Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Today I woke after a good night’s sleep. Feeling a throbbing, I looked over at my hand; It was more swollen than when I went to bed. The pins holding the pinky in place were buried.
Yesterday I visited the occupational therapist. She put compression sleeves on the fingers. They are designed to reduce the swelling. Maybe it would have been worse without them.
Who knows?
It doesn’t do any good to complain, To mope around and feel sad and blue. You gotta keep on the sunny side of life – And a good way to do that is to let go!
Let go of the doubts and relinquish grumbles. Find someone who’ll hold your hand and assure you That everything is gonna be okay – be patient! Give your troubles to God and put on a smile.
Bob and I seem to trade off times for help. There I am holding his scarred up hand! Now it’s his turn to gently hold mine. We are so blessed to have one another!
I pray that you have loved ones beside you Who comfort and assist you when you need it. It’s easier to see the sunny side of life When God gives you family and friends who care.
So relinquish your troubles to those who can Be the hands and feet of God beside you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – and accept it! Let others share the sunny side of life with you.
Jesus loves the little children All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Jesus came to earth to show us how to live. He gave His life – what more must He give To teach us the lesson He came here to teach? Just love one another! Live that lesson and preach!
Preach to the world the need for compassion. Preach respect, integrity… Make them current fashion. Don’t let fear and ignorance take the reigns And infect our society and poison our brains.
White Replacement Theory? What a bunch of bunk! Don’t let such absurdity enter you. It’s just junk! God created each of us with blessed diversity. He created us equally. Believe that with certainty!
Those who fear other skin or folks from outside the USA Are showing us their ignorance by what they do and say. They don’t understand the message God sent to earth When He brought to this world His Son to give us second birth.
They don’t accept the well-known fact of Oneness, The same blood, same love, same spirit of “Done-ness.” We are were “done” by the Potter’s wheel and skill. We all were created by our God, our Savior’s Will.
No color is more beautiful; No skin is a favored one. No cuisine is more tasty. God differently flavored some. So wrap your mind around the true acts of love… Love others unconditionally – Give all hate a shove!
My heart goes out to the families and friends of the 10 who were senselessly murdered by a sick, crazed, fearful 18-year-old in NY this week. Additionally, worshipers were shot down in church two days ago… and the list goes on. It makes my stomach churn. It makes my head hurt. It puzzles my mind. I just don’t begin to understand. I want to help. I need to do my part.
So, with my left hand in a cast and my little finger throbbing, I hunt and peck with my right hand. I send my love out into the world – and I beg my readers to do what you can, too. Try to drown out hate with loud acts of love. Try to squelch fear with gigantic messages of compassion and understanding. Try to stamp out ignorance with numerous exchanges of God’s messages in His Word and through His Son. Do something. Do what you can.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to set aside fear, hatred, ignorance, and divisiveness, and start as a nation and as a world to just love one another… Amen
Does that make your stomach queasy? It did mine! Those pins are criss-crossed over the little finger knuckle. They are allowing the little finger to stay in its socket while the broken pinky bone heals. Poor crinkly hand!
But you don’t want those pins left exposed if you are out and about, so… a very capable hand therapist created a color-coordinated, custom-fitted cast! The red strips are Velcro so I can take this off.
Gotta keep smiling!
God is good! The bones are healing. Occupational therapy begins tomorrow. I can shower without a big plastic bag over my whole arm, hampering my ability to function. As i have said, ever since the fall and break on April 20th, “It could be worse!”
I continue to thank God that it wasn’t my right (dominant) hand. It wasn’t my head or arm or hip. It could have been much, much worse!
My Ukranian hummingbird
Don’t you pray daily for the people of Ukraine? Don’t you thank God for your health, happiness, safety, and freedom? Don’t you realize, as I do, that your troubles are minuscule compared to those suffered by so many in the world?
What can we do to take the focus off our own pins and casts and remember what to do in tough times?
Look at #5 above. What did I do to have some fun? The hand therapist asked me, as she was crafting my smaller cast, “Would you like your Velcro black like the cast?”
I decided to have some fun. Add a little color … match my optimistic mood!
This finger will heal. A lot of people are a lot worse off than I am! PT will help me regain the use of these fingers. Meantime, I can type with my right hand. God hears my pleas and sends friends/family to help.
John 15:7 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Thanks for joining me today and adding your prayers to mine. I pray you will take heed and “Slow down and watch where you’re going!”
God bless you and help you avoid pins and casts. They’re no fun!
I haven’t posted for a week. Have a Happy Cinco de Mayo! Just here for a quick catch up…
Today’s message in my on-line Guideposts devotional contains an unintentional pun. I’ve been told that the doc may cast this hand with the broken finger when I go in for my follow-up appointment next Wednesday. Meantime, it is wrapped like a mummy and the pain pills are an important part of keeping me from full agony. But they also have some unpleasant side effects that I won’t elaborate on…
Here is a screenshot from my iPhone:
Yes, cast my cares. Cast my hand. Rest in God’s Grace. These are important prescriptions.
Thank you for your prayers. God is good 👍🏽 If you read my blog a week ago, you know I misjudged the height of a curb, tripped, landed on the sidewalk with all my weight on my left hand, broke and dislocated the little finger. You know it could have been much worse. Coulda been the right hand. Coulda been the head or the hip. This left pinky finger will heal. I need to be patient, and faithful about elevating and icing it.
Before I go, though, I need to tell you: Love ya… Appreciate your expressed concern. So grateful for neighbors/friends who come with food and friendship. We are blessed indeed. Your kind words are a comfort. I’ve missed my WP blogging… but, it’s too hard with one hand. As the Guideposts message suggested, I need to let go my troubles, cast them aside, and rest in God’s grace.
Thank you, my friends, for your love and supportive prayers and comments. Bob & I are headed in to Bozeman now for my surgery on this dislocated and broken finger.
It snowed a lot in a circular radius around us, so we’ll have icy roads up & over Norris Pass and a lot of snow in Bozeman when we get there. Prayers for safe travels appreciated.
My surgery is to realign this little finger and put a couple of pins in the finger to keep it in place going forward. Prayers for the surgeon’s steady hands and skill appreciated. And for my pain tolerance, please.
Dear friends are bringing us our dinner for tonight. Praise God for His loving servants who reach out to others in their need. We are so grateful!
I probably will not blog for a couple of days. You understand.
See you when I can. Sending love and appreciation.
Hugs, JanBeek
Please send continued prayers for those who need it so much more than I do…
God gives us doctors When we cannot heal ourselves. He says, “Lean on them.”
God gives us neighbors When we need acts of kindness. He says, “Bee grateful!”
Our Savior saves us When we cannot save ourselves. He says, “Lean on Me!”
I may have to learn To accept strength from others – Can’t be strong alone!
Single-handedly, I feel slightly “hand”icapped. God says, “Lean on me!”
Have you ever felt Too weak to accomplish all You have on your plate?
Who did you lean on?
Sometimes when we ask God for the strength that we need, He sends us earth angels.
My neighbor, a retired nurse who lives in CA part of the year, just texted. She asked about my hand. When I told her about the upcoming surgery, she wrote, “We will be there to help and if you have any questions, we know stuff :o)”
See … earth angel on her way! And her husband is a brilliant physiologist. He’s part of the “we” she’s talking about! Yup, they “know stuff.” Hah! It will be comforting and helpful to have them back in the “hood.” Just in time! God is good … all the time!
When Our Daily Bread posted on this subject, it wrote:
“We may not be able to touch Jesus physically, but we can entrust the weightiest circumstances of our lives to Him. He said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28).
How blessed we are to have a Savior whom we can trust to be faithful through every circumstance of our lives!
Are you ‘leaning’ on Him today?”
I am leaning on Jesus, and I am Leaning on Bob, too! He’s an earth angel God sent to me.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
published yesterday, April 24, 2022, wrote this poem:
Marriage is a strange equation where You take 1 Person Add another Person You get a Couple So far so good Now you add 0 Expectations to it And you get infinite Love Mind-boggling!
I wrote to Frank saying, “Hmmm… zero expectations? How do you do that?” He responded, “I guess we should try and reduce it little by little. Eventually, it will get to zero.”
What do you think? Do you agree that zero expectations = infinite love?
Bob & me on our 59th
I follow Frank’s blog along with over 22,700 other admirers of his poetry. If you will forgive me, I wish to rewrite his latest. It seems to me that marriage does not have to be a strange equation. It can be:
The Perfect Equation
Marriage can be a perfect equation when You take one person Add another person And get a couple Then you add the Love of Christ Next place the Holy Spirit in the center You add God’s expectations of compassion Mix in the joy of respect and faithfulness And you get unconditional, infinite love Now, that’s Mind-boggling!
Celebrated 60 years in February
True Friendship requires the same equation! Take one person, add another, stir in Christ’s love Center the Holy Spirit between you and Sprinkle generously with compassion and respect Remain faithful to one another, and Keep a confidential, active, listening ear You get unconditional, infinite love. Isn’t that mind-boggling?
If you were asked to create a collage of true friends who epitomize that equation, who would you include? Long-time friends, family, neighbors, church friends, internet friends, friends in heaven, those you haven’t met yet? Think about it! My collages below are by no means complete… but for starters:
Are you a reliable friend? Do you see yourself fitting into the equation? Does your collage of friends include those neighbors who stick “closer than a brother”?
Marriage and Friendship are related! They both carry with them great expectations!
24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Knowing I was hurting physically because I fell and disclocated/broke my pinky finger, friends sent cards, delivered food, sent texts, called, and dropped by. Did I EXPECT such an outpouring? Not at all! But did it do the trick? You bet! Those friends delivered the cheer and encouragement that we all need when we are feeling blue or tired or sick or (as in my case) a little stupid and careless.
Knowing my granddaughter and I were hurting emotionally because she just learned of and shared with me the news of her miscarriage, friends called, wrote, texted, responded on my blog & on FB, and reached out to Hope as well. Did we expect such an outpouring? No! But was it helpful and appreciated? You bet!
Thank You – It does help!
Does God EXPECT us to do so? Yes!
Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another
The Bible is full of expectations for us. God expects us to lift one another up. He commands us… The greatest of these is LOVE. His last and final commandment: Love one another!
Reach out to a friend today. Reach out in love. Do you do it because you expect something in return? Of course!
My mom always told me, “Whatever you send into the life of others comes back into your own.”
(I’m sure she read that in the Bible somewhere!)
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love & Marriage – Go together like a horse & carriage!
Who’s in your collage of friends today? Tell ’em about it! (Share my blog with ’em!!)
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Our dear neighbor, Scott, came by today. He brought his shovel and gave us his all! All the energy he had stored up he poured out!
Our front porch was buried in snow. Our TazE’s exit from the kitchen door was blocked with over a foot of snow. The sidewalk approaching our house was covered with over 2 feet of snow that the wind had blown as a drift yesterday.
When Scott left, the porch and entry were cleared. The sidewalk is passable, so UPS and FedEx can deliver the package we are expecting today. And TazE was able to go out and do her business. Hooray!
The robins who were hovering under the patio chairs yesterday are dancing in the trees today. The sun is out – melting the snow that had clung to the branches.
Happy Holy Week, my friends. Scott gave us his all! He was exhausted when he finished. God bless him!
Jesus gave His all! How much energy – how many coins – are we willing to give?
I send my love to you, my friends. Have a Wonderful Wednesday! See ya tomorrow … Maundy Thursday… Hugs, JanBeek
It’s the urge to purge That attacked my head today Will it go away?
Unexpectedly As I entered my office It attacked my brain
Looking at the mess The urge to purge arrived I’ve avoided it
It’s easy to see Why the urge is in my head Will it reach my hands?
Jesus had the urge He quickly cleared the temple The Bible tells us:
Going into the temple He began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, “It’s written in scripture, My house is a house of prayer; You have turned it into a religious bazaar.”
Luke 19:45-46
In today’s Mornings With Jesus, Jeanette Levellie was reminded of all the stuff she took home from her grandma’s house when she was there helping her mom with the clutter (er – a – treasures!). She wrote, “Whenever I’m tempted to want more than I need, I remember that ugly feeling of greed I experienced while cleaning Grandma’s house. I remind myself that God’s house – my heart – is meant for fellowship with Him.”
My office doesn’t look quite as bad as that picture above, but it certainly is full of stuff that represents “more than I need.” My spare bedroom has in it a lot of the stuff that we stored there while we were having our floors redone a couple of months ago. If I haven’t needed it by now, don’t you think it’s time to purge? Likewise, my office would feel a lot more inviting if I got rid of the stuff that clutters the countertops in there, too. Right?
Is this a topic I have shared before? I think so… And I avoided the urge then, just like I am trying t squelch it today!! It’s not just my heart that needs cleaning of any type of greed, it’s my brain that needs to be told that overload of stuff is squelching my creativity! And it will be a major headache for Bob & my kids if I should keel over tomorrow!
Do yourself a favor, Jan:
If the urge to purge Seemed to attack you today Let it convince you
Envision the space With room for meaningful work That feels lots better!
Thanks, Jesus, for the inspiration. I need to let your example inspire me!
Do you have an urge to purge today? Let’s work on that together! OK?
See ya tomorrow (God willing) I’ll give you a report! Hugs, JanBeek
Today we received a thank you letter from Intermountain. We get a personalized letter from them every month. The letter provides a great source of encouragement. It motivates us to continue to give gladly because we know it is received and used meaningfully.
Intermountain Development
Our gift to Intermountain is a small donation. I have it taken out automatically from my monthly retirement income. I don’t even miss it… but I know it is pooled with other small gifts and together, they matter. Intermountain helps hundreds of children increase their mental health.
The thank you letter we receive each month lets us know our gift was received, and it tells us, “Your support, combined with the tireless efforts of our direct care staff, provides transformative outcomes in the lives of the children we serve.” Thanks! We believe it!
The academic and counseling programs at Intermountain, the recreational opportunities and clinical integrity are superb. We are encouraged to continue to support their efforts and to spread the word so others are encouraged to donate to them also. They are an excellent Montana-based 501(c) organization Check out their school, cottages, counseling, and community outreach programs at intermountain.org
How do you choose to share encouragement?
Donations are one way – but there are so many others: cards, letters, phone calls, texts, e-mails, home visits, hugs, volunteering time, you name it …
We all need encouragement, you know.
Choose ways to be an encourager!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
janbeek 