Thanksgiving is coming here in the USA. It’s a time to especially thank God for:
Your children and their father, Your dear husband who puts up with you every day (or for you dads out there: Thank God for the mother of your children who puts up with you every day) Are you fortunate to have a spouse and kids?
Thank God for your in-laws: For your son-in-law and your daughter-in-law, And for their parents. Are you fortunate enough to have a good relationship with you in-law’s parents?
We are blessed to have this sweet, nutty, fun-loving daughter in Switzerland. As we approach Thanksgiving, we especially are thankful that we had the strength and the stamina to visit her this month!
If you have a child who married someone from another country, I hope you know the joy of being able to travel to see him/her.
God is so good to bless us with the ability to go to Switzerland. We now are planning our Christmas trip to spend time with our son, Ty, and his family in California. Thank you, dear Lord, for the resources and the strength and the help with choosing our flights and being able to have that Family Time.
C’mas 2020
That CA family has grown by two more great-grandchildren since that photo. It includes Bob & me with our son & his wife, her parents, 3 of our grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter, Cosette. Family Time is so precious!
I pray that your holidays coming up find you surrounded by loving family and friends who are like “chosen family.” God bless you!
When you pray to God for a friend’s upcoming surgery and recovery and God responds by helping your friend to come through with flying colors, that’s definitely a reason to celebrate!
Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
Hah! Hard work? How about YOU do that? I just wanna enjoy my retirement!
Maybe work on some creative project … but not too hard!
Enjoy the way cooling temperatures bring an early autumn, and…
smile with little Oliver because his twin, Noah, is coming home from the hospital today. His mom gave birth a week or so ago to two little angels – each nearly 8 lbs. – now, that’s hard work!!
Here’s Noah. Pray for him. Pray hard. He’s been having seizures. Pray for his complete health and happy future.
That’s Oliver, smiling because you’re hard at work praying for his brother!
God hears us. He cares. He answers prayer. Keep on praying. 🙏🏽
Are you hard at work praying? That makes me feel fulfilled: to encourage others and to help us all keep the faith. Yes! God bless you. Have a fulfilling day!
Happy September 1st to you! The word for the month is Devoted. The question for the month is, “To what or to whom are you devoted?”
Some might answer, “I am devoted to earning money” while others might say, “I’m devoted to spending money… Put on my gravestone: Being of sound mind, I spent it all!”
Some are devoted to coffee, getting their daily dose at Starbucks, while others are devoted to gardening or to reading or to raising their families.
What’s your answer?
Some of the things that capture our devotion are worth the time and trouble. Others are not.
“Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10
The word devotion means “earnest affection for a person or cause.” It’s a better word than commitment. We can be committed to a cause out of sheer duty; but to be devoted implies commitment plus affection.
September connotates “Back to School” for me. As a retired educator, I never tire of teaching. My children are grown and my grandchildren are not close by, so my teaching audience has changed. I am devoted to teaching the seniors in “The Manor.” It is our local nursing home. The people there are delightful!
Because I am devoted to teaching, I agree with the commentary I read recently on the Ezra 7:10 scripture above: “As our children head back to school, it’s time for us to don our backpacks and enroll in the Ezra School of Bible Study – devoting ourselves to the study and observance of God’s Word and to teaching it to others.”
The people that garner your devotion and the causes to which you are devoted help to define who you are. The word for September is “Devoted.” How do you define yours?
As most of you know, I spent my career in education. I taught all grades K-8 (except 3rd… don’t know why I skipped that one). Children are my passion…. their education, their safety, their equal opportunities. It breaks my heart when I see evidence of neglect or abuse or (heaven forbid) sex trafficking. Children are our most vulnerable humans and they need our protection, for they cannot protect themselves.
My passion for animals is especially poignant right now – – especially after our horrific accident last week when we lost our sweet puppy, Owen. I still can’t stop crying. My heart aches.
He was such a little rascal, but he wrapped himself around our hearts and we miss his company more than words can say. I am passionate about having a pet. Our house feels empty and vacuous without one. Owen filled all the empty corners of our hearts and our home. He brought such joy. How can we go on without a Boston Terrier chewing on our rugs, tugging on our heartstrings, filling our days?
Rest in peace, sweet puppy. You were an object of my affection, the recipient of my passion. Bob & I miss you so much!
My mom always quoted this saying: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
I don’t know its origin, but I certainly believe it.
If you have followed my blog in the past, you know I used to post sermon notes every Sunday afternoon. I’ve not done that for a while. Today I decided, on a snowy May 23rd in SW Montana, that I have nothing better to do than to share with you my notes from last Sunday’s sermon… because with winter weather in late May, I need encouragement to “Keep Hope Alive”… and I thought maybe you could use a little encouragement, too. So here’s what Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds preached last Sunday (as filtered through my ears to my brain to you)…
Sunday’s sermon on hope was inspired (not by Jeremiah 29:11 which is one of my favorite scriptures) but by Romans 8:22-27.
Romans 8:22-27 New International Version
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
(Bold print added by me)
Paul wrote this a couple of decades After Christ descended and ascended. Paul addressed the anxiety of Those who questioned Christ’s return.
We who have the First Fruits of the Spirit Are saved by the HOPE of what we do not see. God, who searches our hearts, knows… God knows our every mood and emotion.
And with that scripture in mind, Mary Grace shared her sermon. Here are my notes:
KEEP HOPE ALIVE
Calvin Coolidge’s young son Passed away because of a toe infection. It was over 100 years ago – Before the discovery of penicillin.
Today we have the promise of A new vaccine to retrain cells Of a brain tumor to attack the tumor. The narrative of lives is being changed.
People who walked with Jesus Had interpreted Him as saying, “I’ll be right back…” But Jesus was taking too long!
Paul wrote to tell the early Christians, Who had been given the Holy Spirit, To be patient … and keep HOPE alive. Maybe Hope isn’t a whisper, but a shout!
Hope is more active than faith. It is a fighter and a screamer. The world is groaning, crying out in pain, And people who’ve been stepped on must also.
Don’t accept the pain life throws at you. Cry out in pain. Bark as a threatened dog. Hope is harder to lose than faith Because it is louder… and persistent.
We hope for things beyond our reality. Hope gives us the strength to wait – To be cheerleaders who, with discipline, Keep HOPE (through the Holy Spirit) alive.
Hope feels like pain, burns like passion When we see all the world’s injustices. But HOPE is alive and will not give up. Keep it alive in you. Expect its miracles!
I love this meme!
Keep hope alive! If you have time, go to YouTube and select one of the renditions of “It Took a Miracle”… and absorb those words. So profound! (For whatever reason, I couldn’t imbed that song here.) I love it…
It Took a Miracle
To hang on to HOPE in a fallen world may take a miracle… But that miracle is yours for the taking. Take HOPE And keep it alive! Amen?
That’s my granddaughter, Hope, with me… and her daughter, Sienna, my great-granddaughter, who will be 5 next month, and our last Boston Terrier, TazE. HOPE is alive and well in our family. How about yours?
This is Hillsdale High School’s winning wrestling team back in the 1970’s. Bob was the wrestling coach. He also taught in the classroom (safety education and behind the wheel driver’s education). Matt Martinelli has ahold of Bob’s right leg. And our son, Ty, is down there looking up proudly at his dad. Ty just had his 59th birthday… and Matt is now in his 70s! Time flies, doesn’t it?
Here’s another of Bob”s former wrestlers from back in the ’70s. Peter is another who keeps in touch and lets Bob know that he made a difference in his life. What a joy it is to maintain those contacts!
Here’s our son, Ty:
Life is worth celebrating! Even though Matt is in CA (and so is Ty), and Peter in in Arizona, we are blessed to stay in touch with them. They let Bob know that Dad/CoachBeek is a champion still! He made a difference in their lives.
Galatians 6:9
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
Making a difference can sometimes be challenging, and it’s easy to grow weary. However, this verse reminds us to persevere in doing good. Even if we don’t see immediate results, God promises that in due time, we will reap the rewards of our efforts. Therefore, we are encouraged to press on and not lose heart in our pursuit of making a difference.
1958
Bob feels badly that he doesn’t have the strength and stamina that he once had, but hey… don’t we all have to accept that? Our bodies change as we age, right? Bob’s with his brother, Bill, there… Looking mighty fit, wouldn’t you say? Both of them are blessed to be alive and functioning as “Champions Still” in their mid-to-late 80’s!! Not everyone has that privilege, right?
Blessed to be alive! Blessed to have one another. Blessed to continue to do good. Blessed to be a champion still!!
