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Posts tagged ‘dailyprompt’

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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The Best Gift

Daily writing prompt
Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.
View all responses

The best gift of all
Jesus gave to us one day
With His sacrifice

It’s eternal life
Promised by His life and death
Free for those who thirst

“Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.”

Mark 11:24 

2 Corinthians 9:15

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Gifts come wrapped with bows
Must be untied and unwrapped
You’re the receiver

Even God’s own Son
Won’t come and break in your door
You must open it

Revelation 3:20

American Standard Version
Behold, I stand at the door and knock:
if any man hear my voice and open the door,
I will come in to him,
and will sup with him,
and he with me.

Accept your best gift
Untie the bow; Open door
Accept faith with joy

Return the favor
By the joy you radiate
Your gift back to Him!

God Bless You!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, Giving, God, Haiku, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Poetry, Promises

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Feeling Loved

Love is an Open Door

I found this post in my “Drafts” folder. I thought I’d already posted it.

I guess WP was waiting for this 2nd day of Lent when we’re spending 40 days preparing our hearts for the greatest love ever told: Jesus’ death on the cross for our redemption.

Back when I started this post, we were being wined & dined – loving and being loved.

That’s during some of our travels last month in CA. Here we were in San Clemente … cool ocean air … warm family fun!

Bob & I loved being with friend Bob and our son’s father-in-law, Darrell.

There had been high tides that washed away sand. They were replacing it ingeniously!

Before coming to southern CA beaches, we spent glorious, loving time with dear friends, Jim & Terry in Paso Robles. Ah, feeling love all around!

The warmth of their love was matched by the warmth of their home and beautiful fireplace.

Church on Sunday in Paso Robles was filled with the love of people singing and praising God and seeking to return His love in tangible ways.

The cover of the Sunday bulletin

As we continued our road trip through California for another week, soaking in the love and hospitality of family & friends, I reached out in prayer for you, praying you, too, can FEEL love every day, every hour, every minute. You ARE loved!

I hope you are having a love-filled week!

Necklace is a love gift from Terry. Thank you, sweet “Soul Sister!”

Feel the love!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Category:

blessings, contentment, Family, friendship, God, happiness, holidays, Love, relationships, Travel

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An Open Door

Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy on Pexels.com

Happy Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, my friends!
Today’s writing prompt from JetPack
asked for a suggested title
for a biography should there be one written about me.

Daily writing prompt
If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?
View all responses

One of my devotionals this morning was about “A Closed Door.”
It used this scripture as a prompt for the commentary:

Matthew 6:6
“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door
and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father
who sees you in secret will reward you.”

There may be a need for some people to pray behind a closed door,
but my favorite prayer room is up my circle staircase in our entryway
to my cozy 12’x12′ “Sanctuary” where I am never alone.
The Holy Spirit is alive and well up there…
and the front door in that entryway
always is open for you to come and join me.
My life is An Open Door – an open book!
If you’ve followed my blog for awhile,
you know I am quite a transparent person.
I have nothing to hide!
And my Father is not “in secret.”
He has an open door for you, too!
Go – and sit with His heart –
and Let Him into yours!!
Open up your heart and let the Son shine in!!

If you have time, and if you can,
click on this delightful children’s song below
It will make you smile.
It’s guaranteed to make you want to sing along,
and open up your heart…
the door to heart can remain open
without fear
if the Son shines there!

“An Open Door – a biography about Jan Beekman“
Waiting to “bee” written – someday – hah!

Meantime,
let me share openly with you about
this little light of mine
that I always try to shine.

1 Corinthians 15:14

“Let all that you do be done in love.”

Today is Ash Wednesday when we begin a 40 day period of waiting with love for Easter (Lent). It is a time to reflect on the great gift of eternal life that Jesus made possible through His life and death and resurrection. May we celebrate Lent with the same fervor that we acknowledge February 14th each year as Valentine’s Day! 

My dear friends, Lee & Loleta, know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in style.
And Bob & I celebrated Valentine’s Day early in 1962
by using that red & white, hearts & flowers theme
for our wedding.

Here we are 62 years later:

Yup, still celebrating our love…
with an open door to our hearts and our home.

Today we’ll get a cross of ashes on our foreheads
that will symbolize our devotion to the One
who brought us together and whose mercy and grace
has kept us together all these years.

Yes, He prays with us
He stays with us
His heart is an open door
Mine is, too.
Is yours?

I pray that it is!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Ash Wednesday!

I send my love your way,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, God, happiness, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, music, prayer, relationships

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The “F” in Sift

Today’s prompt asked me to
“Write about [my] dream home” –
but I’m gonna branch out
and write about my
“Dream Life.”
And how my
Word for 2024
“SIFT”
fits into that picture.

S = Simplify
I = Inventory and Itemize in order to prioritize
F = FOCUS
That’s the word for today… FOCUS on the present!

Here’s my present for today… for yesterday… for everyday…
my dear sweet husband, Bob, with whom I have been
married for 62 years TODAY!
He’s what makes my home
a “Dream Home.”
He’s what makes my life
a “Dream Life.”

Today my FOCUS is on how blessed I am
to have the gift of Bob!

That smile is because of our wonderful years together
and the opportunity to celebrate the occasion of our anniversary
with church friends at fellowship today and with another dear couple
at a special dinner last night. Ah, my “Dream Life” is not something
I take for granted. Believe me!

Today at church fellowship hour

Last night at a special dinner with friends:

The dinner was our gift to one another…
but my gift to Bob is coming.
It’s a surprise!
I’m waiting for the right time to tell him!!

This is Happy Bob a couple years ago
with our Boston Terrier, TazE.
We’ve always had Bostons in our
“Dream Home” wherever we were living
all these 62 years… but TazE died a year ago.

There’s a part of Bob’s personality
that is locked into his relationship
with a playful pup.
I miss that part of Bob
as much as I miss
the companionship of a pet.
I decided I need to FOCUS on
how to fix that problem!!
Sooooo….

Meet Owen!!!
He is my surprise for Bob!
He shares my birthday:
July 24th!
He will arrive sometime here
in the next couple of weeks!
Our “Dream Home” will be complete again!
And our “Dream Life” will resume!
Don’t you think I have chosen well?

Or do you think Owen
will complicate
rather than
simplify
our lives?
Hmmm??

Pups really do require a lot of care!
But what dream can you think of that doesn’t?
FOCUS on the love!
Stay tuned!

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Animals, blessings, Family, happiness, Love, pets, relationships

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Break from Negativity

The prompt for today gave me a knee-jerk reaction.
Immediately my answer to the question
popped into my mind.
Hence, today’s blog title!

Daily writing prompt
Do you need a break? From what?
View all responses

I need a break from negativity!!
There is too much negativity in this world.
It comes in many forms
and
bombards us
from all corners of the globe.

If we let it,
the negativity,
the bad news,
the wars and killings,
the inequalities ,
the catastrophes
that the daily news
brings into our living rooms
can make us really depressed.
There’s so little we can do about it!

But…

… then there are people like Bob Goff!!
He is doing something about a lot of things!
Do you know his book, “Love Does”?
Do you know his podcasts and his life’s work?
He is one of my antidotes to negativity!
His positivity is contagious!!

Do you tune in to his podcasts? https://www.bobgoff.com/listen They are guaranteed to silence the negativity around you – and replace it with hope and love, motivational ideas, and positive energy. Here’s today’s podcast news:

Bob is joined by Jason, the president of BrandHaven, about the heart and process behind the “He Gets Us” campaign. The campaign aims to increase the respect and relevance of Jesus in our culture by promoting unconditional love, radical forgiveness, and confounding peace. He emphasizes the importance of being a student of faith and focusing on the biography of Jesus. Listen in for a conversation that encourages us to be students of faith, cultivating a culture of love, forgiveness, and kindness.Learn more at hegetsus.com and follow along on social media, @hegetsus.

Bob Goff is one of those positive people
who has no idea how wonderful he is!
His Love Does organization builds schools,
educates children in impoverished countries
(especially girls where there were previously
no opportunities for them to get an education),
distributes food to the needy, etc. etc.
His voice is a song of cheer.
His chuckle will make you smile.
His message will inspire you.
Check him out
and be prepared
to let his whimsical ways
lift your spirit and inspire your soul
to spread positivity and love,
encouragement and grace
to everyone you encounter!

God bless you!
And God bless Bob Goff!

Cheers,
JanBeek

Category:

Belief, blessings, Faith, kindness, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, optimism, Serving One Another

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Leisure Luxury

Today’s prompt on JetPack was:
“What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?

Visiting family and friends is my obvious answer! Today we met our dear friends, Bill & Marcia, for brunch in Bozeman before Bob’s ENT appointment.

It’s such a joy to meet up with and stay in touch with loved ones.

Bob & Bill

Fun!

Marcia & me

So dear!! But, oh my goodness, I need a haircut!! We’ve been gone 34 days – vacationing in California. I think I posted a couple times on our trip, didn’t I? That’s leisure time … nearly a dozen different beds in 34 days! Time with dear family/friends. God bless ‘em!!

Great-granddaughter Cosette, daughter-in-law Monika, great grandson Christian 1 month new, granddaughter Faith, and great-granddaughter Mable

What a blessing to be with these dear ones!

My former 1st/2nd grade student, Eva Lear (Stanislaus Co. Teacher of the Year)

Another favorite spare time activity: touching bases with former students and wallowing in their successes!!

Darrell & Ruthie Payne, our son’s in-laws,
part of “Mi Familia!!”

Four lovely days with that dear couple – can’t be beat! Went with them to dinner at Fisherman’s in San Clemente- and for scrumptious Italian in Pasadena. Deeeelicious! Such gracious hosts!

Diane, Ruthie & me

Prior to that stay, we were wined & dined in Paso Robles by my “soul sister” Terry & her wonderful hubby, Jim.

Jim & Terry with us at Sculpterra Winery

Time with my dear cousin, Adrian, and his wife, Laura, is hard to beat. Did I tell you earlier about them? They deserve a blog post of their own (coming soon).

Bob with cousinAdrian & his sweet wife, Laura

We also got to spend time with my high school sweetheart, Jerry & his darling wife, Carolyn, and Bob’s former Sunday School buddy, Monica, and his former girlfriend, Sally ( my song girl classmate) and her terrific hubby, Bob Phillips.

The latter two were not able to join us for lunch, but we stayed a night at their house. Do you get back together again with those dear to you from 60 years ago??

Jerry, Bob, Monica, me & Carolyn.

Before that gathering in Turlock, CA, we were in Carmel/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach with Bob’s two brothers and their wives – and with our long-time friends, the Tillions. Did I post earlier about that 85th birthday of Bob and that New Years Eve experience?

It’s been quite a memorable month!!!

Bob, me, brother Bruce, Ann,
Marge, and brother Bill.
Me, Ingrid, Bob & Alan

Our “leisure time” activities included a lot of dining out in terrific places. This was Big Sur, CA. Such a pretty day! It was 47 degrees, sunshine & feeling warm while back in Montana there was an Arctic storm and the temp was -47! That’s 100 degrees difference!

Suppose we were happy to be spending our leisure time with family & friends? You bet!!

Bob, Ty, me & Monika

Our last evening in CA we took our son & his wife out to dinner. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! And thank you for loaning us your Lexus so we could travel the state in style for a month!!! What a gift!

Home Sweet Home

Time to unpack, do laundry, sort the mail, pay bills, and take down Christmas decorations! Happy 2024, my friends!

What’s YOUR favorite leisure time activity?

Last night we celebrated our friend, Julie’s birthday. The love of time with family and friends goes on…

Love to you and yours,

JanBeek ❤️

Category:

blessings, children, Family, friendship, happiness, Love, relationships, Serving One Another, Travel

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It’s Never Too Late

If you could make your family and friends understand one thing, what would it be?

The prompt asked about making a pet understand. Well, we don’t have a pet right now. So, I substituted “family and friends.”

I want you all to know, “It’s never too late.”

“Too late for what?” you ask.

Well, you fill in the blank!

As a life-long Christian, I have often heard the pastor say, “Remember your baptism” on various occasions. I can’t. Or I should say, “I couldn’t!”

Not until yesterday!

My mom & sister often told me,”Yes,” when I asked, “Was I baptized?” But there are no pictures. (Mom was an avid picture taker all the time!) And there is no certificate or other written record. I find that strange.

I tried to contact the little white Methodist/Presbyterian church in California’s Central Valley where it supposedly happened, but it burned to the ground years ago … and all records with it.

So, I decided to”It’s never too late. I want to have a baptism I can remember!” At 84, you think you wanna be dunked? You bet … by my son (who recently was ordained as a minister at his church here in CA, where we are visiting this week before we head home from our month’s reprieve from Montana’s ccccold Arctic blast).

Did it take courage and commitment? Was it a hard decision? You bet! But was it important for my spiritual health!? Definitely. I wanted to be able to “remember my baptism” – feel the obedience to the Christian command, “Go, and be baptized!”

It’s never too late!

Do you remember your baptism?

It’s never too late!

Love, JanBeek

My son, Ty, with me and 2 of my great-grandchildren- See my wet head? Yup, I remember being dunked!!

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, Family, God, happiness, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Memories, relationships

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More Than a Job

Today’s prompt was:
What’s your dream job?

My career as an educator was more than a job. More than a “dream job.” It was a beautiful calling. It was a gift. I was a teacher. I loved my students, my teaching colleagues, the joy of making a positive difference in someone’s life.

Today I had the wonderful privilege of reconnecting with a student who was in my first and then second grade classrooms back around 1969-70. Today she is a teacher – and has been honored by being selected as the Turlock School District and Stanislaus County “Teacher of the Year.” Congratulations to Eva Marquez Lear!! Thank you for expressing your gratitude and recounting your love and reaching out to tell me I was one main reason you decided to become a teacher. It’s more than our “dream job” … it’s our calling, our gift … pass it on. God bless you!!

Eva & me today

What’s YOUR dream job?

Love, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, children, friendship, Gratitude, happiness, Love, optimism, relationships, Serving One Another, work

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