Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘Montana’

It’s a New Day!

Rick Malone wrote
in his “Spiritual Matters” article,

“There is something very special about the dawn.
The sun seems to climb over the horizon
with open arms, inviting us to share
in the wonderful opportunities of a new day.

Every dawn puts the things of yesterday
in the past and allows us to begin afresh.
The Bible uses this imagery of the dawn
to communicate the reality of new beginnings.

The psalmist teaches us that each new day
should be a source of rejoicing,
for it is a “day that the Lord has made;
and we should rejoice and be glad in it”
(Psalms 118:24).

And Jeremiah tells us
that the mercies of the Lord,
“are new every morning”
(Lamentations 3:23).

Michael Buble’ sang of the new day in his song:
“It’s a New Day.”
Listen and discern his idea of a new day.

Then design your own idea of a new day …
and praise the Lord for each new beginning!

Rick Malone went on in his post
to explain his image of a new day:

“This imagery of the dawn
not only symbolizes new beginnings
for us personally,
it symbolizes a new beginning
for the brokenness of God’s creation.
The bliss of the Garden of Eden
crumbled in the hands of Adam.
Creation now groans under a curse.
But we are given the promise
that at the dawning of the age to come
creation itself will be made new.”

You can find Rick Malone’s
full article at this link:
https://boropulse.com/2018/05/spiritual-matters-dawning-new-day/

We have incredible sunrises
above the Madison Range
that I can see from my home.
I love this time of day.
Below is what the sunrise looked like
from my sanctuary window this morning:

I sent this picture to my friend, Lisa, in North Carolina. We exchange sunrise pictures and prayers for one another most mornings. I apologized for the way my roof line from my sanctuary kind of spoiled the view this morning. She wrote back and sent me a cropped picture of my sunrise saying, “Simply GORGEOUS!!!”

Like most things in life, what we behold is often a matter of perspective, right? When we screen out the distractions and zero in on the positives, we see the true beauty around us, within us, and within others.

Lisa lives near a lake. Often her sunrises and sunsets are reflected in the water, creating a double image. I can look at the gray clouds beyond and expect a rainy, dismal day, or I can focus on the colorful reflections in the lake and anticipate a colorful, joy-filled day (or night) ahead.

Rick Malone explained it this way:

“Each new day is the perpetual promise of new beginnings. It is a new opportunity to turn the disappointments of our lives in a new direction. We can all identify with the failures of life—bad decisions, broken relationships, unfortunate circumstances. But God gives us a continual opportunity to start life fresh every day and put the past in our past. He is the God of new beginnings, the God of new life, the God of forgiveness. He is the God who covers our yesterdays with His grace. And, He is the God who graciously covers our tomorrows with every new dawn He gives us. Every sunrise beckons us: ‘Turn your life away from yourself and to your Maker who loves you.’ “

Another of Lisa Glines’ sunrises

Psalm 118:24

“This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Montana Sunrise by Ken Hall

Above our bed, Bob & I have a painting by Ken Hall. It depicts the sunrise over the Madison Range. On clear mornings, we see this scene out our bedroom, dining room, living room, and sanctuary windows. But, even on fogged in or snowy days when the mountains are hidden and the sun is behind the clouds, we can look at Ken’s painting and thank God for this new day – new dawn – new beginning.

I pray your new day is a blessed one.
I pray you are healthy and happy.
I thank you for your friendship –
and for coming to share your day
with me here on JanBeek.

What are your plans for this new day?
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

God Bless You!

P.S. Please pray for my daughter-in-law, Monika.
She spent most of the day yesterday in the ER.
Today our son, Ty, will take her to the hospital
to find out why the massive headache and the
pain in the area of her gall bladder. Pray for a
clear
diagnosis and for healing, please.
Thank you!

Relish Sushi!

It’s hard to beat Dave’s Sushi in Bozeman, Montana for a great sushi meal. This platter was created for Bob & me and our grandson, Nick (and Celine) when they were here last Thanksgiving.

Knowing how much Bob & I relish sushi at Dave’s, our Daughter #2, Laina, sent us a gift certificate for a meal there to celebrate our 60th anniversary. What a thoughtful present! Bozeman is an hour’s drive from Ennis (where we live), so we don’t go there every day – not even every week. But, we had a dental and a doctor’s appointment there yesterday, so we went to Dave’s afterward.

If we look like we’re happy,
it’s because we are!
You can count on their specials being wonderful!
Cheers!

Dave’s has a varied menu, a good wine list (that’s what I chose – a house white – while Bob had a cold and refreshing beer), great service, and a friendly, lively ambiance. We are blessed to have this restaurant in our part of the world. Laina told me she was hungry for sushi after she saw our photos, but she doesn’t have a sushi place in the Baltimore area that’s as good as this one in Bozeman!

We began with shrimp as our appetizer. It was delicious!

When my California grandkids were little, I used to take them to lunch every Wednesday while I gave their mom (who home-schooled all four of them) a break. Sushi was one of their favorite places to go… and they called those orange fish eggs “Poppies” because they popped in their mouths when they ate them. I always think of Sam, Hope, Jordan & Faith when I eat sushi rolls with “poppies” on them! This one was as yummy as it looks!

My sister, Sally, used to love to take my grandkids (her nieces & nephews) to lunch, too. It was Jordan’s choice to go to sushi. Sam always liked Burger King! (Don’t ask me why he’s looking so serious in this photo! He’s usually more like that picture upper left where he is smiling big with his sister, Hope)

Bob & I are both particularly fond of sushi. He was not a fan initially… and would order some kind of rice bowl instead (Dave’s does have other choices). However, as the years have gone by, he has become wiser! Ah yes, he loved our lunch at Dave’s yesterday as much as I did!

I had passion fruit sorbet for dessert.
Bob chose the mango.
He liked mine better!
Hah! So did I.
Here we are with Laina.

Thank you, Laina, for your very tasty,
and very thoughtful gift!


So, my WP friends, tell me,
do you relish sushi?


Do you have a good restaurant in your area
where you can go and celebrate
a special occasion like we did?

What is your favorite choice of meal?

See ya tomorrow (God willing).
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.

Super Bowl Sleepiness

Here we are – a great night – a great game – a delicious celebratory dinner – and stamina is so compromised, can’t stay awake to watch it!!

Well, that’s ok it’s recorded. He’ll watch it when he’s rested and ready to see it tomorrow!

Just gotta love that guy!

Meantime, cheers! I do love that guy!

Have a good night. God bless you. See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Hugs, JanBeek

We had a great drive around Ennis Lake with our Boston, TazE, today. Check out the pictures at http://www.Facebook.com/janbeekman

Great End to a Wonderful Day!

As promised, here is the way our 60th anniversary day ended. We took three friends with us physically (and dozens with us in our hearts) to Pompey Grill in the Sacajawea Inn & Hotel in Three Forks to enjoy an evening of thanks and fellowship and good food.

It’s a beautiful hotel.
BW, Ed & Maria helped us celebrate our 60th.
BW and Ed were both soooo helpful
during this recent move
in and out of our house
while the floor was being done!

We had already enjoyed a shrimp hors d’oeuver and a glass of wine and we were digging in to our meals when I remembered – oh yes, DeAna wanted me to be sure and take photos of us at the restaurant and the food we ate… so here are a few of our plates:

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

I enjoyed rack of lamb.

Photo by Lovefood Art on Pexels.com

You decide what the other plates were!
Everyone raved about the flavors
in the plates they chose.

Bob & I shared our special dessert with our friends.

Wish you could have joined us!

When we returned home,
Laina had sent us this collage
of our 1962 and 2022 pictures:

Thank you, Laina!
(Bob’s as handsome as ever, huh??)

It was a wonderful day start to finish.
Thanks for sharing it vicariously with us.

We hope to celebrate
many more
happy anniversaries
together!

God bless you, my friends.
Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day weekend!

Love and Hugs,
JanBeek

A Blessed 60th

Our 60th anniversary began with a message and gift from our Daughter#2, Laina. Sweet gifts – to share with her and to look forward to a dinner next week at our favorite Bozeman restaurant: Dave’s Sushi. Thank you, LainaLainaLaina!!

We love you so much!

Then we had a delightful FaceTime with Daughter#1, DeDe, who lives in Switzerland. Just now we received via FedEx a gorgeous bouquet from De & André. Are we feeling spoiled or what??

So sweet of you, De! Thank you 😊 sooo much!

Our brunch at Kalena’s Tea House here in Ennis is a tradition … the perfect place and meal to begin our anniversary. Kalena is such a sweetheart and her sandwiches are as delicious as the pickle I chose to go with it and the peanut butter cookie she warmed and presented to Bob for his dessert. Yum! Thank you, Kalena!

Returning home, our neighbor/friend, Scott, came to visit. And we received greetings from a host of our FB friends with happy greetings here on WP. I can’t tell you how warm my heart ❤️ is right now.

I pray you, my friends, have the privilege of spending a long, loving life with your best friend, too. God is good. Life is beautiful. Long live my Bobby! Carpé Diem, dear ones!

Tonight we’re going to Three Forks, MT for a special anniversary dinner. Check back tomorrow. I’ll share the highlights of that with you, too. Meantime…

Bee 🐝 well
– Bee 🐝 happy
– and
Count your blessings!

See ya later,
❤️ JanBee <3

Happy Wordless Wednesday

Wordless in Placerville

See ya tomorrow

Embrace Willing Helpers

Today a team of five willing helpers moved every bit of our furniture and appliances from our kitchen, dining room and living room. It was a monumental task!

Beekmans’ bare house

New wood flooring will be installed over this old, soft fir, scarred floor while we are gone to CA for Christmas and New Years. This is what the new/old wood will look like when it is finished:

That’s our friends, Julie & Mike’s new floor.

The wood is from a hundred year old silo in Malta, Montana. Bob saw it and fell in love with it. He decided it is what our house needs. When all is said and done, I hope it is as lovely as he anticipates – and it is worth the time, money, effort, and stress involved in such a major renovation! Our existing floor doesn’t look bad in the video, but it really is in bad shape – and the wood is soft – scars really easily. The replacement wood (going right over the top of this) will give us a brighter, lighter look. Happy New Year!

God bless our willing helpers who are making all this possible!

1921 silo in Malta, Montana

The crew who did all that work to move things today are saints! As I said, it was a major task! And the man who is harvesting the wood from this old silo is a wizard! His name is Paul. Do keep in in prayer. I just pray he maintains his health and is able to finish the project. It was originally planned for when we were on our trip to England and Switzerland last September, but Paul, FELL while doing the wood harvesting and broke some ribs and had other health issues that required surgery. So, of course, our project was postponed while he recuperated.

1921 silo

It’s fun to know the history of the wood – and to look forward to a new look in our home. But, it involves a whole lot more than what meets the eye… because one thing always leads to another, you know? I am reminded of Derrick & Jackie Knight’s recent renovation of their kitchen and entry and upstairs rooms. Derrick shared the step-by-step, day-by-day progress with us on his blog. Quite an undertaking!

We’ll be gone and Paul will be living here in our absence – – – doing his magic. I’ll show you the finished product (God willing) when we return next year, mid to late January. Meantime, do keep our safe travels in your prayers, will you? I’ll keep in touch along the way.

Have a Blessed Sunday. Bob & I will attend church this morning … and then do a little clean-up in our kitchen area to have it cleared and ready for Paul’s arrival tomorrow. What are your Sunday plans?

Us – looking forward to fun with family in sunny California

God bless you and keep you safe.
See you tomorrow (God willing)

Tomorrow is our day to pack!
Love,

JanBeek

Embrace Similes & Metaphors

The wind is like a lion
The wind is a howling hyena
The wind is like a frisky lamb
The wind is a cotton ball

The part of Montana where we live (Madison Valley in Madison County) is a wind tunnel. Right now as I sit here at my computer, I can see it. I can hear it. I can read my barometer telling me that it ranges between 15 and 25 mph this morning. Occasionally gusts of 35 mph rock the flaps on the exhaust pipe above the stove in the kitchen. People who visit us here in Ennis often comment, “How can you stand it?”

We really don’t mind it when we stop and think about what it does. The wind blows the rain clouds in. It blows the storm off to the east and over the mountain range. We can see the clouds moving and we marvel at the way those wind gusts keep us from becoming an overgrown city! Our response to those visitors’ comments is, “Oh it’s terrible! You wouldn’t want to live here!”

The wind blows the storms in
and it blows the clouds out again.

The wind is like a scooper
The wind is a funnel
The wind is like a filter
The wind is a sieve

The wind sifts out
the weak of heart & spirit!

No, we don’t get tornadoes here!
Our winds are not that bad!
But they can be inhospitable.
We’d move if that’s all we had!

Welcome to the Madison River –
Flyfishing capitol of the world!

The wind is like a welcomed monitor
The wind is a necessary friend
The wind is like a vacuum cleaner
The wind is a friendly lion

Simile/ˈsiməlē : a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).
Metaphor: compares two things directly without using “like” or “as”; the subject IS the object. Metaphors are more direct than similes, which can make them seem stronger or more surprising. Example: The sunrise this morning was an ocean of honey dusted with powdered sugar.

Nope, you wouldn’t like living in Madison County!
Hah!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
I am sending love, joy, peace, faith and
a sense of unity your way this day.

Don’t let them get blown away!

Blogging is like a private jet.
It can take you anywhere!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Embrace Yellowstone w Visitors

Today we went to Yellowstone National Park with our grandson, Nick, and his sweetheart, Celine.

The only entrances into the park that were open were the north gate by Gardner and the north-east gate by Cooke City. We were able to enjoy the Mammoth Hot Springs and the road to the Tower. Only on that last road were we able to spot a few bison. Not being able to go through West Yellowstone to Old Faithful was a disappointment, but Nick will just have to return with Celine some summer when the whole park is available. Highlights today were:

  1. TazE enjoying the Bighorn sheep that were right by the road (we did, too)

2. Enjoying a day in Yellowstone at Mammoth Hot Springs with Nick & Celine

3. Being healthy & vigorous enough to enjoy walking the Mammoth Hot Springs trail, too!

4. Stopping in Gardner for refreshments on our way home

5. And enjoying the changing colors of the night sky on our way home

Hopefully next trip we’ll be able to go through West Yellowstone and see Old Faithful in her glory. But meantime, we had a great day with bighorn sheep, bison (at a distance), antelope, mule tail deer, and a bald eagle delighting our visitors.

Nick took lots better pictures than I did… and his Instagram posts will delight his followers, I am sure.

Hopefully you can come some day, too… and enjoy this beautiful park with us.

Meantime, thanks for visiting with us today.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

To see more of Yellowstone Park, click on that August 9, 2019 post. Our cousin, Sofia, visited the Park with us on that occasion. Old Faithful and the hot springs were in full array.

Embrace Travel: Greece, Montana, Switzerland & Alaska

Do you love to travel?
What is your motivation to travel?
Some people travel to study history.
Some travel to see the scenery.
Bob traveled recently to “catch the big one!”
Others travel for business purposes.
Why do you travel?

This week my grandson, Mike,
who lived in Switzerland
took a trip to Greece
with his fiance’ Tania,
and sent me some wonderful photos.
Why do you think they traveled?

At the same time,
our daughter, DeAna,
sent us pictures
of her travel experience.
She and Andre’ (our son-in-law)
are traveling to Corsica this week.
Why do you think they traveled?

Look at the difference in travel mode!!

Bob & I traveled to Bozeman today.
That kind of travel counts, don’t you think?
It’s an hour’s drive…
We went for several reasons:
Get my new iPhone,
Get help programming the phone,
Get a haircut,
Buy new clothes for our trip to Switzerland.
Why do you think we’re going to Europe?

Snow-capped Madison Range
Ennis, MT 9-21-21

No, our trip to Switzerland
has nothing to do with Swiss cows.
Guess again!

I am praying that all these COVID tests
required for flying to London,
and then required for staying there,
and then required for leaving
and going to Switzerland
will arrive on time
to each of their destinations.
I have faith that God hears my prayers,
and God knows how much
we need to see our daughter
and the rest of our Swiss family.
Please pray with me
for all to go smoothly!

And stay tuned…

I hope to show you my favorite sites along the way.

Our buddy, Rex Hocking,
with his award-winning 30″ trout.

Bob says it’ll be pretty hard to beat
that wonderful, surreal trip
he just took with his buddies to Alaska.
Rex sent a photo of Bob fishing
(there was a bear on the shore
right across the river from
where he was)!
Just imagine that!

I can’t post that fisherman-bear photo today
(gotta figure out how to reduce the size of the file
and eliminate some of my WordPress photos
so I have room to add more in my media library)…
But, it is
pretty hard to beat
those kinds of experiences,
huh?

God willing,
and test results arriving on time,
we’ll be sharing our fun
in the days to come.

Where have you traveled recently?
Or what’s your favorite trip?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek