“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.”
God’s dollop!
Looking out my dining room window, I see a strange sight. God put a dollop of whipped cream on the little peak we call “The Beehive.” I eagerly grab my camera and capture this unusual sight. It won’t last long. Soon the cloud went behind the mountain. But, the picture is a gift of happiness while it lasts.
Our skies had been gray and smokey for over two weeks as smoke from forest fires over 150 miles away blew into our Madison Valley. So, seeing the blue sky and a cute little cloud so perfectly placed was a rare treat!
Driving home from Bozeman after dropping our dear Daughter #2 off at the airport, we could see promising blue sky up ahead. The blue sky was peeking through at the airport, too. Laina had not seen it during her entire 10 day stay!!
That was smoke hovering above, but rain clouds in view. I eagerly awaited the storm to wash the smoke away. See how shrouded the mountains were and how dirty the air was?
Sure enough, the next morning, we could see the mountains clearly again!
Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of clear air! I prayed eagerly for it. Thank you for answered prayers. God is good! Amen
The word of the day in Guideposts Daily Word is “Eager.” “I eagerly give myself to life,” is the by-line. “Eagerness helps give my life meaning. It is the feeling of positive anticipation, purpose, and confidence.”
I pray that you are bringing eagerness to all aspects of your life, too. The more energy and enthusiasm you share, the more you will have to share because it is part of your divine inheritance, a gift from God. Claim it!
This is an AI generated photo of a person feeling eager. And here is a photo of me feeling eager:
Eager to make a wish. Eager to blow out the candle. Eager to have my wish come true. It was for clear air and blue sky. God is good! My wish came true.
Now my blog is ready to update. I have a few questions for you:
What do you look like when you are eager? How are you living life eagerly? What wish do you have for a brighter future? I pray your wishes come true, too.
Friends Family Neighbors Such helpful folks Loving compassionate and kind Grateful
Feeling blessed!
Birthday Now 85 Starting year 86 Celebrating with great friends Happiness
Helpers Barbecuing hamburgers Helped to setup Also stayed to cleanup Angels
Happiness Beautiful days Shared with friends Sadness: these smokey skies Surviving
Presents Their presence In my life I feel so blessed Grateful
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
May your future be bright, your birthdays be joyous, and your life be a blessing! Thank you, Lord, for my friends here as well as all myblogging friends.
What do you do while the clothes are fluffing in the dryer and you are waiting before taking them out to fold them?
Do you have paper and pens, color crayons and chalk sitting on your table where you’re waiting to fold clothes?
I do.
I love to write Acrostics while waiting in the laundry room for the clothes to fluff so I can fold them wrinkle free.
Here are a few of mine. You can guess the topic knowing these were created within the last four months.
ANTICIPATING OWEN 2/14/24
O ur W onderful E specially N ew
P resent U plifting us: P up!!
Screenshot
POOPY OWEN 3/18/24
P lease O bey, O wen! P oop Y our shit O utside W hen E ver N ecessary!
Please, Lord, help us figure out how to train this puppy to go outside – and to come when called!
OWEN LEO:HE’S LEARNING! 4/20/24
O odles of fun W hen he behaves E ven when he forgets, he N ever ceases to bring joy!
L et us be patient and E ncourage his good behavior. O wen is such a love!
FUTURE PLANS 6/7/24
F irst U p: T rouble erupted U nder our noses R eally sad E vent happened P up Owen died L anding outside the window A ttached to his leash N oose around his neck S uffocated, hung himself.
Where do we go from here? How do we keep living in this empty, vacuous house without Owen? He filled all the empty spaces in our home and hearts. We are devastated. Can’t think future plans right now.
DON’T GET STUCK 6/14/24
D isasters O ccur N ightmares T raumatize G oodness E nters T hrough S ensitive T rusting U nderstanding C aring K indred Spirits
We have been so blessed this week to have the love and hugs, flowers and cards, calls and caring of so many of our family & friends. They have encouraged us to grieve, of course, but “Don’t get stuck.” In Owen’s sweet memory Move On… Laugh again, Love again, Rejoice again, Snuggle again with Another Boston Terrier.
We’re not quite ready yet… But God is helping us heal. Thank you, God’s angels. We love you!
Today I am being prompted to post this n that… a little about a lotta things. Today would have been my dad’s 113th birthday if he were still alive. So, May 14th has a special ring in my heart. My daddy was a very special, very kind, very positive influence on my life. Happy Birthday, Dad!!
He gave the best hugs in the world!!
And today he would have loved to have been here with us in Ennis, Montana to witness the influx of antelope on our golf course’s driving range!
I am in touch each morning with our daughter, DeAna, in Switzerland, and our “adopted daughter,” Laina, who lives in Glen Burnie, near Baltimore. Today Laina sent me this photo of her “grand-dog” on her daughter’s lawn. Laina said the grass was foot high. She just finished mowing it! What a wonderful, thoughtful mama she is!
Our daughter, De, in Switzerland, sent us this picture of the flowers her middle son, Nicky, gave her for Mother’s Day. Isn’t it nice when our kids remember us on Mother’s Day and call or send flowers?
I was treated with flowers from De and Laina, and a phone call from our son in CA. Bob & I treated ourselves to a Mother’s Day buffet at “The Mint” in Belgrade. It’s a delightful restaurant not too far from the Bozeman Yellowstone Airport. I highly recommend it. Bob gave me a lovely card and the restaurant handed out flowers.
Just look at that happy smile and the beautiful plate of prime rib, potatoes, bacon, and asparagus. The Mint also had a section where there were salad fixings. All around us were families with their young children. I love watching little kids with their attentive parents, don’t you?
While we were in the restaurant, our pup Owen, stayed in his crate in the car. He is such a good traveler! On the way home he decided he wanted to travel on the floor between my feet, He usually sits in my lap. Go figure! Owen is 9 months old! He’ll be 10 months on the 24th. That’s the day we’ll get him neutered and have a chip installed.
Our waitress at The Mint was “Solaira.” Isn’t that a pretty name? She said her mom made it up. I had never heard it before. She was a very attentive, efficient waitress.
💋 Today Owen was happy to be in my lap as we traveled to the Post Office to pick up our mail. It’s a gray, cool (56 degree) day. We’ve had a little rain. Can use some more moisture here. We haven’t seen the last of our snow yet!
Well, that’s enough of my rambling this n that for today. I hope you had a Terrific Tuesday and the rest of your week goes well, too. What are your plans for this week? What are you looking forward to?
Jeremiah 29:11 ~ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Tune in to God’s Plan. It’s definitely the one I wanna go with! Have a blessed week. Love, JanBeek
National poetry month is wrapping up. Where did April go? I am so glad I was able to hear our state’s poet laureate, Chris La Tray, this month. He certainly inspired me. Have you tried your hand at writing some poetry this month?
Our Advent study in poetry certainly enhanced that ADVENTure this year for me!
Proverbs 16:9
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
My morning devotionals in Dec. 2023 have guided my steps in 2024. The Advent team challenged us to “…hold space for our weariness and our joy… seek a thrill of hope in our hurting world… cry out for comfort… and find many ways to rejoice.”
This is the poem Rev. Sarah wrote to kick off the theme that has inspired my 2024 thus far:
So, unzip the weight you carry around, and let God inspire you also to rejoice in this weary world!
My response to that poem was to let Rev. Sarah Speed inspire me to write my own “The Last Time I Saw God”
The last time I saw God face to face I opened the bedroom shades. God was every color of orange. I was merely a mortal in awe of it all.
The sun was just rising over the Madison Range. God was in the sunrise. I climbed my sanctuary stairs. God was waiting there for me; He was the brightest yellow.
The time before that, A three-year-old was explaining her understanding of love. God was the brightest red in her precocious explanation. Love is helping others – being kind.
And in between these small gifts were glimpses of God in the warm morning hug, the gathering of church friends, the joy of guitar accompaniment, and the sound of congregational singing.
Why yes, we are blessed. We are more than blessed for the moments when God appears and speaks through the purple haze in a voice sweet as morning dewdrops, “Listen, my beloved, I am with you. See me, my beloved, I am here in your every breath.”
That was not the first nor will it be the last time I will see and hear God.
When is the last time you saw God face to face? Write about it! God bless you!
We had fun with family last weekend. We celebrated our great-granddaughter, Charlotte’s first birthday with an outing to the Olive Garden in Bozeman, Montana.
What a cutiepie, huh?
Her brother, Xander (almost seven) and her sister, Sienna (4) received stuffed animals as special gifts from my friend, Ted. So kind of him! The kids loved ’em!!
Xander enjoyed sharing Charlotte’s new books with her.
The children’s mom (our granddaughter, Hope) and Pam (the kids’ paternal grandmother) made it possible for us all to be together. We’re so grateful!
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Oh my! What an important scripture, huh? The operative word is “provide.” There are many ways to do so… and having fun with them on special occasions is definitely one of them!
Tell me about fun you have had with family recently!
Fun to look back at Fun with Family!
I’m sending my Love to you today. I pray you have an opportunity today (or soon) to have FUN WITH FAMILY!
