“Change is a powerful, sacred force… The transitioning landscape is a testament to the Creator’s steady hand in a chaotic world.” (A quote from today’s devotional in These Days)
The snow capped mountains soon give way to barren mountain tops … but each season has a beauty of its own. “The environment is a living sanctuary…”In sunshine or rain, give thanks for the natural world’s beauty.
“The psalmists frequently personify the natural world, giving mountains, forests and seas anthropomorphic attributes…”
The Lord reminds us we are new every morning! Embrace change!
Happy Autumn to you, my friends. Embrace the day. May the majesty of the natural world remind us all that God is in control. Breathe deeply in the holy refuge of creation.
… her husband, Bill, is generous beyond measure Yesterday he barbecued steaks, chicken, veggies, etc. and created a meal fit for royalty!Of course, Jodie was responsible for all the prep work. No small feat!In this home, tucked among the trees, love grows. And they treated us to a night out on the town, too. A wonderful banjo event!
My maternal grandpa played the banjo, so this took on extra nostalgic meaning for me.
Could you hear me singing along? I loved it!🥰
Tonight we’re headed to a Pittsburgh baseball game. So, stay tuned! I’ll be back!
I appreciate you. Thanks for your prayers. God heard. God answered. Bob & I are so grateful!
Our WordPress family is so great! Our family and friends have been so comforting during this last year while we went to a gajillion doctors and finally got the reason for Bob’s congestive heart failure diagnosed = TTR Amyloidosis. Oh my! Never heard of it!
We are grateful for the expertise of the Bozeman, MT hematologist who suspected the problem after ruling out the need for a pacemaker or a stent. Neither of those was the problem.
Dr. Hool had encountered two other patients in her career with Amyloidosis. There are two types. One is AL. It is cancer of the bone marrow. Chemo is the only treatment and the life-expectancy is short.
The other type of Amyloidosis is TTR. It manifests itself as a collection of extra protein (it can happen in any of your organs – liver, kidney, brain, etc.). Usually it attacks the weakest of your organs. In Bob’s case it was TTR (thank God – not the cancerous type) and the protein collected in the heart muscle. It stiffened it, causing the heart to function insufficiently.
We are grateful for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and for Dr. Borgeson there who positively identified the TTR variety and prescribed a medicine to (hopefully) fix the problem.
We are grateful to Pfizer for developing the medication and approving Bob’s application for assistance to afford it. It’s outrageously expensive! So, thanks to Pfizer, the medication is on its way. And we are so grateful to all who prayed for this outcome. Thank you! And thank God!
Live in Gratitude! It’s a great state to be in!
Living with an attitude of gratitude Can definitely change your life! Focusing on your blessings Instead of your challenges Turns frowns upsidedown. Try it!
That’s my great-granddaughter, Sienna. I dare you to look at her and not smile!
So how does an attitude of gratitude change your life?
What does the Bible say about that attitude of gratitude?
22 Corinthians 9:11
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Thank You, God. Thank you, dear friends. We are, indeed, feeling enriched in every way.
Hugs to you, my WP friends … let me know if I can be in prayer for you about something specific, will you?
I have a couple of specific prayer requests: 1) Please add my friend, Alex, to your prayer list. He’s in surgery to have a malignant tumor removed from his lung. God, bee 🐝 with him! 🙏🏽❤️ 2) Please pray that the medication Bob needs is here (in the mail) soon – and pray that it does what it is designed to do – to help break up the protein that already is damaging Bob’s heart muscle – and that it helps to keep further protein deposits from forming.
Some of my friends need Time alone to regain strength I need time with them
In the Bloganuary #27 prompt yesterday the question was asked:
In my response, I used a Haiku poetry format in part of the answer to explain why solitude is not a “must have” on my agenda. In fact, I am never really alone. God is with me… and so are YOU!
Click the title below and tell me, how would you answer that question?
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:
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.
We All have Gifts to give All others do, too Embrace
Embrace The gifts Celebrate others’ gifts Open them with care Receive
Gifts
Recognize And see What others give To enhance your life Appreciate
Name Your gifts Use them lovingly Share them with humility Blessings
Gifts are blessings to be shared
Share Love and Time and compassion Remember that you matter Engage
Engage In life With your heart Wide open to receive Gifts
Gifts Don’t always Come all wrapped In pretty Christmas packages Discern
Precious Loving gifts Often are disguised In very simple acts of Humility
You Have gifts Unique to you Never underestimate your impact Shine
Shine Your gifts With loving kindness Embrace the many opportunities Smile!
Thanks For coming To JanBeek today Your loving presence here Matters
Elfchen or Elevensie is a poetic form that uses eleven words in a configuration of 1,2,3,4,1. Did you recognize it as you read my post today? If you haven’t already, you should try it. It’s fun! Thank you, Richard at Big Sky Buckeye for inspiring me and sharing your gift! Check out his blog, my friends.
See ya tomorrow
P.S. I found this insightful You.Tube presentation on the subject of GIFTS… gifts of the Holy Spirit. I thought it was quite well done – and a good addition to the topic, Embrace Gifts. If you have time, I highly recommend it.
He went into the army because He didn’t know what else to do. He was in two years, nine months, And three days. Does that count to you?
It was during a time of peace. No, he didn’t have to serve in a war. But that time in the army Changed him to his very core.
Today is Veteran’s Day in the USA, A time to honor our veterans’ sacrifice. Some serve now, others are retired, While many gave their very lives.
So, it’s important to recognize All the men and women who gave Of themselves to keep us free. Today flowers went on many a grave.
Whether days, years, or a lifetime Were spent in the service of country, Today we reach out to say to you, Thank you! Your sacrifice keeps us free.
God Bless Our Veterans.
Thank you, Bob!! I’m glad I got to serve those last 9 months and 3 days with you! I love Germany and the friends we made there. And I loved teaching in the school on the army base.
Thanks to all our veterans! Your sacrifice is sooo appreciated. I will never take our freedom for granted.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. See ya tomorrow.
Do you have a veteran in your family? If so, name them in the comments below. I want to thank them, too!
Angels are with us In every walk of our life Most have hidden wings
My angel friend, Terry, sent me this Jana Stanfield video. She said I am her angel. Truth is: she is mine!
Can it be that we serve one another As angels here on earth? Can it be that you are one, too?
Look at these darling children. Each of them is an angel here on earth. They just keep their wings hidden! (Except for the cymbalist… I think I see his wings peeking out!)
“Somewhere amongst them, or betwixt them, or gazing adoringly up at them just like you, here I am.”
That was a sentence I captured on a blog yesterday, but didn’t get the author’s name. I apologize. If you know who wrote this, please tell me in the comments below and I’ll add it. It is angelic writing, don’t you agree?
Sending God’s love to you, my friends.
I have a host of angels here on earth who bring God’s love to me on a daily basis. I bet you do, too. Think about them today. Reach out and thank them today for the joy they bring to you.
Some of my Angels
My daughter, De
Our #2 daughter Laina, and my hubby, Bob
This is Bob’s older brother, Bill, with his wife, Margie. Bob’s family members are angels in our lives.
With them is our son, Ty, and daughter-in-love, Monika. We are so blessed to have Tyroneee and Moni as angels among us.
Here is Terry (the friend who sent me Jana Stanfield’s angel song) with her husband, our friend, Jim. Can you just see what angels they are? We call Terry “SPARKLES!” She sparkles with love and compassion.
When I came home from the hospital after my recent hernia surgery, Terry sent Bob to get me at the hospital with this angel blanket that’s now draped over my bedroom chair. That’s what angel friends do: they wrap you warmly in their loving arms… and send you kisses!
This collage of photos from my sister, Sally, has several angels pictured on it. My dad to start with – bottom center – what an angel! My sis and my niece, Jodie with her son, Liam and husband, Bill. They are angels in my life, too.
And if you look closely, you can see Sally with TazE… our Boston Terrier. She was going to be named “Angel.” I had that name all picked out for her – until we met her!! TazE was a Tasmanian Devil (Taz) with E for Ears to match her bouncy personality and oversized ears. No, she was not an angel at all. But she has quieted down in her old age (she’s nine now) and maybe she qualifies as an angel in my life at this time. You think?
Chris is one of my three Swiss grandsons. He lived with us for a while last year … and was such an angel in our lives. Our seven grandchildren continue to be angels. Here is my youngest granddaughter, Faith (now 24) … Of course, she’s an angel in our lives!
I hope you have a BFF – (Best Friend Forever) – a long term angel friend – someone you can count on in all circumstances – someone like my friend, Marcie:
She just called me while I was creating this blog… just to express condolences about my cousin, Cliff. What a thoughtful, sweet, angel friend Marcie is!!
We all have angels in our lives. People we will love until the end of time… people who exude God’s love. They are compassionate and considerate. They seem to know when we need them and they are there at the most important times. God bless the angels among us!
Each of you who comes to JanBeek and bothers to read and comment is An Angel of Mine!
What you mean to me, you’ll never know…. You came at just the right time into my life- and I want to share it with you… I appreciate you so much!
In today’s sermon, Elaine told a story of A lighthouse keeper:
On a stormy night, He climbed the rocks to the light; Turned it on and fell.
He fell and he died That night on the rocky hill After doing his job.
A sailor that night Saved his passengers and crew Because of the light.
The lightkeeper died So that others might be saved From falls in darkness.
Is your light shining in the dark?
Elaine Hundley, who delivered the message in church today reminded us that, like this lighthouse keeper, Jesus died that we might live. He gave His life for us. Likewise, we are reminded to share our lives – give what we have – to brighten the lives of others.
Elaine read from Luke 12:13-21, and she reminded us – “All we have is on loan to us From the Lord, the Almighty. If we have extra, we are told To give it away; don’t hold tightly.“
These are eleven of the WordPress bloggers who provide sunshine in my life – They share the writing talents they have been given; They are my choices for the Sunshine Blogger Award :
Here’s my Sunshine Award for you! Congratulations for being such a great blogger! You shine your light on my life each time you post!
Dear Readers, you will enjoy checking out the blogs listed above. They are always inspiring. If any of these people wish to accept the award (Big Sky Buckeye already did – he sent this to me) and put it on their blog site, check back to see the rules posted yesterday on JanBeek.
Among the rules, I was asked to answer 11 questions and then create 11 questions for my Sunshine Award recipients to answer. Here are my questions:
When did you start blogging?
Why did you start blogging?
How often do you generally blog?
What’s the main topic of your blog (your “niche”)?
Is there a particular time of day when you generally blog? If so, when and why?
Who is your most faithful follower?
Do you have a tendency to post with that person in mind? Or do you have a different technique for personalizing your message?
Of all your posts, which one would you save if all were lost except one?
What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to beginning bloggers?
Where do you get most of your ideas?
If you could improve one thing about WordPress, what would it be?
If you are not with “your children” today,
you can substitute “your children” for “your spouse”
or “your neighbors” or “yourself.”
Change “they” to “you” or “s/he”…
Ponder these thoughts –
Go somewhere to worship God today –
Pray –
Enjoy your loved ones.
I’ll be singing in the choir this morning and listening carefully to the message presented by Rev. Hundley.
