Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘God’s will’

Reblog #3 – Montana Sunrise

NanoPoblano2022 invited us to reblog an old post each day during this month of November. I’m having fun going back through some of my first posts… Here is one from 2013 … as pertinent today as it was 9 years ago…

A New Day Shines Before Me

A New Day

A new day shines before me –
Bright as the morning sun.
It’s stretched out on the horizon –
A happy, “Good Morning, everyone!”

A new day shines before me –
But first I must be still.
Listen for God’s voice within –
And prepare to do God’s Will.

A new day shines before me –
Full of promise, full of needs.
I pray and ask, “What can I do
To be Your Love in thoughts and deeds?”

A new day shines before me –
I hear the Holy Spirit within
Saying, “Go – and see the world as Christ did.
Be Love, Joy, Peace. Ready? Begin!”

Have a Fabulous Friday, my friends.
Thank you for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow for Reblog #4.

Reblog #2 – Reflections

NanoPoblano2022 asked us to reblog an old post during this month of November. One a day. I’m going to try to do that.

I added this image to the 2012 post. Back then, I did not understand how to use WordPress to its greatest advantage with memes and images that enhanced the words. My purpose in blogging today remains the same a it was a decade ago: to encourage love, joy, peace, faith, and unity among my blogging friends and to inspire us all to live a happier, more purpose-filled life.

My 2012 post:

.

“My confession, admission, and plea to God today is this:

None of us lives to just self alone;
Each of us lives for the other.
Whatever we do, be it rosy or blue,
Reflects on our sister and brother.

None of us sits on the judgment seat.
We’re not assigned to decide
If someone’s dull or bright, wrong or right,
Sending them to a corner to hide.

None of us lives a faultless life,
Though we try our utmost to seek
The humble hill to fulfill Your will
In our deeds and the words we speak.

We stumble and fall and fail to be
Examples of the upright and strong.
Try as we may, we know that someday
We’ll have to account for each wrong.

We’ll each have to stand before Your judgment seat
And review how we’ve spent every minute.
So, Lord, help us give every day that we live
All the love and the grace You put in it.

Help us to generously welcome all
To be part of whatever we do.
None of us lives to ourselves alone;
We always reflect on You.

Amen?

Amen!”

Happy Reblogging, my friends.
See you tomorrow.

Love,
JanBeek

Hear Our Prayers

What is on your prayer list?
Who are on your prayer list?
Do you pray daily – multiple times each day?
The Bible tells us,

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Prayer joyfully –
with confidence!

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us.

John 5:14

The big question is –
How do we know if what we are praying is in God’s will?

Tune in to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus gave us the Spirit as a helper
when He left earth and ascended into heaven.
Take advantage of that gift! It is ours by God’s grace!

God’s Holy Spirit gives us
the Fruits of the Spirit –
and daily we must pray for
their presence to live in our lives.

I find the first three are mine…
I accept them with deep gratitude.
Not everyone has the LOVE, JOY, and PEACE
that are mine automatically. I know that!
I do not take them for granted.
And if you lack them, I pray
God will provide you today
with LOVE, JOY, and PEACE.

But, the other six? Oh Lord, I ask for help –
Help with them everyday so that I may show more
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
(which brings blessings)
gentleness
and
self-control.

Join us now as we come to God in prayer.
We pray humbly for all people to have:
Love
Food
Medical care
Shelter
Peace
Respect
Freedom
Unity
Faith
Healing
Hope
Comfort
and
Security.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen!

Amen!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Theme for 2021

Do you have a theme picked out for 2021?
Several of the bloggers I follow
have selected and shared
their themes
for 2021.

My husband, Bob,
said his theme is
“Don’t Let the Old Man In.”


Mine is
“Embrace”

Each day this year I will pray for
the revelations of God’s Will
for the new day,
and I will ask Him,
“What (or who) shall I embrace today?”

January 1st it was “JOY!”

I Embrace JOY!

There is room for JOY
In this life of mine.
There is room for it ‘cuz
This life is mighty fine.

January 2nd I embrace
God’s Will for my day.
Read His Word and
Walk in His Way.

His Way – His Will –
always includes compassion!

Have a blessed weekend, dear friends.
What (or who) will you embrace today?

Most people when asked
what they missed most in 2020
said it was HUGS!

Thank God for the people close enough to you
that you can safely hug
even in the midst of this pandemic.

What are your plans for today?
Our day will be a quiet one
here in this beautiful place.
I hope yours is as peace-filled.
God is shining His Light
down on you.
Be at peace!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow.

Come On In!

Revelation 3:20

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Come on in!
I can have a meal ready for you in minutes.
Our home is a place where we welcome all who welcome all!
We want you to feel at home here!

Come sit on the porch and enjoy the view to the north!
Turn your head to the east and enjoy the Madison Range.
Come to the front door and knock!

Or just walk right in – because we don’t have a solid wood door where I can put a beautiful knocker. Our front doors are glass. The entry welcomes you with words on the wall that say “The greatest of these is love.” The word art was a Mother’s Day gift from our son & his wife, that first May after we moved here.

Hah!
You can’t read it… it’s backward for some reason…
and it’s blurry… but trust me,
it says, “The Greatest of These is Love”
right above the windows.

Those are the stairs that lead up to my sanctuary –
my “Angel Room.”

A few years later I asked my friend, Lexi,
to paint a red rose next to those words.

So, that is what you see when you enter our home here in Ennis, Montana.

Our Dream House

But, this house has not always been my “dream home.” I don’t have a photo of my original dream house. It was in Heber City, Utah. I lived with that house on my screensaver in California for a year. We were ready to retire, looking for a place away from the growing congestion of California. We saw it near Salt Lake City, Utah. We toured it, fell in love with it, put a bid on it, and I dreamed of living there. But, the Lord had other ideas, I guess. The owner never responded to our perfectly generous offer, even after we went back a year later and put another bid on it.

The house was made of logs from the 1988 Yellowstone fire. Many of the logs still had the scorch marks on them. The front door was a massive wood entry with no handle. It had a lovely knocker like the one pictured at the top of this blog.

When you knocked on the door and someone came to let you in, a painting of Jesus (clearer and more beautiful than the one below) was on the wall just inside. The scripture from Revelations 3:20 was written beneath the painting.

The house seemed God-inspired – and I longed to live there.

However, it seems that Utah was not the place God had in mind for us.

This house, in this Pintail Ridge neighborhood, with lovely neighbors, this church in Ennis with these friends… this was (is) God’s dream house for us. When we put in a bid here, everything went like clockwork. (By the way, the trees were much smaller 15 years ago, and you could see the house from Mallards Roost Road clearly. Now we have a lovely forest!)

You can even see the sanctuary windows
and that back porch where I invite you to sit with me.

In God’s Will

Have you ever noticed that when you are walking in God’s will, the path seems smoother?

When you are walking in God’s will, deals ultimately work out better than you could have dreamed.

When you tune in to God’s will for your life, you end up in a better spot than any place you could have imagined for yourself!!

So, come on in, my friends!
Mi casa es su casa!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.

Sending Love <3

Thank you – so many of you-
who sent your love following yesterday’s blog
when I told you about my heavy heart
following the death of my cousin, Cliff.
Your outreach warmed my heart.

God bless and Keep you!
See you tomorrow.
JanBeek

Fires

Fires

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California is on fire.
Montana is burning now.
Firefighters are trying
To save this land somehow.

Friends are on alert –
Their belongings packed to go –
To move if necessary.
Move where? Some just don’t know.

We’re here to lend a hand,
But our resources are so slim.
We need the help of rain.
We must simply rely on Him.

No man can can tame the flames
That burn without regard
For whose life is damaged –
Who has lost their home and yard.

No man can stop the spreading
Without help from God above.
But here, at home in comfort,
I can offer hope and love.

I can pray for the firefighters.
I can offer food and shelter,
But I can’t stop the flames,
Nor tame the heat – the swelter!

Lord of Life and All Creation,
Please send us relief in rain.
Take away death and destruction,
And make us beautiful again.

 

Amen?

Steps to a Lovely Life

image.jpeg

Be aware – Be sensitive –

Be quick to admit – Ask forgiveness –

Embrace the right – Reject the wrong –

Obey God – Trust – Endure – Mature.

Eph. 4:14-16

Outsiders

Jesus on the Cross

Jesus – simple, yet complex

Outsiders

A prophet is known
by the company he keeps.
If Jesus were a true prophet,
the right people would be His sheep.

But baaaaad people hung out
with Jesus – sinners of the worst sort.
Jesus scandalously kept company
with tax collectors, folks report.

His circle included prostitutes.
He dined with people of ill repute.
How did He respond to complainers?
Did He have a good word of refute?

No, He told the story of the lost –
Lost coins, lost sheep, lost kids.
Find the coin, search for lambs,
Be relentless finding others, Jesus bids.

But, though we’re concerned,
We have our limits, right?
Do we seek unending until we find?
No, it’s not about us and our plight.

It’s about God who searches.
It’s about our Lord who actively calls.
He needs us all …  you and me.
Invite the outsiders. Break down walls.

Amen?

Increase Our Faith

Increase Our Faith

Sermon Notes
–  from a message by Rev. Jean M Johnson based on Luke 17:5-10

If the disciples of Christ felt clueless,
How can I know anything for sure?
If they lived with the King of Peace,
Why weren’t their thoughts clear and pure?

They lived and rubbed elbows with
Our Lord, the Christ, Savior on earth.
They were with Him, hearing His parables,
Watching His miracles; some knew Him from birth.

Yet, they asked Christ to increase their faith.
Maybe it wasn’t a request to increase their hearts.
Maybe they were asking Him to increase their hands –
Give them the will to work and do their parts.

Because they had faith, the disciples needed
The humility for doing the mundane, daily grind.
Obeying and following Jesus means quietly doing
The duties of loving and serving with no thanks in mind.

Don’t ask for a great faith to do great things.
Be content with faith the size of a mustard seed
To do the work of serving God humbly,
Listening for the Holy Spirit to reveal every need.

Amen?

Hmmm… My prayer for today is one of gratitude for my God and for His Son, Jesus Christ, and for my faith. Yes, it is small as a mustard seed! But, is it sufficient to do God’s Will today? Oh Lord, increase my humility. Increase my ability to hear and see the needs around me. Increase the capacity of my hands and feet to be the hands and feet God uses for His small tasks here on earth. You have given me ears to hear, dear God, and eyes to see the needs around me. Increase my willingness to respond to Your nudges and help me do so with no expectation of recognition. Thank You for the fruits of the spirit alive and well in me: love, joy, and peace. I know faithfulness is a gift from You, also. Help me share those fruits and radiate the gifts freely today.

In Jesus Name –
Amen!

The Source of My Light

The source of my light
Is no mystery to me.
The chords of my heart string
To the love of God’s electricity.

He charges me up
With His Word every day
So I can go out and walk
In the light of His Way.

The chords of His beams
Are not seen by the eye;
An invisible source
Is His love from on high.

It sings chords of peace.
It sounds soft and sweet.
Anyone can tap into His Power –
It’s not “cyber-cheat!”

The source of my light
Is no mystery to me.
His POWER can be yours, too.
God sends His love – FREE!

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  I love that scripture. I know that my works can give glory to God only if I am God’s servant. If I am obedient to God, He edits my life daily. He sends me His love and power so I can stand up under the weight of the burdens of this world. Just as my poem needed rewriting as I rethought the use of cords and chords, my life and my thoughts, my intentions and my actions need God’s revisions. A cord is a thing – you can see it as a line drawn from a bulb, or some electrical appliance, to its power source. But a chord is a sound – an invisible vibration sending a signal to your ear, heard as a tone. To me, that’s more like my connection to God’s Will in my life. The Holy Chord is the Holy Spirit – the spirit of God in me. I can hear its music! I can feel its Light.

May you have the joy of hearing His tones – His music – His love singing in and through you! Shine on!!

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