Do you journal? Do you write most days – Only here on WordPress? Do you write in other ways?
Journaling on WordPress Is a great opportunity, But I might not say All that occurs to me.
My journal from Marcie & Monica
I have a wonderful journal – A gift from two good friends. They gave it to me last year Knowing my journaling never ends.
Today I wrote an entry About how November’s end – And how Christmas is coming Right around the next bend.
But, I don’t want to squander All the lesson November brought, So I recalled all the Take-Aways Each November devotion brought:
Which of those take-aways Speaks to your heart today? Which will you carry with you As you travel on your way?
Each day I read the message And in a word or five, I take the thought I need This day to live and thrive.
I invite you to also journal If it isn’t already a habit. Find a booklet that fits your taste Then think your thoughts and grab it!
Grab that booklet daily To augment the things you say On WordPress to your friends here. Your grandkids will love it some day!
This is another of my journals
Do you journal? Do you write most days – Only here on WordPress? Do you write in other ways?
Journaling can be very therapeutic. It can get things off your chest. Then you can refer back to it. It can be comforting at best!
If you don’t journal in a booklet, Try it, my friends, start today. You may discover, as I did, It’s a place to finish your “say!”
Reading your journal later Is like looking in a rear view mirror. It helps you see what was And makes today seem clearer.
Try it! You’ll like it!!
Bye for now. See ya tomorrow. Hugs fromJanBeek
This song by Roy Clark tells us, “I never stopped to think what life was all about…” Well, I find that journaling helps me to that as I can recall “Yesterday When I Was Young” by looking back…
Mark Collins‘ prayer in Daily Guideposts today spoke to me. He wrote:
“Lord, let me repurpose my own life toward Your will and not mine.”
What is your life’s purpose?
What have you determined to be your life’s purpose? Has it always been so?
Seems to me this pandemic has given us time to pause and reconsider what our life’s purpose is! This virus has been like a stop light – a red signal – “Wait here!”
As I paused and considered my life’s purpose this morning, I decided my purpose has shifted with each quarter century of my life. Have you considered how age, the passing of time, and the changing of circumstances have impacted your life’s purpose?
Maybe my purpose SHOULD always have been “to glorify God” – but did I know that? Did I live according to that calling? No!
Life seemed so simple as a child!
First Quarter
In that first quarter of my life, the innocence of childhood helped me see others with a purity of heart, but most of my purpose was pretty self-centered.
To be honest with myself and you, most of age 0 to 25 was devoted to serving self.
Second Quarter
Then in the second quarter, my life’s purpose shifted from self to family. With marriage and children, it was important to turn the focus from myself to my husband and our children.
These were the years when my career flourished and I spent a lot of time devoted to my job. But even as I did so, it all came back to bringing in the resources to provide a better life and more opportunities for us and our children.
Age 25 to 50 my life’s purpose was mostly devoted to serving family.
In the third quarter of my life, I moved from being a mom with kids at home, and being a teacher in the classroom working with children, to being a cheerleader for my young adult children and a leader for teachers.
Even after I retired, my role as a cheerleader for my children and grandchildren and as a leader in various organizations where I volunteered was focused on how I could reach out to help.
My purpose in life from age 50 to 75 seemed to be to serve others.
Fourth Quarter
And then came this fourth quarter of my life. The period from 75 to 100 is when I have come face to face with the purpose God intended for me all along: to glorify Him.
Everything I do these days is intended to fulfill the purpose the Lord intended for me: to serve God.
I look for ways to BEE what He made me to BEE… to use the talents He gave me … and to use them for HIS PURPOSES.
I look for ways to DO what God needs me to DO to BEE His hands and feet on earth.
I find places where the love, joy and peace that are mine are lacking… and I try to spread those Fruits of the Spirit wherever I go.
What Really Matters
How much more meaningful my life would have been if I had spoken this prayer by Mark Collins years ago:
“Lord, let me repurpose my own life toward Your will and not mine.”
Photo by Paulo Mu00e1rcio Dos Santos on Pexels.com
Don’t wait until the fourth quarter of your life to repurpose! Ask God today to help you discern what He has in mind for you. You can serve family and others more effectively if you:
1) Pray for God’s guidance 2) Listen for the Holy Spirit to guide you, and 3) Use your gifts, talents and time to serve God first.
In so doing, God will bless you in ways you can hardly imagine!
By using your time, gifts and talents for the glory of your Creator, you will find true joy, a true sense of fulfillment, and an REAL answer to: What is my life’s purpose?
Score what really matters NOW. Don’t wait until the fourth quarter!!
See ya tomorrow!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
A comment below telling me what you have defined as your life’s purpose would be so interesting to me. Do consider commenting!
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?‘ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In today’s Mornings with Jesus devotional from Guideposts, Isabella Yosuico wrote, “I seek Jesus’ direction… I am struggling to keep an open mind and follow where He leads…”
Isabella went on to say that having faith means “… prayerfully doing what I can today and recognizing what I cannot do.”
All the world Is holding its breath – Some behind masks, Some behind fear, Some behind doors, Afraid to come near. Breathe in Peace. Experience a patch Of stillness, Kindness, and Presence. Each waking day. Carry it with you.
“… do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We turned our clocks back reluctantly last night. It’s the end of Daylight Savings Time for 2020. It was dark here in Montana by 4:30 this afternoon. I’m ready for it to be the end of 2020 – PERIOD!
I am not looking forward to these next couple of weeks. Tuesday is election day in the USA – but millions cast their ballots early. I am among them.
I do not expect to know the outcome of this election until all absentee ballots are in and counted. It could be weeks… if not months. I expect it to be contentious.
So, to keep myself from falling Into a mood as dark as the early sundown, I decided to focus on the October Take-Aways: Daily Guideposts’ messages to carry with me.
Maybe these “Take-Aways” will help you, too. Take one-a-day like a vitamin capsule, And let them fill your dark spaces. Let them shine light on this “Early Darkness.”
Daily Take-Aways from Daily Guideposts 2020 A Spirit-Lifting Devotional
Don’t Worry – Just Pray
Show Passion for His Passion!
Let His Light Shine Through
Know God Blesses Our Work
Keep an Open, Receptive Heart
Admit Your Wrongs; Seek Forgiveness
Trust God’s Timing
Let Go Ego; Let God Rule
Keep Doing God’s Work
Thank God for Your Mental Health
My Spirit Lives Connected
Help Me Always Show Your Love
See Through the Glass Darkly
At My End, Give Me Peace & Anticipation
Receive Love Gratefully
We Need Family
Be An Intrepid Christian
Be Still and Trust
Be Persistent
Be Helpful; Lighten Another’s Load
Be Grateful for Animals
Be Confident in God
Be Gracious and Generous
Be Seated in His Security
Thank God for Friends
Reach Out to Neighbors
Treasure Aging
Discern What’s Important
Look Beyond Exteriors
Thank God for Those Who Share Our Grief
JUST LOVE
Have a month of enlightenment. Be the bearer of love. Shine LIGHT wherever you go. Have a Happy November!
What is your expectation for this election’s outcome? Your comment of encouragement will shine light on me! Thanks for visiting. See ya tomorrow. Love, JanBeek
Let the light of the kid in you shine… Let the light of the kid in you smile… Listen to this darling kid favorite and sing along… Guaranteed to shine away the darkness!
Yesterday I posted my sermon notes on a blog titled, “We All are Good AND Bad.” Today’s devotional in my Daily Guideposts was a wonderful follow-up to that topic… and a terrific antidote!
In today’s Daily Guideposts 2020 devotional, Erin Janoso shared a story about her daughter finding an owl pellet. She wrote:
“Owls don’t have teeth, so they often swallow their food whole.Because of this, they end up eating things like feathers and fur that are indigestible – and some stuff like bones – that could puncture their tender digestive systems. Luckily for the owl, it has a gizzard that acts as a shield… sifting what is nourishing from what is not.”
“… unlike the owl, whose body acts involuntarily, I can forget how desperately I need God’s help sorting what’s nourishing from what’s not. “I looked again at the gray mass lying on the table (the owl pellet). If an owl’s gizzard could put such an end to the things that would harm it, imagine what God could do for me, if ony I remembered to ask.”
Yup, June was bustin’ out all over… and I’m glad it is behind us! My hernia is gone. I’m on the road to recovery. I appreciate all your prayers and good wishes.
The surgery that was scheduled for 12:45 yesterday ended up not happening until 4:30, so they kept me overnight. I was so glad they did! The nurses and assistants at Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman were so kind and efficient. I really needed that extra time of TLC before returning home… and Bob needed a good night’s sleep before driving that hour up and hour back to get me.
June’s Behind Us
Now that June is behind us – and I am on the way to healing, let’s pray that our world can put the last 4 or 5 months behind it, too… and we ALL can heal. Find a vaccine for COVID-19, learn to love one another unconditionally, appreciate our uniqueness, live each day with a prayer and a song, and put the One God back into the center of our being!
June was a Bust!
Yup, June was quite the month… June was not “a love song sweetly sung” as this Rogers and Hammerstein suggested. It was a BUST from my perspective! But I tried to keep my attitude positive anyway. Upbeat music like this was one way to do it. Another way to stay positive in the midst of turmoil was to be sure to go up to my sanctuary every morning, spend time reading my Bible and devotionals, and listen for God’s voice to tell me how best to spend each day.
Focus on the Positive
If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I read and am inspired by a book with spirit-lifting devotionals, Daily Guideposts, every day. Each day the devotional starts out with a scripture. Then one of about 50 writers is assigned to write a reflection on it and then end with a prayer. I meditate on the message and write a “Take Away” on the page. It’s a thought I carry with me that day. I record them at the end of each month’s pages where there are two pages with a blank line for each day.
Here are my June pages. Read the Take Aways and see one of the sources for my ability to remain positive in the midst of this pandemic, this social unrest, protests, riots, and my anticipated surgery. These are the thoughts I carried around each day:
Be Grateful
Wherever you are, you have reasons to be grateful. Just look around you. You can see! Breathe deeply. You’re alive! Soak in the beauty. You can feel! Relax and sing. You have a voice! Grab a snack. You have food! Thank God.
The view from my hospital bed
Look Around You
I had the prettiest room in the hospital! A corner room with a view of the sunset last night and the sunrise this morning. No need to concentrate on the pain when I can concentrate on the view instead, right?
Bob came and got me at 10: this morning. I was grateful for my expedited release. There was a major storm predicted, and we had a one hour drive to get home. We were safely inside before the rain came down and the thunder clapped. And now, the sun is out again!
Look carefully at the horizon. Those are not more clouds. That’s snow on the Tobacco Root Range. Yup, snow… July 1st!
So, as this day comes to a close, I want to thank you again for your love and prayers. I will take it easy for a while and let Bob and our friends and neighbors pamper me. I hope you feel my love being returned to you. Thank you for being my friend here on WordPress. You mean a lot to me.
Have a great rest of your week. If you’re in the USA, you know this weekend is our Independence Day. We usually have parades and barbecues and family here to celebrate with us. Not this year. This has been a different year, hasn’t it?
Keep your spirits up. Maybe you can use one of those “Take Aways” each day to help you.
Thanks for visiting. See ya tomorrow. Love, JanBeek
Please go to her post to read the story and become acquainted with Donna. Here is her poem:
TRIED YOUR BEST
At the end of my life
when I stand before the Lord,
I just want to hear Him say,
“You tried your best.”
“You may not have always succeeded
and yes, there were times
when you failed;
but you never let Me down for
you tried your best.”
“The gifts that I gave you,
you did try to use.
You may not have always used them,
indeed many times you did fail,
but it is okay
I love you,
You tried your best.”
“You listened for my voice.
You did your best to obey.
The words that I spoke,
they pierced your heart and you
tried your best
to let them change you those days.”
“You were not perfect,
I did not create you to be.
I knew that apple
would be picked off the tree.
I know you are not perfect,
that is okay with me.”
I provided my Son to take all that away.
All I ever wanted from you my dear child
is to know that you wanted to
try your best.”
“Tried your best
to do the right things,
tried your best
to be the best you could be.”
“In all your relationships, I never did frown,
I saw you my child, you were
trying your best.”
At the end of my life when I stand before the Lord,
more than all else, with such love in His eyes,
I want to hear Him say,
“MY child, you
TRIED YOUR BEST.”
-Donna Nielsen
Starts with Mind-Set
Part of trying to do and DOING your best is mind-set. It’s where all the effort begins… in your head and in your heart. If you’ve followed my blog very long at all, you know I begin each day in my “Angel Room.” It’s my favorite room in the house.
I sit in that rocker and enjoy quiet time with God.
In my sanctuary, I pray, meditate, read devotionals and the Bible, and often write letters and cards to friends. Often the inspiration for my blog comes during my sanctuary time.
It Takes Divine Guidance
Before I leave my sanctuary each morning and walk down the spiral staircase, I ask for Divine Guidance, I pray,
“Lord, take me where you want me to go today. Help me meet who You want me to meet. Tell me what you want me to say. Help me be what You made me to be. Show me what You want me to do. Help me walk in Your Way.”
These days, with the COVID-19 restrictions in place, He doesn’t want me to GO very far from home. The people I meet are usually on ZOOM or MarcoPolo, FaceTime, FaceBook, or here on WordPress. But, I do ask for help with what to say here on my blog, elsewhere on the internet, in phone calls and messages, and on those cards I write.
God helps me live up to WHO He made me to be… and I try my best to follow His lead. That’s all we can do you know: DO OUR BEST!
Great Resources
There are so many great resources out there to help us on our daily walk. Guideposts is one of my go-to sources. I have been reading their Daily Guideposts for at least a decade.
Recently I received a complimentary copy of Strength & Grace, daily devotionals for caregivers. I was tempted to pass it along to a friend who is caring for her recuperating spouse, but then I read a page or two, and I decided it is very pertinent to all of us who are sequestered and taking care of ourselves – and whoever may be living in the house with us.
The inside cover says, “Everything is possible for one who believes,” Mark 9:23
Today’s message, April 18th, was titled, “Caregiver Foolishness.” It might have just said, “Our Foolishness,” because we all are foolish at times! We all occasionally make “careless mistakes or unwise decisions.” The message went on to explain:
“Foolishness strikes when we are tired and vulnerable, making us feel even worse.” But don’t stop there, we are told, “The opposite of foolishness is wisdom – God’s specialty. We may be fools, but God is always there with us, ready to carry us when we blunder.”
You HAVE received!
Try Your Best and Believe
So, the good news is: God knows our hearts. God knows our sincere efforts. He shares His wisdom and strength with us.
As long as we rely on God, it’s okay to be foolish at times. After all, we’re mortal. He did not create us to be perfect! Just join the Guideposts prayer team and me:
“God of strength and wisdom, even in my most foolish moments, You are there. I thank You for Your wisdom when I try my best, and for Your grace when my best doesn’t measure up.
I thank You for Your strength when I am weak. Help me always to remember, as Donna Marie wrote in her poem, ‘At the end of my life, when I stand before the Lord, I just want to hear Him say, you tried your best!’
Help me with my mind-set, my adherence to Your divine guidance, and my wise use of the many resources out there to assist my efforts. Help me in my Belief and forgive my doubts.
In Jesus Name, Amen”
My efforts may not always be trophy-worthy, but I try my best!
Thanks for your visit to JanBeek today. Do your best to have a restful Saturday night and a blessed Sunday.
Each morning I wonder what Bible verse will speak to me today. I wonder what phrase I will “take away” with me. I wonder how I can keep my faith alive, growing, and contagious.
I read today’s page in Daily Guideposts 2020 and I go to my Bible to read the chosen scripture in its larger context. And then I write the “take away” on the page provided at the end of the month.
These WONDERful phrases keep the Wonder alive in my life.
I pray that perhaps these phrases can help keep the wonder alive in your life, too.
Know God is Always With You
Use Your Talents for Common Good
Love Selflessly
Be a Ready Helper
Share Wisely
Find Strength in Faith
Always Be Honest
Trust in God’s Leading
Keep Faith Alive
Be a Blessing
Love Without Condition
Trust God’s Faithfulness
God’s Love is Perfect ❤
Set Your Affairs in Order
Praise God for His Creativity
Always Show Your Love
Pray for Our Leaders
Help Others in Need
Play a Song of Perseverance
Make Me a Loving Servant
Thanks for Friends, Love, and Laughter
Praise God for His Protection
Foster Unity
Concentrate on the Positive
Thank God for Grit!
Wear Your Faith Visibly and Honestly
Commit to 40 Days of Sacrifice
Put Faith Into Action
Lean on Him for Wisdom and Strength
Keep Wonder alive in your life. Act in WONDERful ways!
You may consider getting your copy of Daily Guideposts 2020 for your morning devotionals. There are still ten months left to enjoy and be inspired by its daily messages. I find it to be a WONDERful way to start my day.
