PHILIPPIANS 4:8 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things.
Keeping Philippians 4:8 in your heart and focusing on the positivity of the NOW will make you smile!
Are you smiling?
Stay in the moment Take notice of little things And you will be blessed!
Tell me, what are you focusing on NOW?? What’s making you smile??
Do you have sunshine in your pocket? Do you have that happy feeling in your body? I dare you to watch this video without smiling!!
Every time Bob and I see someone who is driving like they don’t have a brain in their gray and wrinkled head, we comment to one another, “Too many birthdays!” We’ve been doing that for years. And guess what? Now we are they!!
Gray and wrinkled Bob with graying TazE… Hey, her butt didn’t used to be gray!!!
Well, at least HE is they! At 81 (he’ll be 82 in December), Bob is 5 months ahead of me. He’ll always be older! I can smile in the rear view mirror, wear a hat to cover the gray, and pretend I’m still a young chick! Heck, age is just a matter of how you feel, right? HEALTH is everything! Love is essential. God is good!
Yup, today is my birthday… and for the next 5 months, Bob & I are the same age. No way!!
The hair may be gray, and the face has a few added wrinkles with “too many birthdays,” but age is a matter of the MIND. Right? If you don’t mind, I don’t mind!
Just don’t call me old!!
Tell me I’m “bee-YOU-tiful” like this card I received yesterday from Bob’s sister! (Thank you, Bonnie)
And pick a few flowers from your garden to decorate your table… like my neighbor, Sue, did yesterday. (God bless her)
Keep singing and dancing (ya gotta keep movin’), writing and blogging your thoughts, dreaming and making those dreams come true, living your passions, and you’ll never have “Too Many Birthdays” – no matter how many years the calendar tells you!!
It’s time to open presents, sing the birthday song, blow out a few candles (don’t try to count them!) and praise God for the years he has given me “Too Many Birthdays!” I’ll take ’em all – gladly!
I’m happy to be in the passenger seat! I thank God every day for my health, and for my driver, Bob!
Have a Fabulous Friday! I’ll see you tomorrow and tell you all about my “Happy (not too many) Birthday!”
… but they need to stay out there! No, Annie, don’t come down our driveway!
Yesterday we had a beautiful bed of red petunias in our wheelbarrow…
This morning the blossoms were gone! See that chewed off stem there? Darn those antelope! My attitude toward them today is not very loving.
Fortunately, they left the geraniums alone.
And they don’t seem interested in the columbine…
…or these sweet yellow ones ( I think they’re lilies).
So, while I may be dismayed over the loss of our petunia blossoms, I still have reason to be happy, right?
I found a new book yesterday. It’s a type of journal. I’m going to have fun with it:
I don’t have much to stress over, besides stray, hungry antelope, but life always throws us curves, right? It’s always a challenge to stay calm when trouble strikes, and achieving balance is a constant pursuit for me.
So the topics in this little book caught my eye… especially the “Stay Positive” and “Dream.”
Set your plans for the year ahead, And then make them happen.
Yes! One way to be happy and find joy in life is to dream. Live in the NOW, but never stop dreaming about a better tomorrow.
I signed up for Bob Goff’s “Dream Big” Workshop. Do you have big dreams? You’re never too old to dream big, you know. At age 80 and 81, Bob & I find that our dreams keep life moving forward!
I am dreaming of a trip in the spring of 2021 to Switzerland to visit our daughter and her family.
I took this picture on one of our previous trips, high in the Alps at a restaurant overlooking their valley.
I dream of the day when it will be safe to travel, to freely socialize, and to gather with friends again to enjoy our pastimes.
Enhance your life with a pastime that lifts your soul.
What pastime lifts your soul? I love writing (can’t you tell?) and your responses to my daily posts lift my soul.
I also love music 🎶 – both listening to it – as well as playing my accordion and playing in the bell choir.
I enjoy playing for friends at our Madison Valley Nursing Home, however with this pandemic, they are off-limits now. But they are safe… no cases of COVID-19 there. Keep looking at the bright side. Thank God for their health and ours!
We can’t gather as a group to practice our bells right now. But, think positively! This pandemic can’t last forever! I pray daily for a vaccine or an effective treatment.
Think Can’s – Not Can’ts
Don’t dwell on the “can’ts”… Concentrate on the “cans!”
I CAN enjoy this beautiful day and go for a walk with TazE in Lion’s Club Park along the gorgeous Madison River.
I CAN meet new friends, chat with this adorable little girl, get acquainted with her mom, and keep social distance at the same time.
I’m not standing as close as the picture looks! I edited it so you’d get a good look at that little cutie.
Lion’s Club Park has this great little lake where kids can fish and keep ’em. Our Madison River is a “Catch and Release” only. Today the fish were jumping. I CAN enjoy this beautiful day!!
I CAN visit with my family in Switzerland via social media. Thank God for the internet! We got to share Andre’s birthday with him via the computer. Doesn’t his smile make you smile?
Andre’ Solioz, my son-in-law
Happy Birthday, Andre’
Heck, when Bob and I were dating back in the 50’s, and he was stationed in Germany, it took two weeks to get a letter to him… and another two weeks to get a response. No such thing as computers – and phone calls were too expensive!
Think of how blessed we are today! Instant communication!
Back home, the lawn is mowed. The grass is going to green up again because the automatic sprinklers will water it and the sun is shining to encourage it. Thank you, Bob, for your work on the mower yesterday. (Don’t you love his creative designs?)
This is livin’
Today Bob is out fishin’ … Summertime, and the livin’ is easy! Fish are bitin’ and the …
How does that song go? Let me leave you singing it.
If you’re happy and you know it, How do you show it?
In this joyful video, Children from around the world Teach us how to let others know it…
I dare you to play this video and NOT SMILE!! Come on, sing along – and JUST DO IT!!
A-Z What Makes You Happy
Years ago I did an A-Z series on what makes me happy. It started when I was stuck at a railroad track with a stalled train blocking my way to a luncheon engagement. I already was late, and now I was grumbling. Of course, my mood and grumbles didn’t move the train. I decided to change my mood and start thinking happy thoughts instead of growling at the Lord.
Those minutes sitting at the train tracks turned into a 26 day blogging series that included a letter a day: A = ______, B = ______, C = _______ …. you get the idea.
Today I found a new friend… I reposted her blog from today on WordPress and then started to peruse her site. What a delight!
Her by-line says her mission is: “Seeking faith and wisdom in God’s word, a supportive website for the Christian journey.” In her “About” section, I found her picture. I love being able to visualize my fellow bloggers, don’t you?
There is such kindness in her eyes!
Get to Know Blogging Friends
I am having fun getting better acquainted with this delightful mother of a 23-year-old daughter and grandmother of a darling little boy and adorable twin girls. She (I have yet to discover her name) reminds me very much of my across the street neighbor, Penny. So for now that’s what I will call her.
P.S. I just received a response from “Penny.” Her name is Lesley!
Today if I did the A-Z exercise in what makes me happy, I’d have to substitute A = apples (or whatever I said way back then) to A = Abide in God.
What would you put for your A = ______ ?
Pursue Connections
Lesley has a few sub-blogs. If you click on “Abide in God” up there, you will see her other sub-titles. One of them is “Today I am Thankful for…” But when I click there, it says its content is password protected. Lesley – if you are reading this, I want to join that part of your journey. How do I get in? I am knocking at the door!
Hello, Lesley – Let me in… I like your link to supportive websites and the reference to James 1:5
With supportive friends like you out there, and the Bible as our guide, this Christian walk can be more do-able! It makes me happy to know that I have you as a soul sister whose purpose matches mine. Together, we can:
Today what makes me happy includes: F = Finding your blog and Following it.
Another blog I follow that makes me happy every day is: D = Derrick’s garden! derrickjknight – If you don’t know Derrick and Jackie, do yourself a favor and go meet them today!
I come to their garden alone … not really alone, for Jackie & Nugget are there… and Derrick is behind the camera, and the dew is not still on the roses:
Jackie, Derrick’s dear wife (master gardener) is busy at work. Her smile makes me happy. J = Jackie’s smile! (Thanks, Derrick, for your beautiful photography.)
Thank you, Jackie, for sharing your wonderful gardening results with us. I can’t grow roses here in Montana. The antelope eat the buds and chew off the leaves! So I am deeeelighted that you share yours.
Be Happy With What You Have
Show others your joy! A part of being happy Is looking around.
Appreciate life And be thankful for your friends; Share in their blessings.
Don’t focus on lack. But look at what you have got, And thank our Father.
Have a Wonderful Week! Thank you for visiting JanBeek today. I hope it made you happy.
I’ll see you in my prayers. I pray your weekend is a happy, healthy one. Bee well!
Oh, but before I leave you, let me show you my darling great-grandson, Xander Cantwell, who celebrated his 3rd birthday this week.
Isn’t that a winning smile?
Xander tried to blow out the candle on his cake, but he doesn’t know how to blow yet. Tried to get the flame to go out by spitting on it! That’s the piece he got to eat. Ah memories!! I bet he’ll know how to blow by his next birthday!
Photo by Yaroslav Danylchenko on Pexels.com And these priceless treasures should not be tampered with! (Well, I guess a chuckle is needed in these trying times!)
There are some aged ones who are wise beyond imagination. They deserve to be heard! (Well, this grandma isn’t really aged… is she?)
Wizened aged ones deserve to be preserved and appreciated . However, I learned that my grandmother’s old Victrola was worth much more in its original state – before I had it restored!! Preservation and restoration are not always one in the same.
But, I believe every soul is in need of constant restoration. Just as we need to remove the rust from the old cars to restore and preserve them, we need to remove those rusty spots from our hearts. You know what they are:
greed
anxiety
lust
jealousy
hatred
grudges
God can help us replace the rusty spots with:
generosity
peace
Agape love
compassion
joy
forgiveness
Ask the Lord to help you. Train your mind – Restore your soul.
I’m like Vintage wine. I think I improve with age. God grants me wisdom.
“But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Yes, the Bible is old … a Vintage Book … and the language of the King James version really is old.
Gratefully, the old scripture, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and ancient copies of the Torah or the Tanakh were not discarded. And as scholars are busy writing new, modern translations of the Bible, we still have the old language. It sings to me and rings true, and teaches me to study and keep learning. When I come to an archaic word that escapes me, I use http://www.dictionary.com and I increase my vocabulary. I may be vintage, but I am a life-long learner… constantly renewing my mind and seeking to learn.
Upbraideth: root word: upbraid to find fault with or reproach severely; censure
Like this wise, old owl, let’s keep our eyes open to new opportunities. Let’s keep our minds open to new learning. Let’s keep our spirits open to renewal. Let’s keep our hearts open to restoration.
I may be vintage, but I’m not old in my eyes. My mind and spirit and heart are ready for daily restoration. How about yours?
