JanBeek

Songs, Smiles & Stability

Songs, Smiles & Stability

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Thanks for joining me on our A-Z journey
to find ways to
Add More Meaning
and
Discover Clearer Purpose
in Life

Today’s letter
is “S”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Songs

Yesterday my second great-grandchild was born. My grandson, Jordan, and his “significant other” Joss, live in Sacramento. The care Joss received was wonderful at the hospital when she arrived by ambulance to deliver a little girl one month prematurely. By the grace of God, all that baby girl’s fingers and toes are perfect and at last report, she was nursing and cooing. No smiles yet, but those will come. Meantime, I am singing praises to God, the Creator for this little treasure.

https://deyspublishing.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/bring-forth/
The link above will take you to my friend, Dorothy’s blog.
Her topic today, “Bring Forth” fits today’s “S” themes perfectly…
Thank you, Dorothy!

Sing to the Lord
is one of my favorites.
I can get it here with my Amazon Music.
Can you? Try clicking on it and look for
Faithful Servant album by the Herbster Trio

(But don’t forget to come back.. there’s more good stuff here!)

https://music.amazon.com/albums/
Hallelujah!

Smiles

I am smiling as I sit here this afternoon volunteering at our Madison Valley Medical Center in Ennis, Montana. The smiles are a result of my anticipated hug time with Cosette, my new great-granddaughter, named after a main character in Les Miserables.

Another thought that brings smiles is the party we are planning at our house tomorrow for my Ennis granddaughter’s 25th birthday and our great-grandson’s 2nd birthday.

I am also smiling because I am reading a small booklet that I received in the mail today from Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The booklet, titled Whispers of the Lakota, is filled with poetry written by 9th and 10th graders. I am soooo impressed with the depth of these poems. I called the school and asked for permission to share a couple of them with you. They agreed.

This one is by Isabelle, a 10th grader,

THE HERO IN ME

“She smiles, she laughs, she hurts,
…     she cries.
She holds it all inside.
She lives, she flies, she soars,
She dies.
She is the one I idolize.
She loves, she gives, she cares,
She is
The one I know I will someday
…     Be
A hero, a mother, a child, a soul,
…      the woman inside of me.”

Such a perfect poem for this Mother’s Day weekend, don’t you think?
Thank you, Isabelle, for letting me share it. I love it!

Kudos to your 9th and 10th grade English teacher who drew these marvelously thoughtful, intimate poems out of his-her students’ hearts!

Stability

My prayer for Cosette, my new great-granddaughter, born prematurely to this couple who have not yet yielded to the commitment of marriage, is that she will grow in an atmosphere of unconditional love, a home where her best interests are in her parents’ vision, and a family who will give her joy, nourishment, and stability.

On this topic, let me share another poem from  Whispers of the Lakota  by a 10th grader named Jessie:

LIFE

“We often call it a gift, a mystery.
We have the power to make and take.
Let’s think about this
I know we can all relate
A brand new human, bright-eyed to the world
We cannot tell time, we cannot tell where or when
Something will happen but we can see that brand new
Baby Boy or Baby Girl
Life is a treasure, a gift not to be destroyed
You cannot throw a child away as if it were a toy.
The actions you take can certainly make or break
Take the time to consider the life
You make.

What amazing insight for a 10th grader to exhibit, huh?  What might Jessie have seen in his/her young life to have been able to write so poignantly from the heart – the soul – of the human spirit?

If the poem is from Jessie’s experience, then we might assume Jessie has seen life taken for granted – and has experienced (or known up close about) the unspeakable act of the “throw-away child.” A life destroyed. How sad! Thank you, Jessie, for encouraging and believing in the right to life for these defenseless little treasures.

More Meaning/ Clearer Purpose

This blog series, devoted to adding more meaning and discovering clearer purpose
in life, could not have been enhanced more than by the words of these young people.  Thank you, Red Cloud Indian School, for the work you do with these Lakota students! The way you love them and teach them and help them learn is so appreciated!

Red Cloud Indian School provides stability of place, stability of community, and stability of heart to children who need all of those so much. It is the largest privately funded Indian School in the USA, educating more than 600 students on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in a remote part of South Dakota since 1888. They teach the children not to run away from challenges and difficulties, but to stay and work through problems. They educate and nurture them. God bless the school and their students and staff!

Songs, Smiles and Stability

I hope today’s message has lived up to its promise to put a song of praise and thanksgiving in your hearts, give you reasons to smile, and has given you pause – as you think of the person(s) in your life who provided you with a sense of stability.

Happy Mother’s Day weekend!

See you tomorrow!