God Bless America, My home sweet home. From Detroit to Houston From San Francisco to New York, It’s time to say, “I love this land!”
There’s nothing like a good ole hometown parade… Celebrating our freedom – Celebrating our love of this land.
Our little town of a thousand Saw about 20,000 pour in today To watch our old fashioned parade. It’s like stepping back 50 years!
No fancy floats worth thousands With hundreds of hours donated To create a great big splash… No sireee! Just good ole home-spun fun!
The Grand Marshalls were ladies From the Madison Valley Woman’s Club Celebrating one hundred years of Service to this wonderful community.
You know you’re in Montana when The town’s physician and his wife Enter the parade on horseback Celebrating their equine family!
Thanks, RJ and Andy!
We’re so blessed to have the MVMC (Madison Valley Medical Center) In our little community… so blessed! Our nurses and doctors’ kids donned the float.
Bob & I had the fun of front row seats Because our friends who live Right on the parade route invited us to join them. Main Street would not have allowed us these views!
Barbara & Roy … Thank you!
Their darling grandkids kept us entertained As they watched the parade, too – And ran to gather up the candy That some of the participants threw to us!
We saw vehicles of every kind, Decorated with flags and competing To be chosen as the most unique Or most beautiful, or most aged.
The Shriners are annual participants
Businesses used this parade as an opportunity to advertise.
Ray Easter is a mainstay in our parade… A native of Ennis – a rare breed, indeed!
Wouldn’t be complete without ponies!
The children love this little guy!
Puppies for Patriots
Maybe you can put Ennis, Montana on your calendar for July 4, 2022. Come and enjoy the fun!
I think it was 2019 when our daughters, De & Laina, were able to be here. Of course, we missed the parade in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Maybe they can return to enjoy this holiday with us next year!
So nice to have this fun event back again And the weather cooperated. Parade was 10: to 11:30 and the Rain didn’t come until later this afternoon!
Rain? Yup, surprise! It was not predicted… . .
If you’re in the USA, what did you do to celebrate this special Independence Day today?
In another country? Do you have parades like this?
Rigidity lacks The ability to spring – Spring up and bounce back.
Flexibility Is living life on the edge – Edge of Adventure!
When Bob & I were much younger, we were living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was happy in my teaching job, but Bob was restless. He had been coaching wrestling and teaching drivers’ education for about nine years. He’d had the “Seven Year Itch” for a couple years… looking for a way to feel compensated for the tons of extra hours he put in as a coach. But, coaches don’t get paid more than a measly $500 stipend for the gajillion extra hours. They watch the guy who comes and goes with the bells. In at 8: am and out at 3:00 pm. It was discouraging after a while. Love his students as he did, it was not “well with his soul.” He wanted the freedom to be compensated fairly for his efforts. So, he left teaching and returned to the family farm. Farming allowed him the flexibility he was craving.
He went back to the family farm … almonds, walnuts, and mainly – beekeeping. Producing honey, selling his bees’ product, scheduling his own time… Ah yes, the flexibility was good for his soul. He thrived!
Flexibility Is important for your soul. Keeps your life limber.
Retirement brings flexibility
The freedom to fish Or go four-wheeling with friends: Retirement JOY!
Are you flexible? Can you readjust your life When it feels too stiff?
Do you feel you’re trapped In a spot not fulfilling? Make your soul feel well.
Listen to your heart. Life’s too short to be rutted – Stuck and unhappy!
Just dig yourself out. Uncover many options – Start digging today!
There’s a world waiting For the flexible and strong To step out in faith.
Know you are not stuck In an unfulfilling place. Exercise options!
Do some exploring. Embrace flexibility. You have just one life.
Look for your purpose Find it in your prayer-filled time Embrace Flexibility.
You were born to start The work set out just for you. God bless you today!
Just live your own dream – Not the dream of someone else. Step out in faith now!
He went into the army because He didn’t know what else to do. He was in two years, nine months, And three days. Does that count to you?
It was during a time of peace. No, he didn’t have to serve in a war. But that time in the army Changed him to his very core.
Today is Veteran’s Day in the USA, A time to honor our veterans’ sacrifice. Some serve now, others are retired, While many gave their very lives.
So, it’s important to recognize All the men and women who gave Of themselves to keep us free. Today flowers went on many a grave.
Whether days, years, or a lifetime Were spent in the service of country, Today we reach out to say to you, Thank you! Your sacrifice keeps us free.
God Bless Our Veterans.
Thank you, Bob!! I’m glad I got to serve those last 9 months and 3 days with you! I love Germany and the friends we made there. And I loved teaching in the school on the army base.
Thanks to all our veterans! Your sacrifice is sooo appreciated. I will never take our freedom for granted.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. See ya tomorrow.
Do you have a veteran in your family? If so, name them in the comments below. I want to thank them, too!
“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him’.”
With my morning cup of coffee, I will wait in my sanctuary. I will read and pray and ask the Lord For hope to live in you and me.
I will seek the peace that God can give, And put the results in His hands. I will seek His strength for today Ask Him to heal the hurt in our lands.
I will celebrate the right to vote As I listen for the results to come. I will celebrate the eternal joy That I can claim. It’s denied to some.
If you are feeling disgruntlement And joy seems strangely aloof, Ask Jesus for His divine power To shine His joy – and Celebrate Truth!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. I’ll see you tomorrow. (By then, we may know a bit more of the election results!) Celebrate Freedom!!
…And defend GER? Yes, defend HER! God Bless the USA. Preserve freedom. Celebrate your right to differ – Celebrate the ways we agree!!
My heart is heavy. God answered my fervent prayer. So why am I sad?
My cousin, Cliff, died. I received the news today: God answered my prayer.
I prayed for freedom – Freedom from this earthy pain. Our God is faithful.
His family gathered; All his loved ones surrounded, And God took him home.
God of Great Mercy, Thank you for answering prayer. Now, heal my heart’s hole!
Cliff & Janine with their two daughters and sons-in-law, two sons, daughter-in-law, and three grandsons
Cliff and Janine are two of my favorite people in the world! And now Cliff has left this world… but he lives on in the hearts of all of us who will always love him.
Janine’s mom is my second cousin, Betty. Her mom was my mom’s oldest sister’s oldest daughter.
That sounds rather confusing and maybe like a “distant relative”… but there is nothing distant about my relationship with Janine. I was twelve when my family drove from California to Washington to visit mom’s family near Seattle in Issaquah… and to meet Aunt Evelyn’s first grandchild.
Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Hans were my first connection to the land of Switzerland which claimed our daughter DeAna about two dozen years later! Uncle Hans immigrated from the German part of Switzerland to the state of Washington. Their daughter, my cousin, Betty, with her husband, Nick, lived right across the alleyway from her parents. Knowing we were there, she came over with her new baby, Janine. You know my name in JAN – and so I immediately claimed JANine as my own!!
I was there for Cliff and Janine’s wedding. I claim Cliff as my cousin, too!
Cliff was “Opa” to his three grandsons. A more doting and loving grandfather never graced this earth! I am so sad that those three boys will not have the presence of the Opa as they grow into adulthood. And the youngest one is too little to have lasting memories of him. It makes me cry!
Cliff was a robust man – a former University of Washington champion rower – weighing over 200 pounds most of his adult life. Cancer and the chemo treatments wasted away his body and took away his strength – and eventually his life. But his spirit lives on.
He’ll remain strong and robust forever in all of us who knew and loved him.
We are a vast array of Cliff-Dwellers!
Love and condolences to Hans, Stefan, Janine, Heidi, and Erika
God bless you, my Word Press family. Thank you for praying for my cousin, JANine, and her family. See ya tomorrow. JanBeek
We had a wonderful outdoor church service today. God blessed us with the most perfect weather imaginable!
See the Rocky Mountains out beyond Bob’s nose? Only a few scattered puffy clouds over there.
Bob is in charge of “Buildings and Grounds” at our church. He has spent hours weed-eating under those threes! And we have a team of volunteers who mow the lawns. Looks lovely, huh?
Our service was out on that lawn. I didn’t take any photos til afterward when all the chairs were put away and only one couple remained talking with Bob.
Rev. Steve Hundley delivered a great sermon titled “”Peter Pride and Dana Defeated.” He assured us the names were not gender specific! If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know I take sermon notes in poetry as I listen.
I changed the title to “The story of Our Freedom.”
The story of our freedom Is written on the Statue of Liberty. We believe in that freedom, but It can make captives of you and me.
We can be captivated by Our need to be totally free. Our need to be gregarious Causes us to share with you our glee.
We strive (like Peter Pride) to be At the top – – – the Number One. But sometimes Peter Pride’s goals Get in the way of following God’s Son.
We resist the role of Dana Defeated, Who is a critic of her own. She usually feels unworthy And tries so hard she’s tired to the bone.
Jesus says to give Him your burdens. He’ll put His yoke upon you And help you carry your troubles. Let Him take a pound or two.
Peter Pride sees life through self-effort. He keeps religion in its place. He knows Jesus has a point, But you gotta work to stay in the race.
Peter doesn’t believe burdens are light. He sees Dana Defeated as sad. She walks humbly and asks for help, But seldom looks contented or glad.
Peter found the glory of being on top Often is overshadowed by loss. Way up there, it’s sometimes lonely; No one to help carry our cross.
Jesus said, “Come to Me, I’ll give you rest.” He’s talking to Dana and Peter, both. Life should not be a journey to death. Instead, accept Jesus’ helpful yokes.
Jesus will provide the yoke for us. He’ll join with us and help us carry Our burdens of pride or defeat. Let Him lift you – and be merry!
Amen!
Have a Wonderful Sunday, my friends. See ya tomorrow. Love ya, JanBeek
It’s a different kind of Independence Day weekend in the USA. Our little town of Ennis WILL have its annual rodeo tonight. Social distancing is easy in that outdoor venue. But we will not have the 4th of July parade. Our population of 1,000 grows on that day to about 6,000 typically – and the sidewalks are wall-to-wall people. So for public safety, it was cancelled. We are free to just BEE this year… and grateful to bee alive!
The rodeo will happen as usual, but the crowd will be greatly diminished.
We’ll miss the parade, but we’ll celebrate here at home – quietly thanking God for our freedom and renewed health.
Yesterday Bob was delighted to be able to spend a day on the Madison River with our friend, Scott. The fishing was good – and the weather was beautiful. The wildlife were out enjoying the sunshine, too.
Scott took this picture of the moose who entertained the fishermen.
He managed to get four of the five fox babies in one photo. He said they were quite entertaining!
Yesterday while Bob was out fishing and I was recuperating from my surgery, a couple of my girlfriends and a dear couple from our church made sure I was well taken care of. Terry (on the left) made bran muffins for my breakfast and gave me a darling, soft and cuddly angel blanket. Elaine (on the right) brought lunch and we shared it as we visited for a couple of hours. Then later in the day other friends brought us a delicious dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes, salad, and cookies for dessert. Yum!!!
Today is Terry’s birthday! Happy Birthday to my sweet, beautiful friend.<3
I know I am super blessed to have such wonderful friends. I hope you are equally gifted.
On another topic, you may have noticed that yesterday’s blog “Learn to Say NO,” with a series of Haiku was all in capital letters. I was not intending to shout at you. I was just trying to enlarge this font that WordPress suddenly has decided to use as a default. I found out how to enlarge the first letter in each new text entry. That’s fun, but do you have advice for how I can default back to a larger text for the body of my posts?
I hope you’re having a fun-filled weekend… even if it’s not the typical Independence Day celebration.
Happy 4th of July weekend!
Celebrate your FREEDOM to BEE! See ya tomorrow. Love from JanBeek
Thank you, Guideposts, for your inspirational daily messages. On this Memorial Day that is so different from those past, I am grateful for the men and women who sacrificed for our freedom.
Free to Live and Build
I am grateful for the freedom to live in this beautiful place in Montana where the robins sing, build their nests, lay their eggs, and feed their babies right outside my dining room window! I’m free to just bee… free to do nothing but sit and watch today… if that’s my choice!
I see that wall to the north of my dining room table. The window there leads to our bedroom.
I watched Rita and Robbie, the robin duo, build the nest and lay the eggs. Fifteen days later, they hatched!
Now Rita Robin brings worms to the babies.
They are hungry little robins, begging for more.
Rita Robin leaves… and Robbie Robin comes to feed them next! Robins mate for life. It is such fun to watch them take turns caring for the nest. Rarely is it left uncovered like this these days.
Free to Bee… Free to Recover…
I found this beautiful, stunned bird sitting on the front porch this morning. Is it a wren? It’s really tiny. Even when TazE (our Boston Terrier) went out to sniff at it, it didn’t move. It was free to just bee… bee still for a while. A half hour later, it was recovered – and thankfully flew away. Free to recover. Free to fly.
Free to Marvel
As I sit here and watch the robins take turns in the nest, I am eternally grateful to those service men and women who gave their lives that I might enjoy the peace I have today. Peace to sit here and marvel at nature. Free to enjoy the peace, and to FaceTime with my daughters across the continent and across the Atlantic.
De & Laina
Peace to watch Bob head off with a neighbor to fish the Madison today.
I hope he is free to catch a big one, like my friend Susan Phillips did this week… and then free to catch and release so someone else can be free to have the thrill of catching this beauty! Our Madison River has a “Catch & Release” policy because the trout all are natives… no “planting” allowed. It’s a world-class fly-fishing mecca!!
The pristine Madison River in Madison County, Montana
What are you free to do today? Tell me about it. And what are you most grateful for?
Bee grateful You are free… Free to Bee silly… Free to just Bee!
See ya tomorrow. Have a Meaningful, Peaceful Monday.
What do you think might be three things you need in life?
Freedom of expression is one of my needs.
You NEED food, air and water. But do you need to impress? Is recognition one of your needs? That’s linked to that need to impress.
I found this quote some time ago and saved it. Sorry I don’t know who said or wrote it:
“To thrive in life you need three bones. A wishbone. A backbone. And a funny bone.”
Hah!
I saved the wish bone from our Thanksgiving turkey! I’m waiting for the right person to share it with.
I’ve got the funny bone – carry it with me always.
Think I’ll borrow that backbone up there! (Actually mine is pretty sturdy!)
How about you?
Do butterflies need a backbone?
It’s been a busy season in these six days of December so far. What have you been up to?
Today I invited a friend come to our house mid-day, and she helped me decorate our Christmas tree.. It looks great, don’t you agree?
Last night we helped my friend, Bernice, celebrate her 87th birthday. Take a look at her. Don’t you agree she could pass for 70?
This morning I baked cookies to donate to our Madison County Library. They gave them to people who came by the Library during this afternoon’s “Christmas Stroll” in Ennis.
After baking cookies, I met with our Madison County Writers’ Group – and we spent a delightful hour and a half together. We started with a “Free Write” on the topic we drew from a hat… My Favorite Season. We had 15 minutes to create an essay, poem, or some kind of reflection on the topic. This is what I wrote:
My Favorite Season
Seasons come and seasons go There are winters, summers, falls and springs; But the season that appeals most to me Is the one that stays because of what it brings.
It brings my favorite music and stunning colors. It brings loving generosity and untold joys. It prompts people throughout the world To open hearts with gifts for needy girls and boys.
The trees all sparkle with snow and lights. The houses hang wreaths and let candles glow. The bells ring out to announce the reason For my favorite season: the birth of Christ, you know?
The season brings out the best in us. It helps us open wide our arms in love To show gratitude for the gift He promises Eternal life with our God above.
Merry Christmas!
After Writers’ Group, I went home to do the Christmas tree decorating before going to meet with the “Ennis Ringers.” We had our picture on the front page of the local paper this week. Can you see me front and center back row?
The Madisonian, our local newspaper published a nice article about us this week. I am first in the picture below. My bells are the smallest ones (notes of F and G ring out when I am in the right spot in the music).
I would post a video so you can hear us, but for some reason, WordPress is not allowing me to include it here. I’ve posted videos in the past, so I don’t understand the glitch.
Oh well, maybe it will let me post the video tomorrow. As the news article indicates, the “Ennis Ringers” will play again this Sunday at our church.
Yesterday I had fun at our annual Madison Valley Woman’s Club Christmas luncheon. My buddy, Lucy Ennis can be seen here in red with one of our new members who is an activities director at our local nursing home.
The ladies from the nursing home really went all out with their Christmas costumes. There’s evidence of that “Funny Bone” we all need!
Below is one of my favorite people, Bev Claussen. Her reindeer antlers light up and blink!
Remember a second bone we all need is a “Back bone.” Our Woman’s Club Executive Board is the “back bone” of this very active group of ladies. They provided a delicious lunch for the more than 50 ladies who showed up for this event. (Remember, we are a community of only 1,000 residents in Ennis – so this is quite a lively organization!).
Besides the back bone and the funny bone, we need a wish bone, right? And we need food, air and shelter. Here you see the food; earlier you saw the butterfly that adorns the air we breathe. And in my home, with the tree decorated, you witnessed my beautiful “shelter.” What about the wish bone?
Before she blew out her candles. my friend, Bernice made a wish.
I don’t know what her wish was, but I know my wishes are for you:
May you always have all the good food, clean air, and lovely shelter you need. May you always have a back bone, a funny bone, and a wish bone. And May the bells of joy ring in your land and bring you peace…
