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Embrace Travel: Greece, Montana, Switzerland & Alaska

Do you love to travel?
What is your motivation to travel?
Some people travel to study history.
Some travel to see the scenery.
Bob traveled recently to “catch the big one!”
Others travel for business purposes.
Why do you travel?

This week my grandson, Mike,
who lived in Switzerland
took a trip to Greece
with his fiance’ Tania,
and sent me some wonderful photos.
Why do you think they traveled?

At the same time,
our daughter, DeAna,
sent us pictures
of her travel experience.
She and Andre’ (our son-in-law)
are traveling to Corsica this week.
Why do you think they traveled?

Bob & I traveled to Bozeman today.
That kind of travel counts, don’t you think?
It’s an hour’s drive…
We went for several reasons:
Get my new iPhone,
Get help programming the phone,
Get a haircut,
Buy new clothes for our trip to Switzerland.
Why do you think we’re going to Europe?

Snow-capped Madison Range
Ennis, MT 9-21-21

No, our trip to Switzerland
has nothing to do with Swiss cows.
Guess again!

I am praying that all these COVID tests
required for flying to London,
and then required for staying there,
and then required for leaving
and going to Switzerland
will arrive on time
to each of their destinations.
I have faith that God hears my prayers,
and God knows how much
we need to see our daughter
and the rest of our Swiss family.
Please pray with me
for all to go smoothly!

And stay tuned…

I hope to show you my favorite sites along the way.

Our buddy, Rex Hocking,
with his award-winning 30″ trout.

Bob says it’ll be pretty hard to beat
that wonderful, surreal trip
he just took with his buddies to Alaska.
Rex sent a photo of Bob fishing
(there was a bear on the shore
right across the river from
where he was)!
Just imagine that!

I can’t post that fisherman-bear photo today
(gotta figure out how to reduce the size of the file
and eliminate some of my WordPress photos
so I have room to add more in my media library)…
But, it is
pretty hard to beat
those kinds of experiences,
huh?

God willing,
and test results arriving on time,
we’ll be sharing our fun
in the days to come.

Where have you traveled recently?
Or what’s your favorite trip?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Faith, Fishing, friendship, happiness, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, prayer, Travel

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Embrace Contentment

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

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

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.

Philippians 4:6

Keep praying!

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Pray with Me

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):

my black & blue eyes are healing
the bump on my forehead is decreasing
our smoky valley has cleared a little (we can see the mountains again)
the firefighters are diligently working to contain the wildfires
my grandson, Chris, made it safely to Colombia (that’s him & his girlfriend, Natalia’s picture behind me there)
so far our granddaughter’s house in South Lake Tahoe has not caught fire – and they are safely evacuated to stay with their other grandparents in southern CA
our son & his wife’s house is safe from the fires (and they are graciously housing a family who were evacuated from theirs)
my husband’s doctor has okayed his fishing trip to Alaska (he leaves next Monday) – in spite of some health scares this week – he is better :o)
you came to visit my blog and share the message of contentment in your life (in spite of challenges) – I look forward to your comments <3

God bless you!
See ya tomorrow (God Willing)

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, contentment, Faith, Family, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, Haiku, kindness, Life's Challenges, Love, nature, optimism, prayer, relationships, Serving One Another

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Embrace Firefighters

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!

I prayed for Faith & Kyle’s safety.
I prayed for our son & his wife’s safety..
They are safe.
Thank You, God!

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!

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, Family, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, Life's Challenges, Love, music, nature, optimism, relationships, Serving One Another

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Embrace Rain

If your son was in a place like the one pictured here:

… with the red representing forest fires that are zero contained
and the red arrow representing his home location,
you would be embracing rain, too!

Play this sound of rain for a while.

As you listen, pray that God will provide rain
for all the places in the world where drought
or fires are placing people, animals, forests,
homes, businesses, and livelihoods in danger.

Thank you!
Prayers for you and your safety today…

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Faith, God, Life's Challenges, Love, nature, prayer, relationships

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Embrace Day’s End

Sunset
Cooling down
Illuminating the clouds
Allowing colors to change
Night

Do play this beautiful music
and hear the soothing sounds
as you read on…

Sit
Find peace
Embrace day’s end
Reflect on today’s highlights
Breathe

Observe
Changing seasons
Time passing by
Snow melting in mountains
Notice

Capture
Time slowing
Night creeping in
Birds finding their nest
Sleep

Imagine
Better tomorrows
Problems being solved
God’s blessings poured down
Nightfall

Clouds
Drifting by
Silently gathering momentum
Taking troubles with them
Peace

Beautiful wonderful and majestic
Ocean Sunset Guincho Beach
I hope you’re listening to that

Glowing
Slowly disappearing
Taking struggles away
Timeless tides – shifting sands
Goodnight!

See you tomorrow (God willing!)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, contentment, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, nature, peace, photography, Poetry, writing

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Embrace that Big Blue Sky!

We went up, up, up
into the Tobacco Root Mountains yesterday
(west of McAllister, Montana)
and we touched the sky
on the top of the world!

The view looking east to Madison Valley was spectacular.

The view looking north was amazing, too.
The camera doesn’t do it justice!

The ride up on our ATVs became bumpy and rocky, but it was fun!
Through the trees, across the mountainsides, and up to the top.
We could not have asked for a prettier day.
After weeks of smoke-filled skies, this was a relief!

The sky looked threatening at the start of our ride.

But the clouds were less threatening as we continued.

Always fun to see cattle roaming free along the trail.

As we climbed up into the trees, the trail became more narrow and rockier.

Come ride with us!! Hang on tight!!

I was glad I wore a jacket, a scarf and a hat.
The wind came up and it was quite chilly
the higher we went.

CG and Caroline arranged today’s outing.
Their delightful friends, Mike & Jane Dodson,
were visiting from VA.

Tucked behind, check out Charlie, the Jack Russell.
There were 9 guys –
eight of whom drove the ATVs…

Here are Mike & Jane with 6 of the ATVs…
Our “Lucille” is the redhead at the front of the line –
on whom we have a “Ball!”

I want you to experience this mountain-top,
blue-sky, perfect day’s vista with me!

Two of the guys and their gals left from the first look-out
and didn’t travel to this very top with us…
But here are seven of the troopers
with TazE being babied by Bob!

Here are Ron & Linda,
two who needed to head back down
from Lookout #1.
It was good to see them!

We took at lunch break
at the mountaintop
before heading back down.

Took the same trail back down
that brought us up to the top.
It’s actually easier going down!

Thanks for joining us today.

Maybe one of these days,
you can come to Montana
and join us for a ride.
What do you think?

Category:

friendship, Gratitude, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, Travel, trees

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Embrace Swiss Beekeeping

In 2018 we were in Switzerland and our daughter, DeAna, arranged for our grandson, Michael Solioz, to visit a Swiss beekeeper with his Grampy Bob. Bob wrote up some questions ahead of time, and Mike translated them for the man who is the president of the Sion Beekeepers’ Club.

This video is so professionally done by Mike. I guarantee you will enjoy it. The beekeeper is such a delightful man – a retired physician!

So, what did you think of that?

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that Bob is a retired beekeeper… He did that for over 20 years after he retired from teaching/coaching.

No, that’s not Bob up there. He rarely dressed up like that! No suit, no gloves, just the hat and veil sometimes. He is the “bee whisperer” according to beekeeper hobbyists here who enlist his help with their hives occasionally.

Notice Bob’s short pants, bare hands, and hat without veil. Experienced beekeepers seem to know how to approach the bees with peaceful intentions that the bees can sense… unless they’re Africanized bees (that’s a whole other blog topic someday).

Anyway, it was fun to uncover that 2018 Swiss beekeeper interview. I hope you enjoyed it.

Bob & I wish you a Happy Monday
and a fun-filled, productive week.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Animals, food, health, Love, Memories, nature, work

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Embrace Fly Fishing

It’s a beautiful evening
for a maiden fly fishing adventure.
Bob & Steve took Mary Grace out on the Madison.

First, she needed a rod, reel, tippet, and some flies.
Steve Hundley made a box of ’em for her!

Every flyfisherperson needs a good pair of boots.
Thank you, Fran McNiell!!

Every fisherperson needs a license, too.
Next year Mary Grace will be a resident
and it won’t cost as much, we hope!
It was $120 for non-residents this year.
That was quite an increase!

Mary Grace watched carefully as Bob readied the boat.

Three happy fisher(wo)men!! Almost ready…

The weather was warm (92 degrees) –
but it will be cooler on the river.

I watched to be sure they were on their way…
(They put in at 8 Mile Fishing access)
Then I drove the pick up with trailer home.

Happy Fly Fishing, Mary Grace.
I hope you have a great time!!

Stay tuned, friends.
I’ll give you a report tomorrow to let you know how they did.
I hope they are able to catch a few big ones.
They will call when they are ready
for me to get them at the “take out” in Ennis.
Bob says, “The tug is the drug.”

Do YOU embrace fly fishing??

Category:

contentment, Fishing, friendship, learning, Montana, mountains, nature, Serving One Another

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Embrace Morning Light

Embrace Morning Light
Streaming brightly through windows
Every day is new

Embrace Morning Light
Let it follow you inside
It illuminates

Embrace the Sunlight
Appreciate its brightness
Flowers follow it

Flowers turn to find
Sustenance in the Sunlight
We should turn also

Turn to the Maker
Of sun and light and wisdom
Let His LIght lead you

Psalm 43:3

“O send out your light and your truth;
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.”

Go out in the Light.
Have a sun-filled day, my friends.
Where will the Light lead?

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, contentment, Faith, flowers, God, Haiku, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, Montana, mountains, music, nature, optimism, peace, Poetry, prayer

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Embrace Montana Vistas

Here is the Madison Valley and Range
as seen from the Gravelly Range

We went on an adventure today into the Gravelly Range
with our friend, Julie, and her dog, Zeke.
Come enjoy the Montana Vistas with us!

The Gravelly Range is just south-west of Ennis. We were looking for wildflowers. This is the time of year when they usually are prolific. However, it has been a relatively dry spring and summer so far, so the flowers were not as colorful or plentiful as usual.

This field of flowers is irrigated –
so they’re not the “wildflowers”
we were looking for.

See that line up the mountain?
That’s where we are headed.

We drove the pick-up with trailer
to the base of our destination
and took the ATV up from there.

Julie & Zeke rode in the back.
TazE sat in my lap.
Bob’s the driver.

TazE enjoyed the views.
That mountain above TazE’s head
is called the Sphinx.

The clouds made the sky
so beautiful and interesting today,
but they also threatened rain.
Fortunately we had about an inch
or two of rain last night,
so it settled the dust.
And it held off until
we were headed back
home this afternoon.

On the way up, we saw a lot more cattle than usual.
Definitely more cattle than wildflowers!

Zeke was quite interested in the beauty
of the Madison Valley vistas.

This is Caroline’s tree!
We always think of her when we see it.
Caroline loves tree skeletons!

As we climbed, the clouds moved
out from the Madison Range
and began to cover the valley.

This is a purple sticky wild geranium. Julie has an app on her iPhone that allows her to take a picture of a flower and then have the phone tell her the name of that flower. What a cool app! “Picture This” is the name I think. I need to check it out.