Loving One Another

Posts tagged ‘friends’

Fast Away


Fast Away

Fast away this old month passes –
New one enters, cold and blue.
Never have I felt such distance
Separating me from lovely you.

My arms long to hold your heartstrings;
My soul aches to feel your touch.
Never did I think I’d feel so lonely-
Never have I missed you so much.

I miss my church friends in the pew;
I miss singing our hymns with you.
I long to gather at your table
And sip a glass of wine or two.

I miss the chance of volunteering
Where I can go and serve with glee.
I miss the sound of great crowd cheering.
I pray you’ll soon be here with me.

Fast away this old month passes –
No one knows where the end will be
Of this dark and deadly outbreak.
Won’t you pray for a cure with me?

Looking on the Brighter Side

Fast away this old month passes
I’m reminded of how much I love
Being safe and feeling healthy,
Hearing coos from nesting doves.

I have much for which to thank God –
And as April nudges through my door,
May my heart be ever grateful
For my safety and for so much more.

May I thank God daily for his watch
Over friends and family – oh so dear.
May I remember to show gratitude
For all the blessings I have here.

Keep my eyes on all the wonders
God has strewn across my path.
Food to eat, a loving family, and
Friends with texts that make me laugh.

Fast away this old month passes.
I won’t let the new be blue.
I’ll keep looking for God’s miracles
And send His love daily to you.

My Thanks and Condolences

Thank you, dear blogging friends, for visiting JanBeek.
You represent about 80 countries,
my WordPress stats have told me.
Some of you have lost loved ones
during this pandemic…
or you know people who have.
11,600 deaths in Italy alone??
It is unfathomable!!
The USA’s latest toll is 2,900,
according to today’s news…
with no end in sight.
No place, no person on our planet
is immune!

My Heart Breaks


My heart breaks for all who suffer,
who have lost loved ones,
whose family and friends have tested positive,
who are feeling the loneliness
and the vulnerability I wrote about
in the beginning of this blog.
It is not a situation we should make light of!
It is deadly and it is on the rise.
Bee Well, my friends.
Bee safe!

I love you!

Let’s pray together:
“Dear Lord,
please
make this COVID-19
go
FAST AWAY!!“
Amen.

Category:

blessings, children, Faith, friendship, God, Gratitude, health, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, music, Poetry, prayer, relationships, Serving One Another, writing

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Four Ways To Overcome Fear


Sometimes this COVID-19 feels like we’re walking through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death,” especially when we see the staggering statistics from Italy and realize how quickly the virus is spreading in places like New York City.

A friend told me today he feels we’re living in a period akin to the Great Depression or the Dust Bowl era. Songs are being composed about it. There are thoughtful essays being written. Scientists are creating impressive graphs showing the statistics of known contagions to death tolls and analyzing the relationships to age and climate. Novels will be written that will be classics in the decades to come.

How do we live through this “Valley of the Shadow of Death” without fear?

There are the usual responses: pray, sequester and meditate, have faith, bury your head…

But, while I do believe in the power of our Maker, and I pray daily for the Source of all comfort to bring us healing and peace, there are a few other ways I keep myself FROM feeling the gloom that seems to be enveloping so many. You probably have a list of ways, too. I’d love to have you share yours with me.

Here are my four favorite remedies for avoiding the paralysis of fear:

  • Music – sing, play, or listen to uplifting songs on YouTube or XM Radio. I love seeing those folks on their balconies in Italy making joyful music together, don’t you? I just listened to Bono and Will.i.am singing a song they wrote for/to the Italians. Google it! Music soothes the soul and uplifts the spirit.
  • Write – as a blogger, you know how therapeutic it is to put words on paper, in a journal, on a card to a friend, or here on WordPress. Write about what keeps you positive and passionate.
  • Connect – on the internet or by phone, through a window or across a fence. I just installed a new app on my phone and iPad. It’s called ZOOM. Do you know it? The basic version is free. It’s like FaceTime, but it works on other platforms besides Apple products. My friends in California and Bob & I had a great conversation. It was like sitting across the table from our friends who are 1200 miles away from us. We miss them and it lifted our spirits to see and reconnect with them.
  • Walk – when the weather permits, go for a walk with your dog or a friend or both. I did that yesterday in our Lion’s Club Park. Yes, we practiced social distancing, but we could chat and laugh and encourage one another. It’s good for body and soul. And TazE loved it, too.

Do tell your dog he’s gotta walk, too!

Tell me, what ways do you avoid walking in the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” these days?

What are your favorite ways of avoiding fear?

Thanks for dropping by.
Visit a while, okay?
Add your ideas below.
See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Animals, blogging, books, Faith, friendship, happiness, health, Life's Challenges, Love, music, nature, peace, pets, relationships, Serving One Another, writing

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We Need Guardian Angels


Protection needed!
Our guardian angels are
Working overtime.

Surround yourself with
The love of family and friends:
Your loving angels.

My friend, Maria Mendoza, gave these cuties to me.

Angels all around
Reach out to bring you comfort.
We all need them now!

Sanctuary lights
Highlight the angelic tones –
Angels softly play.

My mother-in-law created these Faberge’-like eggs

Angels sweetly pray
For your safety and wellness.
I pray for you, too.

Seven represents
God’s number for completion.
Seven angels sing.

This glass angel is a gift from Toni Bowen.
She was here in this room before we bought this house.

Social distancing
Suggests we sit far apart –
Stand six feet away.

This ancient tiny bowl and antique carved angel with accordion are gifts from a friend in Germany

Sit in your own bowl
And do not touch anything;
Stay isolated!

Carry your concerns
Like your heart in open hands –
But wash them often.

My daughter’s mother-in-love, Denise Solioz,
gave us this darling flute-playing angel.

Like the Pied Piper,
Be an angel with a flute.
Compassion plays here.

This lovely angel was among many in a box my mother left behind.
She bought every angel in her nursing home’s gift shop before she died.
I gave most of them away in her memory to the friends in her care facility.
This, the largest of the collection, I kept as a reminder.
BettyDeA believed in angels!
She sits at the top of the circle staircase…
guarding my daily coming and going.

We all need angels
To guard coming and going
In this Virus-age.

Photo by Sebastian Voortman on Pexels.com

The winds of change blow.
The Virus changes our world.
Hang tight to angels.

Don’t let fear freeze you.
Live in deep faith and courage.
What goodness will come?

With factories closed,
Air is clearing in China.
People create new.

New ways of thinking;
New ways of doing old things.
Appreciating!

Gratitude for the
Things we saw as common-place,
Like simple touching.

Photo by Kristin De Soto on Pexels.com

Appreciating
Arenas where we gather
For sports or speeches.

Thankfulness for the
Opportunity to dance
With wild abandon.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Now authorities,
Closing our business and schools,
Keep us from living.

We remind ourselves
It is for our greater good.
What about our jobs?

What about our plans
To travel for marriages
Or for funerals?

Our vacation plans –
Things we paid for months ago –
All of them cancelled.

In the midst of this,
Can our angels show to us
The good that’s coming?

Will our guardians
Show us tomorrow’s bright hope
In sorrow’s dark midst?

Photo by Retha Ferguson on Pexels.com

Calling All Angels!
We need your guardianship;
Save us from the doom.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

What are your thoughts
about what’s happening with this Coronavirus –
and what ideas can you share
about how we can be
each others’ guardian angels?

Let me hear from you.
What’s happening in your part of the world?

Category:

Belief, Faith, Family, friendship, God, Gratitude, Haiku, health, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, peace, Poetry, prayer, relationships, Serving One Another

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Take Time to Smell the …


Take time to smell the flowers

Along life’s busy road

Their fragrance fills your senses

And lightens your heavy load

Flowers are companions

Like pups, our furry friends

Who give love unconditionally

No faking – no pretends

Flowers lift our spirits

In ways little else can do

Take time to smell the flowers

I’m sending these to you

Have a blessed day!
Take time …

See ya tomorrow

Category:

Animals, flowers, friendship, happiness, Love, pets, Poetry

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The 5 P’s of Blogging


The Art of Blogging . One of the bloggers I have followed from Day 1 on Word Press is Cristian Mihai who writes on The Art of Blogging. His tips always are right on! His coaching is helpful for those of us who are trying to improve our blogging skills. Isn’t that all of us?

woman in front of her computer

Photo by Retha Ferguson on Pexels.com

This week he reminded us that blogging is not about numbers. It’s not about how many followers or how many “likes” or how many comments we get. It’s about the people. “Build relationships,” he told us. Cristian continued by reminding us that it’s about passion. Write about things you really care about, he instructed. You can’t improve your blog if you don’t know WHY you are blogging, he said. Cristian Mihai always reminds me that I need to be clear about my purpose. What do I hope to accomplish?
ask blackboard chalk board chalkboard

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

People, Passion, Purpose, Precision, and Pleasure . I wrote to Cristian thanking him for the 3 P’s of successful bloggers, but then suggested we need to add two more P’s: precision and pleasure. I need to be precise about what I write. Make sure the words are spelled correctly, the grammar is correct, and the format is pleasing. Add sub-titles. Add pictures. Edit out superfluous words. Read it aloud to myself or my dog. Make sure it sounds real.

No one will return to a blog that is sloppy or one that uses objectionable language. Or at least not many people will. We all know that. Those kinds of words and messes turn me off!

top view of black and white typography sentences

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

And the 5th “P” of successful blogging is pleasure. I take pleasure in writing about the things I am passionate about. I get enormous pleasure out of communicating with the people who leave comments. I love getting to know people from India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Venezuela, Germany, Finland, etc… it’s FUN!! I really enjoy looking at where y’all are from.

man sitting on a green grass field

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Have FUN! . As long as you’re having fun, taking pleasure in the writing process, and enjoying the connections that your blog makes possible, I think you’re on the right track. As long as you write about your passions (one of mine is this “Loving One Another” subject), and as long as you stay true to your purpose and do it with the greatest precision you can muster, then I think you are a blogging “artist.”

I’m glad you are here at JanBeek. I hope we can get to know one another, encourage one another, and give each other feedback as often as possible.

You matter to me. You’re my people!

friends-price-tags

Have a good night. See ya tomorrow.

Category:

blessings, blogging, friendship, learning, Love, relationships, Sharing, writing

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Soup Exchange


Have you ever participated in a soup exchange?
I’ve been to several cookie exchanges,
but today was my first soup exchange.

With most containers of soup, a recipe was provided.

This recipe was attached to a jar of soup ingredients.
What a great idea…
we get to dump it into 7 cups of water
and make our own!

We got to take a quart of each soup home with us.
And we had a tasting party before we left.

I brought this one. No way I could begin to give you a recipe. It had clam chowder, cheddar cheese, potatoes, onions, fresh crab lumps, garlic, etc. A menagerie that turned out pretty tasty!

We didn’t get a recipe
for this “Barefoot Contessa Corn Chowder” either.
But, it was deeelicious.
It had big potato chunks
and bacon in a creamy corn broth.

Here’s a recipe for a soup that was not present. Chicken Parmesan … I don’t have one of those new-fangled slow cookers, but I bet my old crock pot would work just fine. The ingredients sound wonderful. I am going to make this as soon as we finish up all the samples I brought home.

in addition to the soup recipes, our librarian (who organized the event) put together a packet that included these tips and tricks on freezing soup.

Love One Another

You may be wondering how this post fits my blog’s theme of “Loving One Another.” (Or maybe you’re not wondering at all.) Anyway, you know that one of the ways we show our love for one another is at meal time.

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” is an age-old saying that I have found to be quite true.

Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

And a good way to show our love to our family and friends is to invite them to a feast. It’s an age-old practice.

We like to host pot-lucks for our friends in the “hood.” Everyone brings a favorite dish and we enjoy fun, food and fellowship.

At church, potlucks are a regular occurrence. I think I am going to suggest our church host a soup exchange one of these Sundays. But, I will ask people to bring their own quart jars to fill. Today we brought our soup assortment home in zip lock plastic bags. That was a bit awkward. But it worked.

Doesn’t this sound like something you’d like to try?
Oh, BTW, this was my view of Fan Mountain on my way home.
It was a beautiful blue-sky day.

I hope you had a joyful day, too.
Tell me about it!

See ya tomorrow.

Category:

food, friendship, Giving, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, Serving One Another, Sharing

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Encouragement


Hebrews 4:13 “… encourage one another.”

One of the devotionals I read each morning as I sit in my rocker up in my beautiful sanctuary is “In Touch” by Charles Stanley.

The word that’s cut off at the bottom of that cover photo is “dependent.”

Yes, I am blessed to be dependent! I am dependent on God for my very existence. I am dependent on His scripture, the Bible, for my daily bread! I am dependent on others for my companionship and the fulfillment of my daily mission: to follow the leading of Christ.

Love One Another!
Hebrews 4:13
“…encourage one another.”
Live in your purpose
And keep an open, loving heart.
❤️

What will you do to encourage someone else today? Pray about it and follow where God leads you with a receptive and obedient heart.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
I’m off to help a friend get to Bozeman for her cataract surgery.

See ya later.

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, friendship, Giving, happiness, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, relationships, Serving One Another, Sharing, Spiritual Gifts

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