Invite the neighbors.
There’s no need to be lonely;
They’re good company!
Also, go on out –
Invite your friends to join you.
Embrace company!
Kalena’s Tea House:
a great place for having lunch.
Sit outside -enjoy!
Headed to pick up
Bob & his buddies
at the airport today.
It’s been 9 long days
without him…
but I survived it!
Thanks to friends here
And my blogging friends out there,
I was never lonely!
Thanks for your company!
See ya tomorrow (God willing!)
Love,
JanBeek
1 Thess. 5:16-18a
Let godly thinking shape your attitudes.
“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances…”
With the right attitudes, we can be young at heart no matter what our chronological age may be.
Psalm 92:12-15
“12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Psalm 70:4
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You.
Let those who love Your salvation say evermore,
“God is great!”
Each day has its own personality.
There will be happy and sad days.
Some will be quiet and restful,
while others will be filled with activity.
Some will be brimming with health,
others will find you facing unexpected challenges.
But, whatever the circumstance,
you can find moments of delight –
and you can thrive as you see the
blessings hidden – even in the worst of times.
This week I learned that my friend, Paul,
who was scheduled to replace our wood floor
(while we are gone next month on a trip to Europe)
fell off a ladder and broke some ribs.
In addition to the body aches, he was suffering
massive headaches. So, the doctor took x-rays.
The x-rays revealed that Paul had a brain tumor!
If he had not fallen off that ladder, there might not
have been the x-rays to reveal the tumor.
He had brain surgery yesterday morning.
The report came that “all is well.”
I don’t know if that means the tumor was benign,
or if it means they got it all and he will be fine.
Maybe it means all three!
But, I know Who has the answers…
and I know He hears my prayers.
I know everything happens for a reason…
and I know God is in charge.
I am so grateful the tumor was discovered!
So, I can EMBRACE GOOD CHEER!
I am grateful for the faith I have that allows me to
behold life through the eyes of hope and positivity.
Colors are brighter,
laughter comes easier,
and the joy of simply being alive
sets the tone for daily celebration
of life’s infinite possibilities.
On this day of remembrance (9-11),
may you – with love and reverence –
embrace the good cheer of memories
that cherish the family members,
friends, co-workers, and tireless volunteers
who have made a mark upon your life.
May those memories inspire you
to live with such
integrity,
creativity,
faith,
and love,
that one day
the memory of you
will bring good cheer
to all who know you.
Be in prayer for those who are hurting.
Be in prayer for all who are in danger.
Be in prayer for all who live in fear.
Be in prayer for those who need
happiness to knock on their door today.
You’re in my prayers.
God bless you with good cheer!
Love and hugs,
JanBeek
“I am about to do a new thing;
Isaiah 43:19
now it springs forth,
do you not perceive it?”
Are you beginning?
Some “new things” aren’t really new…
They’re reinventions.
Used to volunteer
Before COVID changed our world,
Helping some dear folks.
Now visitations
Are being allowed again.
So I’m beginning.
Today’s a fresh start.
Most of my friends are not there.
Time to make new ones!
So, with eagerness
And joy, I begin again.
I have love to give.
The Holy Spirit
Planted an impulse in me.
Answer your heart’s call.
Where can you begin
To use your talents to help
Spread joy to others?
Bruises almost totally gone…
God is the Master rejuvenator!
Begin with passion and determination.
Tell me what you will do
to
EMBRACE BEGINNINGS
today!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Thanks for visiting JanBeek
Yesterday was a day to read, relax, and mind the advice of my Unity devotional… rest, recharge my battery, my whole being. I didn’t blog… but I took time to slow down and take breaks. I wasn’t totally alone. My friend, Julie, came by for a few hours and helped me empty my china cabinet in preparation for when we have to clear out all our dining/living room furniture to have the floors redone. Here is the inspirational message that asked me to “experience the peace and tranquility that rejuvenates me.”
Summer’s behind us
Leaves are turning bright colors
Welcoming Autumn
Quiet’s essential
To hear the angels singing
Rejoicing in God
Aloneness is grand
If you realize one thing:
You’re never alone!
Take time to wander
An imaginary path
Jesus by your side
Treasure the silence
Embrace precious aloneness
Feel the Holy One
Recall beginnings
Embrace blessed aloneness
Rekindle yourself
Know you are perfect –
Made in God’s perfect image.
Embrace Aloneness!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See you tomorrow (God willing).
Sending gentle hugs and quiet moments of peace
(My bruises are almost all gone!!)
Bob’s in Alaska for the next 7 days.
Pray for his health and safety, please.
And remember … walk on with hope in your heart
and you’ll never walk alone!
Thank you, Andrea Bocelli, for the gift of your voice, your music, your heart!!
“You know it, deep down- you’re not made for ordinary. Your life is meant to be an adventure, fueled by grace and inspired by big dreams to make the world a better place. But, stuff gets in the way. Whether it’s people who tell you to be practical, a version of a faith that keeps you small, or a few bruises that take you out along the way– we all have a longing to break out of the status quo and get after the life we’re meant to live.” – Bob Goff
That quote came from one of my favorite people in the world, Bob Goff, author of “Love Does.” He has a new website:
https://www.bobgoff.com/?cid=21c33def-d0e2-408b-9d77-fcda6e15e879
I may look like those bruises took me out along the way with that eyelid swollen and the bruise running down my cheek, but I am far from “taken out!” Instead I am thinking this is an “extraordinary” bruise from an “extraordinary bang” and I am blessed not to have suffered a concussion! My knock on the head is not stopping me from planning some extraordinary days ahead!
Likewise, the fires in CA and the flooding on the east coast and the hurricanes in Haiti and the war-torn people in Afghanistan may have stopped some people from feeling like they are living the “life we’re meant to live,” but such catastrophes cause us to also to thank God for our survival. They cause us to evaluate what’s ordinary and what’s extraordinary – what’s essential and what’s fluff.
Don’t look down and say, “Poor me!” Instead, look up, and thank God for the blessings that are still yours! That’s what I am trying to do today as I put a hot compress on that goose egg that still sits on my forehead – and plan for an extraordinary trip to England to meet our blogging friends, Derrick & Jackie in person, and to travel on to Switzerland to see our daughter and her family there. We haven’t been able to do that since COVID raised its ugly head. Waaay too long between visits with our DollyWolly!
As Bob Goff said, “Life is too short to just go through the motions.” Embrace the extraordinary! Be extraordinarily positive! Look at the bruises and the challenges – and remember, “whether its the people who tell you to be practical, a version of a faith that keeps you small, or a few bruises that … along the way,” they don’t have to pull you down. They don’t have to keep your dreams small. As Bob Goff says on his website and in his books, “Dream Big!”
What are you planning for your future that will keep you living those “Dream Big” ideas?
Whatever it is, keep leaning on the One who answers your prayers!
Our son and his wife in CA still are safe from the Caldron Fire. They still are housing a family of 8 children and their mom who were evacuated from their home. They are living an extraordinary life right now, buoyed by all our prayers.
Our granddaughter in S. Lake Tahoe and her husband, Faith and Kyle, who were evacuated from their home, still are safely relocated for now in southern CA with their other grandparents. Today they received the gift of passes to visit Disneyland. It’s Kyle’s first visit there to the “Happiest Place on Earth.” The fire took a right turn just a mile from their house. Only God can control the wind! Answered prayers have saved their neighborhood. What an extraordinary God we have!
Continue to pray for extraordinary bravery and safety for our fire fighters.
Please continue to pray for Faith and Kyle and their neighborhood…
and for Ty & Monika and their big hearts
which are open to such Christ-like help for their friends.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Stay tuned!
And continue to be the extraordinary person God created you to be!
Romans 12:18
“If it is possible,
so far as it depends on you,
live peaceably with all.”
With all the strife in the world today,
the least we can do is to live in peace
with ourselves, our neighbors, our families.
And if we see someone in need,
reach out a helping hand.
Heaven knows, regardless of how bad
things seem to be for us,
it never is hard to find someone
who is worse off than we are.
He complained about
Having no shoes for his feet
Others had no feet
Be contented with the little things.
They really aren’t so little after all!
Philippians 4:11-13
“Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need.
I can do all things
through him who strengthens me.”
These photos were sent to me by Daughter #2 in Maryland.
That tornado and car pile-up were about 8 miles from her home.
She is thanking God for the fact that the strong winds
she had at her house didn’t knock down trees
or create a power outage.
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
God Almighty, I honor and praise You
for the works of Your hands,
for the beauty of the earth,
for the love You have for Your people
and for the animals.
I ask you now to protect
those who are ravaged by tornadoes
and floods, fires, and hurricanes,
wars and injustices.
Help us to know and trust
that You are with us
and You hear and answer
the fervent prayers of Your people.
Save us, Lord.
Bring peace.
Bring safety.
Bring rain to those who need it
and sunshine to those
who need freedom from flooding.
Help us find contentment
in Your care and promises.
Amen
Find contentment in little blessings (some of them are not so little):
God bless you!
See ya tomorrow (God Willing)
Love,
JanBeek
This is the image of the Caldron fire in Amador County, California… only 14% contained … with strong winds moving it northeast toward Tahoe. According to our daughter-in-law today, the fire has grown to 177,260 acres and has destroyed 653 homes.
The line on the right shows you the 5.77 miles from the fire to our granddaughter’s house yesterday. Today it has moved closer and ALL residents (22,000) of South Lake Tahoe have been evacuated. They have only one exit highway open – and it leads to Nevada.
The line on the left shows the 5.49 miles from the storm yesterday to our son’s house. The purple dot in the fire’s “mouth” shows the place where the home is of our son’s friends – the ones who were evacuated and are now living in Placeville with Ty and Monika.
It is hard in the midst of such danger, loss of property, loss of homes, loss of lives and livelihoods, to keep a positive attitude. But, we cannot allow ourselves to despair!
For our granddaughter, Faith, and her husband, Kyle, the running water they are appreciating today may not be from their own faucet, but it is in the home of life-long friends of her other grandparents…
… and they were able to evacuate their home with some clothes… not just the pajamas they were wearing like some who were rushed out of their homes in the dark of the night…
… and they have food, love, shelter, and their dog! Of course, there is so much for which to be grateful!
But, as I thank God for the safety of my loved ones,
I am remembering to be especially thankful
for the firefighters who continue day and night
to try and save people’s lives, homes, our forests,
and our cities/towns/businesses.
God bless our firefighters!
Keep smiling (if you can) through the storms of life…
And try not to let the struggles get you down.
They are designed to strengthen us!!
Remember the scripture that says,
Psalm 46:1-2,
7 “God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way
and the mountains fall
into the heart of the sea;
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”.
My grandson, Sam, told me a few days ago,
“Grammy, just wear dark glasses.”
Don’t forget to listen to the advice of your kids –
they are smarter than you realize!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek
Be a friend to a firefighter
Be a friend to your neighbor
Be a friend who gives someone in need
a reason to smile today.
That’s what friends are for!
My heart is breaking over the loss of the lives of 13 of our military in Afghanistan yesterday. The death toll from the blast includes 11 U.S. Marines, a Navy hospital corpsman, and one Army soldier, American officials said.
Today we learned the identity of one of those Marines who was needlessly killed yesterday in that bombing. He was only 20 years old. A young man who wanted to be a Marine all his life, according to a report I just heard. A young man who was due to be a dad in just three weeks. My heart goes out to his family and friends, the mother of his child, and to his unborn child. My prayers are with all those who lost loved ones in that attack yesterday… including the more than 100 Afghans who died in that bombing, too.
The above photo is Texas Marine David Lee Espinoza, 20,
killed in Kabul airport attack…
who was lauded for ‘courage and bravery,’
The young man is Kareem. His father’s interview was posted on-line. A portion of it was,
“Kareem loved what he was doing, he always wanted to be a Marine,” said Nikoui, noting that his son had been stationed close to home, at Camp Pendleton. This made it easy for Kareem to visit on weekends, and he often brought along “10 or 15 other Marines” with him. When the holidays rolled around, Kareem always brought a few buddies with him for a home cooked meal.
As I write this post, additional names are being released of those who were killed in the Kabul bombing. This one just came in:
“A Marine from the St. Louis area was among the 13 American service members and more than a hundred Afghans killed in a suicide bombing Thursday near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to the man’s father and a U.S. senator.
Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Missouri, was among the dead, his father, Mark Schmitz told the radio station KMOX.
“This has just been absolutely devastating,” Schmitz told the station Friday.
Schmitz told the station the U.S. Marine Corps came to his home to deliver “the horrific news” around 2:40 a.m. Friday.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley confirmed his death in a statement posted to Twitter.
“Today I spoke with the family of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, of Wentzville, Missouri, a Marine who lost his life yesterday in the Kabul attacks, while proudly serving this nation. I promised his family that his service and his legacy will not be forgotten,” Hawley wrote.
I THANK OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM
FOR THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY
AND THEIR WORK TO KEEP US
FREE AND SAFE.
God bless our military.
Keep them safe, Lord.
Let them come home to their families
alive and well… not in a box!
Dear Friends,
EMBRACE OUR MILITARY.
They need our appreciation and support every day.
See you tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek
Some days it takes courage to get out of bed!
Some days it takes courage to look yourself in the mirror.
Have you had days like that?
Today was one of them for me!
So, I could go back to bed and feel sorry for myself –
– or I could get up and face the day.
I had to ask myself, WWJD??
(What would Jesus do?)
Jesus said to me, “Get up and face the day! Be courageous!”
So, I did… and by noon the one black eye was better
and the color had shifted so it was on the other eye, too.
Matthew 9:22
“But Jesus turning and seeing her said,
‘Take courage, daughter…’ “
My devotional for today in Mornings with Jesus
reinforced the prayer response.
So, up and out I went!
We have been having day after day with skies filled with smoke
from the fires that are all around MT, ID, CO, CA, and OR.
The mountains have been invisible to us weeks on end.
But today I could see the mountains!
By the time I spent a little time with a friend
and returned home this afternoon,
we had the clearest blue sky in months!
See, if you have courage to face the day,
God is good – and He will make you glad you did!
The moral of the story is,
EMBRACE COURAGE!
Don’t let your hesitancy
keep you from facing the day.
Get up,
Get going,
Get out,
and
Get happy!
God is good.
Trust Him!
Please keep the firefighters and those in Harm’s Way in your prayers.
Our son and his wife are sharing their home with a family of 8
who were evacuated from their home… but it is not destroyed…
just in the evacuation zone … and the fire is still headed toward
our granddaughter’s in S Lake Tahoe. So keep the prayers flowing!
See ya tomorrow – God willing!
EMBRACE COURAGE –
and reach out to do what you can
to help others…
Love,
JanBeek
Do you have a hard head?
Have you ever tested it out?
I tested out the strength of my skull yesterday!
Not on purpose, of course.
I was walking to the back of the car
to push the button that closes the hatchback.
Friends approached from my right, so
I turned to greet them as I kept walking.
Little did I know Bob had pushed the button
and the hatchback door was on its way down.
I walked right into it! Ouch!!!
I heard a loud crack when it hit.
A softer head would have split open
and (as head wounds go) it would have
bled profusely! But, I have a hard head, my friends!
The blood stayed inside and created a
black and blue goose egg!
Speaking of friends, Bob drove me home.
My head was throbbing like crazy!
I called our neighbor/friend, Janet, who is a nurse.
She came right over. Ice packs, pain killers,
Hugs and consolation… then alternating heat & ice.
Just what the doctor would have ordered!
As if the care of a friend wasn’t enough,
I was blessed with a very concerned, loving TazE.
She never comes and crawls in my lap,
but yesterday she wouldn’t leave my lap
(except to get up every now and then,
look me in the eye, kiss my cheeks and chin,
and then crawl back into my lap).
Aren’t animals amazing? So intuitive!
She knew “Mama” was hurting… and she
was there for me until the neighbors all arrived
to make sure everything was OK
and to pamper and feed me.
Then TazE was content to go back to her own bed!
This morning, after a shower and a couple of pain pills,
I was smiling once again… feeling no pain… and grateful
that the swelling had gone down and the bruising had not
traveled too far into my face.
Ah, my friends, EMBRACE HARD HEADS!
They come in handy at a time like this!
Oh, and by the way,
watch in the direction you’re walking today, okay?
Hah! No point in testing how hard-headed you are!!
It helps to comb my hair over the bruise.
You can hardly notice it, right?
See ya tomorrow (God willing) –
Love,
JanBeek
Hugs to You !!
Inspire to Love
Let the SonShine!
You inspire me to respond
Learning to Live; Living to Learn; Learning to Love; Living in Love
