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Who Am I?

“I am a Treasured Child of the Most High God.” That is what Steve McNitt wrote in his book, Simple. Enormous. Love.

I adopted that definition. I agree 100% with Steve’s next statement: “The more I learn about that, the more I feel like I understand myself, my God, my roles in life, and how I make a difference in this world.”

I am a Treasured Child of the Most High God.

Steve McNitt elaborated: “Where did I learn about who I am? The Bible holds a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. The eighth chapter of that letter… revealed a boat-load of life-changing stuff about me. In Romans 8 I found out about God, about myself, and about how , when we mesh together, I live a better, more purpose-filled life. Yes, I said God. He is the key to this whole thing: my life, my purpose, my role in the world, and who I really am.”

That’s me… with my lovely sister-in-law, Margie.

As a Child of God, I am called to be a loving sister, a loving wife, a loving friend, a giver of love and compassion to all. Not just to the Margies of this world, but to everyone! Even those I might choose otherwise to dislike or to ignore. God’s greatest commandment, according to His Son, Jesus, is simply that: “Love one another.”

So, that’s who I am. I am a lover! I love you!! And I wish you a 2025 filled with nothing but LOVE ❤️ You, too, are a Treasured Child of the Most High God. Let’s live to show the world our love everyday. Okay?

Happy New Year!

Love,

JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, friendship, God, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, relationships

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Happy Dec. Birthday

December birthdays shared with Christmas and New Years celebrations often are slighted, but not Bob’s!

Bob was treated royally by Brother Bruce, his wife, Ann, and their son, Nephew Matt & his wife, Sarah.
He may not look delighted here, but he was!

We started our day with the former pastor of this church in Ceres, Brent Mitchell. Sooo good to see him. Then we attended service and saw old friends at Harvest Presbyterian in Ceres, CA. Pastor Jim Stochl gave a delightful sermon.

Then we met friends at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. So good to see Isy & Dick again. And the wait staff sang to Bob & gave him an ice cream treat. Happy 86th, Bobby Bee!!
And a Happy New Year to you all. God bless you!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, blessings, Family, friendship, Gratitude, holidays, Love, relationships

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Sending C’mas Love

How are you creative?

God

created me

Unique and creative

You are creative too

Blessings

Our extended Beekman family
Cosette with her YaYa
Us with Ty; Laina w GoGo
Our granddaughter, Faith & her hubby, Kyle
Our daughter, De’s Swiss scene

And a creative, blessed, Christmas to you & your loved ones, too!

Category:

blessings, Christmas, Faith, Family, Gratitude, holidays, Love, relationships

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Dec. 15 Word of the Day

Using the prompts from @sanctifiedart,
I am enjoying the opportunity to share
the “Words for the Beginning”
each day with you during this Advent season.

Today’s Word is:
WORTHY

AI generated that picture above when I put in the prompt.
The guy looks a little like my grandson, Jordan.
Jordy was adopted into the Beekman family as a 3 year old.
His birth mother couldn’t stay off drugs long enough to keep him.
What a shame, huh?
The courts took him away and put him in foster care more than once.
His birth mother was given many chances.
He was worthy of a loving, drug-free family.
So when I think of the word WORTHY, our grandchildren come to mind.
Our son and daughter-in-law adopted four worthy children.
We are so blessed!

Ty is on the left. Monika is on the right.
They are the “worthy” adoptive parents
who opened their homes and hearts
to those dear children…
and the blessings continue.
What picture comes to your mind
when you think of the word “worthy“?

“Worthy is the lamb”
came immediately to my mind…
but it’s not that kind of lamb,
It is the Lamb of God.
Do you know that song?

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Revelation 4:11

You are loved.
You are blessed to be a blessing.
You are enough!
Have a blessed Sunday, dear friends.
And tell me,
what image comes to your mind
when you think of the word, worthy?

Come back tomorrow for the Monday Word of the Day.

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, Family, God, Jesus, Love, relationships

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Dec. 14 -Word of the Day

Using the prompts from @sanctifiedart,
I am enjoying the opportunity to share
the “Words for the Beginning”
each day with you during this Advent season.

Today’s Word is:
GOODNESS
When I put the prompt in AI, it generated
an assortment of blond, blue-eyed,
smiling 20-year-old females.
I kept asking AI to try again until finally it
generated something different.
I got this!

Goodness me!
That’s not what the word conjures up in my mind.
When I think of goodness, I think of the innocence
of babies and young children
and the unconditional love of our furry friends
(maybe that’s what that AI image is depicting).

These are the images that come to my mind
when I think of the word GOODNESS.

I also think of the goodness of a meal lovingly prepared
and shared generously with friends.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

I asked Bob what image comes to mind
when he hears the word GOODNESS.
His answer surprised me. He said,
“Mothers… and the loving environment a good mother creates.
THAT’S GOODNESS!”

The goodness a good mother exudes
is certainly multiplied when she has
the support of her children’s father, too.
Loving families RADIATE goodness!

What does the Bible say about goodness?

There is more about the root word, GOOD,
than there is about GOODNESS.

So, goodness is a God-like quality in people.
It is a purity and innocence in children and animals.
It is a gift of delectable taste from a skilled chef.
It is a unifying force in a family.

You don’t have to be a 20-something, blue-eyed blond
to exhibit goodness!!
You are in the land of the living…
and goodness is in you
and all around you.
All you have to do is open your heart to it
and exhibit the goodness that is in you!

Aren’t you grateful for that?

What image does the word GOODNESS bring to your mind?

Join me again tomorrow for another
Word of the Day.

Love ya,
JanBeek

P.S. My maiden name is DeAngeles.
It means “Of Angels.”
Do you see the angelic goodness in me?

Category:

Bible Lessons, children, Faith, kindness, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, pets, relationships

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Dec. 12 Word of the Day

Happy Thursday to you!
Using the prompts from @sanctifiedart,
I am enjoying the opportunity to share
the “Words for the Beginning”
each day with you during this Advent season.

Today’s Word is:

When you think of that word,
what picture comes to mind?
I asked AI to generate a picture
and this is what they sent:

I was happy to see AI’s first response
was people connecting, not some mechanisms!

I imagine the image below
is not the kind of connection that
@sanctifiedart envisioned when they
selected CONNECTION for
today’s Word.

When I think of connection,
I think about social media
and about telephone connections
and about the way we feel
when we maintain
long-distance relationships.

Media type connections
can be a blessings
or
they can be a curse.

When we see people
ignoring their companions-at-hand
while they keep their focus on their cell phones,
it feels like such a waste!


For me to make connections
that really matter,
connections that last over time
and that satisfy my heartfelt needs,
I need physical contact.
I need hugs.
I need face-to-face.
I need kisses.

How about you??

What images does that word
CONNECTION
conjure up for you?

What connection in your life
fills your heart with
love
hope
and
joy?

Besides my dear husband
with whom I will celebrate
63 years next February,
the other vital connection
is described in
this scripture:

I imagine myself as a
Child of God,
reaching out constantly
to connect with God.

My fingers grasp His Hand
just like a little child
reaching for his or her father.
My connection to God,
my Heavenly Father,
is my most important
CONNECTION.

WHAT’S YOURS?

See you tomorrow
with the next Word of the Day.
Thanks for visiting
JanBeek
and following along.
I appreciate my connection with YOU!

God bless you!!

Category:

Bible Lessons, blogging, Faith, friendship, God, Gratitude, Living in Harmony, Love, relationships

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Dec.10 Word of the Day

Using the Advent devotional from @SanctifiedArt,
I am posting the Word of the Day between now and Christmas.
These are “Words for the Beginning”
– beginning again
– looking forward to the coming of the Christ Child
– finding daily inspiration

Today’s word is:

That’s the image AI generated
when I gave the word to
Artificial Intelligence.

If I go to my WordPress photos,
here is the one I would select:

When I think of the word “journey,”
I think of this life I am living…
and I realize it is a journey
of major proportions.
One worth savoring.

To savor this life’s journey,
We must slow down.
To get the most of of it,
Wipe away your frown.

Travel each day with a smile,
With positive expectations.
Open your heart and your hands
To all God’s glorious creations.

Journey with your loved ones.
Embrace every endeavor.
Travel with the assurance that
Every step is sure and clever.

Don’t try to go it alone.
We’re all in this together.
Journey with a song in your heart
And dance in every kind of weather.

What images might you imagine for each of these words of the day?
Words of the Day:
Dec. 1- Begin
Dec. 2 – Bless
Dec. 3 – Courage
Dec. 4 – Possibility
Dec. 5 – Remember
Dec. 6 – Marvel
Dec. 7 – Go
Dec. 8 – Together
Dec. 9 – Embrace
Dec. 10 – Journey

woman standing on green grass
“Journey” Photo by Krivec Ales on Pexels.com

No, don’t go it alone!
See ya tomorrow for Dec. 11th Word of the Day.

Love,
JanBeek

(That’s Lorei with me!
She was my first grade student in 1961!!
Stay in touch!!! You’re not alone.)

Category:

Aging Gracefully, blessings, Faith, friendship, God, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, relationships, writing

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Words of the Day

“A Sanctified Art” is the Advent program
my friends at church and I
are using this Christmas season.

It was suggested that we take or find a photo inspired by the Word of the Day
and share it daily on social media. I have been remiss.
We’re already nine days into Advent and I have not posted
these words or photos for you to see.

But, I have colored the quilt pattern that contains the words…
and I have contemplated the meaning of each of the words
as they came due. It’s not too late to begin sharing.
Today’s word is: “Embrace.”

You might expect me to post a picture of Bob & me embracing,
but I’m not going to be so predictable!

It’s easy to embrace those we love,
but learning to embrace the storms of life…
that’s a different story!

kid hiding on pillows

Yesterday’s word was “Together.”
That was a much easier word to embrace!
It was our bonus daughter, Elaina’s birthday –
and she was able to be together with her daughter and son-in-law to celebrate.

And a Happy Birthday to you, dear LainaLainaLaina!!

It was a party day for our son, Ty and his wife, Monika,
and they were able to host a large group of leaders from their church.
There is such joy in that kind of togetherness!

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We returned recently from a three week trip to Switzerland …
and the togetherness with our daughter, DeAna, was magical!

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When you think of the joy of togetherness, what comes to your mind?
And in terms of embracing the storms of life,
what is a storm you are facing?
Tell me about it… and I will certainly
add your resolution to my prayer requests.

See ya tomorrow with the word of the day
for beginning your December 10th.

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blogging, Christmas, Faith, Family, friendship, God, Life's Challenges, relationships, writing

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Family Time

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!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Christmas, Faith, Family, God, Gratitude, Love, relationships, Travel

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Love is a Mystery

In church today
our affirmation of faith began,
“God’s sovereign love is a mystery…”

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

God’s sovereign love
is a mystery beyond the reach
of the human mind.

Photo by Amber Lamoreaux on Pexels.com

Human thought ascribes to God
superlatives of
power,
wisdom,
and goodness.

But God reveals His love
in Jesus Christ
by showing power
in the form of a servant.

God reveals
His love
in the folly
of the cross.

He reveals
His love
and His goodness
in receiving sinners.

The power of God’s love
to transform the world
discloses that the Lord
is Creator of all things.

He made all things
to serve the purpose
of His Love.
You and I serve His purpose!

God bless our dear daughter
who serves with love
every day.
I am so grateful
for her love.
It is no mystery!

The mystery for me
is why Jesus
blesses me so richly
with His love
and the love of
friends and family
while others
seem without.

AI generated this photo
when I asked for
“Children in Poverty”
Guess what?
All those “without”
are not brown skinned!

Set aside your prejudices.
Look around you.
There are people
right in your town or city,
Maybe in your neighborhood,
who are “without”.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Love is a mystery.
Poverty knows no color.
Hugs know no color.
Generosity is multi-colored.

God’s sovereign love
is no mystery.
It is there for all.
It is a gift.
Unwrap it!!
And then share!!!

Photo by Lum3n.com on Pexels.com

Now, with whom
will you share your
gift of love?

I send my love to you today.
It’s what the world needs…
More love!
Don’t you agree?

God bless you!
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, God, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, relationships, Serving One Another

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