Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Feeling Uncomfortable?

October 25, 2023

Why did my Bible study this morning suggest
it’s not just OK,
but advisable
that sometimes we feel uncomfortable?

I thought of my son-in-law, Andre’,
when I thought of discomfort!

But then I realized,
No, not that kind of discomfort!

The scripture that prompted the remark
about being uncomfortable is this one:

“The Samaritan woman said to [Jesus],
‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.
How can you ask me for a drink?’
(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).”

John 4:9 (NIV)

Obviously, the woman was uncomfortable talking to Jesus. But Jesus intentionally engaged in conversation with the woman. According to Ericka Loynes, who wrote the commentary for the devotional in Guideposts “Mornings With Jesus,” His intent seemed to be to “change the landscape of the current culture.”

“Embracing change can be difficult,” Loynes went on to write. She acknowledged, “The more often I get out of my comfort zone, the easier it will be to adjust to the changes around me.”

Stepping out may seem scary, but as this meme reminds us, it is imperative if we want to become stronger and grow. So, Loynes ends her commentary by asking the reader to take a faith step: “Ask Jesus to help you get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

It’s worth thinking about, don’t you think?
Like Jesus, who can you step out
and talk to today
who is not among those
you generally hold in conversation?

Try it!
Try stepping out of your comfort zone.

There are plenty of folks out there
who could use your brand of positivity!
Do you see folks
who look like they could use
some encouragement?
Follow Jesus’ example!

You may find some comfort in being uncomfortable.
I’m gonna try it.
You with me?

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, courage, Faith, Family, friendship, Giving, Jesus, kindness, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, relationships, Serving One Another, teaching

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Cricket

October 14, 2023

My fellow blogger
Parted with her dog today
Lived a long fourteen

I have had to part
With more than one furry friend
It’s never easy

Send condolences
To my grieving friend, Rachel
Today’s a tough one

Farewell to Cricket
But only for a short time
We’ll all meet again!

Check out Rachel’s blog here…

Cricket’s Last Weeks

rachelmankowitz

Rest in peace, Cricket.
When I get to the pearly gates,
I will expect to see my furry friends
who have gone on before me
Jumping with glee to meet me.
If not, I’ll keep moving on
Cuz I’ll know I haven’t reached
The right gate yet!!

Happy TazE

Every day we miss our pup
She was a darling Boston
Was great company

Going for trail rides
Was just not the same without
Her cheerful presence.

Can you sympathize with Rachel today?
Click on her blog and leave a note.
I know she’ll appreciate it.
That’s what our WP community does…
We reach out to support and comfort one another.
Right?

See ya tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting
JanBeek

Rest in Peace!!

Category:

Animals, Family, friendship, Haiku, Life and Death, Love, pets, Poetry, relationships

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Let There Be Peace

Quote

The word for today is PEACE.
In a world of chaos, dear Lord,
Let there be peace on earth.
Let me be an instrument of that peace.

We may not be able to control
What everyone else on earth does,
But we can control what we do.
Are you determined to be a peacemaker?

I want to be a peacemaker.
In spite of the chaos in this world,
I want to make peace where I am.
That may be all I can control.

And I can pray to our Father in Heaven,
“Let there be peace on earth!
Place the message of peace
In the hearts of today’s rulers.”

“Lord. I know you have overcome the world.
I know you also have given man free will.
Lord, place common sense and compassion
In the wills of those who are waging war!

Let there be peace on earth!!
And help me find peace in my little corner of it!”

As St. Francis of Assisi prayed,
“Make me a Channel of Your Peace.”
I love Susan Boyle’s voice singing that prayer.
Take a minute to listen to it… and internalize it!

To find peace in my place in the world,
I may have to turn off some of the news.
I MAY HAVE TO SHARPEN MY SENSE OF HUMOR,
And pass some chuckles on to my friends!

Just once,
I want a username and password prompt
to say
CLOSE ENOUGH.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com

I may have to find reasons to laugh
In spite of the sadness and devastation.
I may have to look for reasons to laugh,
Reasons to pass along a sense of optimism.

I want to be a realistic optimist!

The pessimist complains about the wind
The optimist expects the wind to change
The realist adjust his sails

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Love to you,
Jan Beek

What will you do today to add peace
to your little corner of the world?
I am looking for the peace
of editing this post
and getting rid of the
oversized font!
What’s happening??

woman in gray tank top
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Then you will experience God’s peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.

Written

on October 13, 2023

Greet the Dawn

October 11, 2023

Greet the dawn

With awe and wonder

Watch the colors dance

Catch the nuanced changes

As the sun emerges
Ready to prance!

Good Morning!!

We could sit out on the patio
With our coffee or tea
I could share a story or two
And you could share with me

We’d recall how my favorite shrub
Turned magenta from its greens
And then we’d marvel at how
It shines before fall takes its leaves

Greet the dawn with awe and wonder
Step into my world with glee
Soon we’ll see rain and hear the thunder
But for now, come marvel at the day with me.

God bless you!
Have a wonderful day.

Love,
JanBeek

Sing with me:
“This is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Category:

blessings, contentment, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, peace, Poetry

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I Can Share!

October 5, 2023

Each month our Madison Valley Woman’s Club meets for lunch and a business meeting. My role in the organization is to be their “Inspirational Leader.” As such, I share a message with the ladies – – – and this year I have chosen a selection each month out of my journal titled, “I Can, and I Will… Watch Me!”

Today’s “I Can” message was titled, “I Can Share.” And what I shared was the ideas from a link my friend, Lee, sent me titled “Embrace Values.”

Embrace Values

  • Wearing a $300 or a $3 watch –
    – They both tell the same time.
  • Whether they carry a $300 purse or a $3 handbag from the Nearly New –
    – The amount of money on the inside is the same.
  • Whether we drive a $150K car or a $30K car,
    – The road and distance are the same
    and we get to the same destination.
  • Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $10 wine (if we drink it all)
    – The hangover is the same.
  • Whether the house we live in is 300 sq. ft. or 30,000 sq. ft,
    – The loneliness is the same.
  • You will realize your true happiness does not come from
    – the material things in this world.
  • Whether you fly first class or economy,
    – If the plane goes down – you go with it.
  • Therefore… I hope you realize
    – When you have mates, buddies, and old friends,
    brothers and sisters who you chat with, laugh with,
    talk and pray with, sing songs with,
    talk about north, south, east, and west,
    that is true happiness! And they will share
    and agree with you on these:

    Five Undeniable Facts of Life
  • Don’t educate your children to be rich,
    – educate them to be happy so they will
    know the value of things, not the price.
  • Best awarded words in London:
    – Eat your food as your medicine –
    otherwise you will have to eat your medicine as food.
  • The ones who love you will never leave you for another
    – because even if there are 100 reasons to give up,
    he/she will find one reason to hold on.
  • There is a big difference between a human being
    and being human,
    – only a few really understand it.
  • You are loved when you are born.
    You will be loved when you die.
    – In between, you just have to learn to manage!

    NOTE:
    If you just want to walk fast, walk alone!
    But if you want to walk far, walk together!
    – Thank you for walking together with one another here in this,
    Our Madison Valley!! God bless you!!

Our ladies in the Madison Valley Woman’s Club are those kinds of friends.
We are so blessed to have one another to work with, laugh with,
meet with, and care for. Thank you, Ladies! I love you!!

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, friendship, happiness, kindness, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, relationships, Serving One Another

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October Memories

October 3, 2023

Happy October to you, my friends!
May this month of changing colors
Find you healthy, happy, and looking forward
To the joy this season brings your way.

I decided today to look back at
Some of past October’s joys.
Fun to reminisce and search memories;
Don’t you agree? Those colors add noise!

Trees of green turn and shout out red,
Spreading their joy to all.
May we, likewise, determine
To spread our joy this fall.

These trees are near our home;
Every fall they decorate the course
Where golfers enjoy the coolness
And we celebrate nature’s Source.

We may not be able this year
To follow our friends up on trails
Where the fall colors blaze;
But we’ll follow along on all their details.

We’ll remember fondly our rides
With friends who also had pups –
Like our TazE (who’s in heaven now) –
Their love filled our cups.

The plant outside my window
Is reminding me daily of the cold
That is right around the corner…
The colorful changes never seem old.

Galatians 4:10

“You observe days and months and seasons and years.”

Observe the blessings
of the changing season
Knowing every change
Is for a very good reason.

Everywhere we look these days
We see the signs of the changing season.
It is a beautiful time of year –
And we welcome it to breeze in!

We’d welcome you to breeze in, too.
Come visit the 2Beeks in Montana state…
Even on the coldest of days, we enjoy
Sharing ice cream with you; It’s never too late!

Happy Autumn Hugs
from
JanBeek
(and the ice cream loving Beekster)

Category:

Animals, Bible Lessons, blessings, friendship, Gratitude, Love, Memories, Montana, nature, Poetry

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Valued Trait

September 30, 2023

Today’s prompt on WordPress was:
What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

Each of us is given special gifts.
The trick is to recognize yours.
When you find it, then
make it your favorite trait.

And use it to the fullest!

This scripture is one of my favorites…
and it reveals a trait I cherish:

Hebrews 13:2

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by this some have entertained angels
without knowing it.”

My special gift is hospitality.
I love having family and friends
come to spend time with us.
Here is our dear 1980-81 AFS son,
Christian Zufferey (ZuZu), from Switzerland.
No, he’s no stranger to us!!

(Our DeAna married his first cousin!!
What a love story that is!)

This week DeAna, and her hubby, Andre’
surprised us by arriving with ZuZu
and his wife, Celia, for a four day stay.
Here they are this morning… leaving us (boo-hoo!)

But, we were blessed to have them
come and spend those days
(just not nearly long enough) –
and to have Chef Andre’ prepare great meals!

How wonderful it was also
to have our grandson, Mike,
and his wife, Tania, with us for a week
this month. They were so helpful!!

Now this hospitality business
would have a full opportunity
to be put into practice IF our son
Ty & his wife, Monika, would come!

The good news is that Peter,
one of Bob’s wrestling students
from back in the 1970’s in CA,
will be joining us in October for awhile.
Yay!

Why don’t you consider
Letting me use my favorite trait,
HOSPITALITY,
On you one of these days?

What’s your special gift – your favorite trait?

Love to you,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, Family, friendship, Giving, Living in Harmony, Love, relationships, Serving One Another, Spiritual Gifts

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We Need More Empathy

September 28, 2023

Sympathy = “I feel FOR you.”
Empathy = “I feel AS you.”

Ah, we need more empathy!
We need more people who are willing
to put themselves in another person’s shoes…

Not just feel sorry for the one who suffers, but feel his/her suffering
– and try to do something to alleviate it.
I discovered a new blogger today (new to me) – “Ly-die” –
who wrote an eloquent post on this topic.
I really appreciated it, and I think you will, too.

Click below:

EMPATHY AND HELPING OTHERS
Have a terrific Thursday! Our daughter, DeAna, and son-in-law, Andre’ are with us this week. They surprised us by bringing along with them our 1980-81 AFS Exchange student (Christian Zufferey) and his wife, Celia. Chris (ZuZu) is Andre’s cousin… and he has not been to the USA in over 30 years! You can imagine our pure JOY at seeing him and his dear spouse at our door!

Yesterday we toured Ennis and stopped at “The Long Branch” for a few libations.
That’s De & Andre’ on the left and ZuZu with Celia on the right.
I’m the happy camper in the middle!

Bob stayed home and then joined us later when we a went to our neighbors’ place (the Ducsays) for “TMW” – (what’s that – you ask?) – Hah – “Too much wine!” The picture doesn’t show our joy! We were having a grand time!

Today our Swiss guests are spending time in Yellowstone Park.
It’s a beautiful blue sky day here.
What are you up to??

Enjoy your Thursday…
I send my love and empathy your way.

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, blogging, Family, friendship, Living in Harmony, Love, relationships

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Life is Wonderful!

September 27, 2023

m.facebook.com/story.php

Check out today’s wonder on my Facebook post!

Category:

blessings, Family, friendship, happiness, Love, relationships

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Advice

September 25, 2023
Daily writing prompt
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
View all responses

The value of tidbits of advice differs as we hear them at different times in our lives.

As a young child, my mom’s advice always included words of encouragement:
“Let your light shine.”
“You can be anything you decide you want to be.”
“You are more than good enough.”
“Take it one day at a time.”

Mom certainly let her light shine!!

Later in life, I have discovered that I can receive valuable advice daily by reading my Bible, reading devotionals written by Christ-like, modern-day disciples, and listening to compassionate friends. They say things like:

We should never tire of seeking advice and heeding the words of wise counsel.
http://www.Motivational Words of Wisdom.com always has sound advice.

It’s hard (in fact impossible for me) to narrow pieces of advice down to the one best.
How about you?

God’s latest advice to me was, “Slow down and watch where you’re going!”
Do you hear God’s advice being shouted in your ear at times, too?

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Faith, God, learning, life, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love

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