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Archive for the ‘Poetry’ Category

6 Sentence Blog Post

GirlieOnTheEdge invites us every week to “Write 6 Sentences.
No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.”

Today’s prompt word is “Trick.”
Here goes:

The innocence of young children captivates my heart.
Halloween is a time when a test on the innocence might start.
When children are introduced to “Trick or Treat,” treats are expected.
Some years ago tricks were handed out – no innocence respected.
There were apples with a razor inside, or popcorn balls with poison inserted.
Many children have had to stop the door-to-door so danger was skirted.

Let’s just love, shall we?
Protect the innocence.
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blogging, children, Heartache, Life's Challenges, Love, Poetry

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Finishing Well

Run the race with grace
So you know you’re finishing well
Goal: the finish line!

Today’s sermon at church was titled, “Running the Race”
But the main topic of interest was “Finishing Well.”
So my sermon notes today reflect that focus.
Come and read the highlights as I heard and recorded them:

2nd Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
“6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing… 16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Why do people run? Pain, elation,
Personal challenge, delirium…
Concentrate on how far you’ve come
Rather than on where you’ve been.

Feeling stiff and in pain, but knowing
I have the ability to endure hard things
Gives me the ability to show up for myself
So I can therefore show up for others.

Let’s end our journey with peace in our hearts
Knowing we have run the race well.
The Lord stood by us, gave us strength
And gave us perseverance as we served with trust.

Serving in faith, fighting the good fight
For mercy, for love… We often stand alone.
Feeling lonely and isolated in life’s race,
We reach out in ministry to others.

Christ calls us to run the race in faith.
Faith transforms us in our disappointments
Into opportunities of grace and hope.
So finish the race with faithfulness.

See through the things we’ve started
With integrity, keeping the faith through change.
The glory of your finish will last forever.
Run the race… and finish well.

Amen?

Love to you – and best wishes for a race well done!
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry, sermon notes, Serving One Another, writing

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A Tanka: Open Book

One of my blogging friends today wrote this message,
“Wrote a tanka today to get into the rhythm
of saying more with less.
It’s a japanese short form poetry system
with 5-7-5-7-7 syllable scheme.
Give it a try!”

So I decided to do just that.
How about you?
You wanna give it a try, too?

I’m an open book
Filled with whimsy and color
Easy to be read
Very hard to be ignored
Noisy and provocative

God bless you, my friends.
Have a Super Saturday.
It’s “No Kings Day” here
No, not “Hate America!”
Protect our Constitution!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, blogging, books, Haiku, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, peace, Poetry, self-acceptance, self-esteem, writing

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Great is Thy Faithfulness

Sermon notes on Sunday is a regular habit of mine.
I used to share them here every week.
I don’t know why I got out of the habit.
Time to start doing that again.
I hope you find them enlightening and inspiring.

Sermon by Brian Conklin at Madison Valley Presbyterian Church

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Lamentations is a beautiful book
Each of the five chapters is a poem
It’s a reflection of encouragement and hope
Written out of the pain of total loss

Rubble, grief, and despair are the topics
But in the middle of the book is a word of hope
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
Great is Thy faithfulness; it is new every morning

But we can feel letdown in the midst of hope
And God would rather have our honest tears
Than fake smiles. We live in times of pain…
The things we see in the news weighs us down.

We’re allowed to walk through pain and share
We can walk with empathy and compassion
See the loss and pain in others and empathize
Acknowledge your own – and remember God’s promises.

God is consistent and unchanging. He said
His mercies are new every morning, and so
We have fresh grace again and again and again
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.

This week, keep track; look for moments
When you can see God’s grace at work.
Praise God! Thank God! Accept your inheritance.
The Lord is my portion. Take hope. Have faith.

Amen?

Lotsa Love,
JanBeek

Here’s Brian,
the dear interim pastor
who delivered the message today.

(I hope my notes did it justice)
God bless him!

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Life's Challenges, Poetry, sermon notes, writing

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I Can Let Joy In

I can let joy in
Joy doesn’t cancel out pain
It gives strength pockets

Little joy pockets
Give us strength to carry on
Regardless of pain

Make room in your heart
For joy whenever you can
Let your joy expand

Let joy consume you
Let it lighten heavy heart
Smile at what joy brings

Not PollyAnna
Not ignoring life’s struggles
Just rising above

Looking down on pain
From a higher perspective
Puts it in its place

Fill your strength pockets
With the perseverance gained
By letting joy in

Smile!
God loves you
And so do I!

Hugs & Joy to you,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Haiku, happiness, Love, Poetry

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I Can TRUST

Three out of four of the devotionals I read yesterday and today had the word TRUST as one of the main topics. Everytime I see the word trust, I draw a rectangle around it and affirm, “I Can Trust.” Today I decided to write about TRUST in my journal, “I Can and I Will, Watch Me.” My mind just thought about it in a Haiku format. Here’s what the result was:

I CAN Trust

I know I can trust –
The world may feel chaotic,
But I reclaim peace.

Unsettling events,
An unknown future,
Don’t define my mood.

I am claiming peace.
I see where my power lies:
It’s trusting in God.

What I want in life,
Peace, love, joy, kindness and faith,
Are mine when I trust.

I know I can trust
In the Ruler of my heart
To heal what’s broken.

Heal the world’s chaos,
Bring back Unity for all.
I can trust my God!

Thinking of you and sending love your way.
Trusting Him to guide you and me through the storms of life.
What storms are you facing?

Thanks for visiting…
JanBeek

Category:

Faith, God, Haiku, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, optimism, Poetry, truth

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I Can Stay in Touch

I can stay in touch
Though miles separate us
Thanks to internet

I love the selection of memes available

I can stay in touch
Thanks to the power of prayer
I feel close to you

I can stay in touch
Using WhatsApp on my phone
It is a great tool

Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

When I stay in touch
With the help of my iPhone
Distance disappears

I can stay in touch
Across wide, long, deep spaces
Nothing can stop me

You can stay in touch
Through the power of WordPress
Come on, write to me!

I’ll write back to you
You are not too far away
We can stay in touch!

img_2095

Cheers, my friends!

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

blogging, Family, friendship, Haiku, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, relationships, Sharing, writing

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Tears of Joy

Daily writing prompt
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
View all responses

Tears of joy come easily
When someone approaches me breezily
To say my lost puppy is found
And they have him right there on the ground

Tears of joy come spilling
When someone says they are willing
To do some yard work for my Bob
Whose limited body makes me sob

Tears of joy are a blessing
When troubles overflow and I’m stressing
And then miraculous help arrives
Fixing the problem … giving high-fives

What brings tears of joy to your eyes?
Crying is a gift to the wise
Who turn to others and prayer
Knowing that needed help is there.

Where do you turn so that you can have
Tears of joy and turn sadness to glad?
Know that the Lord always is there
You can count on Him everywhere!

Happy Labor-less Day, my friends!

Love,
JanBeek & Bob

(and our friends, the Vasches, too… we have
tears of joy when friends like them come to visit!)

Category:

blessings, friendship, God, Gratitude, Jesus, Life's Challenges, peace, Poetry

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Come, Have a Drink

Inspired by today’s sermon
by Brian Conklin
at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
in Ennis, Montana

Come and have a drink with me
The water’s fresh and the drink is free.
No, huh? Water from a broken cistern
Doesn’t quite look like something you yearn?

Well, Jeremiah recognized the problem, too.
He spoke to the children of Israel and to you
About the broken cistern and polluted water.
He told ’em about a better source – come and listen, daughter.

Drink from this pure, flowing, everlasting spring.
Let go of the water that’s full of things to which you cling.
You think refreshment comes from money or possessions.
You trade pure water for power and other obsessions.

Come and have a drink with me
The water’s fresh and the drink is free.
If you hope to satisfy your heart’s desires,
Tune in to the Living Waters, not the liars!

God is the source of all Living Water for us.
He wants to refresh us purely without much fuss.
He says “Drink with me; fulfill your needs.
Grow in love and faith; let’s remove the weeds.”

Isaiah speaks in Jeremiah 2:1-13 clearly
About God’s grief as people turn away and nearly
Break His heart as they rely on themselves with greed,
Trying to go through life alone satisfying every need.

It’s not possible… we fool ourselves when we take control.
Accept God’s invitation, refresh in Him. Make that your goal!
Carve out time each day to drink deeply; refresh with Him
From His Living Water – fill your cup to the brim!

Come, have a drink with me!

Filled with His Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry, sermon notes

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Faith for the Journey

As usual, I took notes during the sermon at church this morning. Brian Conklin’s message about faith spoke to me. I hope you find encouragement here, too.

Faith is assurance and conviction

Faith is a settled confidence

Faith is conviction – a deep certainty

Faith is grounded in reality

Faith is evidence of things not seen

Change is hard – Uncertainty is difficult

What will come next? We wonder.

We trust the Lord who knows the future.

Living in the present as if God’s future

Is already here… we can trust Him

Step into the light of God’s promises

Faith gives us the courage to obey when the road ahead is unclear

Faith is a journey. Set out into the unknown

It’s a direction without an itinerary

The road is not easy; it’s tough!

But faith helps us find God’s Way

We are at an in-between place

But God is walking beside us

He has never left His people in transition

He is in you as you move forward

Faith is about the assurance

That God has your back!

Stay rooted in Trust; step out in confidence.

Support and encourage one another.

Keep showing up!
God is with you.

Amen?

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, Faith, God, life, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry, sermon notes

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