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Posts tagged ‘Bible scripture’

Holy Saturday

I asked AI for a picture of Jesus in the tomb.
No, AI, Jesus was not lying in the tomb with his eyes open!
So much for artificial intelligence!

We know He was crucified.
We know Nicodemus was one of two men who prepared his body for burial.

John 19:39 – “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.”
John 19:40 – “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”

Today, known as Holy Saturday, also sometimes referred to as “Silent Saturday” is a day when His followers were stunned by His death on the cross. Puzzled by the way the Man they expected to save them was suddenly gone… and in such a cruel way.

We, too, would be puzzled if we didn’t know “The Rest of the Story.” The ladies went the next morning to the tomb. Not sure what they expected to see, but it definitely was not an empty place where Jesus had been laid! Imagine their surprise!

We can endure Good Friday and Holy (Silent) Saturday because we know.
We know He is risen indeed! Happy Easter, my friends! Tomorrow we celebrate!
Sure, we’ll see a lot of bunnies and Easter eggs and we’ll wonder if they have the whole picture.
We’ll wonder if that bunny is a distraction or a blessing. Think about a few ideas that make the idea of Easter bunnies and eggs OK:
1) Bunnies are prolific – alive and lovable. (Well that’s a stretch!)
2) Eggs are a symbol of new life… and one of those plastic Easter eggs empty can symbolize the empty tomb.
3) See the meme below:

What is your mood this “Holy Saturday”?
How are you feeling about the Easter egg hunts and the focus on the bunny?

I pray your Holy Saturday was a time of quiet meditation…
A time to focus on why Jesus had to die
And what His death means for us all.
Without tomorrow, without the resurrection,
He’d just be another forgotten martyr.
But, He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter, my friends.
God bless you!
Love,
JanBeek

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Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, Faith, God, holidays, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love

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Lessons Learned

Yesterday’s prompt was:
What skills or lessons have you learned recently?

My answer:
“It took four accidents
in a three month period,
but I finally got the message,
I think:

SLOW DOWN

AND

LOOK

WHERE YOU’re WALKING!!”

It’ll take a lot of divine guidance,
but I think I can slow down and watch!
Avoid any further falls!!

How about you?
What lesson have you learned recently?

Today the sermon topic was based on the Bible story of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s awe-inspiring birth of baby John (later known as John the Baptist). Zechariah learned not to doubt God’s messenger who told him that he & Elizabeth would at last have a child (they were in their later years of life… maybe as old as their 90’s).

When Zechariah doubted, he was struck dumb… unable to speak for the 9 months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But, even though Elizabeth questioned, she accepted and believed. So, she learned that great lesson, “With God all things are possible.”

Do you suppose she was awe-struck? How could she NOT be??

I would have painted them with gray hair… but nevertheless, I love this painting of Zechariah & Elizabeth. I can only imagine how awe-struck they must have been!

What causes you to be in awe these days? Have you learned to slow down and let awe envelop you?

(If you’ve followed JanBeek for awhile, you know I love taking notes in poetry as I listen to the sermon each week). So, on that awesome topic, here’s today’s encouraging sermon delivered by Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church.

I love the size & sound & the creatures in the ocean
I love climbing over the sand dunes to the beach
It is sitting on the grassy knoll by the shore
Knowing the salty water and waves are within reach

I love oogling at sunsets and standing in the river
The world gives me reason for wonder and awe
Everywhere I look, I see evidence of God’s wondrous creation
Regular bouts of awe are mine – they drop my jaw!

Elizabeth’s healthy baby boy brought awe
To all who saw Zechariah write and confirm “John”
Entering into the world of awe raises us up
Out of night’s darkness, into day’s dawn

Awe can be found every day from sunrise on
If we slow down and take time to really see
So don’t drown in the tedious mundane of life
Intentionally seek the awe – here for you and me

Let no day go by unmarveled at
Appreciate the luxury of every single day
We are so blessed to be here - alive
Let awe and amazement be yours today

Be the #1 Marvelor today!
Love and be loved – feel the pull
That helps you notice all in awe
Change awful to awe-full!!

Awe-men?

It may have been awful to be unable to speak for nine months. But, I’ll bet Zechariah learned new lessons every day as he watched Elizabeth grow large with child …. and as he marvelled at how amazing this turn of unbelievable events was!

Find something to marvel at today!
Learn something new.

Tell me about it.

Hugs,
JanBeek

No more falls!!

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, God, happiness, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, optimism, Poetry, sermon notes, writing

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New Great-Grandbaby

Yesterday our granddaughter
gave birth to our great-grandbaby #5,
a perfect little girl.
Hope and Drew named her Charlotte.
Don’t you love that name?

  • Psalms 127:3-5 3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

Dear Baby Charlotte, this poem is for you:



Bob & I have two children, Ty & DeAna.
Also God blessed us with
a beautiful, smart, loving daughter-in-law, Monika,
and a clever, fun-loving, creative, talented son-in-law, Andre’

From those two children and their spouses
we have seven grandchildren
and now five great-grandchildren.

We feel so blessed to have lived long enough to
see our family expand in such a beautiful way.

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This is some of the California crew
two Christmases ago
before our granddaughter, Faith (in the white hat),
had our great-granddaughter, Mable.
But, you can see great-granddaughter, Cosette, in there.
Bob & I are on both sides of our
daughter-in-law, Monika.
Monika’s parents are behind us.
Our son, Ty, is at the back.
Only granddaughter, Hope,
the new mommy,
is missing here.
Also, missing are DeAna,
our daughter and her family…
they are in Switzerland.

That’s our oldest grandson, Mike, with his wife, Tania,
in Switzerland. We went last year to their wedding.
We are looking forward to their gift of great-grandchild #6!!

Here’s De, with her hubby, Andre’,
who is THE CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE in their
chalet (hotel/restaurant).

We love going there to enjoy our daughter and her family (three boys) !!!


Let me know if you ever decide to travel to Switzerland.
I’ll put you in touch with this wonderful
Relais des Mélèzes.
(You can check out their facebook page, too).-
Just type that name in the search bar.

Here are Andre’ and our DollyWolly, DeAna.

Oh, and if you are blessed as much as we are,
you have adopted other “kids” to be part of your family, too.
Here is our dear Daughter #2, Lainalainalaina, with us!!

Yes, we are blessed indeed!
She is such a sweetheart…
and she has blessed us with two other granddaughters, as well.

Children are such a blessing.
Babies are such fun, aren’t they?
Are yours all baptized?


Here I am with DeDe.
Ah, what a sweetheart she is, too!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Family, God, Gratitude, happiness, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry

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