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Posts tagged ‘appreciation’

Embrace Our Military


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:

“A Marine from the St. Louis area was among the 13 American service members and more than a hundred Afghans killed in a suicide bombing Thursday near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to the man’s father and a U.S. senator.

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.

See you tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Faith, God, Gratitude, Heartache, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Love, prayer, Serving One Another

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Embrace Gifts


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.

Category:

blessings, Faith, Giving, God, Gratitude, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another, Sharing, Spiritual Gifts

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2 years + 9 months + 3 days


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!


Category:

Family, Giving, Gratitude, Life's Challenges, Love, peace, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another

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There Are Angels Among Us


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!

Tell me abut some of your angels!

See you tomorrow.
((( Hugs )))
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, blessings, children, Faith, Family, friendship, Giving, Gratitude, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another

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Shine Your Light!


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 :

  1. Cristian Mihai, The Art of Blogging
  2. derrickjknight
  3. lilie215, Tea and Toast with Kindness
  4. Sandra, Into the Light Adventures
  5. MeRaw, The Journey of My Left Foot (whilst remembering my son)
  6. Claudia, Humoring the Goddess
  7. Dr. Perry, Dr. Eric Perry, PhD
  8. Betul Erbasi – To Write or not to Write and What to Write
  9. Marts, for much deliberation
  10. Ann Koplow, The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally
  11. ELLE, elleguyence
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:

  1. When did you start blogging?
  2. Why did you start blogging?
  3. How often do you generally blog?
  4. What’s the main topic of your blog (your “niche”)?
  5. Is there a particular time of day when you generally blog? If so, when and why?
  6. Who is your most faithful follower?
  7. Do you have a tendency to post with that person in mind? Or do you have a different technique for personalizing your message?
  8. Of all your posts, which one would you save if all were lost except one?
  9. What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to beginning bloggers?
  10. Where do you get most of your ideas?
  11. If you could improve one thing about WordPress, what would it be?
Thanks for being a light in my day!

See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Awards, Bible Lessons, blogging, Giving, God, Haiku, Love, Poetry, Sharing, writing

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Start Sunday Silently


Silent Sunday

Enjoy Today!

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”…

Enjoy Today

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.

Come back in about 5 hours for my sermon notes.

Have a beautiful Sunday.
pexels-photo-887349-2
See ya later.

 

Category:

blessings, children, contentment, God, life, Love, prayer

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Time with Friends


Time with Friends

My TOPS Buddies
I thought I had posted this for you yesterday.
Found it in my drafts folder.

Linda-Jeannie-Diane-Jan

This is (left to right) – Linda,
Jeannie (in pink – the inspirational leader
I posted about earlier today),
Diane, and me. We were having a great time
at the Sip ‘n’ Dip Lounge, watching the mermaid
swimming in the aquarium behind us there.

I showed you that mermaid video, didn’t I?
I couldn’t believe her stamina!
If you ever go to Great Falls, MT,
be sure to visit the Sip ‘n’ Dip.

Our mermaid swam in that tank for nearly two hours
without a break! Must have scaly skin for sure!

My TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) friends
gave me this certificate at the convention:

Tops-angel-certificate.jpg

How kind of them, huh?
I enjoy my time with them,
and
appreciate their help as I
attend meetings and weigh in each week
to keep my weight at a healthy level.
They say my enthusiasm helps them, too.

If I had a nice aquarium,
I bet I could get enough exercise
that I wouldn’t have to worry about
weight gain. You think??

We really do have a good time together.
What did you do for fun this weekend?
Tell me about it.

heart of love
See ya tomorrow.

 

Category:

friendship, health, Life's Challenges, Love, Montana, self-acceptance

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7 Steps to Happiness


7 Steps to Happiness.jpg

Happiness is easier to CREATE than it is to FIND.

CREATE it!

Just
Love One Another

photo of couple sitting on hammock

Photo by Artem Beliaikin @belart84 on Pexels.com

Love and Appreciate

It’s never too late

Listen and Learn

Find that for which you yearn

Accept and Smile

And go the extra mile

Feel and Do

Do what God has given you

Love and Appreciate

It’s never too late!

red rose

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Here’s a red rose of love for you.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
Tell me something or someone you
are loving right now!

I am loving YOU!!
Have a great week.

pexels-photo-887349
See ya tomorrow.

Category:

blessings, flowers, friendship, God, Gratitude, Living in Harmony, Love, Poetry

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Stats


Stats

I don’t put much stock in stats.
But every now and then I like
To take a look; especially when
WordPress announces spikes.

Day before yesterday they congratulated me.
They sent this message:

IMG_7232

I was delighted because I remember
Back in 2012 to 2018 when
For 6 years my followers
Numbered less than 100.

I didn’t stop blogging
because my “followers number”
was stagnant.
I appreciated the readers I had.

I still do…
I appreciate YOU!!

But the stat that really has me
Singing in the shower with joy
Is the one I received yesterday:

 

  1. 44 Likes
    On Saturday June 1, 2019, you surpassed your previous record of most likes in one day for your posts on janbeek. That’s pretty awesome, well done!
    Most Likes in One Day
    Current Record: 44
    Old Record: 43

 

You see, it really doesn’t matter if my followers
Number 100 or 10,000.
What matters is:

  • Are you visiting?
  • Are you reading?
  • Are you commenting?
  • Am I saying something that generates a response?
  • Am I fulfilling my purpose?
  • Do my words and thoughts inspire you to love yourself and one another more fully?

If so,
Hallelujah!
Pass it on!

Love your uniqueness and
Let the stats simply be
A source of information…

Not a fettish!

You relate?

 

 

Category:

Awards, blogging, contentment, Gratitude, happiness, Love, Sharing, writing

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Are You Leader or Follower?


Leader or Follower?

Some days I’m the leader;
Other days I like to follow.
But sometimes following
Is more than I can swallow.

animal beast big carnivore

Sometimes the folks who lead
Don’t seem to care the least
About the folks they’re leading;
They’re like this ugly beast.

The beast who tells us lies,
Who says “Do as I say,
But not as I do,” you know?
He tries to force his way.

We are not stupid sheep;
We know which way is right.
So stand your ground, my friends.
Don’t let him push his might.

The one who makes the rules,
Usually wins the game, they say.
But, some rules should be constant –
Don’t let him lead you astray.

My Inspiration

This poem was inspired by a Time Magazine article titled, “Whose standards will Democrats embrace?” by the eloquent former editor of Time Magazine, Nancy Gibbs.
This topic of leaders and followers is heavy on my heart. It’s not the simple kind of following that I wrote about years ago when I was looking at healthy parent-child relationships:

Follow Me

Days Gone By

When I was a youngster, one of the popular TV programs was “Father Knows Best.” I related to that … and so did a lot of my peers. Mom and Dad talked things over. They  presented a righteous front of solidarity. Sometimes Mom (in fact usually Mom) laid down the laws. Together, they enforced them. We were the “Leave it to Beaver” generation whose nuclear family lived by the universal rules spelled out in the Ten Commandments. “Do not lie” was paramount among them. “Love One Another,” was another. “Be kind to your neighbor,” right?

Appreciate one another’s differences. Know that we all are part of one body – and the head needs the hand; the leg needs the foot. We need to live in harmony.

What has happened to our Rules to Live By??

Category:

God, life, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, peace, respect, Serving One Another, truth

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