Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘dailyprompt’

Hard Work

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

Hah! Hard work? How about YOU do that? I just wanna enjoy my retirement!

Maybe work on some creative project … but not too hard!

Enjoy the way cooling temperatures bring an early autumn, and…

smile with little Oliver because his twin, Noah, is coming home from the hospital today. His mom gave birth a week or so ago to two little angels – each nearly 8 lbs. – now, that’s hard work!!

Here’s Noah. Pray for him. Pray hard. He’s been having seizures. Pray for his complete health and happy future.

That’s Oliver, smiling because you’re hard at work praying for his brother!

God hears us. He cares. He answers prayer. Keep on praying. 🙏🏽

Are you hard at work praying? That makes me feel fulfilled: to encourage others and to help us all keep the faith. Yes! God bless you. Have a fulfilling day!

Noah & I thank you!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

children, Faith, God, Love, optimism, prayer, relationships

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Notable Things

Each day’s notable
And so it pays to take note
Live life on the edge

Life’s an adventure
Live on “Edge of Adventure”
This day won’t come twice

Daily writing prompt
What notable things happened today?
View all responses

That’s our ATV
She’s “Lucille” and she’s a “Ball”
Time to let her go

Today we sold her
We found a wonderful home
Know she will be loved

We had lots of fun
With Lucille, TazE, and friends
Hate to see that end

Lucille and TazE
Our previous Boston pup
Were great companions

But, time to let go
Life moves on and so must we
Owen never rode

Our sweet pup we lost
So tragically this last week
Never rode Lucille

Notably we learned
Some things are not meant to be
And so we’ll move on

You move on or die
Do not let yourself get stuck
Life is too precious

Our hearts are healing
Every day the pain lessens
So, take note of that

You are blessed!

What notable thing happened to you today?

Love to you,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Animals, blessings, Faith, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Love, mental health, optimism, pets, Poetry

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Passionate About?

Today’s prompt asked about our passions.
What am I passionate about?
Children and animals…
How about you?

Daily writing prompt
What are you passionate about?
View all responses

As most of you know, I spent my career in education.
I taught all grades K-8
(except 3rd… don’t know why I skipped that one).
Children are my passion….
their education, their safety, their equal opportunities.
It breaks my heart when I see evidence of
neglect or abuse or (heaven forbid) sex trafficking.
Children are our most vulnerable humans
and they need our protection,
for they cannot protect themselves.

group of people taking photo
toddle wearing gray button collared shirt with curly hair
girls-children-kids-friends-50581.jpeg
boy wearing orange shirt blowing on dandelion
father and child s hands together

My passion for animals is especially poignant right now –
– especially after our horrific accident last week
when we lost our sweet puppy, Owen.
I still can’t stop crying. My heart aches.

He was such a little rascal,
but he wrapped himself around our hearts
and we miss his company
more than words can say.
I am passionate about having a pet.
Our house feels empty and vacuous without one.
Owen filled all the empty corners
of our hearts and our home.
He brought such joy.
How can we go on without a Boston Terrier
chewing on our rugs,
tugging on our heartstrings,
filling our days?

Rest in peace, sweet puppy.
You were an object of my affection,
the recipient of my passion.
Bob & I miss you so much!

My mom always quoted this saying:
“It is better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.”

I don’t know its origin,
but I certainly believe it.

sensual black man covering face
Photo by Bruno Felix on Pexels.com

What are you passionate about?

Hugs to you,
JanBeek

Category:

Animals, children, Heartache, Love, pets, relationships

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Happiness

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

It’s not THINGS that bring me happiness. It is people and our new furry friend, Owen. Here are five of my many:

Owen, our vivacious new puppy

Bob, my life-long partner and joy-maker

DeDe, our precious daughter, who lives in Switzerland, and with whom I communicate daily

Tyroneeee, our wonderful son, with one of our great-grandchildren (sweet Mable Iris).

Laina with Pat

Our daughter#2 Laina, and our daily communication via WhatsApp bring such happiness!

Friends are the flowers in our garden of life. I can’t stop with five sources of happiness!
Jim & Terry – chosen family!

Oh, I could go on… friends bring such happiness. It is their love and sincerity that makes my heart swell.

I hope you are blessed with the joy of people who bring you happiness, too.

Cheers!

Love, love & laugh!

Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, Family, friendship, Gratitude, happiness, Love, pets, relationships, Serving One Another

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One Word

Daily writing prompt
What is one word that describes you?
View all responses

No way!
No way can
One word describe
Me
or You!

We are waaay more complex than that.
Don’t you agree?

Take a look…
Can you come up with one word?

Look up for your purpose!

How about YOU?
A single word?
I doubt it!

Love ya,
JanBeek

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Life's Challenges, mental health, Sharing

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Daily Routines Help Us Cope

This week one of our writing prompts was:
What strategies do you use
to cope with negative feelings?

My daily routine helps me nip any negativity in the bud! I invite you to adopt this 12 step program, too. You don’t need a 12 step staircase like mine to do it. You can do it sitting in a chair! I say this 12 step prayer every morning on my way down the circular staircase from my sanctuary:

1. Thank You for the love
2. the joy and
3. the peace that are mine. Help me with
4. Patience,
5. Kindness,
6. Goodness, and
7. Faithfulness that brings blessings.
8. Gentleness and
9. Self-control.
10. Help me live humbly with an attitude of gratitude, and
11. a response of generosity, forgiveness,
12. Obedience and integrity.

In Jesus name,
Amen!

May your day be filled with love and joy!
May you adopt a daily routine that helps you chase any negative feelings away!

God Bless You!
Hugs,
JanBeek
(and Bob ‘n Owen, too)

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Gratitude, happiness, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, prayer, relationships

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Middle Names

Daily writing prompt
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
View all responses

My middle name is Laura.
I was named after one of my dad’s sisters (Aunt Laura).
Twenty-one years later,
it ended up being the name
of my mother-in-law
(Laura Belle).
And eight years later,
we named our daughter DeAna Laura.

The name Laura is the feminized form of laurus, Latin for “bay laurel plant”, which in the Greco-Roman era was used as a symbol of victory, honor or fame. The name represents the embodiment of victory and strength.

In British North America, the name Laura reached 17th most popular in 1880 and 1882, but dropped to #43 in 1899. It was among the top 50 names for female newborns for much of the early 20th century in the United States, but dropped to No. 100–120 between 1930 and 1950; reached No. 10 in 1969, and has since steadily decreased in popularity.

In Europe, Laura remains popular.
In 2009 it ranked within the top 10
in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia,
Greenland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland.

(Isn’t that interesting, given the fact that
DeAna Laura now lives in Switzerland?)

Here is my mother-in-law, Laura Belle
with our daughter, DeAna Laura.
(That was almost 50 years ago!)
Two very precious ladies
of victory and strength!

What is your middle name?
And what significance does it have?

Cheers to you
from Janet Laura & DeAna Laura

Category:

children, Family, Love, relationships, Sharing

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Fate?

Today’s JetPack prompt was:
Do you believe in fate/destiny?

Fate or free will?
Destiny or our own decision-making?
Can we have both?

I want to believe in both!
Does the Bible teach us that God has numbered our days?

What does the Bible say about numbered days?

  • “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,” saith the Lord, “which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” ( Revelation 1:8)

    On the Bible app, it then tells us, “In conclusion, the fact that God has numbered our days should serve as a reminder of His provision and care for us.”
Is that what you conclude?
Does that scripture
say God numbers our days?
Does God really know
on the day that we are born
how many days we will live ?

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

This scripture seems to tell us that WE need to number our days! And we need to treasure each one and live in wisdom. Making wise decisions!! What does that say about FATE?
young female astrologist predicting future with shining ball
Photo by Vika Glitter on Pexels.com

Another translation of Psalm 90:12

  • “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass…”

    This one seems to mean that the number of our days are already determined.

If you believe in Destiny,
then it seems to me
you would think you have no control
over what happens in your life.

I can’t go with that theory.
I do believe God gave us free will.
Maybe that means we can deny our destiny.

What do you believe?

low section of man against sky
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I am free to live
With the choices that I make
Lord, give me wisdom

Amen

Love,
JanBeek
(and Owen)

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Love

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Enjoyable Job

Today’s prompt was: Do you enjoy your job?

“Enjoyable Job” – hah! For some that’s an oxymoron! But not for me. My job (as an educator for over 30 years) was mostly enjoyable! 👌🏽

I submit that I would be lying if I said I enjoyed my job every day! Some days, as a teacher, I didn’t have enough corners in the classroom to separate the trouble-makers! Then after 24 years in the classroom, I changed my job to educating teachers… and mentoring parents. That’s what principals do as effective administrators! Some days I didn’t have the patience I needed in order to enjoy the role of principal when it came to disciplining a recalcitrant teacher or suspending a troublesome, disruptive student and helping the parent know how to follow-through at home.

My job now is to take care of my hubby and our home – and to house-train our new puppy, Owen.

Owen and Bob

Do I enjoy those jobs? Not always! I’d be lying if I said wiping up “mistakes” always is enjoyable. But, do I feel blessed to have them both? You bet!

Every job is a blessing!

“Enjoyable” is not always the most important definition for an important, successful job. How do you define it?

Owen is our new Boston Terrier. Seven months old, born on my birthday last July 24, he is an 8 lb. bundle of energy. Our home is new territory for him. He was part of a kennel litter of seven in Springfield, MO. Being in a home with snow covering the outside areas is new to him. My job is to teach him to be a reliable family member. Teach him to walk on snow. Teach him to signal us when he needs out!

His jobs are to learn how to live inside, how to play with his new parents, how to communicate with us, where to “go” and where not to. His favorite spot is my lap! I’m learning to “read” his needs. It’s a challenging, but rewarding job!

Meet Owen!

Sweet pup! You are bringing such joy into our family!

What are your current jobs? Don’t try to convince me that they’re always “enjoyable” 🤪 !!

Hugs to you,

JanBeek

Category:

Animals, blessings, Family, Life's Challenges, Love, pets

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He’s Here!!

Who’s here?

And how’s that an answer to this prompt?

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

Owen Leo Beekman, born on my birthday July 24, seven months old today. A seven pound bundle of joy!

He came in the Puppy Van from Springfield, Missouri

What a gift!

Bob & I lost our last Boston a year ago. The house has been void of that particular joy since then! But Owen is bringing such happiness already!!

Since his arrival yesterday, his ears are up, he’s settling in, he’s learning his outside place to “go” and he’s snuggling gleefully in Bob’s lap or mine!

What a joy-filled duo!

But, having a pup in the house is also challenging, you know? He changes your routine to his. He says, “Don’t be gone too long!”

He’s happy in his crate

But he loves lap time best! And he hasn’t tried out his bed with blanket yet. This is only the end of his first 24 hours with us. Owen has a lot to learn … and a lot to teach us!

He didn’t eat or drink anything yesterday

But today, he chowed down and drank generously. Yay!

He’ll “bee” happy in his new jacket with the snow predicted here next week!

See what a perfect little guy he is?

What a sweetheart!

How long has it been since you had a new puppy or kitty in your home?

What “challenge” are you facing in the next six months that will ultimately bring you joy?

Joy comes in many forms. But, it’s out there for you. And it’s in your heart ❤️ and home if you just recognize it, welcome it, and embrace it.

He’s here!! Yay!!! 😀

Category:

Love

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