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Posts tagged ‘Haiku’

Renew & Express Hope

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. …
  • Courage. Authenticity. Bravery. Persistence. …
  • Humanity. Kindness. Love. Social intelligence.
  • Justice. Fairness. Leadership. Teamwork.
  • Temperance. Forgiveness. Modesty/Humility. Prudence. …
  • 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.

See you tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blogging, Faith, God, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, music, optimism, Poetry, prayer, Serving One Another

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Relinquish

Let’s just relinquish
Let’s give away our troubles
Let’s trust our Maker

It’s easier said
Easier than to be done
But it’s what we’re told

Matthew 11:28-30

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.

Photo by Dio Hasbi Saniskoro on Pexels.com

God bless you!
“Bee” well…
Reach out and “Bee” someone else’s helping hand!!


See ya tomorrow (God willing)-

Love,
JanBeek

17 more days til the pins come out!

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, friendship, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Love, music, optimism, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another

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Leaning

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

In today’s culture
The message is to stand up –
Stand on your own feet.

This year’s word is STRENGTH.
My intent was to be strong;
Share vigor with you.

God has other views.
He keeps telling me to lean –
Giving me reasons –

Reasons to reach out
To Him for the strength I need.
Another today:

Surgery needed!

The orthopedist
Said my pinky’s not in place –
Needs a couple pins.

“Count on me,” he said.
“I will help you regain strength –
Full use of your hand.”

It’s scheduled Friday –
Surgery on my pinky.
Leaning on the doc.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

God gives us doctors
When we cannot heal ourselves.
He says, “Lean on them.”

God gives us neighbors
When we need acts of kindness.
He says, “Bee grateful!”

Our Savior saves us
When we cannot save ourselves.
He says, “Lean on Me!”

I may have to learn
To accept strength from others –
Can’t be strong alone!

Single-handedly,
I feel slightly “hand”icapped.
God says, “Lean on me!”

Have you ever felt
Too weak to accomplish all
You have on your plate?

Who did you lean on?

Sometimes when we ask
God for the strength that we need,
He sends us earth angels.

My neighbor, a retired nurse who lives in CA part of the year, just texted. She asked about my hand. When I told her about the upcoming surgery, she wrote, “We will be there to help and if you have any questions, we know stuff :o)”

See … earth angel on her way! And her husband is a brilliant physiologist. He’s part of the “we” she’s talking about! Yup, they “know stuff.” Hah! It will be comforting and helpful to have them back in the “hood.” Just in time! God is good … all the time!

When Our Daily Bread posted on this subject, it wrote:

“We may not be able to touch Jesus physically,
but we can entrust the weightiest circumstances of our lives to Him.
He said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28).

How blessed we are to have a Savior
whom we can trust to be faithful
through every circumstance of our lives!

Are you ‘leaning’ on Him today?”

I am leaning on Jesus,
and
I am Leaning on Bob, too!
He’s an earth angel God sent to me.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Bible Lessons, Family, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, Haiku, health, Life's Challenges, Love, music, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another

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Best Laid Plans

Sometimes best laid plans
can definitely abort.
They did yesterday.

You may recall that
I was hoping to meet kids –
Yes, my great-grandkids.

And I was concerned
about my granddaughter, Hope,
at the hospital.

She came yesterday
with her hubby and two kids,
but I wasn’t there.

I ended up in
the Emergency Room…
A weird accident!

I misjudged the step
up onto the sidewalk curb.
Fell forward quickly.

My little finger
caught all of my body’s weight.
Dislocated it!

Sooooo…

I didn’t get to
hold my granddaughter’s hand –
or eat lunch with them.

Oh, what a bummer!
But my troubles are so small
compared to others.

Hope was expecting
our great-grandchild number 5.
Today she lost her.

A broken finger
pales in comparison.
My heart reaches out.

Yes, our best laid plans
can disappear in a flash –
or a careless fall.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

In your great despair,
keep thoughts always positive.
Let lessons teach you.

Slow down and beware!
Let your errs make you wiser.
No, never despair!

Know that Christ Jesus
is with you in your troubles.
Rely on His love.

Psalm 34:17-18

When the righteous cry for help,
the Lord hears and delivers them
out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

My prayers go out to Hope & Drew.

I look to the Lord
in whom my strength and healing
abides and helps me.

Pray with me today, will you?

“Dear Heavenly Father,
Be with Hope and Drew as they mourn
the loss of their unborn baby.
Help them understand Your will
and know the blessing of the two they have.
Be with me (Jan) and the finger
that needs to heal…
Provide comfort –
– and the lesson to be learned.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.”

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
and expressing your love
and concern for us.

I appreciate you.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Bible Lessons, children, Faith, Family, God, Haiku, health, Jesus, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Love, music, Poetry, prayer, relationships

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Montana Springtime

Montana Springtime
Blowy snowy mighty cold
Poor little robins

Finding protection
Under patio lawn chair
Smart little birdies

Robin copycat
Decided to follow suit
Safe under the stool

God help the lone dove
Perched on a branch shivering
Where’s your nest, loved one?

Montana springtime
You tried to arrive last week
Whoops! A false alarm!!

Meantime, snuggle up!
Stay warm!


Send us some sunshine, will you?
I’m committed to staying positive…
and finding a way to stay warm
just like those robins.
You, too?

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Animals, Faith, God, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Love, Montana, nature, Poetry

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The Urge to Purge

It’s the urge to purge
That attacked my head today
Will it go away?

Unexpectedly
As I entered my office
It attacked my brain

Looking at the mess
The urge to purge arrived
I’ve avoided it

It’s easy to see
Why the urge is in my head
Will it reach my hands?

Jesus had the urge
He quickly cleared the temple
The Bible tells us:

Going into the temple
He began to throw out everyone
who had set up shop,
selling everything and anything.
He said, “It’s written in scripture,
My house is a house of prayer;
You have turned it into a religious bazaar.”

Luke 19:45-46

In today’s Mornings With Jesus, Jeanette Levellie was reminded of all the stuff she took home from her grandma’s house when she was there helping her mom with the clutter (er – a – treasures!). She wrote,
“Whenever I’m tempted to want more than I need, I remember that ugly feeling of greed I experienced while cleaning Grandma’s house. I remind myself that God’s house – my heart – is meant for fellowship with Him.”

My office doesn’t look quite as bad as that picture above, but it certainly is full of stuff that represents “more than I need.” My spare bedroom has in it a lot of the stuff that we stored there while we were having our floors redone a couple of months ago. If I haven’t needed it by now, don’t you think it’s time to purge? Likewise, my office would feel a lot more inviting if I got rid of the stuff that clutters the countertops in there, too. Right?

Is this a topic I have shared before? I think so… And I avoided the urge then, just like I am trying t squelch it today!! It’s not just my heart that needs cleaning of any type of greed, it’s my brain that needs to be told that overload of stuff is squelching my creativity! And it will be a major headache for Bob & my kids if I should keel over tomorrow!

Do yourself a favor, Jan:

If the urge to purge
Seemed to attack you today
Let it convince you

Envision the space
With room for meaningful work
That feels lots better!

Thanks, Jesus, for the inspiration.
I need to let your example inspire me!

Do you have an urge to purge today?
Let’s work on that together!
OK?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
I’ll give you a report!
Hugs,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, Haiku, Jesus, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, peace, Poetry, relationships, Serving One Another

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Embrace the Unexpected

Are you flexible?
Enjoy the unexpected –
Invite surprises!

The unexpected
May feel like it’s hot water.
How do you react?

Find the surprises
That are positive in there.
Look for the blessings.

What unexpected
Things have you experienced
During this past year?

This 100 year old silo in Malta, Montana
is the source of our new wood floors.
Paul (standing on the top of the silo)
is repurposing the wood – one floor at a time.

He was scheduled to use some of the wood
to replace our wood floors last year.
Instead he fell, broke some ribs, and was
having massive headaches. Couldn’t work!

The unexpected fall caused the doctors
to take a good look at his head
to try and determine why the headaches.
The images showed a brain tumor!

If not for the fall, the tumor might not
have been discovered – at least not so soon.
After surgery successfully removed the tumor
and the ribs healed, Paul was able to work again.

We had seen the wood being installed
in the cabin of some friends nearby.
Bob fell in love with the character
of that 100 year old floor with the nail holes.

It was totally unexpected that we would
one day be enjoying that beauty in our home,
but it is done now – and Paul has totally recovered.
Count your blessings – they come in many forms!

“May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!

Psalm 20:4 ESV

Bob’s enjoying the unexpected sunshine
on this day that started with snow.
God bless the blessing
of blue sky!

See how beautiful our floors look with
the warmth of the milk chocolate walls?
And it goes so well with the rug
we brought up from downstairs!

Tell me about an unexpected blessing
you have experienced recently.
It doubles our blessings
when we share them.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

blessings, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Love, Poetry, Serving One Another, work

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Embrace 5 Ways to Keep Long-time Friends

Bob & Victor

Victor Salazar and Bob have stayed in touch for 50 years. How has that happened?

Victor was Bob’s wrestling student when Bob coached at Hillsdale High in San Mateo, CA. back in the 1970’s. Every year at Christmas, we exchanged Christmas cards. Victor let us know where he was each year – and his career took him to over 30 different countries! What a joy to have Vic come from Alabama to reconnect with us here in Montana! (That photo was taken last year when I first posted this blog)

I have had the fun of that kind of connection with former students, too. This is Ty Stiles and his wife with Bob & me. He was my kindergarten student in 1962! I named our first child, Ty. We never let Ty Stiles out of our sphere of contact. He was in my prayers daily. He came with his wife, Roxanne, from California to visit us a few years ago. About a year after his visit, sadly, Ty left this earth for his eternal home. My memories of him and his visit warm my heart every single day as I look at the cross he welded and sent to us shortly after his visit.

There’s no greater joy
Than to reconnect with friends
From long, long ago

Look up for your purpose!
Look up to the cross
Recall its loving meaning
Embrace those friendships

5 Ways to Keep Long-time Friends

  1. Pray lovingly for them daily.
  2. Be sure to keep them in your address book and write to them often (don’t just rely on social media)
  3. Pick up the phone and talk to them, emptying yourself into them… it’s an investment. Be loyal and be confidential.
  4. Let them know how much they mean to you, but don’t force the relationship. It has to be natural. Don’t insist that the relationship is forever reciprocal. Some friendships are meant to be seasonal… and the season may last years – but maybe not. You can’t control that.
  5. Be honest and transparent with them … let them see your warts. It shows you trust them not to hurt you… and you are trustworthy in return.

Embrace Long-time Friendships
Never let those precious folks go
Keep them forever in your heart
How long we’ll be here, we can’t know

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Embrace Long-time Friends
My heart’s covered with footprints.
How about your heart?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, friendship, Haiku, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, Memories, mental health, Poetry, prayer, relationships, Sharing, truth

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Tiptoe Through the Tulips

I was five years old
in 1944
when this movie was made
and this song became popular.
(Yup, I’m that seasoned!)

Later Tiny Tim sang it –
With his insane falsetto!
And then Paul Anka crooned the tune.
I like the original the best.
Maybe it’s just nostalgia at work.
Maybe it’s Hedy Lamarr’s dancing?
Did you recognize her?

How about you?
Will you tiptoe through the tulips today?

It was the year Bob & I were married (1962) when Tiny Tim emerged on the scene with this same song.
Check out the cigarettes, the rolling eyes, and other responses that would never fly in today’s world.

Real signs of spring
A beautiful gift of love
From my heart to yours

Tiptoe together
Through the fields of sweet tulips
Or just enjoy them

Here’s my bouquet
on our living room table.
I love tulips!

Oh, and just in case you wanted to hear more of Tiny Tim (I know those of you who heard him for the first time wondered about his TV debut performance and how he was “discovered.”) Sure you did!!
Here it is… the way he was introduced to the world on Laugh In:

Ah, how times have changed. Joking about burning draft cards and gender identity and other items that got a laugh back then would raise more than a few eyebrows today, don’t you think? Tiny Tim’s story of enduring ridicule – and a mother who wanted to have him evaluated at a mental hospital – and then eventually rising above the fray is one you may not have heard before. Check it out if you’re interested. His was an amazing career:

Have a beautiful, tulip-filled Sunday.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

flowers, Haiku, Life's Challenges, Love, mental health, music, Poetry, respect

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Go Ahead – Waste Time!

What is wasting time?
Is it just doing nothing?
Or is it something…

Something other than
What is expected of you?
Whose expectations?

Where do we get clues
About what is important?
Important to whom?

Some tasks are vital
For our health and survival.
Others just are not.

How can we be sure
What we’re doing is important
In the scheme of things?

Who’s our Director?
Who are we listening to?
The devil says, “Me!

I will tell you what
I want you to do today.”
Just ignore him, please!

Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com

He may come disguised
As a cute, simple request –
But he’s full of tricks!

He loves to entice
Us away from important
Things he says are “Waste.”

Waste time on others –
Waste time listening to God –
Waste time in deep prayer.

Waste time every day
Reading your devotionals –
Also your Bible.

That’s where direction
Becomes crystal clear to you.
Go ahead, waste time!

Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

What is the Lord telling you to do today?

So, waste it wisely!!
This is posted in honor of my sister-in-law, Bonnie.
Today marks the 1st year anniversary
of Stan, her husband’s death.
Rest in peace, Stan!
God bless you, Bonnie.
Sending love your way.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Bible Lessons, Faith, Giving, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Jesus, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, Poetry, prayer, Serving One Another, work

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