What a wonderful way to spend a Monday afternoon in Switzerland! DeAna drove us up to Zinal… just to enjoy the time together, the scenery, and an ice cream. We did all three. Wanna join us?
Mountain majesty
Views usually not seen
Except in movies
Sharing with our De
Made all the more beautiful
By stream and mountains
Blue sky up above
Flowing River at our feet
Life can’t be more sweet
Then add some icecream
And the cows that made the cream
Surely it’s a dream!
Hearing the children
Laughing and playing outside
Yes, it’s Paradise!
Meantime, the Groshongs
Continued their hiking fun
In this same region
Found a gentle cow
Grazing on the Swiss hillside
Up close – personal!
Lucky the bovine
Was feeling cooperative
But don’t press your luck
Here comes another
He’s looking mighty leery
Don’t try petting him
Onward to glacier
Visit before it is gone
Then back to Zinal
What will tomorrow bring? Come back and see! I love sharing with you. Which of my pictures today did you like best?
Enjoying Sunday Remembering Saturday And Fish on Friday
Sunday began with this prayer-filled good morning photo from my friend Lisa in North Carolina
After church, Sunday continues with our TazE needing attention and us trying to just relax!
Saturday memories include a wonderful evening shared with Bob and dozens of friends at the Madison Valley Ranchland’s annual “Noxious Weed Dinner and Auction.”
Check out Bonny Morningstar Guzzo on Facebook to see her wonderful pictures of that highly successful event.
Friday memories include our walk along the Madison River in Lion’s Club Park where this beautiful painted fish sculpture greets us.
The painting on the fish inspires the Haiku poet in me.
“Father, please teach me I want to learn how to fish To fish like you, Dad“
Back home, the clouds keep the day cooler as the sun plays peek-a-boo The trees provide welcomed shade And the birds serenade you
The breeze causes the wind chimes To sing a lullaby Reminding me of my sis, Sally She’d love this place as much as I
The deer come quietly to rest Beneath the shade of verdant trees They promise not to nibble But who can trust deer like these?
Time to think about a meal Don’t know what I’d like to cook Need to go check out the fridge Maybe left-overs -Have a look!
Mmmm… I can see shrimp Waiting for the coconut Time to make the sauce
Hope all is well with you. Thanks for sharing my weekend memories vicariously with me.
Now it is your turn What are your best memories Of this great weekend?
The world needs your cheer Be excited for today Be inspiring
You can lift others Out of their pessimism Make joy contagious
Faith is the power That helps you stay connected To joy that abounds
So, just keep the faith Keep letting God shine through you He’ll keep you upbeat!
Cheers!
What are you feeling positive about today? Share your good news! We all need your smile.
(My good news is that my hand is healing. The swelling is going down. I was able to get my watch on today… It fit over my hand for the first time since the fall and broken finger April 20th. The fingers are learning to bend again. That’s my good news. What’s yours?)
Bob & I met in the summer of 1958 at a hometown dance. We had many mutual friends because he came from his little town of Hughson, CA in to the bigger town of Turlock (about 15 miles) to church every Sunday. I didn’t go to that same church, so I didn’t meet him while I was in high school.
That summer after my freshman year in college, I returned home to Turlock and attended a dance at the War Memorial building. It seems like all our mutual friends decided it was time for us to meet.
“Fine to meetcha!” he would say each time we were introduced. “What did you say your name is?”
It took two weeks after that introductory dance for him to call and ask me out. And it was three and a half years later when I was graduated and teaching, and he was stationed at an army base in Germany, that we married and I went to Wurzburg to join him.
Here’s the guy I fell in love with in 1959
I don’t have a photo here of us in Germany, but it was a magical 9 months. I got a job teaching on the army base … a darling first grade. And when we returned to the states, I resumed my teaching career and Bob finished college.
His job at Shell Oil in San Francisco lasted only a year or so. Then he went back to college and earned his teaching credential. Bob taught at Hillsdale High in San Mateo for nine wonderful years. During that time our children, Ty & DeAna were born.
Bob with De (3) and Ty (5)
We moved back to the Turlock area in 1969 and our kids attended school in Modesto while I taught in Ceres & Hughson and Bob returned to his roots: beekeeping. The rest is history!
I just want you to know that I thank God every day for the love Bob & I have shared these 60+ years – and the gift of family God has given us.
Our “children” – Ty & DeAna
I pray that you other moms & dads out there can look back as I do, and feel enormous gratitude for the person God gave you to be co-creators… may your children honor you this day, dads.
What are those divine gifts? Do you have them memorized? Are they yours – living fruits in you?
Each day as I walk down the circular staircase from my sanctuary, I repeat my 12 step program:
Thank You, God, for the 1) Love, 2) Joy, and 3) Peace that are mine!
Give me help, God, with these Fruits of the Spirit that I need help to exhibit: 4) Patience, 5) Kindness, 6) Goodness, 7) Faithfulness (which brings blessings). 8) Gentleness, and 9) Self-control.
Help me 10) live humbly with an attitude of gratitude and 11) a response of generosity, forgiveness, 12) Obedience and Integrity.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
When you pray daily Asking God to give you fruits, Trust, my friends, He will!
Be fruity!
Oh, and don’t forget to keep smiling, my friends. Fruity people are happy folks!! Be a fruitcake!
Happy and content is how God created us. Let’s claim that idea!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. See ya tomorrow (God willing) – Hugs!
If you’re happy and you know it, you can be a little fruity like Jack Hartmann and sing along with this song for all kids and young at heart!
I went to occupational therapy today. A compression glove should help reduce the swelling on this hand now that the pins are out and the hand can move again. But just wearing a glove isn’t going to get my fingers back to being functional again. I gotta work at it!
Darci, the therapist gave me a glob of silly putty. Do you remember playing with that when you were a kid? Rolling and squeezing the putty is the order of the day. It feels like I am rolling a bale of hay and trying to squeeze it! Ouch! The little finger (the one that was broken) and the ring finger next to it (the one that was taped to the broken pinky to give it stability) both are hyper-sensitive and stiff. Suck it up, Jan! You can do this! No pain, no gain, remember?
Have you tried putting on a sweater with just one functional hand? Or better yet, pulling your pants up single-handed? No fun! Can’t play my accordion. Have trouble cutting a piece of meat. Try folding the laundry with only one hand. Oh, brother, suck it up, Jan! There are a whole lot of people in this world worse off than I am. Think positively!!! Grab that silly putty and get to work!
I can do this! Grin and bear it!!
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.”
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
What kind of struggle do you face these days? Are you needing to just “Suck it up” and do it? Have you prayed to the Lord for help? I’ll pray for your strength and tenacity… You pray for mine, OK? Thanks!
Have a great weekend. See ya tomorrow (God willing). Love, JanBeek
Meantime, I can reach With my strong dominant hand And accept your help.
Tonight Bob & I had a wonderful dinner provided by our friends/neighbors. We had a lovely day made brighter by some sunshine and an ice cream treat to celebrate the good news: the pins are out – and my broken finger is healing in its socket perfectly! God is good!! Thank you for your prayers. I feel them!!
We went outside and took off our Montana winter jackets, and enjoyed our ice cream in the soooo welcomed sunshine!
Yay!! We think summer is thinking seriously about staying around for awhile.
Patience, Jan! Tenacity is the word of the day for our prayers for warmer weather, too!
HOPE is the measure of faith in His promises. Hang in there, my friends!
Hebrews 10:23
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful.”
Have a wonderful rest of your week. Each day it will be easier for me to post. Meantime – easy does it! Stay in touch, please.
The word for 2022 (that I chose on January 1 before I knew how MUCH I would need it) is STRENGTH. What kind of strength do we need each day in order to survive and thrive? I asked myself that question today as I realized it’s been the longest stretch of non-blogging that I have had in several years. My last post was when I dug to the bottom of my strength barrel and pulled out “Speechless.”
The deaths in Ukraine and that ongoing conflict drained me. The Texas mass shooting sucked the drops that were left. I felt lifeless. Then I discovered that two of my dear friends I do Bible Study and Bingo with each week in our nursing home – two of them – died this week. My heart is hurting!
Where does my strength come from?
Isaiah 41:10
“God strengthens you So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God has promised us His strength. He will never give you a trial you are unable to handle.”
Personal Strengths Defined
Wisdom. Creativity. Curiosity. Love of learning. …
Transcendence. Appreciation of beauty and excellence. Gratitude. Hope.
Notice that the last of those personal strengths defined is “Transcendence,” and the last of its characteristics is Hope. Seems to me those should be first. They transcend all the others in my mind!
Without hopefulness Life has no sense of purpose Can’t cope without hope
Hope renews our strength Hope helps us face tomorrow Hope is essential
Take my life, Lord. I give it to You. Take myself. Renew my strength.
Take my hand – and let it move – please!
Take my hand – and let it move – at the impulse of your love! I pray the pins come out easily! (One more week til that appointment)
I pray the joints move with ease as I exercise them in the ways I have been taught to do. I pray I am able to use my life again consecrated to the Lord and the work He has for me.
Let’s hear that hymn again… and let’s internalize it. Let’s renew our sense of HOPE and let’s express it in ways that encourages others to give – Give HOPE for this day, Hope for all healing, Hope for His Love to flow through us always! Sing along!!
I’m back… the one-handed bandit… Back to send words of faith, love, joy, hope, and unity to a hurting world. Pass it on, my friends! The world needs the strength you have to give.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Today I woke after a good night’s sleep. Feeling a throbbing, I looked over at my hand; It was more swollen than when I went to bed. The pins holding the pinky in place were buried.
Yesterday I visited the occupational therapist. She put compression sleeves on the fingers. They are designed to reduce the swelling. Maybe it would have been worse without them.
Who knows?
It doesn’t do any good to complain, To mope around and feel sad and blue. You gotta keep on the sunny side of life – And a good way to do that is to let go!
Let go of the doubts and relinquish grumbles. Find someone who’ll hold your hand and assure you That everything is gonna be okay – be patient! Give your troubles to God and put on a smile.
Bob and I seem to trade off times for help. There I am holding his scarred up hand! Now it’s his turn to gently hold mine. We are so blessed to have one another!
I pray that you have loved ones beside you Who comfort and assist you when you need it. It’s easier to see the sunny side of life When God gives you family and friends who care.
So relinquish your troubles to those who can Be the hands and feet of God beside you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – and accept it! Let others share the sunny side of life with you.
