Fishing | janbeek

Loving One Another

Posts tagged ‘Fishing’

Friends, Food, Feathers, Music, Mustangs

This morning was the first of six community Lenten breakfasts. We held it at our church. The next five will be at five other churches in Ennis and Jeffers, Montana. Our topic today was HOPE. About 40 friends from around the community gathered to kick off this Lenten season with food and music, and a message of Hope, delivered by our Rev. Steve Hundley.

Our faithful friend, George and his wife, Lucy, arrived about 5:30 AM to set up the food, make the coffee and get ready for the 7:00 AM crowd.

After breakfast, in preparation for Steve’s message of HOPE, we sang this wonderful hymn. It lends direction to our hopes for this Lenten season and everyday… especially in this world of hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness, and sadness. Let us determine to be the peace we seek to find.

So that’s the food and friends and music. What about the feathers? Yesterday I told you about my friend, Bernie, who is in the hospital and has set up quite an artistic “mess” on his tray table. Let me show you:

He has quite a menagerie of feathers there. Look at the flies he is able to create with them:

Yes, WOW!! That’s the feathers… and their creative use for catching some mighty big trout!

But what about the mustangs? Well, our Ennis High School mascot is the Mustang. When I drove by the school this morning, I had to top and take a picture for you of these MAGNIFICENT bronze mustangs. They were created by a local artist (Ennis is an art town with 6 art galleries in a place with a population of less than 1,000).

I’ll try to find out the sculptor’s name and let you know later. It’s important to give him/her credit!

But for now, I am headed to my TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group. I hope I didn’t gain too much with those scrumptious egg casseroles this morning. I had to try a little of each!

Look for that trophy again… I want to be the biggest loser. I have 6 more pounds to take off to get back to my goal weight.

Category:

art, Living in Harmony, Love, music, Serving One Another

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Some of My Favorite Montana Scenes

Some of you are new to JanBeek, and maybe you have not had a chance to peruse my blog enough to see this beautiful area around Montana’s Madison Valley where I live.

Here are some of my favorite shots of the scenery around me:

I found this one on the web and did a screen shot.
In the springtime, Bob & I take our ATV up to this outlook.
The wild flowers are magnificent
and the snow-capped mountains are breath-taking!
(God is quite an artist, isn’t He?)

I think this one was taken by my favorite photographer, Ed Coyle,
but he usually has his name on his.
So, if it’s not… and you know who took it,
please let me know.
I love it!!

Our fall colors are so beautiful and the “Big Sky” filled with wonderful cloud structures never fail to amaze me. We are so blessed to be here.

I love this one with the cattle out in the snow.

That was the scene that greeted us when we returned home late January from a 5 week vacation in California. The winter break was good, but it’s always good to be home!

My friend, Susan Phillips, took this one.

The Madison River runs through our little town of Ennis.
It’s a fly-fishing mecca!!
Can you feel the peace of the river?

My friend, Caroline Feldman, posted this one.
I think she took it on one of her ATV ventures with CG.

Go to Ed Coyle’s website, click “LOVE”…
because I guarantee you WILL love his photos!!
(Don’t use them without giving him credit, please.)
Ed Coyle Photography

You should put Ennis, Montana on your “Bucket List.” If you have never ventured to this part of the USA, make it a “Must Do!” We’ll be happy to welcome you.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
and enjoying a few of our scenes with me.

Category:

art, blessings, Fishing, flowers, God, Gratitude, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, peace, photography, Travel

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Beautiful Montana Skies

From sunrise to sunset the Montana skies are a thing of beauty.

This is sunset reflected on the eastern Madison Range from the western Tobacco Root Range.

In every season, Montana skies are a wonder to behold. That’s the mountain called the Sphinx. I think Ed Coyle took this photo. He is magical with his camera.

We were so happy to be greeted by these blue skies and snow-peaked mountains when we returned from our trip.

This gorgeous sunrise over the Madison Mountain range was taken by my friend, Susan Phillips. She’s a great fisherman and the waters of the Madison River lure her to fly fishing in every season.

This was our sunset … settling over the Tobacco Root Range … and luring me outside with my camera.

You can see why Montana is known for its big skies, can’t you?

Uninhibited by tall buildings and city lights, the skies are a majestic wonder. God smiles on us with such wonderful beauty here in Montana.

The sun greets us from our bedroom window with a bright “Good Morning!”

I think this is another Ed Coyle photo. Check him out on FB!

As the setting sun reflects against the mountains on the east,
the glow of evening sends the fish to their slumber…
and tells the anglers, “Time to go home!”

That’s our house behind all those trees.
We loved our time in CA, but it’s always good to be home!
Don’t you agree?

Good night! And good-bye January!
See ya in February.

Category:

Fishing, God, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, peace, photography

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Teach Us to Number

Psalm 90:12
(The prayer of Moses – the man of God)

“Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

80th Birthday – 2018

A year ago this day, we also were here in Placerville with our son and his family, joined by friends who came to celebrate Bob’s 80th birthday. The picture above shows Bob with the card Ty & Monika created for him using candy bars to accentuate the message.

Aging Gracefully?

The days between then and now find us both slowing down a bit. He finds it necessary to catch cat naps during the day more often. Outdoor chores take a toll on the back and leg muscles. Physical activities (like downhill skiing) are still fun, but hours on the slopes, taking the double diamond runs, without a break… well that’s not a good idea anymore.

How can we accept the aging process that seems to limit our energy? Well, duh … what’s the alternative? We die – or we become grumpy – or we listen to our bodies and take those breaks when the need arises! Aging gracefully means thanking God for all the things we CAN still do … and not focusing on the things we CAN’T do anymore… at least not at the speed and length of time we used to. Right?

Number our Days

We know our days are numbered… and only God has the answer. We know Jesus Christ promised He would come again and take all who believe with Him to our eternal home. Only God has the number of that day, too. So, our job is not to worry about what the numbers are, but to live fully for as long as He gives us.

Living Fully

That photo of Bob with our son, Ty, granddaughter, Faith, and her husband, Kyle was taken at our house in Montana last Thanksgiving.

A year ago Bob went skiing with Ty & Faith here in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This year, the crowds and the conditions caused Bob to say, “Let’s wait til we come back through in January and ski then.”

Someday Bob’s skiing may be limited to pulling our great-grandchildren on a sled in the snow… that is if we are fortunate enough to live long enough to gracefully accept the limitations that numbered days may bring!

Meantime, there are spring times and summers, autumns and early winters when the fishing is great in Ennis, Montana…

And there is always yard work that beckons him to keep the lawn trimmed, the flowers healthy, and the weeds at bay…

… and in the winter there is rarely a time when there is not snow to shovel!

We look forward to the numbered day on our ATV when we can enjoy with friends the beauty of the mountain trails above our Madison Valley.

Gain a Heart of Wisdom

Yes, looking at what we CAN do and not dwelling on the things we find more difficult to do as we add to the number of our days… that’s part of wisdom.

So is taking time daily to read God’s Word, and apply his principles to our lives.

In Psalm 90,
Moses’ prayer also says,
(in verse 10)
“Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass and fly away.”

Thank God, Bob can say, “The best of them are here and now… and with God’s blessings the best are also yet to come.”

They may quickly pass (as we age they seem to fly by more quickly with each sunrise and sunset), but we do not focus on the trouble and sorrow.

Focus on your blessings, my friends. Focus on the CANS, not the CAN’Ts!!

Enjoy each day… and look for the wisdom it contains.