Every morning while doing devotionals, I plan my day hour by hour. But God often intervenes, and I relinquish plans to His power.
Yesterday afternoon as I sat In my chair with my computer, I received a wonderful phone call From a neighbor, a lovely recruiter.
Her daughter-in-law was celebrating Her birthday at their house that night My friend’s guests cancelled last minute. We accepted the chance to stand in – with delight!
Spontaneity adds joy to life. Without it we miss opportunities To be open to infinite possibilities. But unchecked, it can lead to calamities!
I love being spontaneous. Usually it brings me enormous joy. But, stop a second and ask in prayer, Is this beneficial or will it destroy?
Last night our spontaneity Led to an evening of fun and pleasure. Affirmative thought and an open mind Can bring you joy beyond measure.
Whitney, Kyndall, Kolby
Robin… the hostess with the mostess!!
Psalm 119:45
“I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts.”
Let affirmative thought and an open mind Be joined every day with sincere prayer. Ask the Lord to guide your decision-making And know He is always spontaneously there.
Cheers to you!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. I hope you are encouraged to do something spontaneously today. What will it be?
I love that old musical from the 1950’s, Annie Get Your Gun. It is an American musical Technicolor comedy film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name.
Does hugging come naturally to you? If so, from whom do you think you inherited that quality? Bob and I had that conversation after breakfast this morning. His mom and dad were not huggy folks. Mine were… especially my affectionate daddy.
Me and Daddy when I was about 14 or 15.
Bob didn’t learn to be huggy from me. He came that way… and I feel so blessed. Marrying someone who was stand-offish Would have been put me to a terrible test!
Doin’ what comes naturally Isn’t the same for you and me. I reach out and hug strangers – At least ’til this pandemic distanced me.
When our daughter, DeAna’s best friend, Laina, Lost both her adoptive parents at a young age, We were blessed to say, “Come be in our family.” Having a “Daughter #2” was a blessing quite sage!
Our Laina keeps in daily touch. She wrote A message to me yesterday. I asked her if I could share it here. This is what she had to say:
Embrace MomBee🥰
I keep waiting for your blog theme to be “Embrace Hugging” or similar.  Technically embrace does mean to hold someone closely in your arms so it’s almost funny to use the 2 words together.Â
Well here’s my mini blog for the day.
We just don’t hug enough anymore.  For one reason, we can’t because of social distancing but also we don’t because we won’t take the time to do something that’s so extremely important. Â
My genetic nature resisted hugs growing up. I inherited that from Marilyn my Irish born biological grandmother and apparently her daughter my biological mother was the same way. I was adopted by a very different personality.Â
I would feel myself stiffen up and become uncomfortable when someone hugged me. My (adoptive) mom was very loving and caring. She was a hugger and I reflect back on those hugs and feel bad for my involuntary reaction. I would squiggle (squirm+wiggle) away as fast as I possibly could leaving her unfulfilled.  Being a teenager and young adult I was too self-absorbed to notice the sadness on her face or to recognize her need for physical contact. If only I could go back in time and have a “do over”!  I would give her a proper hug. It would be a long squeeze and I wouldn’t let go until SHE squirmed to get free. Knowing her, she wouldn’t ever squirm! we’d still be hugging! Hugs instantly boost OxyContin levels. It’s scientifically proven. Hugs help to heal feelings of loneliness and isolation and anger. An extended hug increases serotonin levels and increases good mood. It strengthens the immune system. So why don’t we do it more? We need to do it more! I guess I can’t tell you to hug a stranger because they might smack you or scream but definitely hug those you love whenever they are near… I can’t wait to give you both long hugs in person. I promise I won’t squirm away.
Laina and “MomBee”
That picture of me with Laina is one of my favorites. I often use it as the “sign off” photo on my blog – edited to just be me. I had forgotten that it was taken on the occasion of my 80th birthday when Laina came to be with us and help us prepare for and carry out a party that included about 50 of our best MT friends. Laina lives in Maryland – and her trip here was such a gift. Helping us was for her, “Doin’ what comes naturally.”
Hugs may not come naturally to all of us. But it is something we can learn… and enjoy… and realize how important that intimacy is.
Our daughter, De, with hubby, Andre’
Yesterday our grandson, DeAna’s youngest son, Chris, went to Vissoie to have dinner at his parents’ restaurant and to give them a long overdue hug. It had been over a month since he had made the trip up the mountain to see them. I wrote to him afterward and said, “Thank you for going to be with your parents and for giving your mom great big, heart-felt hugs. We all need them.“
DeAna and Chris
This morning he wrote back and said, “Oh! It was my pleasure! It’s been too long since I saw them, I needed to squeeze their booooooones. Can’t wait to squeeze yours, too!”
(Chrissy got that expression, “Squeeze yer bones!” from his GrampyBob… It’s one of his favorites.)
Whose bones do you need to squeeze today? Go do it! Go and make hugging one of those things that is “Doin’ what comes naturally!”
Thank you, Laina for sharing your story with us. Thank you for enhancing our family.
Thank you, blogging friends, for visiting JanBeek today. Hugs to you! See ya tomorrow.
I could have called this “Embrace Maturity,” but that would have been pussyfooting around the issue. Not everyone matures as they age, but aging is not an option.
You do it or you die.
However, I embraced this meme when I saw it:
Aging is a privilege only given to the lucky ones, you know. So, yes, I will count this year … but at 81, I sometimes forget if it is 80 or 81 and if I try to get by with the lesser number, I have an 82 year old husband who is quick to remind me.
Hah! Can’t fool him… He keeps a check on me – – – but he’s not big on donuts. Darn!
My daughter (most of you have met her on this blog in the past – DeDe – lives in Switzerland) sent me this a little while back. She particularly liked it because one of Bob’s nicknames for me is “Rocky”
Most of you also know that I have a sanctuary where I spend the first hour most every morning… and in it I have three antique rockers. Ah, yes, it’s the perfect image of me!
But the chair that brings us mutual joy is the one we put in the back of our ATV and pull out when we stop for a break. The best way to embrace aging is to find a hobby that you can enjoy with someone you love.
For Bob and me, it is joining friends and going four-wheeling on these wonderful Rocky Mountain trails. .. stopping to fish the mountain lakes. Ah, that’s livin’!!
What hobbies make your aging process more enjoyable? One of our mutual hobbies (besides four-wheeling) is teaching Sunday School.
Here are darling Ruby & Cord.
COVID got in the way of being able to meet each Sunday morning with these two darlings and one other… and then these two moved away. As they age, their mom sends us pictures.
Getting picture from family and friends is a great way to welcome the new day and look forward to the next time you can visit.
Aging is easier to embrace if you have dreams – something to look forward to, right?
We dream of next October – when COVID-19 will be controlled and it will be safe to travel to see our daughter, De, and her husband, Andre’ – and stay in one of the hotel rooms above the restaurant.
As we age, some of the benefits outweigh the struggles that come with aching joints and lowered energy levels.
One of them is, when your grandkids act up and get on your nerves, you can just send ’em back to their folks!
Couldn’t do that when you were younger and they were your own kids!
Gotta look for the perks in this aging process!
Oh my! Take ’em home!!
Another advantage of aging is that we have time to reminisce about the “Good Ole Days” and the songs we used to sing that these youngsters with their guitars and drums don’t seem to understand anymore.
And if those songs and the memories they bring aren’t enough to make you feel good about still being on this earth, try singing this one:
Another way to “Embrace Aging” is to relish the extra time you have to just find a good book, pour yourself a hot chocolate or a glass of wine, curl up in front of a warm fire, and spend some uninterrupted quality time.
When you were younger, that luxury was seldom yours, right?
Now, if you are a youngster (under retirement age) reading this blog, you are probably thinking that I am a dreamer. You’re right. I am! And each day I dream up all kinds of things to keep me exuberant about life.
Yesterday it was effervescence. The day before it was … oh, do I have to go back that far?
Nope! A trick to aging gracefully is to remain playful. Keep your hobbies, and make up ways to keep the sparkle alive. Take those boots that were left at the front door and get creative!
If you can’t get out because you’re snowed in – and you’re longing for sushi, but the nearest place is an hour away, send money to your kids and tell them to go out for sushi on you. But make sure they send you a picture… and drool all over the computer screen when they send it!
Ask your friends to send you a picture of the table they decorated for some recent holiday – and then marvel at their creativity as you sit down for the 10th night in a row at your kitchen counter… thanking God for your life, your food, your kids, and your kitchen counter.
A trick to embracing aging is to always remain thankful for your blessings… even if they aren’t at a yacht club!!
Now, here’s a couple who knows how to live it up: My friends, the Rosens.
Embrace Aging by feeding your mind Hope, Truth and Love on a daily basis.
Don’t let your mind tell you you’re OLD. That’s a state of mind for the senile. It’s not for you!
Tell your mind that aging just adds to your story… and you’re not finished telling it yet!
Son Shine bubbles up – Creates my effervescence! What makes YOU sparkle?
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow. By the way, did you miss my “Embrace” message yesterday? It was “Embrace Rest” – and so I took a break!!
I really enjoy this Don Ho song. It takes me to Hawaii. Brings back bubbly memories. Do you have a favorite song that bubbles up happy memories in you? EMBRACE EFFERVESCENCE!!
Thank you, dear blogging reader, for tuning in to Day #40 of my “Embrace” series.
Forty is a meaningful number in the Bible. But its significance is not limited to biblical application. Forty days:
is mentioned 146 times in the Bible.
is used to designate important time periods in the Bible.
is the number of days before his temptation, that Jesus fasted: “forty days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2).
is the period from the resurrection of Jesus to the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:3).
carries significance in today’s world: Minus 40 degrees, or “40 below,” is the only temperature that is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius.
was important in the Middle Ages: when the bubonic plague gripped Europe, ships would be isolated in harbor for 40 days before passengers could go ashore.
is the origin of words we use in today’s pandemic: The Italian word for 40 is quaranta—hence quarantine.
is the number of weeks a typical pregnancy actually lasts – Forget nine months!
The wisdom of Jesus’ emphasis on 40 came from God. Our wisdom has the same source. All we need to do is tap into it!
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
That state of peaceful happiness, that contentment, comes from our ability to seek wisdom and to follow the leading of those words of instruction.
“As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”
Wisdom is not relegated to the aged. Daniel was a boy of 17 when he was chosen. You are chosen today to tap into The wisdom God has for you!
Proverbs 13:20
“Walk with the wise and become wise.”
God gives us true friends Who are wise and wonderful. They are His gifts to us To help us EMBRACE WISDOM
He has chosen friends for us Who are wise and full of grace. They walk into our hearts And leave their footprints all over it!
Watch for those friends as God puts them in your path!
In today’s Daily Guideposts, Ginger Rue wrote, “…you become like the five people you spend the most time with.” She told a story about how her husband, “Sweet Dwight,” is a person she wishes to emulate. “I hope someday to have a heart like my husband’s: wise, and full of grace… and always looking for the best in people.”
Who is a star in your life, an example of wisdom and grace? Are the five people you spend the most time with people whose lives you wish to emulate? Can you name them?
Bob is a star in my life… and so are CG & Caroline
Terry & Jim are stars in my life
Marcie is the friend everyone wishes s/he had! She always looks for the good in everyone.
“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Psalm 147:4
“He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. “
If the God of Heaven and Earth has named the stars, And if He has created all that is seen and unseen, How surely can we count on His wisdom, and How assured we can be of His Wisdom if we but ask.
Look for the wisdom in the friends you choose. Embrace the love in their hearts that shines Like the stars in the sky – and reflects The wisdom of their Maker who is alive in them.
EMBRACE WISDOM
I pray you have the JOY of wise and loving friends. They truly are God’s gifts to us. Terry & Elaine are two of my wise stars.
Thank You for them, God!
Thank you for visiting JanBeek today. May the words of my blog And the thoughts in my heart Inspire you to reach out to your life’s stars.
(They can be friends we spend on-line time with… especially in these days of COVID-19 social-distancing!) Thank them… and thank God for His wisdom that sent them to you!
Remember, we become like the five we spend the most time with. Choose wisely!! See ya tomorrow.
Where would you like to kick 2020 off to while you welcome 2021? A beach in Hawaii might be nice!
Thanks for visiting Big Sky with me vicariously today. We all need to look forward to a safe, healthy 2021 I wish you could travel here for real. We’ll take you up Jack Creek Canyon!
I am grateful for you, dear WordPress friends. I pray your day was blessed indeed. Merry Christmas!
ZOOM Christmas
Did you get to actually be with your family? Or did you ZOOM with them as we did? The picture above is Christmas Eve morning. Bob & I had the opportunity to see and talk with (left to right) our son, Ty, [then that’s us], group shot of our grandson and granddaughter with our son’s in-laws, then my niece, Jodie & her husband, Bill and son, Liam, from their home in PA, our daughter #2 Laina in the Baltimore area, and our daughter-in-law, Monika, in CA. We had a wonderful hour-long conversation. Next best thing to being together in person! Thank you, ZOOM!!
Bob gave me this wonderful, warm sweater.
Laina sent us this warm greeting this morning. She is such a thoughtful, loving daughter!
Our grandson sent us this adorable picture, thanking us for the slippers we sent to him and his adorable girlfriend.
My dear friend, Terry, gave me this Willow Creek angel for Christmas. You know how angels are an important part of my life. How sweet and thoughtful of her!
What are the gifts that brightened your day today? I hope you are feeling as blessed as we are.
A photo from our daughter, DeAna, in Switzerland brightened our Christmas. So nice to see her with her hubby, two of her 3 boys, plus her mother-in-love.
Our dear neighbor, ,Scott, treated us to a very special bottle of wine. We are decanting it to enjoy it with our special dinner… a standing rib roast. Wish you could share it with us!
We’re looking forward setting up and learning to use this gift from our son and his wife. Technology continues to amaze us… the advances are amazing!
Bob & I are using our relatively new smoker to smoke a standing rib roast for our Christmas dinner. Like technology, things like smokers and cell phones require a learning curve. We’re on the uphill side of that curve!
We called our neighbor/friend, Whooter, for help this morning when we were trying to figure out how to do this. Dear Whooter texted us back, sent us a photo that made our day, and gave us the advice we needed. Love that guy!!
I’m sure he didn’t intend me to broadcast this photo, but you needed a good laugh, too, right?
Whooter gave us a great recipe for a rub to put on the meat, and meat thermometers to help us know we are headed in the right direction in the smoking process. God bless him! Do you have neighbors who are life-savers for you at times like this?
Our good friends, the Delektas, had a present under our tree today. It’s a gorgeous knife that will be the greatest tool for carving this roast if it ever smokes sufficiently for us to eventually eat it!
Don’t get in the way, TazE… it’s sharp!!
As we prepare for our Christmas dinner, we are listening to the horrible news about the bombing in Nashville this morning. So sad that there are such sick people out there! How could someone intentionally do something so devastating?
Our prayers go out for those who were injured and prayers of gratitude that there are no known fatalities. We have friends who live in Nashville- not far from this blast. And I have a cousin who lives there. My heart goes out to all those in Harm’s Way. We all are affected by such atrocities. It makes us all feel vulnerable. It saddens my heart.
God be with those firefighters who were injured. May they recover fully and be home with their families soon.
I am enjoying this beautiful pillow that our friends, Sue & Jerry gave us this Christmas. What’s a favorite gift that you have been given?
Thank God for each minute you are given to share the love, joy, and peace that are Jesus Christ’s gifts to us. Have a very Merry Christmas, my friends. Our standing rib roast WILL be done soon. I am counting on it.
Sigh… The smoker keeps shutting off. We may have to call Whooter again! (That’s just an internet photo!!)
Merry Christmas, my friends. What did you do today?
I have told my WP friends this story before, but it was a while back… and since then, many of you are new to JanBeek, so it bears repeating:
My friend, Bob Jorgenson, born with Cerebral Palsy, was bright as a tack. His parents brought him every Sunday to church in his wheel chair. They sat mid-way up in the sanctuary with him. They stayed after church for fellowship. They helped people understand what Bob had to say – because Bob’s speech was compromised – but he had so much to say!
Homer and Ruth knew their son would not live a long life, but they packed ten life-times into Bob’s 35 years. They took him to Europe, to Disneyland, to Asia, to the Holy Land. They built a train track and a miniature train in a circle around their wooded property, and fixed up the engine so that Bob could run the train and give train rides to various groups of kids who came to experience the wonder of it.
When Bob was on his last breaths, lying helpless and speechless in his hospital bed, Homer sat with him. He had Bob’s favorite hymnal. As he turned the pages, Homer asked Bob to blink when he came to a song Bob wanted to hear.
Homer was singing “It is Well With My Soul” to his son when Bob breathed his last.
I never hear this song without welling up inside. My heart smiles.
