound advice.

It’s hard (in fact impossible for me) to narrow pieces of advice down to the one best.
How about you?

God’s latest advice to me was, “Slow down and watch where you’re going!”
Do you hear God’s advice being shouted in your ear at times, too?

Love Returned

In his prompt today, David at

ben Alexander

ben AlexanderThe Skeptic’s Kaddish 

invited us to try our hand
at a poetry form
that is new to me:

Sijo

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

David did a fantastic job with the form. Click on his name & blog title above to read his contribution.
I told him I was not sure I was even going to try… it sounds too complicated! But… with the following meme as a prompt, here goes:

Your mind will always believe, if you are ever truthful;
But when you are deceitful, you feed it sorrow, deep grief.
Feed your mind sincere love and truth, and it will be returned to you.

Bob & I send our love and deep peace
to you and your loved ones today.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
Will you try your hand at Sijo?

Lessons Learned

Daily writing prompt
Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I am not indispensable.
I used to think I was…
If I wasn’t there,
the school would have

shut down!!

low section of man against sky
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hah! Not true…
The custodian and the secretary
Are indispensable …
Not the principal!

So unlock the misconception!
Set yourself free!
You, too, my friend
Are not indispensable!

What lesson do you wish you had learned earlier?

Lighten up!
Live, love, laugh…
Peace to you!

Hug lots,
JanBeek

Tag Cloud

%d