The joy that’s comin’ Is here if you’re hummin’ Git yer guitar and start strummin’ Yer smile’s quite becommin’
I found the beauty today In weeds I saw along the way. Many folks would probably say Pull ’em out – or douse ’em with spray!
Joy is a part o’ yer make-up. It’s inside ya ready to take up Residence and cause a shake-up; So smile and light yer face up!
And a joyful face is good medicine fir others!
Just let yer heart glow With the joy that ya know Is inside; Let it show! Let yer love flow.
Luke 8:16
A Lamp on a Stand
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”
I let my light shine. It’s part of my design. Lips aren’t a straight line – They should curve up real fine!
Smilin’ makes ya feel better; So, my friends, be a trend setter! Turn off sorrow; don’t be a fretter. You look so much better when you SMILE!
Let yer joy be real clear. Share it with those you hold dear. Give it to those far and near Who need your brand of cheer.
Picture it radiating And wiping out all hating. Picture it pulsating And erasing what’s frustrating.
Yup, this bears repeating:
Joy is a part o’ your make-up. It’s inside ya ready to take up Residence and cause a shake-up; So smile and light yer face up!
Today in church, the choir taught the congregation a new hymn. At least it was new to us. About verse three, the congregation couldn’t hold – they had to (simply HAD to) join in… and the message resonated with everyone there.
I was reminded of the slogan at Bloom in the Desert where we attended several different Januarys when we vacationed near Palm Springs, CA: “We welcome all who welcome all.”
Wouldn’t it be grand if all people could exhibit that level of inclusivity?
Aren’t those lyrics wonderful? Did you find yourself singing along?
Hallelujah! Love is grown in this place! I am so happy to worship in a place where “All Are Welcome.” I just wish we could cultivate more diversity in our little corner of Montana. We came from California 15 years ago. Our community in CA was made up of people from many ethnicities. I miss that! Montana does have a large Native American population, though. I wish more of them would move into southwest Montana!
Meet a couple of very talented brothers:
What can we – as diversity-loving citizens – do to encourage more of that “We Welcome All” attitude in our world?
Share some ideas with me.
Big hugs to you. Have a beautiful Sunday.
Cheers! Left hand is gaining flexibility and strength every day. Thanks for your prayers. Keep smiling!!
I send my love to you. See you tomorrow (God willing) Love, JanBeek
Thank you, my friends, for your love and supportive prayers and comments. Bob & I are headed in to Bozeman now for my surgery on this dislocated and broken finger.
It snowed a lot in a circular radius around us, so we’ll have icy roads up & over Norris Pass and a lot of snow in Bozeman when we get there. Prayers for safe travels appreciated.
My surgery is to realign this little finger and put a couple of pins in the finger to keep it in place going forward. Prayers for the surgeon’s steady hands and skill appreciated. And for my pain tolerance, please.
Dear friends are bringing us our dinner for tonight. Praise God for His loving servants who reach out to others in their need. We are so grateful!
I probably will not blog for a couple of days. You understand.
See you when I can. Sending love and appreciation.
Hugs, JanBeek
Please send continued prayers for those who need it so much more than I do…
God gives us doctors When we cannot heal ourselves. He says, “Lean on them.”
God gives us neighbors When we need acts of kindness. He says, “Bee grateful!”
Our Savior saves us When we cannot save ourselves. He says, “Lean on Me!”
I may have to learn To accept strength from others – Can’t be strong alone!
Single-handedly, I feel slightly “hand”icapped. God says, “Lean on me!”
Have you ever felt Too weak to accomplish all You have on your plate?
Who did you lean on?
Sometimes when we ask God for the strength that we need, He sends us earth angels.
My neighbor, a retired nurse who lives in CA part of the year, just texted. She asked about my hand. When I told her about the upcoming surgery, she wrote, “We will be there to help and if you have any questions, we know stuff :o)”
See … earth angel on her way! And her husband is a brilliant physiologist. He’s part of the “we” she’s talking about! Yup, they “know stuff.” Hah! It will be comforting and helpful to have them back in the “hood.” Just in time! God is good … all the time!
When Our Daily Bread posted on this subject, it wrote:
“We may not be able to touch Jesus physically, but we can entrust the weightiest circumstances of our lives to Him. He said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28).
How blessed we are to have a Savior whom we can trust to be faithful through every circumstance of our lives!
Are you ‘leaning’ on Him today?”
I am leaning on Jesus, and I am Leaning on Bob, too! He’s an earth angel God sent to me.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Our dear neighbor, Scott, came by today. He brought his shovel and gave us his all! All the energy he had stored up he poured out!
Our front porch was buried in snow. Our TazE’s exit from the kitchen door was blocked with over a foot of snow. The sidewalk approaching our house was covered with over 2 feet of snow that the wind had blown as a drift yesterday.
When Scott left, the porch and entry were cleared. The sidewalk is passable, so UPS and FedEx can deliver the package we are expecting today. And TazE was able to go out and do her business. Hooray!
The robins who were hovering under the patio chairs yesterday are dancing in the trees today. The sun is out – melting the snow that had clung to the branches.
Happy Holy Week, my friends. Scott gave us his all! He was exhausted when he finished. God bless him!
Jesus gave His all! How much energy – how many coins – are we willing to give?
I send my love to you, my friends. Have a Wonderful Wednesday! See ya tomorrow … Maundy Thursday… Hugs, JanBeek
Today we received a thank you letter from Intermountain. We get a personalized letter from them every month. The letter provides a great source of encouragement. It motivates us to continue to give gladly because we know it is received and used meaningfully.
Intermountain Development
Our gift to Intermountain is a small donation. I have it taken out automatically from my monthly retirement income. I don’t even miss it… but I know it is pooled with other small gifts and together, they matter. Intermountain helps hundreds of children increase their mental health.
The thank you letter we receive each month lets us know our gift was received, and it tells us, “Your support, combined with the tireless efforts of our direct care staff, provides transformative outcomes in the lives of the children we serve.” Thanks! We believe it!
The academic and counseling programs at Intermountain, the recreational opportunities and clinical integrity are superb. We are encouraged to continue to support their efforts and to spread the word so others are encouraged to donate to them also. They are an excellent Montana-based 501(c) organization Check out their school, cottages, counseling, and community outreach programs at intermountain.org
How do you choose to share encouragement?
Donations are one way – but there are so many others: cards, letters, phone calls, texts, e-mails, home visits, hugs, volunteering time, you name it …
We all need encouragement, you know.
Choose ways to be an encourager!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
As often happens to me, I read the first devotional this morning in Daily Guideposts, and I was inspired to choose the word for my blog today. EQUIPPED!
Then when I opened the next devotional, “All God’s Creatures,” the March/April Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers, and the word “equipped” showed up twice on that page.
What are the chances, you ask? Pretty good batting average, I’d say. There it was again:
Ephesians 2:10 (a)
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
The story in “All God’s Creatures” was about a woodpecker who was “beautifully equipped for his unique purpose in life…” as he aggravated the writer with his incessant tapping on the tree trunk outside his window.
The writer, Terry Clifton, mused that he, too, is “a result of God’s handiwork – equipped with talents and skills that have meaning and purpose for [his] life.”
What has God equipped you with? What unique gifts and talents do you possess that allow you to let God’s workmanship shine through you to fulfill His purpose in your life?
On the Daily Guideposts’ page for today Jerusha Agen wrote, “All I have to do is walk with God through each day, confident He will provide all I need to accomplish His work.”
Heart made of sand
It all sounds so theoretical, doesn’t it? About as solid as that sand in the hand. But, what scripture is telling us is that our hearts are not made to be solid.
We are not expected to look at tasks from our earthly perspective. Tasks are formed for us beforehand by our Maker in Heaven.
Don’t eliminate the second part of the Ephesians 2:10 scripture: “…which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
You know where I am going with this. You know that I begin each morning in my sanctuary where I focus on scripture, devotionals, and my angels.
I have a collection of these wonderful angels. Most were given to me as gifts from dear friends. Each has a story to tell – each reminds me of someone special. Some have wings, others do not. I focus on their message. “Lift someone up today.” “Let the Chains of Love bind you to others.”
It was my first devo today that caused me to choose the word FOCUS as my focus.
Then each scripture I read – and each of the other devotionals seemed to reinforce those thoughts until I got to the last one for the morning. It was in a book titled, “Ever Faithful” by David Jeremiah.
And what do you think the title for today is? “Clouded Vision”
And the scripture for today?
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”
The story accompanying the title and scripture could not have been more perfect! (Thank you, David Jeremiah, for this!)
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of Heart! Music that calms the soul…
Have a great weekend, my friends. I am off to clean my windows. I need to see the world around me more clearly. How about you?
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
What is the Lord telling you to do today?
So, waste it wisely!!
This is posted in honor of my sister-in-law, Bonnie. Today marks the 1st year anniversary of Stan, her husband’s death. Rest in peace, Stan! God bless you, Bonnie.
Sending love your way. See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Up pops the crocus leaves Tiny sprouts of green Signaling winter’s end – A very welcomed scene.
Only in snowy places Do crocus flowers grow. What makes that a fact? I’d really like to know.
So I checked it out With a quick click or two And learned about this flower. Does its beauty attract you, too?
In her article about gardening, Marie Iannotti wrote the following about crocuses: “Growing from bulb-like structures called corms, crocuses are low-growing perennial plants from the iris (Iridaceae) family. In many regions, crocus flowers (Crocus spp.) mark the arrival of spring. These early bloomers can often be seen peeking up through the snow well before any other flowers appear on the landscape. They grow in a range of conditions, including woodlands, coastal gardens, and suburban lawns. Bloom colors on the tube-shaped flowers include mauve, lavender, and yellow. …”
The crocus in our yard are this gorgeous color of lavender. I wasn’t aware that they also come in mauve and yellow, are you?
My daughter-in-law’s mom, Ruthie, grew up in Switzerland and has lived her adult life in southern California. Speaking with her this morning, telling her about the crocus that are popping up in our yard, she said, “I haven’t seen a crocus since I was a child in Switzerland. They only grow where there’s snow.”
That got me thinking and wondering … and as you read above, they actually grow in a range of conditions. I intend to send her a few “corms” as an Easter gift next week – and I will be very curious to see if they will grow in her yard. She lives not too far from Los Angeles … certainly a place where snow is not expected! But, Marie Iannotti included “suburban lawns” as a place they grow, so we’ll see.
Not quite the same as her Swiss mountainside, huh?
What are some things that you might expect to see only in snowy places?
I love snowdrops. We don’t have any of these in our yard. Gotta remedy that!!
I did a little research on these flowers too, and learned this from Longfield Gardens’ site: “Like other spring-blooming bulbs, snowdrops use their foliage to generate energy for next year’s flowers. Resist the temptation to cut back the leaves or mow them down while they are still green. Within a couple weeks, the foliage will yellow and melt away on its own.
When snowdrops are growing in a location that suits them, the bulbs will multiply and can eventually carpet a large area. The bulbs don’t mind being crowded and rarely need dividing. If you want to move some bulbs to a new area or share them with friends, dig and divide them in early spring, right after flowering and before the foliage begins to yellow. Handle them carefully so the foliage stays attached to the bulbs, and get them back into the ground as quickly as possible.
You may find it takes a couple years to establish large clumps of snowdrops, but once the bulbs have naturalized, you will have flowers every spring for generations to come.”
What springtime flower inspires you?
I hope your home is blessed with a colorful, sweet smelling, beautiful gift of flowers today.
If I could send you a few “corms” as an Easter gift, I would!
Bee well! I send you my love and hugs this day. Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
janbeek 