Peace is living here
In the Madison Valley
Fun is sharing it
Safely visiting
When this COVID is over
Can be your next goal
Let our peaceful place
Put calmness and joy in you
Let me spoil you
God has spoiled me
Blessed me to be a blessing
I long to share peace
Peace be with you, my friend.
Thanks for visiting
JanBeek
Job 5:9
“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.”
The fact that I was able to go on that ATV ride yesterday on those bumpy, rocky trails is in itself a miracle. You know I had hernia surgery on my mid-section last month. To enjoy yesterday with Bob & our friends was a WONDER, for sure! And today I am no worse for the wear… Thank God!
The miracle of the sea and the tides,
the daily rising and setting of the sun and moon,
these are miracles that never cease to amaze me.
And if miraculous healing, sunrises and sunsets are not enough for you,
look in the mirror!!
It’s a wonder that
We can see the miracle in us
And in others, too.
Keep searching for them
Wonders and miracles are
Everywhere you look!!
Just keep looking up.
God will show you His wonders-
And you will share them.
Thank you to Pexels
For putting God’s wonders here
At our fingertips!
I may not travel
To Thailand to see this sight
But Pexels shares it
Where do you want to
Go – and what do you want to see?
What interests are yours?
I may not see Guam
In person in my lifetime,
But I can Google.
I can imagine
The miracle of the flight
That takes me to Guam.
“Why Guam?” you ask me.
“Why not?” I respond to you.
It fascinates me.
Why does Pexels show
An undersea photograph
Of a Guam turtle?
Surely there is more
To Guam and its miracles –
More than sea turtles!
Did you know that Guam
Is U.S. territory?
I am in wonder!
I wonder when Guam
Became part of the U.S.
It’s a miracle!
A miracle that
I chose that place to learn more –
Not having a clue!
The inhabitants
of Guam are American
citizens by birth.
I must have learned that
When they had a hurricane –
‘Twas devastating!
I remember now
The terrible destruction
And our lack of help.
I wonder why we
Didn’t do more to assist?
Do you wonder, too?
Google says,
“The Micronesian
nation offers beautiful
white beaches, exotic wildlife,
and intriguing culture and history.”
Through the miracle of You.Tube you can take a virtual trip to Guam and you can learn about its history and see its beauty… and you will WONDER how many of these gorgeous places might have survived or been destroyed by that hurricane. This video was created in 2016 and the hurricane was in 2019.
Like me, you will WONDER why this site doesn’t list the PEOPLE who died in this tragic event. Certainly they are more important than the $3.3 million in damage. And you want to hear stories of the MIRACLES of survival in the midst of such devastation, right?
As I quoted from the Bible at the beginning of this post,
in Job 5:9 it says,
“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.”
Everywhere we look in this world, there are wonders and miracles to behold.
Open your eyes to them, my friends.
I told you some of the ones I see
and some I would like to travel and see.
How about you?
What miracles do you see?
What wonders do you want to see?
How do you see yourself?
Do you know YOU ARE A MIRACLE?
How alert is your funny bone?
Are you ready for the miracle of laughter
that brings healthy endorphins into your body?
Keep on laughing.
It does wonders for your mental health!
Love ya,
JanBeek
Today’s sermon by Rev. Steve Hundley was titled, “It’s a Miracle” BUT, he started his message by telling us how upset his congregation was (when he was a young boy) by a sermon debunking the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
Here are the notes I took while hearing the sermon this morning. The scripture inspiring it was Matthew 14: 13-26.
It makes me nervous
To remember this text
Because my memory goes back
Fifty-four years. What’s next?
I was eleven when I heard
This story of five-thousand men
Being fed with five loaves and
Three fish. What happened then?
The disciples passed their meager rations
Out to the multitude of folk,
And all those who packed a lunch
Were inspired to share as Jesus spoke.
The quantity of sharing was such
That twelve baskets were left behind.
Was it in fact a miracle, or
Generosity of an immense kind?
My eleven-year-old congregation
Was disturbed by “Miracle Debunked!”
It wasn’t Jesus multiplying food,
But multiplying compassion. Who woulda thunk?
Jesus’ resource of compassion wa such
That, like the Energizer Bunny, He kept
Giving and sharing and healing.
His love further demonstrated as Jesus wept.
Jesus’ compassion was apparent
When He told His disciples to give
The five-thousand something to eat –
And so doing, He showed us how to live.
Live with the generosity and love
Jesus was about. Live what He taught.
He said, “You go and feed them.”
Share what you have, as you ought.
Jesus could have multiplied the bread
And the fishes by Himself –
But He knew that mass of folks could
Overcome hunger and share their shelf.
Open the door to the shelf of your heart,
And give from your meager things.
Watch how the Lord gives you a sense of plenty-
And share your gifts as Jesus sings:
Thank YOU…
and
AMEN!
You are the disciple who gives
From your shelf to those who need.
Thank you for being the miracle
Who obeys Christ’s command: Go and Feed!
See ya tomorrow.
Have a beautiful Sunday evening.
Love,
JanBeek
Angels are with us
In every walk of our life
Most have hidden wings
My angel friend, Terry, sent me this Jana Stanfield video.
She said I am her angel.
Truth is: she is mine!
Can it be that we serve one another
As angels here on earth?
Can it be that you are one, too?
Look at these darling children.
Each of them is an angel here on earth.
They just keep their wings hidden!
(Except for the cymbalist… I think I see his wings peeking out!)
“Somewhere amongst them,
or betwixt them,
or gazing adoringly up at them
just like you,
here I am.”
That was a sentence I captured
on a blog yesterday, but didn’t get the author’s name.
I apologize. If you know who wrote this,
please tell me in the comments below and I’ll add it.
It is angelic writing, don’t you agree?
I have a host of angels here on earth
who bring God’s love to me on a daily basis.
I bet you do, too.
Think about them today.
Reach out and thank them today
for the joy they bring to you.
This is Bob’s older brother, Bill, with his wife, Margie.
Bob’s family members are angels in our lives.
With them is our son, Ty, and daughter-in-love, Monika.
We are so blessed to have Tyroneee and Moni as angels among us.
Here is Terry
(the friend who sent me Jana Stanfield’s angel song)
with her husband, our friend, Jim.
Can you just see what angels they are?
We call Terry “SPARKLES!”
She sparkles with love and compassion.
When I came home from the hospital after my recent hernia surgery, Terry sent Bob to get me at the hospital with this angel blanket that’s now draped over my bedroom chair. That’s what angel friends do: they wrap you warmly in their loving arms… and send you kisses!
This collage of photos from my sister, Sally, has several angels pictured on it. My dad to start with – bottom center – what an angel! My sis and my niece, Jodie with her son, Liam and husband, Bill. They are angels in my life, too.
And if you look closely, you can see Sally with TazE… our Boston Terrier. She was going to be named “Angel.” I had that name all picked out for her – until we met her!! TazE was a Tasmanian Devil (Taz) with E for Ears to match her bouncy personality and oversized ears. No, she was not an angel at all. But she has quieted down in her old age (she’s nine now) and maybe she qualifies as an angel in my life at this time. You think?
Chris is one of my three Swiss grandsons. He lived with us for a while last year … and was such an angel in our lives. Our seven grandchildren continue to be angels. Here is my youngest granddaughter, Faith (now 24) … Of course, she’s an angel in our lives!
I hope you have a BFF – (Best Friend Forever) – a long term angel friend – someone you can count on in all circumstances – someone like my friend, Marcie:
We all have angels in our lives. People we will love until the end of time… people who exude God’s love. They are compassionate and considerate. They seem to know when we need them and they are there at the most important times. God bless the angels among us!
Each of you who comes to JanBeek
and bothers to read and comment is
An Angel of Mine!
What you mean to me, you’ll never know….
You came at just the right time into my life-
and I want to share it with you…
I appreciate you so much!
Tell me abut some of your angels!
See you tomorrow.
((( Hugs )))
JanBeek
Revelation 3:20
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Come on in!
I can have a meal ready for you in minutes.
Our home is a place where we welcome all who welcome all!
We want you to feel at home here!
Or just walk right in – because we don’t have a solid wood door where I can put a beautiful knocker. Our front doors are glass. The entry welcomes you with words on the wall that say “The greatest of these is love.” The word art was a Mother’s Day gift from our son & his wife, that first May after we moved here.
Hah!
You can’t read it… it’s backward for some reason…
and it’s blurry… but trust me,
it says, “The Greatest of These is Love”
right above the windows.
Those are the stairs that lead up to my sanctuary –
my “Angel Room.”
So, that is what you see when you enter our home here in Ennis, Montana.
But, this house has not always been my “dream home.” I don’t have a photo of my original dream house. It was in Heber City, Utah. I lived with that house on my screensaver in California for a year. We were ready to retire, looking for a place away from the growing congestion of California. We saw it near Salt Lake City, Utah. We toured it, fell in love with it, put a bid on it, and I dreamed of living there. But, the Lord had other ideas, I guess. The owner never responded to our perfectly generous offer, even after we went back a year later and put another bid on it.
The house was made of logs from the 1988 Yellowstone fire. Many of the logs still had the scorch marks on them. The front door was a massive wood entry with no handle. It had a lovely knocker like the one pictured at the top of this blog.
When you knocked on the door and someone came to let you in, a painting of Jesus (clearer and more beautiful than the one below) was on the wall just inside. The scripture from Revelations 3:20 was written beneath the painting.
The house seemed God-inspired – and I longed to live there.
However, it seems that Utah was not the place God had in mind for us.
This house, in this Pintail Ridge neighborhood, with lovely neighbors, this church in Ennis with these friends… this was (is) God’s dream house for us. When we put in a bid here, everything went like clockwork. (By the way, the trees were much smaller 15 years ago, and you could see the house from Mallards Roost Road clearly. Now we have a lovely forest!)
Have you ever noticed that when you are walking in God’s will, the path seems smoother?
When you are walking in God’s will, deals ultimately work out better than you could have dreamed.
When you tune in to God’s will for your life, you end up in a better spot than any place you could have imagined for yourself!!
So, come on in, my friends!
Mi casa es su casa!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
Thank you – so many of you-
who sent your love following yesterday’s blog
when I told you about my heavy heart
following the death of my cousin, Cliff.
Your outreach warmed my heart.
God bless and Keep you!
See you tomorrow.
JanBeek
Thank you for all the sweet responses and inspiring messages that helped make my 81st birthday so memorable. I love my WordPress community!
It’s Sunday, so of course, Bob & I went to church this morning. Our worship service was outside. It’s a beautiful day here in Ennis, Montana. Thank you, God, for the sunshine and mild temperatures in the 70s. Everyone wore masks and socially distanced. The sermon topic was based on two New Testament scriptures: Romans 8:26-30 (A Wonderful Future for God’s People) and Matthew 13: 31-33 (The mustard seed and the yeast).
Hope in Difficult Times
(as usual I took my notes in poetry as I listened.
Here they are:)
Bombarded daily with bad news,
It’s hard to keep our spirits up.
But reading the Bible is a fresh breath
Of positivity and love that fills our cup.
The parables of the mustard seed and
The yeast that magically rises the dough
Are examples of Jesus’ storytelling.
They are hard to easily explain, though.
Trying to explain the parables is like
Describing photosynthesis to a four-year-old.
You can say all you want to explain them,
But we need simplicity in what we’re told!
See the mystery of God’s world.
Don’t try to explain it away.
Look at the wonders of creation
And let the mystery come into play!
It’s okay to read and not understand
How God makes the world work.
It’s okay to wonder and say “I don’t know,”
We can’t see it all – Some’s in the dirt!
Some of the greatest miracles
Of Jesus are buried from our minds.
We can’t see the way His mysteries
Play out – but we see the love that binds!
Look at how the mountains skip,
And the trees clap their hands,
And know that these exaggerations
Are part of the Power where God stands.
Read the Bible not with a microscope,
But with a telescope so that you
Can see the bigness of His Word.
He’s bigger than our understanding – That’s so true!
The music that accompanied our worship service today was so appropriate to this world we currently are trying to navigate. Sing along … the words are here for you on this You.Tube:
Lord, show me the Way, one day at a time!
Help me believe in what I could be – and all that I am.
Just give me the strength to do every day what You want me to do.
So for my sake, teach me to take – One Day at a Time.
Show me the Way!
The other song that we had printed on song sheets so we could sing along was “Mansion Over the Hilltop.” I had not heard it before. Have you?
In our call to confession, we read in unison these words from our bulletins:
“Let us trust in the words of the Psalmist who said,
‘The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves those who are crushed in spirit,’
as we lay our burdens before our God.”
The biggest burden on my heart today is this big guy pictured on the left in the photo below. My cousin, Cliff, is shown here with three of his rowing buddies from the University of Washington. Cliff is losing his battle with cancer.
I lay my burdened heart before God as I asked for prayers for my cousin, Cliff Hurn. He is in his last days of trying to fight off cancer. He has fought the good fight and he is tired. Hospice has been called in and his family has gathered around. Please pray for his wife, Janine, his family, and all of us who love him so much.
I posted about Cliff early on in his battle. The link to one of those blogs is: https://janbeek.blog/2019/11/09/prayers-for-cliff/ You can see him there surrounded by his wonderful wife and two daughters. Please pray for Cliff today.
Do you have something
that’s heavy on your heart today?
Tell me about it –
and I will add you and your request
to my prayer time.
God bless you, my dear WP Friends.
Have a blessed rest of your Sunday.
See ya tomorrow.
Love and virtual hugs,
JanBeek
It is time to pause
Received blessings, expressed thanks
Now stop and absorb
It is time to pause
Today is a “Selah Day”
Psalm 61:4
“I long to dwell in your tent forever and take shelter in the refuge of your wings.”
Selah (Pause)
Have a restful Saturday.
What are your plans?
I’m just gonna “cool it!”
Sending love and gratitude,
JanBeek
Every time Bob and I see someone who is driving like they don’t have a brain in their gray and wrinkled head, we comment to one another, “Too many birthdays!” We’ve been doing that for years. And guess what? Now we are they!!
Well, at least HE is they! At 81 (he’ll be 82 in December), Bob is 5 months ahead of me. He’ll always be older! I can smile in the rear view mirror, wear a hat to cover the gray, and pretend I’m still a young chick! Heck, age is just a matter of how you feel, right? HEALTH is everything! Love is essential. God is good!
Yup, today is my birthday…
and for the next 5 months,
Bob & I are the same age.
No way!!
The hair may be gray, and the face has a few added wrinkles with “too many birthdays,” but age is a matter of the MIND. Right? If you don’t mind, I don’t mind!
Just don’t call me old!!
Tell me I’m “bee-YOU-tiful”
like this card I received yesterday
from Bob’s sister!
(Thank you, Bonnie)
And pick a few flowers from your garden to decorate your table…
like my neighbor, Sue, did yesterday.
(God bless her)
Keep singing and dancing
(ya gotta keep movin’),
writing and blogging your thoughts,
dreaming and making those dreams come true,
living your passions,
and you’ll never have
“Too Many Birthdays” –
no matter how many years
the calendar tells you!!
It’s time to open presents,
sing the birthday song,
blow out a few candles (don’t try to count them!)
and praise God for the years
he has given me “Too Many Birthdays!”
I’ll take ’em all – gladly!
Have a Fabulous Friday!
I’ll see you tomorrow
and tell you all about
my “Happy (not too many) Birthday!”
Come on, friends, sing along.
I’m listening!!
(When I get old, I’m gonna wear more purple…
Just don’t rush me!)
Love,
JanBeek
Here is Faithful:
Faithful is a Yellowstone moose. He’s 14 years old! When our granddaughter, Faith, was about 10 years old, she visited us here in Montana. As a family, we visited Yellowstone Park. She and her three siblings each were given a little money to select a souvenir from the gift shop. As kids typically do, they chose something for themselves. But, Faith was not typical. She selected this moose – and gave it to me as a present … a thank you for their visit.
Today is Faith and her husband, Kyle’s wedding anniversary. They were married a year ago. Faith is as thoughtful a young lady as she was as a little ten-year-old. Every morning I say a special prayer for Faith and Kyle as I make my bed, and put “Faithful” back in his central place of honor in front of the pillows.
Fourteen years has taken its toll on Old Faithful. His hat is torn – and it was chewed a little by TazE when she was a puppy. But still, I cherish this little stuffed moose.
I tuck the torn hat in under his antler and ask the Lord,
“Please watch over Faith and Kyle.
Tuck them under Your wings, O Lord,
just as I tuck Faithful’s hat under his ear.
Give them health and happiness,
love and longevity.
Keep them safe.
And help them lean on Your love
and their Faithfulness
this day and every day.
Amen.”
May they love with a universal love –
always generous,
compassionate,
grateful and hopeful,
brave and forgiving,
proud and yet humble.
Do you have children?
Or grandchildren?
How about great-grandchildren?
The most important gift you can give them is the gift of daily prayer.
God bless you, Faith and Kyle. And both our children and their families.
Yes, we are so blessed.
Thank You, God,
for You are always FAITHFUL!
See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek
We all are human
So we all are imperfect
Good and bad combined
Today’s sermon drummed home that point to us. Rev. Steve Hundley at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church here in Ennis, Montana, used this scripture to springboard into the message for today:
Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43
The Parable of the Weeds24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
You know I like to take poetic notes as I listen to the sermon each Sunday. Here are my notes, taken during today’s message:
Gardens are lot of trouble.
The weeds grow more than flowers.
The weeds choke out vegetables.
Why do weeds have such powers?
Jesus says the garden is the world,
And in it the devil plants seeds.
His are never flowers or veggies;
They are nothing but nasty weeds,
There has always been – and always will be –
Weeds – the stuff planted by sin.
Weeds, tares, or wild rye
Looks like wheat and mixes in.
The wild rye is actually poisonous,
But we can’t tell one from the other.
Just like us – who try to judge
The authenticity of our sisters and brothers.
Our “weed pulling” – ridding us of enemies –
Is a job some think is ours.
We try to separate the good from the bad,
As if calling out evil is in our powers.
Trouble is we each have wheat and weeds.
We’re all a part evil and a part good.
Who is capable of separating the weeds?
It’s not our job. Leave ’em. We should!
Sometimes trying to eliminate sin
Is a process that has reverse effects.
We inadvertently pull of the flowers,
Those beautiful people our Lord protects.
Too much weeding can rob people
Of the right to hear the Gospel and read
The Words Jesus spoke to us all: “Do not judge.”
Risk the weeds as you plant Good seeds.
Amen?
Amen!
Have a beautiful Sunday evening…
Enjoy your garden (it’s another form of creative art… yes, Derrick!)
See ya tomorrow.
Bee well!
And let’s all strive to bee more good than bad!
Hah!
Love to you.
JanBeek
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
