Some days I long for a day at the beach With loving hands within my reach I get impatient for this virus to end So I can dance on in the waves with a friend
Jeff Cook in These Days (Daily Devotions for Living by Faith)
“My impatience usually stems from my inability to simply fix everything. Lord, help me be patient with myself and others.”
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes With sighs too deep for words.”
So I sit by the water’s edge dreaming Of the ocean’s shore and scheming My next trip to listen to seagull’s cries And the chance to dance where sea foam flies.
I pray that you have a peace-filled day, my friends.
I am imagining myself dancing with you on this shore! Love dances with longing… See you tomorrow. Hugs, JanBeek
Holy Spirit of God, come upon us on this Pentecostal Sunday as You came upon the disciples of old. We need Your help! Anoint our minds and spirits with boldness, that we may join our efforts to Yours for achieving peace in this world.
Touch our hearts with compassion, that we may see more clearly those who are struggling with anger over the injustice in our nation and world; show us how we can be instruments of peace and equality for all.
Enable us to be Channels of Your Peace in these changing times. Show us how to worship You together in safe and meaningful ways as we prepare to come together once again as a Body of Christ.
Visit our wills, O God, with the fire of Your Spirit that we may strive with boldness for what is right and just for the poor, the underprivileged, and the disenfranchised.
Let us not be content merely to have what we have and not share it with others, merely to enjoy what was given to us and not realize it was intended for all.
Infuse us with the zeal and dedication that were in Christ Jesus our Lord, that we may not merely take for granted the life and freedom and opportunities that are ours.
Lift up those who have fallen victim to COVID-19, and those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Though we are thankful for the health we have enjoyed, help us not to become blind to the suffering of those who have found themselves on the frontlines of the pandemic. Lift up the fallen, heal the sick, comfort the bereaved.
Give us strength in our weakness, illumination in our darkness, and hope in our despondency. Empower us to be all You created us to be.
Listening to God Is a daily endeavor It takes intention His Words are clever
God speaks through Jesus Jesus, His Holy Son And He speaks through the Spirit The Holy Spirit, that’s the One!
Listening to God Takes a willing heart It takes a willing spirit Here’s the way to start:
Bee still
Bee open
Bee teachable
Bee attentive
Bee humble
Bee submissive
Bee expectant
Bee responsive
Bee-lieve
Bee-ware… and aware!
Yes, #1 on the list is “Bee Still!” Bee silent – listen – and JUST LOVE!
Isaiah 50:4
“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.”
Does the Lord “waken your ear” each morning to listen? Every morning my friend, Lisa, who lives across the continent from me – over on the east coast – sends me a picture of where she is and assures me that she has me in prayers. Her pictures show me a scene so different from my own.
Each One Has Their Own Way
In our different environments, each of us is listening and praying. Each of us in our own way. We are open to God’s word – and open to whatever message He has for our day. We share special prayers for one another. It is a beautiful way to start each day.
Do you have a special friend who helps you to Bee more open, teachable, and attentive?
Do you have a system for Beeing more expectant and responsive?
If so, I’d love to have you share with me ways you are open to hearing God speak to you each day.
Through His Word and through music, God speaks to me most clearly. How about you? Which of those ten “Bees” are most helpful to you when you want to tune in to God’s voice?
Have a Fabulous Friday, my friends. Bee well! See ya later. JanBeek
The best version of yourself Is generous with everything you’ve got. You reach out to feed and help others, Never hoarding what’s in your pot.
When you look deep into your best, You see a person who is humble and kind. And if others don’t seem to see it, Don’t worry, my friend. They must be blind!
I decided I’d like this month of travel in California to be safe, fun, full of family and friends, and memorable. I prayed to God for an answer to this prayer.
BELIEVE
I believe God hears prayer, and answers it.
Of course, I know it is not always YES.
Sometimes He says, “NO!” because He has something better in mind for us.
Sometimes He says, “NOT NOW… be patient. WAIT!”
But, He answers… I believe He gives us what we ask for if we ask in faith with His Will in our hearts.
When I want what He wants for me, it’s easy to BELIEVE in the power of prayer!
TRUST
Trust in the JOY of His Love.
Trust in the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Listen carefully!
Live in the COMFORT of His promises.
Live in the SERENITY of His peace.
Live in the TRUST that dreams do come true. We are living ours.
It did not occur to me until yesterday that the decade to come, the 2020s, lends itself so perfectly to the idea of CLARITY. When you have 20/20 vision, you have CLARITY. You have perfect eyesight.
The message at the “Jesus Culture” church in Folsom Sunday was delivered by a dynamic young woman named, Debra Giles, whose topic , “Every Word,” was all about looking into scripture, and looking at ourselves, and looking toward the future with Clarity.
20/20 VISION (12-29-19 sermon notes)
This is the end of The fuzzy and mean teens decade. This is the beginning of 20/20 Clarity. You are made In God’s image and you’ll see Clearly in these next ten years. You are made in God’s image, And you will hear through 20/20 ears. You are made in God’s image And this is the decade to say What is in your heart. Speak clearly from your 20/20 heart today. Speak, hear, and see with Clarity.
Amen? Amen!
20/20 Clear Vision or Blurry?
As you welcome this new year, this decade of the 2020s, are you wiping the clouds from your life? Are you sweeping the fuzzy deterrents from your path? Are you putting away the distractions that keep you from moving forward with clarity? Have you decided what those things are?
Looking Clearly Forward and Backward
I am looking through 20/20 lenses at the freshness of this new day. I am looking at opportunities with clear anticipation. I am taking a backward glance at the things we have given away… and am grateful for the love and joy those things are bringing to others.
An example of such a thing given away is the little red Porsche that Bob & I used as our only means of transportation when we were first married. It is definitely a California car and I can see with clarity that it belongs here, with our son, Ty, and not parked in a garage in Montana because the dirt roads and snow-covered terrain are not conducive to safety for its low-slung frame. Our son loves it… and is taking such good care of it. Clearly, it belongs here!
With clear vision, I am looking forward to a future filled with new joys, new opportunities, and new friends. I see our church growing in love and filled with the Holy Spirit. I see our neighborhood enhanced by new (and old) friends building new homes and moving into our “hood” with their uniqueness and their hospitality a welcomed addition.
Welcome to Ennis
Happy New Year
It’s New Years Day, and many people are creating their list of New Year’s Resolutions. Can you see with clarity what your 2020 commitments need to be?
We were asked at dinner last night what our plans for the new year are. What are our commitments/resolutions? We went around the table. My grand-son-inlaw, Kyle, had a wonderful, impressive list. I commend him for his 20/20 vision of what he hopes to accomplish. When it came my turn, I said, “Walk the Talk” – – – see why?
What is your 20/20 Vision?
Have a wonderful January 1st – and do “Walk the Talk!”
God has blessed my life With a circle of true friends. Some are close enough to hug, Others are scattered to earth’s ends. . Regardless of their physical proximity, My true friends are always with me. When we reach out to each other, Their love stretches out to gift me. .
Some soul sisters I have known briefly,
Others are friends a decade or more,
And a few treasured true friends
I’ve known since I was young and poor.
Our neighbors, the Ducsays & Laquas w/Tammy & Henry
Some are my buddies who join me in play.
Me with Caroline & PennyThe Curreys
Some are families who make life special –
Some are in-laws who keep in touch –
Margie & BillBonnie & StanAnn & BruceEd & Maria
Some are couples who invite us over –
Gerry & Alex w/ Bob & Ott
All are a part of me… and I love them so much!
Kuan Tao-Sheng as quoted in Theodor Reik’s book, Of Love and Lust:
“Take a lump of clay,
Wet it, pat it,
Make a statue of you
and a statue of me.
Then shatter them, clatter them,
Add some water,
And break them and mold them
Into a statue of you and me.
Then in mine, there are bits of you,
And in you there are bits of me.
Nothing shall ever keep us apart.”
God has blest my soul
With true friends who make me whole.
I carry bits of them where e’re I go.
They round me out so I can roll.
TazE, Bob & me
Laina w/ Bob & me
I roll with the punches life flings,
I weather the storms life brings;
I reach out to friends, and they to me.
So no matter the trouble, my heart sings.
Life is better with a friend and a song!
Thank You, God, for life’s true friends.
Thank You for God’s Holy Spirit, too.
He is the friend who’s with me always.
I pray that He’s a True Friend to you.
God bless you, my dear blogging friend!
Thank you for being a friend who visits and comments.
Your participation in my blog means
the world to me!
by Rev. Steve Hundley (guest minister while our Rev. Jean, who has served this church for the past 25 years is away, recuperating from serious surgery).
Madison Valley Presbyterian Church in Ennis, MT – a congregation in a state of transition
A pile of dry bones Littered the field. Can these bones live? Can they once again yield Life with vitality?
Only You, Lord, Only You can cause it. The bones are dry; Only God can pause it And bring life to reality.
Our church may be Those dry bones now. But God can breathe Life in us somehow. Dry is not finality.
God can cause these Dry bones to revive. He can breathe on us And help us come alive. Life with vitality!
We have God’s Spirit Deep within our heart. Can these bones live? Yes, God can help us start. Make Your Power, Lord, a reality…
… in us.
Amen?
Help us see Opportunities through Your Power in us!
Do you have an area of “Dry Bones” in your life? Seek His Power for new life in you. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to breathe vitality into those areas of concern. God Bless You!
