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Archive for the ‘friendship’ Category

Positive Emotion?

Today’s Prompt was:
What positive emotion do you feel most often?

My Response:
Gratitude

I’m grateful for the neighbors who came immediately last night when I called them. I was frantic! Kenny, our pup, was crying. We could hear his barks and his whining, but we couldn’t find him. It sounded like it was coming from under the house. Maybe he went under the deck and got stuck on something. Maybe a rattlesnake bit him (years ago we had that happen to our Boston named Angela). We searched high and low for Kenny. No luck!
We were frantic!
So we called our friends.
They came. Four of them!
We all searched.
Still no luck.
So, we went into the house
(we’d already searched there thoroughly).
When we walked in through the back door,
there was a black and white nose
sticking out from under Bob’s chair!!
Kenny had squeezed under to fetch a toy –
and he got stuck!!
Whew!!!😥
We lifted the chair to release him.
Gratitude?
Ah yes!! 👏🏽
Thank You, Jesus!

Thank You, God,
Thank You, Jesus!
Thank You for neighbors,
for answered prayers,
for the safety of our pup!
Whew!!

Remember that first picture up there of Kenny lying on a quilt?
I’m grateful for it, too.
Do you have a memory quilt?
I love mine!
And no, Kenny doesn’t usually get to lie on it!
It was a retirement gift from my teaching colleagues
when I retired back in 1999.
The sentiments on it
and the remembrances
are so precious!

Marta Garcia did the stitching
and each of my colleagues at school
added a piece with their name
and sometimes a sentiment.
“Stitched with dreams of traveling forever,”
Marta wrote.

If you live in Ennis, Montana
with the Madison River running through it
and the spectacular Rocky Mountains as your backdrop,
and people from all over the world coming here to fish
and to just relax and enjoy the peace, the open spaces,
the wild animals, and the proximity to Yellowstone,
then you live daily with an attitude of gratitude,
and guess what?
Traveling forever is not a daily prayer.
We are grateful that you come to us!
Keep doing it!

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

Cheers from JanBeek

Pursue With-ness

“Take genuine interest in other people… turn to the person next to you in the grocery store and ask what the highlight of their day has been… Your question … will probably be the highlight of their day.”

That quote is from Bob Goff’s Catching Whimsy, 365 Days of Possibility.

He challenges us with today’s action step:

“Engage the people around you
with love and inexplicable curiosity today.”

Time with Saskia & Laszlo is so precious!

I need to be sure and practice “With-ness” with them.
God sent them to us so we could really BE with one another.

Who are you going to really be with today?
Bob Goff uses Galatians 6:10
to remind us of Jesus’ words to the people:
“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.”

Let them know you are 100% with them …
and curious about how life is going with them.

How is life going with you!?

My life is quite lovely.
Kenny’s is, too.
I hope yours is, also.

Who can you practice
“With-ness” with today?

Love,
JanBeek

Me with Laszlo
(Yup, that’s “With-ness!”)

Throw Gifts in the Pot

What are your gifts?

Unwrap Your Gifts

1 Cor. 12:7

“Each person is given something to do
that shows who God is:
Everyone gets in on it,
everyone benefits.

What were you given?
Wouldn’t it be fun to have your family and friends
tell you what gifts they see working in you?
I had that unique experience yesterday
at a meeting of our church’s elder board
(The Session).

Look up for your purpose!

The “gift” I most align myself with is:
“Intercessor.”
My daily prayer time and the lists of people
I pray for daily are an integral part of my life.
I am grateful God gave me the gift of praying for others.

In today’s devotional by Bob Goff,
he dealt with this subject.
Quoting 1Cor. 12:7, he went on to say,

” God has created us ro come together
and form a beautiful community
that highlights what we each
have been given and can contribute.”

Using the familiar story of Stone Soup,
Bob Goff wrote,
“You know where this story ends already:
the soup becomes a delicious simmering pot
made up of everyone’s contributions…
We all need to throw in what we’ve got
and it will be enough.”

Photo by Ella Olsson on Pexels.com

What other gift attributes did my friends identify for me?
writing
bedrock
firecracker
cooking
music
(and as mentioned:)
prayer warrior

Of course, the one that surprised me the most
was “Firecracker.”
Is that a gift?
Should I associate that with
being explosive
or
being a sparkler?
There are many ways to define our gifts,
aren’t there?
What’s yours?
Ask a friend. Bob Goff ended his
devotional in “Catching Whimsy”
with this faith step:

Ask the people around you.
“What are you good at?
What lights you up
and makes you spring out of bed?”

Here are the gifts my friends identified
in each of my fellow church elders’ lives.
For privacy’s sake,
I will identify them only by their initials

  • PC
    patience, music, steadiness, kindness, calmness, humor
  • CD
    steadfastness, empathy, compassion, devotion, humor, determination
  • BM
    infectiousness, enthusiasm, teaching, discernment, tolerance, creativity
  • BK
    creativity, enthusiasm, caring, loving, growing, willingness
  • RE
    cheerfulness, steadfastness, deep faith, evenness
  • MK
    dependability, thoughtfulness, initiative, wisdom, calmness, humor
  • SH
    faithfulness, dependability, devotion. willingness, generosity, commitment, obedience

We began our Session meeting in prayer
with this scripture as our guiding principle:
1 Cor. 12:1 paraphrased
“Don’t be ignorant friends.
A variety of gifts are given-
We all are made to drink in One Spirit.”

We can (or can we?)
control how others see us.
Would I have liked others to see in me
dependability, thoughtfulness, initiative, wisdom?
Of course!
Those weren’t mentioned.
What can I do about it?

Live mindfully.
Love outlandishly.
Purpose my life to
“Show who God is.”

Are you with me?
Throw your gifts in the pot,
and let’s make Stone Soup
into God’s Love Soup.

Hugs,
JanBeek

Happy 4th

Independence Day in Ennis, Montana is a happening!

Horses, kids, candy, vintage cars, wagons,
clowns, cowboys, singers, you name it!

The Virginia City Players posted this photo on their Facebook page.
Main street was crazy today!!
There are thousands of visitors
who flock to our town for the parade and rodeo today.
As I write this, back home
after a busy, delightful morning,
it is hailing outside!
Don’t like our Montana weather?
Wait five minutes!!

Our little Ennis bursts at the seams today. Happy 4th❤️🇺🇸

Thank you, Roy & Barbara Washburn,
for hosting such a wonderful morning
filled with food and friends and treasured friendships.
Yours is the perfect yard from which to enjoy the parade!
Happy Birthday, USA!
We are so grateful to be living in this Land of the Free!

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Love,
JanBeek

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Let Love In

Family sends love out and…
… we hug love in. We follow along for a lifetime!

See that cute little boy up there with his loving mom & dad? Well, look at him now!

That’s Liam, our grand-nephew, who just graduated from high school.
We are overjoyed that we were able to travel to Pittsburgh, PA to help Liam celebrate.
While there, we got to attend a couple of Liam’s hockey matches.

My niece, Jodie (Liam’s mom) and her hubby, Bill, have a gorgeous 1790’s BarN. They held a graduation party for Liam there. About 200 attended!!

Uncle Bob & I are mighty proud of this successful young man!

While in PA we also got to visit the National Aviary. What a beautiful, elegant collection of birds!

Meantime back at home, our pup, Kenny, enjoyed playmates and our son, Ty in CA, counted down days til retirement.

Kenny’s happy we’re home!
Ty’s ready for the next chapter in his life.
I pray that Ty & his wife, Monika, can find a way to go visit his sister in Switzerland. DeAna would love it!
Hey, Bro, come visit us! Put it on your 2026 calendar!

Let Love In!!!

Hugs await you wherever you go!

I hope your June started out as beautifully as ours!

Enjoy!

Let Love In!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Thank you, Jodie & Bill, for your love and generosity.

Positive Impact

Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.

Kenny came and filled all the empty places in our home and hearts! Dogs do that!
Neighbors/friends step up and fill our lives with love
Bonus daughters reach out and help make each day brighter
Sweet daughter, De, makes each day happier
Terrific Ty, super son, positively impacts us and countless others
Our pastor and our God keep us grounded in love
These and countless others are daily gifts that impact my life. How can I choose just one?
Like the flowers in my garden, each loved one impacts my life daily by adding beauty and support.

Who or what impacts your life … or has left a permanent impression? I know you also feel blessed. Life is a gift… and so are you!

God bless you!

Love, JanBeek

Love May

I love May

Grass is greening

Skies are blue

Hats for Fun

Flowers are real

Daffodils hail spring has sprung at last
Enjoy all that May may offer!

Love to you from JanBeek

Sharing “The Best of March”

A Fruitful Phase

Describe a phase in life that was especially fruitful

I’d rather focus on the fruitful periods rather than the difficult ones if I’m looking back in my life, wouldn’t you?

Fruitful days are days of happy memories
Days of sushi treats
Days for pedicures and self-care
Days of new beginnings

Our pup, Kenny, is growing and learning day by day.

Days to look back and cherish the love
Days to remember and cherish what used to be
Fruitful days with dear former students

Remember the good times. Cherish them! And resolve to make more of them!

Have a beautiful, blessed, fruitful weekend!

Love,

JanBeek

Greatest Gift

What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

Love

Love, joy, peace… the greatest of these is love.

Show love in your food preparation & presentation. Yummy dessert at The Fish Wife in Pacific Grove, CA last night.

The Red House Restaurant in Pacific Grove showed love this morning!

Bob shows his love to me every day. What a gift!

My friend, Lisa, gives the gift of love as she allows us to travel vicariously with her.

Bob’s older brother, Bill, gave the gift of love as he picked the oranges and squeezed fresh orange juice for our breakfast yesterday.

Our bonus daughter, Laina, gives the gift of love with daily communication.

Thank God for the Internet! It allows us to share love with one another daily across the world!

And the greatest gift of all is God’s love ❤️

Happy, peace-filled, love-filled New Year to you all. God Bless You🥰

Love,

JanBeek