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Archive for the ‘humor’ Category

Embrace Great-Grandkids

Oh, the joy of being great-grandparents is a joy many never live long enough to experience. We do not take this for granted. An afternoon with our granddaughter, Hope, and her two children, Xander and Sienna, reinforced for us why God gives children to the young!!

In Genesis 17,
when God

himself appears to Abraham
and tells him that Sarah will bear a son,
Abraham falls on his face laughing
and exclaims,
“Can a child be born to a man
who is a hundred years old?
Can Sarah, who is ninety years old,
bear a child?”
(Genesis 17:17).

(Genesis 18:13-14)
After Sarah laughs,
God turns to Abraham, asking,
“Why did Sarah laugh, and say,
‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old? ‘
Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”
Sarah has been caught
in the act of her private
laughter and mocking commentary,
a response which catches God off-guard.

We understand why when God granted Sarah the child she longed for all her life (she was in her 90s – so it was quite a miracle), she laughed (not believing God could really do that) and then she gave Isaac to the church. The priests there raised him!

Oh sure…. she gave her child to God in gratitude for God’s generosity. Suuure!!

I’ll bet she didn’t have the stamina to care for that lively little guy!

Hah! We loved visiting with our great grandkids, but we’re sure grateful it’s Hope who took them home – not us! Embrace those great-grandchildren… and then kiss ’em good-bye. You bet!!

I’m headed to bed. I’m exhausted!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love, JanBeek

I couldn’t lift her!!
Her mama had to help me
get her in my lap!

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Bible Lessons, children, Family, God, Gratitude, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, relationships

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Embrace Similes & Metaphors

The wind is like a lion
The wind is a howling hyena
The wind is like a frisky lamb
The wind is a cotton ball

The part of Montana where we live (Madison Valley in Madison County) is a wind tunnel. Right now as I sit here at my computer, I can see it. I can hear it. I can read my barometer telling me that it ranges between 15 and 25 mph this morning. Occasionally gusts of 35 mph rock the flaps on the exhaust pipe above the stove in the kitchen. People who visit us here in Ennis often comment, “How can you stand it?”

We really don’t mind it when we stop and think about what it does. The wind blows the rain clouds in. It blows the storm off to the east and over the mountain range. We can see the clouds moving and we marvel at the way those wind gusts keep us from becoming an overgrown city! Our response to those visitors’ comments is, “Oh it’s terrible! You wouldn’t want to live here!”

The wind blows the storms in
and it blows the clouds out again.

The wind is like a scooper
The wind is a funnel
The wind is like a filter
The wind is a sieve

The wind sifts out
the weak of heart & spirit!

No, we don’t get tornadoes here!
Our winds are not that bad!
But they can be inhospitable.
We’d move if that’s all we had!

Welcome to the Madison River –
Flyfishing capitol of the world!

The wind is like a welcomed monitor
The wind is a necessary friend
The wind is like a vacuum cleaner
The wind is a friendly lion

Simile/ˈsiməlē : a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).
Metaphor: compares two things directly without using “like” or “as”; the subject IS the object. Metaphors are more direct than similes, which can make them seem stronger or more surprising. Example: The sunrise this morning was an ocean of honey dusted with powdered sugar.

Nope, you wouldn’t like living in Madison County!
Hah!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
I am sending love, joy, peace, faith and
a sense of unity your way this day.
Don’t let them get blown away!

Blogging is like a private jet.
It can take you anywhere!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Gratitude, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Montana, music, nature, Poetry, relationships, writing

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Embrace Simplicity

Who am I to tell you
How to live your life?
Who am I to suggest
Ways to eliminate strife?

Simplicity’s elusive
In this world of more and more.
Simplicity’s evasive
For both the rich and poor.

When we live in a world of plenty
We have more than we need, lots more.
We have so much it pushes its way
Onto the chairs and into the floor.

We go out shopping for others
And find a book we can’t live without.
No more room on our bookshelves –
“Stop! Embrace Simplicity!” our houses all shout.

Embrace Simplicity!

We go out shopping for others
And some absolutely essential gift
Jumps off the shelf and tells us,
“You need this for your own spirit lift!”

But living with less stuff and clutter
Is the best spirit lifter you will find.
Let’s embrace simplicity, my friends.
It’s an important clearing of the mind!

Like weeds in an otherwise garden of beauty,
Your mind and your home need clear space!
Get rid of the clutter and give your brain room
To live in simplicity and to exude love and grace.

Maybe this Christmas my shopping
Should be in my own cluttered house.
Instead of searching, stressing, and buying,
I wonder who’d like that lovely red blouse?


I’m off to see if I can follow my own advice.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
But, I really like that blouse…
Maybe I’ll have to think twice!

Have a Simply Happy Week, my friends.
All I want for Christmas is YOU visiting me here!!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

contentment, Family, friendship, Giving, happiness, humor, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Poetry

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Embrace Wise Cracks

I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to
join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour.  But,
by the time I got my leotards on,
the class was over.

My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory’s not as sharp as it used to be.

Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.



I talked with God about this today.

God said to me:
“Folks don’t mind your creases, Jan.
It is part of the aging process –
and those lines are roadmaps to your soul.
They tell how you’ve lived your life.
Your joys are there.
(Those are the creases beside each eye)
The times you were tickled are there.
(Notice those crinkles on your nose!)
Your worries are there.
(Those are the railroad tracks on your forehead;
sometimes caused not by worry, but by pondering!)


Those aren’t wrinkles –
They’re wise cracks!”

One of my favorite Bible verses about aging gracefully is
“Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.”

(Psalm 92:14)

God will carry us through, even into our advanced years.
Our Creator has had a plan for us since before we were born.
He had our days numbered since the beginning of time
and it is up to us to make wise decisions
to help our bodies live
a more vibrant and full life
and to impart our wisdom
to those placed in our lives.


How many wise cracks do you have?
Are you trying to hide them?
Or do you embrace them?

In the video below,
Lisa, Domestic Life Stylist,
moves our focus away from our
“Wise cracks” and shares
some wise tips on aging.
It’s worth a watch!

Her final words:
“Embrace the age you are!”
Wisdom indeed!
(I’m 82, how about you?)

See ya tomorrow (God willing).
Thanks for visiting!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Bible Lessons, contentment, happiness, health, humor, life, Life's Challenges, Love, mental health, self-acceptance, self-esteem

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Embrace Doubting

May sound really weird
For a Christian to embrace
Doubting; How can I?

What does doubting mean?
I believed it’s unbelief.
But, let’s think again.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Matthew 28:17

“When they saw him,
they worshiped him;
but some doubted.”

Who is “they” who saw?
It was Jesus’ disciples.
What does “doubted” mean?

In my devotional time this morning, Daily Guideposts explained that the original text was in Greek. The word “doubted” in Greek is “distazo.” That does not mean unbelief. It is more accurately translated as “hesitation or uncertainty about how to respond.”

In today’s world, as the cartoon shows, the disciples would not have to think twice about how to respond. They would simply get out their cell phones and record this momentous reappearance of their Savior!!

But in the world of Jesus’ time, how would you respond when someone you watched die on the cross suddenly walked out of the tomb? “Distazo” seems appropriate to me. Whoa!! I’d be pretty unsure about how to respond, wouldn’t you?

Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Pexels.com

Sometimes I am quite unsure about how to respond to situations in today’s world. How about you?

Our test kits came today for the COVID-19 test we have to self-administer and then mail FedEx in the envelope provided so it can go overnight to the place where the results are determined and then sent to me before our flight out of Chicago to London on Sunday night. (Whoa… that’s a long, complex sentence – did you grasp it?)

I am doubting … I am unsure about how to respond to the instructions.

Unfortunately, my test results won’t come in a fortune cookie. They will be sent to an app on my iPhone. Problem: my iPhone is 8 years old and it won’t upgrade to an IOS high enough to download the app. I am feeling doubtful. Very uncertain about how to respond. The new iPhone 12 and last year’s version (iPhone11) are not available here in Ennis. Checking with our nearest city, Bozeman, I discovered we don’t have an Apple store… and the Verizon Wireless store doesn’t have the phone I want in stock. I have to order it on-line from Apple. Will it arrive in time for our departure? What will I do if it isn’t here in time?

Photo by Edward Jenner on Pexels.com

In this COVID-19 world, “distazo” is a natural response. We are unsure of how to respond in so many ways. Get the vaccine or not? Wear a mask or not? Get a booster or not? Join friends for a dinner out or not? Worship in church with others sitting close by or not? Travel or not? Get a new phone or not? Forget the whole thing?

I pray to God for help with decision-making, but I am not sure I am hearing His response. Should I keep asking? Should I reword my questions? Am I missing His answers?

As Daily Guideposts has written in today’s devotional, “Doubt, distazo, is part of our faith journey.” It’s OK to question how to respond when we’re baffled by the challenges we face. Like the disciples, we are faced with some unbelievable situations. These are unprecedented times!

In these troublesome times,
we are encouraged to Stretch!!

Embrace Doubting!

Let your hesitation
and your uncertainty
cause you to
question more,
research more,
and pray more.

Let your hesitancy
and your uncertainty
cause you to
trust more,
experience more,
and increase your humility
as you allow yourself
to admit

“Crap!
I don’t have all the answers after all!”

Get in touch with the
Tiger in you!

Do you find yourself doubting about anything?
What causes you to experience “distazo“?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, humor, Jesus, learning, Life's Challenges, Love, prayer, Serving One Another

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Embrace a Camel

Time for some humor…
Never too late for a laugh.
You laugh if the child’s not yours!

Yes, hold your wife’s hand;
Hang on to each other tight
For many reasons!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Grab your partner’s hand.
Don’t let a camel come in
That protective box!

Photo by Andres Ayrton on Pexels.com

Unless a camel
Shows up in your living room,
Embrace your partner!

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

But if you happen
To come across a camel,
Just invite him home!

I am feeling weird.
It’s a night to be silly.
Hug insanity.

Ever wonder what
Life is like for the insane?
Embrace a camel!

Oh goodness bludder!
Put me in a cardboard box…
I’m ready for bed.

Is there hope for me?

Humor is an emotional outlet.

Embrace a camel.
I needed a laugh tonight.
Did you need one, too?

Time for a shower
And then crawl in to my bed.
Come, friend, and join me!

Good night!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
JanBeek

Category:

Haiku, humor, Love, mental health

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Embrace Stories

More on the saga of my bruised face!

A friend texted me and suggested,

“The fun part of getting
not one,
but
two black eyes,
is making up some wild,
harebrained event that caused them.

Sky diving accident?

Or when they turn yellow…
trying out for a clown part
in an adaptation of a Stephen King novel.”

I think I could pull off a clown part
in a Stephen King adaptation, don’t you?

I don’t need to wait til they turn yellow…
just match the magenta with my lipstick,
clothing, and earrings,
and (as Derrick suggested)
EMBRACE THE BRUISES!!

It’s getting better – don’t you think?

If you’re just tuning in to this messed up face saga,
I need you to know that I got into a wrestling match
with a tiger – and I won. The tiger
ran off into the woods, never to attack a human again!

And if you believe that, you need to buy my latest novel…
published by Porterhouse … available on your next steak.

If you can’t embrace sunglasses
and hide the damage,
then ya gotta smile and bare it,
right?

And while we’re at it, I have another story to tell you:

You know I’d not be likely to buy a case of beer –
but good wine, now that’s another story!

Now if you think I have any flawless dance moves left in me,
I have a glass of Kool-Aid to sell you.
I have waaaay too many birthday stories to tell –
and a whole lot of receipts for the Kool-Aid I’ve sold.

… especially the body parts around my knees and ankles!
I’ve had my right knee replaced.
How about you,
you got any artificial parts
so they make you go through
the metal scanner at the airport?
Bob & I both get the fun of being frisked
every time we take a trip!

But, we’ve decided flying is a better way to go
instead of driving these days.
Driving requires sitting next to one another
and trying to talk to each other.
After nearly 60 years of marriage,
what’s left to talk about?
On a plane, if you’re lucky,
you get the center aisle –
and somebody new to talk to.

Seeing better was a perk of younger years.
Hearing better is a perk of aging…
but it takes a set of $4000 aids to do it.

As the birthdays pile up,
we have to be sure we have our bifocals
and our hearing aids
before we leave home.

Next it’ll be our walking stick
or a walker!!

Try not to lose your glasses
or your car keys –
That’s one of the problems
we multi-birthday folks have.
But that’s not as bad a losing
your memory.

Did I tell you the story about
how I got these black eyes?
Oh, I did?
It was back on the blog called
EMBRACE HARD HEADS –


Remember?

You don’t?


Oh well…
That’s a story for another day.

Do you have a story to tell?
Come on, be a sport…
Entertain me!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, happiness, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Memories, mental health, optimism, self-acceptance

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Embrace Shared Humor

I have a good friend –
(Well, I have more than one friend)
But one makes me laugh.

She sends funny memes,
And she shares off-color jokes –
Never toooo naughty!

Some are just
“Uh-huh”
Others are
“uh-oh!”
Watch your ego!
And still others are
“Oh-no!”
I laughed out loud on this one!
Did you?
Oh ya!!
Groan!
I have another friend
who sends pictures of her sunrise,
and let’s me know she has
me in her morning prayers.
In return, I send her my sunrise…
and keep her in prayer, too.
This morning it was no laughing matter,
the smoke in our valley is hiding the sun.
And my daughter in Glen Burnie
sends morning photos of her coffee.
That’s not shared humor…
but it makes me chuckle!
And smile with reciprocated love.
Whatever you share,
whether humor,
sunrises,
prayers, or
coffee…
I love it!
And maybe that smile
will grow into a chuckle
or a belly laugh…
This is my great-granddaughter –
Sienna.
This kind of shared humor
keeps me smiling all day long!

Have a fun-filled day.

Pass along some humor!

God bless you!
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, Family, friendship, Haiku, happiness, humor, Love, Poetry, relationships

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Embrace Shortness

I’m five feet nothing.
That’s short.
But, I embrace shortness.
It’s fun!

However,
No one ever says
I’m beautiful
That’s reserved
for the statuesque.

But – cute?
Yup!

Photo by Anastasiya Gepp on Pexels.com
“Cute as a bunny”
Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com
“Cute as a button”

Belly button??

It’s not just people and buttons and bunnies that are sometimes short.

Your temper can be short.

No one embraces a short temper!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I came across a short today…
One that I want to embrace:
It’s an invitation to a short story –
Really short –
Six words!

https://figmentsofadutchess.com/category/six-word-stories/

On her post, Marion Driessen
invited her readers to try it…
try writing a six word story.

Oh, I discovered later that the invitation
was posted on Posted on .
Do you suppose it still is valid?

I’m going to try it…
just a short trial.
I can embrace the fun of it…
Even if it is out of date!

She challenged her readers,
“Write a story about SUPERSTITION in just six words.
Let a photo or image inspire you to write a story.
Or first write the story,
and then make or search
for a picture to go with it.“

Then she suggested,
“Publish your Six word story on your own website/blog
and paste the link to that post
in a comment to this one here at Figments. 
I will include your contribution in this post, forming a list of stories.”

OK… here’s mine!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Black cat crossed my path –
Doomed!

Photo by Isabella Mendes on Pexels.com

Yup, I’m doomed!
No way this short post
is gonna end up on
Marion’s website.

But, oh well,
it was fun anyway.
My blog is all about
spreading HOPE.
We can hope, can’t we?

You wanna try a six word short story?

Go ahead…
just for the fun of it!

Embrace Shortness!

Category:

blogging, humor, Life's Challenges, optimism, writing

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Embrace the Present

Is your memory slipping? Mine is. The bad news is, my sweetheart’s memory is slipping down the same slope as mine. That’s not good news. For 59 years, we’ve covered for one another. Now we need someone else with a blanket and a diary… the blanket to cover our faux pas – and a diary to go back and retrieve the lost information!

I told you about the blue suitcase and our dual denial, right? http://www.janbeek.blog/embrace-laughter

Do you recall … neither of us remembering the actual color, size, and details of our luggage? Did you laugh with us? Well now, it is a situation where BOTH of us forgot about receiving something a year ago… denying it, causing someone else a lot of frustration, and needing a huge dose of forgiveness for the trouble we caused.

Ah, the mind is a sad thing to lose!!

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Now is what we have
Tomorrow isn’t here yet
Sift through sands of time

Yesterday is past
Remembering helps us learn
Embrace the Present

Diaries are fun… a great way to keep track of the present
and go back to retrieve what we want to remember!

Check out the expansion of that idea of living in the moment at this previous blog: http://janbeek.blog/2020/11/16/one-day-at-a-time

Haibun (俳文, literally, haikai writings) is a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose poem,[1] short story and travel journal.

In the Haibun above, I addressed the short story and the diary idea in my prose – and then added a two-part Haiku to the story. Thanks for the inspiration from Dwight Roth who often contributes Haibun to d’versepoetry.com … and does it so well. Check out today’s post from Roth Poetry:

Being Alive

/ rothpoetry

I’m glad you shared today with me.

Looking shaggy –
I need a haircut!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing).

Embrace the Present

One Day at a Time

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Haiku, health, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Memories, mental health, Poetry, Sharing, writing

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