I found this post in my “Drafts” folder. I thought I’d already posted it.
I guess WP was waiting for this 2nd day of Lent when we’re spending 40 days preparing our hearts for the greatest love ever told: Jesus’ death on the cross for our redemption.
Back when I started this post, we were being wined & dined – loving and being loved.
That’s during some of our travels last month in CA. Here we were in San Clemente … cool ocean air … warm family fun!
Bob & I loved being with friend Bob and our son’s father-in-law, Darrell.
There had been high tides that washed away sand. They were replacing it ingeniously!
Before coming to southern CA beaches, we spent glorious, loving time with dear friends, Jim & Terry in Paso Robles. Ah, feeling love all around!
The warmth of their love was matched by the warmth of their home and beautiful fireplace.
Church on Sunday in Paso Robles was filled with the love of people singing and praising God and seeking to return His love in tangible ways.
The cover of the Sunday bulletin
As we continued our road trip through California for another week, soaking in the love and hospitality of family & friends, I reached out in prayer for you, praying you, too, can FEEL love every day, every hour, every minute. You ARE loved!
I hope you are having a love-filled week!
Necklace is a love gift from Terry. Thank you, sweet “Soul Sister!”
Happy Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, my friends! Today’s writing prompt from JetPack asked for a suggested title for a biography should there be one written about me.
Daily writing prompt
If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?
One of my devotionals this morning was about “A Closed Door.” It used this scripture as a prompt for the commentary:
Matthew 6:6 “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you.”
There may be a need for some people to pray behind a closed door, but my favorite prayer room is up my circle staircase in our entryway to my cozy 12’x12′ “Sanctuary” where I am never alone. The Holy Spirit is alive and well up there… and the front door in that entryway always is open for you to come and join me. My life is An Open Door – an open book! If you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you know I am quite a transparent person. I have nothing to hide! And my Father is not “in secret.” He has an open door for you, too! Go – and sit with His heart – and Let Him into yours!! Open up your heart and let the Son shine in!!
If you have time, and if you can, click on this delightful children’s song below It will make you smile. It’s guaranteed to make you want to sing along, and open up your heart… the door to heart can remain open without fear if the Son shines there!
“An Open Door – a biography about Jan Beekman“ Waiting to “bee” written – someday – hah!
Meantime, let me share openly with you about this little light of mine that I always try to shine.
1 Corinthians 15:14
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
Today is Ash Wednesday when we begin a 40 day period of waiting with love for Easter (Lent). It is a time to reflect on the great gift of eternal life that Jesus made possible through His life and death and resurrection. May we celebrate Lent with the same fervor that we acknowledge February 14th each year as Valentine’s Day!
My dear friends, Lee & Loleta, know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in style. And Bob & I celebrated Valentine’s Day early in 1962 by using that red & white, hearts & flowers theme for our wedding.
Here we are 62 years later:
Yup, still celebrating our love… with an open door to our hearts and our home.
Today we’ll get a cross of ashes on our foreheads that will symbolize our devotion to the One who brought us together and whose mercy and grace has kept us together all these years.
Yes, He prays with us He stays with us His heart is an open door Mine is, too. Is yours?
Today’s prompt asked me to “Write about [my] dream home” – but I’m gonna branch out and write about my “Dream Life.” And how my Word for 2024 “SIFT” fits into that picture.
S = Simplify I = Inventory and Itemize in order to prioritize F = FOCUS That’s the word for today… FOCUS on the present!
Here’s my present for today… for yesterday… for everyday… my dear sweet husband, Bob, with whom I have been married for 62 years TODAY! He’s what makes my home a “Dream Home.” He’s what makes my life a “Dream Life.”
Today my FOCUS is on how blessed I am to have the gift of Bob!
That smile is because of our wonderful years together and the opportunity to celebrate the occasion of our anniversary with church friends at fellowship today and with another dear couple at a special dinner last night. Ah, my “Dream Life” is not something I take for granted. Believe me!
Today at church fellowship hour
Last night at a special dinner with friends:
The dinner was our gift to one another… but my gift to Bob is coming. It’s a surprise! I’m waiting for the right time to tell him!!
This is Happy Bob a couple years ago with our Boston Terrier, TazE. We’ve always had Bostons in our “Dream Home” wherever we were living all these 62 years… but TazE died a year ago.
There’s a part of Bob’s personality that is locked into his relationship with a playful pup. I miss that part of Bob as much as I miss the companionship of a pet. I decided I need to FOCUS on how to fix that problem!! Sooooo….
Meet Owen!!! He is my surprise for Bob! He shares my birthday: July 24th! He will arrive sometime here in the next couple of weeks! Our “Dream Home” will be complete again! And our “Dream Life” will resume! Don’t you think I have chosen well?
Or do you think Owen will complicate rather than simplify our lives? Hmmm??
Pups really do require a lot of care! But what dream can you think of that doesn’t? FOCUS on the love! Stay tuned!
Today’s prompt on JetPack was: “What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?
Visiting family and friends is my obvious answer! Today we met our dear friends, Bill & Marcia, for brunch in Bozeman before Bob’s ENT appointment.
It’s such a joy to meet up with and stay in touch with loved ones.
Bob & Bill
Fun!
Marcia & me
So dear!! But, oh my goodness, I need a haircut!! We’ve been gone 34 days – vacationing in California. I think I posted a couple times on our trip, didn’t I? That’s leisure time … nearly a dozen different beds in 34 days! Time with dear family/friends. God bless ‘em!!
Great-granddaughter Cosette, daughter-in-law Monika, great grandson Christian 1 month new, granddaughter Faith, and great-granddaughter Mable
What a blessing to be with these dear ones!
My former 1st/2nd grade student, Eva Lear (Stanislaus Co. Teacher of the Year)
Another favorite spare time activity: touching bases with former students and wallowing in their successes!!
Darrell & Ruthie Payne, our son’s in-laws, part of “Mi Familia!!”
Four lovely days with that dear couple – can’t be beat! Went with them to dinner at Fisherman’s in San Clemente- and for scrumptious Italian in Pasadena. Deeeelicious! Such gracious hosts!
Diane, Ruthie & me
Prior to that stay, we were wined & dined in Paso Robles by my “soul sister” Terry & her wonderful hubby, Jim.
Jim & Terry with us at Sculpterra Winery
Time with my dear cousin, Adrian, and his wife, Laura, is hard to beat. Did I tell you earlier about them? They deserve a blog post of their own (coming soon).
Bob with cousinAdrian & his sweet wife, Laura
We also got to spend time with my high school sweetheart, Jerry & his darling wife, Carolyn, and Bob’s former Sunday School buddy, Monica, and his former girlfriend, Sally ( my song girl classmate) and her terrific hubby, Bob Phillips.
The latter two were not able to join us for lunch, but we stayed a night at their house. Do you get back together again with those dear to you from 60 years ago??
Jerry, Bob, Monica, me & Carolyn.
Before that gathering in Turlock, CA, we were in Carmel/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach with Bob’s two brothers and their wives – and with our long-time friends, the Tillions. Did I post earlier about that 85th birthday of Bob and that New Years Eve experience?
It’s been quite a memorable month!!!
Bob, me, brother Bruce, Ann, Marge, and brother Bill. Me, Ingrid, Bob & Alan
Our “leisure time” activities included a lot of dining out in terrific places. This was Big Sur, CA. Such a pretty day! It was 47 degrees, sunshine & feeling warm while back in Montana there was an Arctic storm and the temp was -47! That’s 100 degrees difference!
Suppose we were happy to be spending our leisure time with family & friends? You bet!!
Bob, Ty, me & Monika
Our last evening in CA we took our son & his wife out to dinner. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And thank you for loaning us your Lexus so we could travel the state in style for a month!!! What a gift!
Home Sweet Home
Time to unpack, do laundry, sort the mail, pay bills, and take down Christmas decorations! Happy 2024, my friends!
What’s YOUR favorite leisure time activity?
Last night we celebrated our friend, Julie’s birthday. The love of time with family and friends goes on…
If you could make your family and friends understand one thing, what would it be?
The prompt asked about making a pet understand. Well, we don’t have a pet right now. So, I substituted “family and friends.”
I want you all to know, “It’s never too late.”
“Too late for what?” you ask.
Well, you fill in the blank!
As a life-long Christian, I have often heard the pastor say, “Remember your baptism” on various occasions. I can’t. Or I should say, “I couldn’t!”
Not until yesterday!
My mom & sister often told me,”Yes,” when I asked, “Was I baptized?” But there are no pictures. (Mom was an avid picture taker all the time!) And there is no certificate or other written record. I find that strange.
I tried to contact the little white Methodist/Presbyterian church in California’s Central Valley where it supposedly happened, but it burned to the ground years ago … and all records with it.
So, I decided to”It’s never too late. I want to have a baptism I can remember!” At 84, you think you wanna be dunked? You bet … by my son (who recently was ordained as a minister at his church here in CA, where we are visiting this week before we head home from our month’s reprieve from Montana’s ccccold Arctic blast).
Did it take courage and commitment? Was it a hard decision? You bet! But was it important for my spiritual health!? Definitely. I wanted to be able to “remember my baptism” – feel the obedience to the Christian command, “Go, and be baptized!”
It’s never too late!
Do you remember your baptism?
It’s never too late!
Love, JanBeek
My son, Ty, with me and 2 of my great-grandchildren- See my wet head? Yup, I remember being dunked!!
My career as an educator was more than a job. More than a “dream job.” It was a beautiful calling. It was a gift. I was a teacher. I loved my students, my teaching colleagues, the joy of making a positive difference in someone’s life.
Today I had the wonderful privilege of reconnecting with a student who was in my first and then second grade classrooms back around 1969-70. Today she is a teacher – and has been honored by being selected as the Turlock School District and Stanislaus County “Teacher of the Year.” Congratulations to Eva Marquez Lear!! Thank you for expressing your gratitude and recounting your love and reaching out to tell me I was one main reason you decided to become a teacher. It’s more than our “dream job” … it’s our calling, our gift … pass it on. God bless you!!
Today’s WordPress Prompt was: “What is your mission?”
My mission is to spread God’s love, live in faith, and “bee” an inspiration for others to do likewise!
How about you? What is your mission? You know we each are put in this world for a purpose. Do you know yours? How are you fulfilling it?
Meet with old friends! Today we reconnected with my high school buddy, Monica, and the wife of my senior class sweetheart. Carolyn is fulfilling one of her missions: taking care of Jerry !!God bless Carolyn & Jerry! Such fun to reconnect with them. Jerry and I had a year of wonderful fun together in 1956-57!!
And Bob reconnected with Monica … with whom he attended Sunday School every week during his childhood. So precious!!
No friends like old friends!!
Our mission is to spread love and joy wherever we go. What a wonderful way to begin this new year of 2024! Our travels in California have been blessed with great weather, family, friends, and Bob’s 85th birthday celebration along the Pacific coast. Such fun!!
Alan & Ingrid with Bob at Monterey Aquarium.
Alan & Ingrid with us at Big Sur.
Then precious time with my brilliant cousin, Adrian, and his wife, Laura.
Life doesn’t get too much better than this!
God bless my birthday boy!My main mission besides spreading God’s love: take care of this BeeBoy! I’m so blessed to have him in my life all these 65 years!! I pray we have many more.
While it snows in Montana, we bask in gorgeous CA sunshine with family & friends!Just right temps!
It’s a great way to welcome the new year!
God is good! Life is wonderful! After celebrating Bob’s 85th birthday with his two brothers and their wives, we are now with dear friends here in Pebble Beach for a few days.
Last week this part of the 17 Mile Drive in Carmel/Monterey was closed due to high tides. Open now, we are soaking up the beauty!
Yesterday we went wine tasting in Carmel with Alan & Ingrid. Such fun!
Today we’re headed for the Monterey Aquarium. Stay tuned! I’ll be back!
How has your 2024 begun?
Did you go to church to begin the year? Have you thanked God for your new day!? Please do!
Cherish family!
Shine the light of love and spread the gift of peace wherever you go! God bless you!
1) Time with family & friends is so precious! That time heads the highlights. I hope you had quality time with your loved ones last year, too
Bob’s the middle brother – time with brothers Bruce & Bill can’t be beat!
We love visiting family – like my cousin, Adrian & his dear wife, Laura.
When friends/colleagues from the past take time to share with us, we feel so blessed. This is sweet Suzette Stavrianoudakis who taught with me back in the 80’s-90’s.
The opportunity to go to worship with our son,Ty, his wife Monika, her parents, and our granddaughter & her hubby & Mable, one of our 3 our great-granddaughters, was a very special highlight. Ty& Moni visited us in Montana, and we are enjoying the beginning of 2024 with them.
I loved visiting with my college roomie, Sue Booth, who also was a bridesmaid in our 1962 wedding!
Nothing beats the highlight of seeing your 85 year old birthday boy holding his one-day old great- grandson.
But very close to that best highlight is the privilege of praying for 5-yr. old Eli as he experienced brain surgery and had an amazing recovery. Our last picture of him showed a happy 6-year old smiling as he sat on his surgeon’s lap. Praise God! Answered prayers (too numerous to mention) always are highlights!
It’s hard to beat visits from people like Peter Martin (and Victor Salazar) former 1970’s wrestling students of Bob’s. They came from states away to spend time with their old coach. What a treat!!
When our daughter, De, & her hubby showed up from Switzerland surprising us with our 1980-81 AFS son, Christian Zufferey, and his wife, Célia, the surprise was the greatest one imaginable!
A week before that our oldest Swiss grandson, Mike & his wife, Tania, came with friends for a week. Like I said, time with family & friends we’re our greatest highlights.
Mike’s younger brother, Nick, visited with his sweetheart, Céline, also. Goodness, how blessed can you get, huh?
We love having time with friends and family. When will you come to Ennis, MT to visit us?
July is a great time to be in Ennis. Put it on your list, ok? Make it a highlight of your 2024!
