On January 11, 2020 I posted this blog. I decided on this Mid-term Election Day, 2022, it’s a good time to revisit the idea of positivity. Here is what I wrote then:
“Today Bob & I had the privilege of the company of two very happy, warm, genuine people. Friends like these are part of life’s treasures. We are so grateful for them.
This photo of Terry and me was taken a year ago at their place.
Bob with Jim a year ago
Last year we shared time with these friends at their place. This year they are sharing time with us here in Rancho Mirage.
When you have friends who are happy and positive, it is easy to remain cheerful – even when crazy, bizarre things are happening in the world around you.
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!
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.
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 will hang this stained glass In my window when it arrives It will remind me to pray daily For the dear Ukrainians’ lives
It’s a worthwhile purchase It makes me feel like I am doing a little to help. A portion of the sale price Will go to recovery efforts And another part of the money Will help the artist rebuild her studio When she finally is able to return home.
This song and prayer are for them – The dear, innocent victims of this war – I pray for their safety and their courage For their lives and their ultimate victory. Join me in prayer … and sing along:
Sending love and visions of HOPE to you and to the people of Ukraine… God, give them peace.
Light Dispels Darkness Open His Word Let it enlighten you Brightness
Brightness Is yours If you ask Take it to others Share
Today at Madison Valley Presbyterian Church, here in Ennis, Montana, Pastor Mary Grace Reynold’s sermon was inspired by the New Testament scripture Matthew 2: 4-18
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”[b]
What a terrible scripture to focus on during this season of Advent! But… the “Take-away” from the message was this:
Sermon Notes:
If something unnerves you, pay attention! The realm of unpleasantness is not what we expect in Advent as we wait for the Messiah. Killing all the boy babies? Worse than unnerving!
The season of Hope, Faith, Joy and Love is not supposed to be unsettling. Let’s weep with Rachel over the loss of children. Let’s weep over the bleakest of backgrounds.
Life is frequently bleak, but take heart! Into this bleakness a star appeared in the sky. Into this bleakness the vulnerable baby was born. Into this bleakness, a cruel king felt threatened.
Herod, the king sat in the stain of his own shallow angst and envy. He looked foolishly to the stars, believing in his own deity.
Threatened by an innocent baby, reported to be coming as a king, Herod ordered the death of all boys under the age of two in Bethlehem.
God heard the cries of “the least of these.” Jesus remembered those cries when He reminded us to care for “the least of these.” And friends, we each are part of “the least of these.”
Jesus/God knows the hearts of the bleak. He injects hope in the hearts of the hopeless. He injects love, joy and peace into our bleak world today.
Rejoice in the brightness of God’s love. Rejoice that God claims us. Do not be surprised by God’s compassion. Bask in the warmth of His bright love.
May peace, love, hope and joy be yours this Advent season – and into the new year. May the brightness of Jesus/God be within you. Share His bright light with others.
Amen?
Wreath Advent Memories Light each candle Remember what each symbolizes Jesus
Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds & me
Embrace Brightness!! Thanks for visiting JanBeek. See ya tomorrow (God willing)
“Being confident of this, I take great comfort knowing He who began a good work in me will carry it out to completion…”
Philippians 1:6
Aren’t those comforting words?
God is doing a good work in me, this I know. But that doesn’t mean I am going to be without troubles. Hurt and pain are guaranteed in this world. Through scripture, we can be comforted by knowing that God is faithful, and is always looking over us.
Our Heavenly Father truly cares and is our protector and comforter in times of need. Whatever the circumstance may be, we can use comforting Bible verses to find a peace that passes understanding.
8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
Are you facing a difficult circumstance? Something over which you have little if any control? Maybe it is job related. Maybe it is health related. You might be in a state of transition. Perhaps there are relational issues …
Whatever it is, know this: Loved ones who walked before you faced some of those same challenges. They walk with you today… And they intercede for you.
I believe that. I feel my mom and my sis, and I hear the Holy Spirit. I am not alone.
You Never Walk Alone!
This rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” always inspires me and comforts me. If Andrea, who is blind, can face his daily challenges and reassure us of life’s constant Companion with such sincerity and conviction, who am I to doubt the Comforter?
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4
Maybe you, like my friends Scott & Cheryl, have recently lost a loved one – a parent, a sibling, a dear friend, a pet… If so, I pray you will feel the comfort of our Lord and His promises of Eternal Life. Be at peace.
3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Embrace Comfort” And be the first to offer it to friends in need.
Every day we all need encouragement and words of comfort!
May you feel the loving arms of our God of peace and comfort embracing you – And may you pass along those comforting hugs to all you meet who need your love and kindness.
“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.”
Life can beat us down with trials, sorrows and debilitating worries. God’s messages about our future hope can deeply encourage, inspire, uplift and motivate us.
Don’t worry; be happy!
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.”
Psalm 16:9
“‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’”
Lamentations 3:24
H ang O n to P ositivity and E ncouragement
As we prepare to return to Bozeman today for more lab work and a bone marrow biopsy for Bob, our hearts are full of gratitude for all the love and support extended to us during this time of tests, unknowing, waiting, and hopefulness. Our faith is strong and our prayers are many. Your prayers for Bob’s good results and proper/effective treatment are heard, we’re sure. Our God cares. Our God’s got this! We can rest in this knowledge. We can feel His loving arms around us. Thank you all!
I will keep you posted as we learn more. Yesterday the gastroenterologist (GI doctor) confirmed that the blood in the stool is not colon cancer… and the cause is more superficial. That was an answer to prayer. Today we are praying the bone marrow scan confirms that this is not AL Amyloidosis (a cancer in the marrow). The doctors are busy trying to rule things out so when they send us to Mayo Clinic, the experts there can move on to finding what type it IS (if in fact it IS that rare disorder)… and then a proper treatment can begin. The symptoms include a lower functioning of both the heart and the kidneys resulting in lack of stamina. That’s really hard for this guy who is used to hard, physical work and never having to think twice about what he is capable of doing!
Meantime, we start each day with grateful hearts for our friends here on WP, our supportive neighbors and family, and our God who holds us all in His care.
God bless you. Have a wonderful Thursday. Embrace Hopefulness!
Love, JanBeek
The Bozeman Library is a great place to be while I wait for Bob’s procedures to be finished!
Jesus began to weep. So The Jews said, “See how He loved him.”
John 11:35-36
This week we attended the funeral of a friend who died while we were off in Europe enjoying life. My friend, Jeannie, was grieving while I was obliviously enjoying life. We attended his memorial service when we returned. Many tears were shed. He was dearly loved and will be sorely missed. Over the past decade or so, Bob & I enjoyed many hours of four-wheeling on our mountain trails with him.
As many of you know, if you have followed my blog a couple weeks or more, we visited Jackie & Derrick Knight while on our three week excursion. If you follow Derrick’s blog, too, you know he had just lost his dear mom… and he took a break from planning for her funeral in order to host us. We understood the sacrifice of time and emotion that this delay involved… and we appreciated it so much! It was good to hear later that he was able to facilitate a very meaningful funeral for his mum.
A good funeral Shared grief in community Be sad together
Lie down in green pastures
Read 23rd Psalm Sing Amazing Grace with friends Embrace your grieving
Engaging in the grieving process with a friend caused me to do a lot of introspective thinking. What if this was my husband? How would I be handling this? How could I cope? Do I realize how blessed I am to have had these 60 years together? Do I cherish each minute we have together or do I take these blessings for granted?
1960 – at Bob’s sister’s wedding
1962 at our wedding
Us at our 59th anniversary last Feb.
Embracing grief also means embracing news that grieves us- learning to accept that news – and learning to give it to God. Last week we learned that Bob’s compromised heart & kidney functions are probably caused by “Amyloidosis.”
Oh my! Have you ever heard of that? It’s a condition that causes extra deposits of protein in your weakest organ(s). As I understand it, in some cases the weakest organ is the brain, so the extra protein gathers there and can cause dementia. In Bob’s case, the weak organs were heart & kidney.
The extra protein stiffens the heart muscles and causes them not to pump as efficiently. There are several kinds of amyloidosis. One is genetic. To the relief of our children and grandchildren, that one’s been ruled out!
Next week Bob will have a full body PET scan Wednesday and he will have a bone marrow exam on Thursday. The attempt is to rule out bone marrow Amyloidosis (we were told that version of it can be cancerous). So, the challenge is clear: Don’t grieve unnecessarily by worrying needlessly! Worrying about things over which you have zero control is a waste!
Only embrace grief when such sadness is called for! We weep when we see the depth of sadness in those around us. We all need space to be in our sadness. But don’t invite it! Don’t anticipate it! Take time for “good grief” when it is right to do so, just as Jesus seeped beside us when my friend’s husband died. But know Jesus is beside you, sharing your grief, but also fueling your hope.
Believe His power to create change.
Maintain your hope, dear friends. When disturbing news is shared with you, don’t imagine the worst.
Instead, give it to God, knowing He is with you, working for your good.
Trust in His Light which shines in the darkness.
Turn to our Savior in prayer!
Lord, grant us the courage to open ourselves fully to your word’s power and lean on your mercy. Amen
Lord, thank You for sharing our suffering. Help us channel our pain toward you. Help us embrace grief when appropriate, but focus on HOPE and Your MERCY always. Amen
Do you have a prayer request that you are willing to share with me? I’d be happy to pray for you. Please add Bob and his situation to your prayer list. Thank you!
JanBeek 