Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘life’

64 Years of Love

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Who would have guessed
When we married in 1962
That our love would last so long
I prayed it would, did you?

Every autumn I stop to recall
The day Bob proposed to me
He was far away in Germany
I joined him the next February
The fall and winter season
Were busy times for me and Mother
She dove knee-deep into helping
Prepare for a Valentine’s like no other

Have you ever seen a cake
More beautiful than this one?
It was a February 11th wedding
Friends, family, students all had fun

And now, every day is a day
To celebrate being in love and alive
We’re so grateful for family and friends
Who join us and help us celebrate and thrive


Sending love your way
With prayers for your days
To be filled with boundless blessings.
Keep in touch with the God we praise!
Amen?

Amen!
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Family, friendship, Gratitude, Living in Harmony, Love, Memories, Poetry

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Kindness

What’s the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?

She birthed and loved me

Rocked me gently on her knee

Taught compassion, gave me life

Showed me kindness all her life

Thank you, Mom!

Hugs, JanBeek

Category:

Gratitude, kindness, Love, Poetry, relationships

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R.I.P. Dolly

The world lost a very special lady today. Dolly Parton was only 80. Much is being said and written about her today. She had more than 25 number one hits. Song writer, singer, philanthropist, generous friend to all … and so much more. Books for children: that’s one of her legacies. A great lady for many reasons, but she loved Boston Terriers just like we do. So of course I love her and will miss her.

See, there’s a pup like our Kenny!
Sorry Kenny never met her!
A very special lady!

God bless you, Dolly. May your songs bless your heavenly friends, too. Sing on!!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Life and Death, Love, music

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Birthdays

“Birthdays mark time. But they also give us a chance to focus on what really matters in our lives; to recommit ourselves to the values we believe in, to the people we care about, and to the work still left to do.” (A quote from Michelle Obama as she celebrates Barack’s 65th)

Happy Birthday Barack!

I celebrated my 87th last month, and Michelle’s quote really spoke to me. Yes, birthdays do mark time. But I agree, they give us a chance to gather together with people we really care about, and recommit ourselves to the values we believe in.

My values are mirrored by Pete Buttigieg in his “Rules of the Road”

My faith points to those values and to the greatest of these: Just love one another!
May your birthdays be those reminders Michelle talks about, and may you have a long and healthy and prosperous and fruitful life!

Hugs, JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Love

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Beautiful Madison Range

Clouds over Jack Creek Canyon & Big Sky
Breathtaking!

Such a gorgeous evening to sit out on the deck!

Come sit a spell with me!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

contentment, life, Love, Montana, mountains, nature

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I Love Montana!

The view from our back patio
Gorgeous clouds
Beautiful animals and sunsets

We are so blessed! Have you watched the Netflix series called “The Madison”? Much of that was filmed right here in our fly fishing Mecca: Ennis.

The Madison
Bob with our buddy, Charley… great fishing!
That’s our Madison Valley. See why many refer to our area as “Big Sky Country”?

Yes, we love Montana! Such a wonderful place to live. Come visit!

Love,

Janbeek (& Bob)

Category:

blessings, contentment, Fishing, Love, Montana, mountains, nature

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Monday Mournings

This is the anniversary of our pup, Owen’s death. I posted “A Day from Hell” in my blog. So many dear friends wrote, called, came to offer condolences and support.

A different kind of death

Yesterday we had a different kind of death here. One of our beautiful evergreens succumbed to the 50 mph winds. It was 25 years old. Looked healthy on the outside, but when it blew over, it was revealed that there seemed to be no root structure to hold it. Hmmm … how had it survived all those years?

Even with roots, a tree can be toppled.

But that tree was young and immature.

Life can be like that. Young, immature, lacking a sufficient root system.

So today I mourn our tree, our loss of Owen, but most of all the loss of friends’ young sons.

Two of our friends lost 30 year old sons to suicide this past month. No tree or dog can compare. It’s an unimaginable sorrow. My heart goes out to those families.

Monday mourning

God bless you. May your life be deeply rooted in love and purpose.

Hugs, JanBeek (with my life’s love … thank you, Bob… I am so blessed!)

Here we are at a recent amazing Pittsburgh Pirates game.

Category:

Heartache, Life and Death, Love, mental health, relationships

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Just Write

No prompt needed

Just capture life

Sitting at the back

Row 19 out of 20

Gives you an interesting perspective

Look at all those people

Look out the window

Row after row

Nothing but houses

A city coming up

Let’s land at the airport

No prompt needed

Just look at life

Exciting, isn’t it?

Time with niece, Jodie
Time with her son, Liam

Jodie’s husband in his way home

Life is its own prompt

Enjoy!!

Hugs,

JanBeek

Category:

Family, happiness, Love, relationships, Travel

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Good Shepherd Sunday

Today’s sermon focused on the Good Shepherd.
Here are my notes
from interim pastor
Brian Conklin’s message today.

Psalm 23 is one of the Bible’s
Most memorized and loved scriptures.
It is powerful, impactful, comforting.
The care and protection are heartwarming.

The word shepherd means to be a friend –
Be a faithful companion who cares.
God is our friend, our closest companion.
He is faithful; his presence surrounds me.

God guides me along the right paths.
Solitude and quiet are part of my DNA.
I reflect, marvel, and hear God’s voice.
Solitude is not a sad time for me.

Life is tough; we encounter dark valleys,
But as a person of faith, I’m comforted.
I feel God’s presence and everlasting peace.
My cup overflows… abundance is mine.

In a world of scarcity, I am blessed.
God provides a voice to be trusted.
His voice encourages me to follow Him to still waters.
His still, small voice leads me to light, love and hope.

He is with me.

Hallelujah!

Amen?

Love,
JanBeek
(with my friend Stephanie at fellowship after church today)

By the way, we discovered today
that Stephanie has a look-alike in Switzerland!
My daughter, DeAna, sent me this photo
of her choir girlfriends who were out enjoying social time together.
It’s not hard to find Stephanie’s look-alike!
I think they could be long-lost twins!!

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Our daughter, DeDe, is the third from the right.
Looks like they’re having fun, doesn’t it?

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, God, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, peace, sermon notes, writing

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My Morning Visitor

Injured moose
I didn’t let Kenny out on purpose!

We seldom see moose in our neighborhood during the day. They sometimes come down out of the mountains at night to nibble on our evergreens when their natural habitat up in the Gravellies or the Madison Range is snow covered. But this guy showed up in broad daylight.

Just sitting outside my kitchen door !

He had a ragged spot in his back and a bum leg. Probably had been injured by some other animal that attacked him.

After I got Kenny back inside, Bob & I chased the young moose off to the neighbor’s. He was nibbling on our trees! Fortunately, after I contacted the neighbor and explained, he called the animal protective services. Hopefully they came to help… I don’t want to think about how.

What do you think?

Protect our animals! And yourselves, too!!

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Love, Montana, pets

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