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Archive for the ‘Living in Harmony’ Category

Happy Monday

Ah yes, April showers bring May flowers.

How about March showers
and hail and snow and rain
bring April’s flowers?

April is one of my favorite months.
Our family has so many April birthdays!
What was going on 9 months ago?

This month of March was filled with challenges.
March madness included our granddaughter, Faith,
who fell ill while vacationing in Switzerland.
“I’m a million times better” she says…
“today compared to yesterday.”
Yay! Answered prayers 👌🏽❤️🙏🏽

That’s my dear granddaughter in a hospital in Switzerland.
Please pray for Faithy…
She’s moving out of ICU and into a regular hospital room today.
Looking forward to continuing her vacation
with hubby, Kyle, 3-yr-old Mable, and Kyle’s mother.
They hope to visit our daughter, Faith’s Aunt DeDe, this week.
They currently are about 4 1/2 hours away.
God is so good!
This is an answer to more than I dared hope for!
I just was asking God to heal her enough
so she could safely fly home to California.
Auntie De will be so happy to see them
and meet Mable for the first time.

God is amazing, isn’t He?
He hears our prayers
and answers with even more than we dare ask!

Here’s my daughter, DeDe, in Switzerland.

I’ve always believed Mark 11:24

In it, we are reassured that God answers our prayers:
24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

But I didn’t ask God for Faith and family
to be able to resume their vacation.
I thought that would be asking too much.
I just wanted her to get well and be able to travel home safely.
Instead, Faith told us today that she expects
to be able to resume her Swiss travels.
Amazing!!

2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,
you may abound in every good work.”

What have you asked God for recently?
Has He answered your prayer?

Have you ever asked for something
and been given more than you requested?
Tell me about it!

And have a Happy Monday
and a Blessed April!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, Family, flowers, Giving, God, Gratitude, Living in Christ's Family, Love, prayer, relationships

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Pray for Others

Prayer is Powerful

In the midst of the storm
Of life’s uncertainties
There is a comforter
Always available

Any time is the right time

When your heart is tuned
To the One who always hears,
You never need to feel alone
Or helpless or powerless

Have faith!

I pray in the morning
I pray at noon
I pray all day long
The answers come soon

Can you feel them?
Pause with me.
Pray. 🙏🏽

Ah, I feel ‘em!
Love across the miles.
Love back atcha.
Embeace the comfort.

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Faith, God, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry, prayer, relationships

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We’re All a Little Irish today

TooraLooraLoora
TooraLooraLie
TooraLooraLoora
It’s an Irish Lullaby!

(Sing with me!)

Sing along!
Here’s to the wearing of the green!

Over in Killarney…

And here in Ennis, MT

Love my little Irish gnome!

Meanwhile in Maryland, Laina & Katy really get into the spirit!
Hope your day was a fun one, too.

Oh, and by the way,
here’s an update on our new pup, Kenny,
the 7 month old Boston terror!

He’s settling in well! Learning each other’s language. Tough at first. Much better now!

Yay!

Did I show you this earlier?
It was his playday with Livvy.
So good for them both!

Life is good in this neck of the woods-
in spite of waking up to more snow this morning!
Are you as ready for springtime as I am?

I miss all that color! Come springtime, come!
Yes, the snow wet the green shoots where crocus & daffodil are trying to pop up. Hang in there, flowers! The sun WILL shine soon!
Have faith! Spring is on its way!

Meantime, sing along…

Nothing like a good ole Irish jig!

Love,

JanBeek

Yup, that’s me!
Several decades ago…
But today I am wearing that same green jacket!
Do you have “old clothes” that are too good to throw away?
Hah! Kinda like me…

Category:

holidays, Love, music, nature, pets, relationships

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Our Friends: Canadians

My prayer:
Both countries: strong and free!

It breaks my heart that the song below was created … and the divisiveness that prompted the song. I pray for our return to camaraderie and mutual support. Meantime, maybe you will find some humor in the lyrics… a friend of mine did. What do you think?

God is in charge. I have to believe that.
God is in control. I have to believe some good will come of this.
God is in control. But He does give humans free will.
Lord, help us!

Pray with me.
“Lord, please give our world leaders wisdom and diplomacy and intelligence.”
Amen

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

God, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, music, prayer, relationships

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What’s Your 1st Sentence?

Today’s prompt was:
You’re writing your autobiography.
What’s your opening sentence?

“I want to die with all my marbles intact!”

Intact and sparkling!

Yesterday my friend, Keri, brought her one-year-old Boston Terrier over for a playday with our pup, Kenny. Watching those two play, I knew for a fact that play is an essential part of life. If I want to keep all my marbles right up to the last day of my life on earth, I have to do as Kenny and Livvy did: play together and refresh together, too!

Play and refresh

What else is important if I want to keep all my marbles?
Reading! Learning!!

While the pups were playing,
Keri and I chatted about our lives.
She shared that she has a 93 year-old dad.
He is a voracious reader.
He’s got all his marbles intact and shining!
What a gift, huh?
That’s what that CJ Box book is: a gift!
We received it in the mail yesterday
from our Bonus daughter, Elaina.
My husband, Bob, age 86, also is
a voracious reader.
He’s read every CJ Box book there is…
and this is the latest. Just out! Just here.
Bob can hardly wait to dig into it!

What else is important for a long, sparkling, coherent life?

Stay connected!
Connected to what?

If you know me,
you know I was gonna
take this message to God,
His Word, and the Holy Spirit!
Yup, therein lies the secret…
Make sure it’s not a well-kept one!!

Share your love…
Share God’s love in you…
Share the Holy Spirit’s Wisdom in you…
PLAY, REFRESH, READ, STAY CONNECTED.

May you LIVE LONG
and
Keep all your marbles intact and sparkling!

What would the first sentence of your autobiography say?

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, blessings, Faith, God, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, relationships, writing

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See the Good

… and we can “Be the Good!” Live a life of gratitude – and never stop praying prayers of acknowledgement and thankfulness.

You are the epitome of good! God bless you!

Love, JanBeek ❤️

Category:

Belief, Faith, Gratitude, Living in Harmony, Love, optimism, prayer

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A Fruitful Phase

Describe a phase in life that was especially fruitful

I’d rather focus on the fruitful periods rather than the difficult ones if I’m looking back in my life, wouldn’t you?

Fruitful days are days of happy memories
Days of sushi treats
Days for pedicures and self-care
Days of new beginnings

Our pup, Kenny, is growing and learning day by day.

Days to look back and cherish the love
Days to remember and cherish what used to be
Fruitful days with dear former students

Remember the good times. Cherish them! And resolve to make more of them!

Have a beautiful, blessed, fruitful weekend!

Love,

JanBeek

Category:

blessings, friendship, happiness, Love, pets, relationships

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Letting My Feelings Out

Al Rocker, the Today Show weatherman and co-host was featured this month on the cover of one of the magazines I read each month, “Guideposts.” On turning 70, he shared with readers how he is approaching life differently after a 2022 health scare.

He wrote:

“It may sound strange, considering I make my living on television and have been the weatherman and co-host of the Today show for 29 years, but in my personal life, I shy away from the spotlight. I’d musch rather celebrate someone else, make a big deal out of their birthday instead of my own.
Which is why I tried my best to dissuade my wife, Deborah Roberts, from throwing a party for my birthday last August. But I knew I couldn’t stop her. It was a milestone birthday, after all – my seventieth.
The truth was, I was feeling a little melancholy about turning seventy. My dad never made it to this age. He passed away at 69. Dad was my role model and inspiration for being a good husband and father. I was theoldest of six kids, and three of my siblings were adopeted, Mom and Dad brought foster children into our home, too. Sometimes people would ask why they’d taken on raising so maky children, and Dad would always say simply, “There is no limit to how much you can love.”

After describing his near-death experience, he concluded:

“My health scare reminded me that life is an ephemeral gift that we’ve been given by God, and we need to appreciate and honor it. So I spent a lot of time talking to people… telling them how I feel about them. The people I care about, the people I love, I want to make sure they know. I’ve been more intentional about that, evn after I made a full recovery and returned to the Today show.”

I challenge each of us to commit to this same message. Let your feelings out! Let the people you love, the people you care about, KNOW! Be intentional!!

Love,
JanBeek

P.S. I love you for visiting my blog.
I’ll love you even more if you leave a comment below
so I can hear from you and respond.


Category:

blessings, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, relationships, Sharing

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Twisted Values

The words to the hymn below hit me square between the eyes last Sunday as we sang this in our church… and thought about how desperately I want God to “hear our cry and heal our nation.” I hope you find these words meaningful, too. Churches were singing it a decade ago… It was true then. It’s true now. We, as a nation, have lost the truth we need… I do believe that. Lord God, help us!

In an age of twisted values

In an age of twisted values
we have lost the truth we need;
in sophisticated language
we have justified our greed;
by our struggle for possessions
we have robbed the poor and weak –
hear our cry and heal our nation:
your forgiveness, Lord, we seek.

2. We have built discrimination
on our prejudice and fear;
hatred swiftly turns to cruelty
if we hold resentments dear.
For communities divided
by the walls of class and race
hear our cry and heal our nation:
show us, Lord, your love and grace.

3. When our families are broken;
when our homes are full of strife;
when our children are bewildered,
when they lose their way in life;
when we fail to give the aged
all the care we know we should –
hear our cry and heal our nation
with your tender fatherhood.

4. We who hear your word so often
choose so rarely to obey;
turn us from our wilful blindness,
give us truth to light our way.
In the power of your Spirit
come to cleanse us, make us new:
hear our cry and heal our nation
till our nation honours you.


Let us pray this song as a prayer… pray for God’s forgiveness, love and grace. God, please hear our cry and heal our nation. Heal our world!

God bless our nation, our world, and God Bless YOU!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Faith, God, Heartache, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, mental health, music, peace, relationships, Serving One Another

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Lion or Tiger?

Are you a lion or a tiger!?

King of the Jungle

I was Tammy Tiger at UOP IN 1960-61

Today’ Guideposts devotional compared the two animals and explained why Lions are King.

Sometimes I don’t relate to either of those cats! This morning I felt more like a monkey! 🐵
Sitting around waiting for our new Boston puppy to arrive – selecting toys and a dog bed & blankets! “Kenny” should arrive around Feb. 6 or 7!!
Named Kennedy by his Missouri breeder, we’ll call him “Kenny.”
What animal are you identifying with today?

Sending my love,

JanBeek 😍

Category:

Animals, Love, pets, relationships

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