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Rescued

In my devotional, “When God Thinks of You, He Smiles,” the message fit perfectly for us today. I was invited to “Think of a time when God rescued you.” Yesterday I mourned the loss of one of our beautiful big evergreen trees. It blew over in a 50 mph wind storm. God heard my unspoken pleas. Obviously Bob & I needed help cutting up and removing that fallen spruce. We didn’t have time to think about that task before three different friends reached out and offered to come and help us. It was certainly something they (and for sure God) knew we could not do ourselves. Our bodies just lack that capability at the ripe age of 87!

So, that tree that once stood at least 20 feet tall snapped off right at its base… and lay there Sunday pathetically waiting to be removed… and dear friends came Monday to cut it up. A big job for two men with chain saws, a pick up and a borrowed trailer. Took three trips to the dump to get most of it removed. Tomorrow the rest will go and the trailer will be returned to the generous owner. We are so blessed to have such caring, capable friends!

The devotional this morning began with, “God’s love leads Him to do more for us than we can envision.” Certainly the Godly servants of the Lord that He sent our way did more than I could envision.

The message went on to say, “No matter how often you need Him, He will always be there. Trust in Him, for He is faithful and true.”

Thank You, God, for rescuing us. I do trust in You. Thank You for sending Your beloved followers to help us. We delight in You.

My devotional says, “When God thinks of you, He smiles.” Well, guess what, when I think of God, I smile.

Do you?

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Faith, Gratitude, kindness, Living in Christ's Family, Love, relationships, Serving One Another, trees

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Monday Mournings

This is the anniversary of our pup, Owen’s death. I posted “A Day from Hell” in my blog. So many dear friends wrote, called, came to offer condolences and support.

Yesterday we had a different kind of death here. One of our beautiful evergreens succumbed to the 50 mph winds. It was 25 years old. Looked healthy on the outside, but when it blew over, it was revealed that there seemed to be no root structure to hold it. Hmmm … how had it survived all those years?

But that tree was young and immature.

Life can be like that. Young, immature, lacking a sufficient root system.

So today I mourn our tree, our loss of Owen, but most of all the loss of friends’ young sons.

Two of our friends lost 30 year old sons to suicide this past month. No tree or dog can compare. It’s an unimaginable sorrow. My heart goes out to those families.

God bless you. May your life be deeply rooted in love and purpose.

Hugs, JanBeek (with my life’s love … thank you, Bob… I am so blessed!)

Here we are at a recent amazing Pittsburgh Pirates game.

Category:

Heartache, Life and Death, Love, mental health, relationships

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Just Write

No prompt needed

Sitting at the back

Row 19 out of 20

Gives you an interesting perspective

Look at all those people

Row after row

Nothing but houses

A city coming up

No prompt needed

Just look at life

Exciting, isn’t it?

Jodie’s husband in his way home

Life is its own prompt

Enjoy!!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Category:

Family, happiness, Love, relationships, Travel

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Friends in Chattanooga

Visiting Marcie meant being able to share time with her daughter Stacey,
son-in-law Jeff, & grandchildren. Such a privilege!
Jeff & Marcie showed us around the area and treated us like royalty.
Stacey & Jeff treated us to dinner in their lovely home! We feel totally loved!

The friendship, the children, the scenery and gorgeous hospitality all are beyond wonderful!

What a treat to travel up to Signal Mountain and Lookout Mountain and see the homes & vistas up there!

Thanks for traveling vicariously with us…

See ya tomorrow.

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

children, Family, friendship, Love, relationships, Travel

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Treat from the Kids

Our son, Ty in CA, and our daughter, De in Switzerland , combined forces and bought us a gift certificate for Mother’s Day to one of our favorite Bozeman, Montana restaurants: Dave’s Sushi. Today we used it with great delight!

Mmm … a Bliss roll for me and a John Wayne for Bob.

Who do you think enjoyed theirs more??

Cheers! My Bliss roll was magnificent! But we both equally enjoyed the house red … a delightful blend.

Look at those sushi rolls again.

Beef on sushi!? Not my choice. But Bob loved it.

And we had enough left on our gift certificate to give Thomas , our terrific waiter, a nice tip.

Thank you, Thomas. Thank you, kids! We’re so glad you made me a mother!!

Now tomorrow we’re headed to Chattanooga. Stay tuned, my blogging friends. I’ll let you travel along vicariously.

We’re praying for warmer weather in Tennessee. It’s been a crazy May here in Montana. Today we had gray breezes, restless puffy clouds, snow, rain, and then bright sunny skies…. All within 5 hours in Bozeman. Crazy!!!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Category:

Family, food, Giving, Love, Montana, relationships, Travel

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Mothers

M others

O nly

T hink of

H elping

E veryone

R egardless of their

S ituation

Hope your day was beautiful and you had (have) that kind of helpful mother (I did!)

And I am blessed with this very loving helpful son and…

… these two very sweet, helpful, loving daughters.

I am sure a lucky mama!

I hope your Mothers’ Day has been blessed, too.

Love, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, Family, flowers, Gratitude, Love, relationships

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Help!

We live in a beautiful place with a beautiful view and wonderful neighbors.

Our property has about 4 acres and in the center of those is where our house sits surrounded by 13 evergreen trees.

The lawn and trees require a lot of care to keep the trees healthy year round and the sprinkler system working in the spring, summer and fall.

This is the time of year when turning the sprinklers back on and repairing broken ones and adjusting the direction of the water’s flow has to happen.

We couldn’t possibly do all this by ourselves.

Thank God for the helpful guys in our “hood” who volunteer their services annually because without their help, I’m sure we would find it very difficult to live here!

Category:

blessings, friendship, Gratitude, kindness, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, relationships, Serving One Another, trees, writing

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Beautiful Springtime

This is National Poetry Month according to BlueMountain e-cards. So, let’s get started:

They are first to hail the season

The slightest bit of sunshine

Gives us hope … and they’re the reason

Popping out of barren ground

They’re ready to add cheer

Wherever they are found

Their faces bring lots of smiles

Whenever I look at them

Joy radiates for miles

Add cheer whoever they are

No matter where those flowers bloom

Whether near to us or far

And send photos to your friends

They’ll gratefully receive them

From now to when spring ends.

They’ll like you even more when you share your smiles across the miles.

God bless you!

Have a happy springtime day!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

blogging, Fishing, flowers, friendship, Love, nature, Poetry, relationships, trees, writing

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Remembering Mona

This week my dear friend, Mona Durham, age 96,
died peacefully with her family gathered round.

Mona’s family and the leadership team of our church
decorated the sanctuary and fellowship hall beautifully
for her memorial service today.

Her ashes, in a container under the purple cloth,
were sent into the hands of God
as Jesus and St. Peter must surely
have welcomed her into heaven.
She was a True Believer.

The floral arrangements were spectacular.

There was a beautiful display of photos
depicting Mona with many of her beloved family.
She had four children and seven grandchildren.
Four of the grandkids shared stories about how her life
impacted theirs in such loving, meaningful, lasting ways.

I took notes (as is my habit) as I listened to their stories.
Here are my notes:

Mona Durham’s was a 96 year life well lived.
She lived heartily loving and laughing;
Tough, fair, sarcastic, always available,
Humble, reliable, stable, and always hospitable.

Mona wasn’t delicate or sheltered.
The last of three daughters, she was the son…
The son her dad never had! How he loved her!
Oh how she loved him, others, and this Madison Valley!

She was a woman of grit and grace, loyal and hardworking.
Volunteered with church, History museum, blood draws,
Elections, Women’s Club & Cattle Women’s Association.
Her later years were less busy, but never less purposeful.

She gave her life to quietly helping others.
Her strength, honesty, love, and strong values
Were the glue that held the family together.
Also the fact that she always had fresh cookies!

Mona’s strength was grounded and rooted.
Her faith was deep, honest and clear.
She carried struggles quietly with endurance.
Her life will endure in each of us who loved her.

Following the service, there was a time of fellowship with beautiful trays of meats and cheeses (prepared by Deemo’s in Ennis).

Deemo’s also prepared this beautiful, tasty tray of veggies.

The family extended a special thank you to the caregivers at Home Park and Madison Valley Manor for the dignity, kindness, and care they showed Ramona in her final years. In lieu of flowers, they asked that donations be made to Madison Valley Historical Museum (where Mona was a faithful, treasured volunteer) or Bear Creek Schoolhouse (where she attended 1st to 4th grade and then later volunteered to help with fundraisers to maintain it – and organized pinochle parties every March). She loved playing cards, doing 500 – 1000 piece puzzles, and keeping in touch always with her family and friends. She will be sorely missed by us all!

Mona’s granddaughter, Tori,
summed up what most of her family
would agree was an important take-away:

“I see so clearly that her impact
isn’t simple or singular, it’s generational.
What she has given us goes far beyond memories,
she’s given us a way of living.”

“She never once told me how to live,
but she sure as hell has shown me!”