I LOVE the Jehovah Shalom Acapella sextet. They are phenomenal. Their musicianship, range, uplifting song selections, tone, and delightful facial expressions give me a smile and a sense of peace that lasts all day! I pray for all of them… and their ability to continue to bless us with their music. Do you know them?
I have a smile, a kind word, and a poem of encouragement to share with you. I shared it with the Madison Valley Woman’s Club today. I hope it inspired many to also “Find Peace.”
May this poem, this music, and my prayers for you bring you a sense of inner peace that allows to you to let His light shine brightly through you!
I Can Find Peace
I can find peace It’s here in my heart Living in trust Is a good place to start
I can find peace In stillness and prayer Don’t need to go far Peacefulness is there
Find peace in the world Find oneness with all Find joy and contentment No need for a wall
Peace in relationships Peace from above Just radiate inner peace And reach out in love
Among the poems that my mom collected and saved each week in 1938-1940 from Newman, California’s “West Side Index” was this lovely poem to reinforce the way we each can find peace and pass it on:
Little Things
Somebody did a kindly deed, It helped you all the day. Do it again, for somebody else, Who, needy, passes your way.
Somebody said a kindly word; Say it again, for you May brighten somebody else’s load By the word that brightened you.
Somebody smiled a cheerful smile; It made the day seem bright. It was only a little thing you say, But those little things have might.
Those little things – are they little things? Just think how the whole long day An unkind word or slighting tone Has hidden the sun away.
At our Madison Valley Woman’s Club meeting today, the ladies shared plants of basil and rosemary, gifts of one sort and other, with one another. New officers were installed. A budget for the coming year was adopted. The organization owns and operates the Nearly New here in Ennis. It is a non-profit, volunteer organization that earns “big bucks” by selling “Twice in the Closet” clothing, books, kitchen ware, jewelry, etc. Hats off to all those who donate their goods and services to the Nearly New! The second-hand shop is run totally by volunteer labor. The majority of their profits are given back to the community in the form of scholarships to graduating high school seniors, monthly monetary support to the local library, and countless other worthy community organizations (such as the nursing home, the community pre-school, senior and youth services, etc.). They budgeted $163,000 to be given away in the coming fiscal year.
There is an enormous sense of peace & community pride that comes with the collaborative efforts of the club’s more than 150 members working together all year to make these kinds of profits possible. Our town of Ennis, MT has a population of just a little over 1,000 residents. So, you can just imagine what a gift this club is not just to Ennis, but to the entire Madison County and to the state. Hats off to all those dedicated volunteers!
Luke 6:38
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Give the best you got!
May the peace of Christ be with you and your loved ones as you give generously of your time, talents, and resources.
Remember, your cup is not half full or half empty, It is overflowing… and it is refillable!
God bless you this day and every day! Hugs, JanBeek
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”
Come down to the Living Waters. We welcome you!
Have a blessed Tuesday evening – and a Wonderful Wednesday!
My home is my unwinding place It’s a restful, peaceful haven I can stay in my pj’s til noon and my hubby can lounge unshaven
But if I lived near the sea, I’d find a lighthouse nearby I’d climb the stairs and vegetate And watch the ships sail by
There’s something calming, something sweet About the crashing waves against the shore This scene soothes away all distress Makes me long to go once more.
How sweet to know I can imagine A lighthouse from my Montana home His light shines bright and helps me unwind I don’t have very far to roam.
The scene outside my window shines God’s soothing light on me A lighthouse out beyond the snow Brings calm; God’s Grace unwinds round me.
Exodus 14:14
“The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
God can calm the storm in your life and in your heart.
How do you unwind after a demanding day? I hope you have a soothing solution.
Charlotte and her mommy (my granddaughter, Hope) spent last night in the emergency room. Charlotte has jaundice and was having trouble breathing, eating, and staying awake.
Her color became more jaundiced. It was a scary situation!
Before the turn for the worse, she had an afternoon at her home to meet her siblings. They were so excited to get to hold their little sister.
That’s a happy big brother: Xander with Charlotte – Sister Sienna is looking on
I was delighted to see these cute pictures of happy big brother & sister holding their new baby sister.
You can tell by that beaming smile that big sister, Sienna, was tickled pink!
But at some point after this, Charlotte took a turn for the worse – and was taken by ambulance to the NICU (ER) in the Bozeman Hospital. Hope shared her concern with me.
I am sincerely in prayer, asking God to hold Charlotte and Hope in the palm of His hand – and help mother and child be able to return safely home soon.
I am praying also for Daddy Drew & Grandma Pam who are taking care of Xander and Sienna. Give them all peace of mind, Lord. Help them realize “God’s Got This!”
Today’s JetPack prompt was: Describe something you learned in high school.
Here’s my answer:
When I was in high school, I sang in the choir and I played clarinet in the band and orchestra. I learned a lot about music.
During the summers of my junior & senior years, my parents made it possible for me to attend Music Camp at the College of the Pacific.
I learned there that the accordion was not considered a real instrument.
(Hah! “Welcome to heaven, here’s your harp. Welcome to hell, here’s your accordion.” My friends always shared jokes about it.)
I had to learn to play the piano! That was so hard. (My hands are small and my fingers don’t reach an octave!)
I also learned that a choir or band/orchestra conductor could be very humble and quiet and still demand and receive respect.
During my senior year, I viewed those conductors in my high school with a new set of eyes and ears after singing and playing under the guidance of folks like Jester Harrison, Dr. Bodley, and Curt Herbert Adler during summer camp.
And because I was exposed each summer to music therapy at C.O.P., I listened to music and internalized it with a whole new set of ears.
This video is an experience with music that my Swiss family shared.
Different kinds of music creates different responses. You can blow it off. You can dance to it, or you can join in! Hah! That music makes me hyper! That’s our DeDe and her hubby, Andre’ in there!!
Music from a cello or other soothing stringed instrument sets my mind and body at ease. Piano music can be very soothing. Depends on the choice, of course.
This is my choice for soothing music. If you have some time and want to just listen for a while, see how this music relaxes you! In contrast, ask “Alexa, shuffle music by Fluffy Machine.” That’s my grandson, Nicky’s band. Oh my, it’ll jazz you up!
What’s one way I used “Music Therapy” in my classroom? It’s based on the Iso Principle. Match the mood of the music to the person’s mood; Change the mood of the music, and the person’s mood changes with it.
When my students came in from recess, they were all hyper. I played hyper music on my accordion to match their mood and gradually changed it to calmer sounds. Then we sang a song,
“It’s math time, math time, Time to have some fun. Please get out your books now, Turn to page ___, Be ready. OK, we’ve begun.”
It worked! They were all on the right page and ready to begin!
Parade Magazine once had an article about music. In it, the author wrote, “Can you imagine your life without music? It’s almost impossible. Whether we are cruising in the car headed to the beach on a hot summer day or listening to muzak at a doctor’s office, we are constantly surrounded by song. Makeups, breakups, parties, hanging out with friends, singing along with our kids, or caroling a Christmas tune— music stamps nearly every aspect of our life. Much in the way a killer soundtrack accompanies a movie, most of us have songs that accent each phase of our lives, melodies that instantly bring us back to specific moments or memories when we hear them even years later.”
Is there a song or a piece of music that impacted your life? Here is one of my favorites.
You can go to YouTube to hear this music or you can ask “Alexa” or “Siri” to play this song by Susan Boyle. It is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. I love it… and I want to be exactly that.
Let music change your life – every day! Thank you, JetPack, for this prompt. Thank you, dear blogging friends, for visiting.
“You will find enough of the abnormal in the so-called normal to meet your needs,” Mrs Wilhelmina Harbert said to me.
A Country Living quote shared by Sue Newell prompted me to remember that advice from my college counselor. I was majoring in music therapy. It was my junior year. I was having sleepless nights.
Music Therapy jobs were few and far between. Most were in State Hospitals where severely disturbed patients were. The thorns in my dear music therapy patients at the Stockton State Hospital where I was interning kept me from seeing their beauty. I only saw their distress. And I cared too much. I couldn’t leave the thorns behind when I left. I carried them with me.
Mrs. Harbert wisely suggested I switch my major to regular education. “You love people. You care about them. Our public school classrooms need people like you.” So, in my senior year, I began the work of obtaining my regular elementary education teaching credential.
Smartest move I could have made!
Sure enough- there’s a lot of crazy in each of us! Sometimes it’s our most lovable part!
I used my music 🎶 as therapy every day in the classroom with countless so-called normal kids. It helped calm the abnormal in them. I helped them appreciate their uniqueness. (I’ll write more about how music therapy worked in another blog later that week.)
Music helped my students appreciate the fun in those outside the norm parts of us.
I hope you appreciate the parts of you that are outside the norm, too. They make you special. Do you know what some of them are?
Tell me!
It’s fun to know I have a lot of the abnormal in my so-called “Normal” self!
When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was born singing – well, I sneezed first before I cried. Then I cooed – a humming song! By the time I was five, I wanted to be in an all girls’ choir and tour the world!
No, I didn’t end up doing that. I’m not in that choir! But, you can understand why I was so enamored by the unique sounds of this girls’ choir, Jitro (Daybreak) from the Czech Republic! What a privilege to hear them! And they ARE touring the world!!
I posted a couple of short videos from the second half of their concert this week. Here are a couple from the first half. Listening to them will cause you and all who hear to want to ask “Alexa” to play some of their music for you! I did that. They are recorded on Spotify.
One of the girls told us during the fellowship time after the concert that she’d been singing all her life, too. And she joined the choir when she was four! See, I could have lived my five-year-old dream!
When you were five, what did you want to grow up to be?
What do you think you were born to be?
Thanks for joining me at JanBeek today. Have a lovely 🥰 rest of your Friday – and enjoy your weekend!
Tonight we were privileged to hear a spectacular choir concert.
I didn’t record the whole song… saving my phone battery! But you get a taste of it.
The unique sounds of this girls’ choir, Jitro (Daybreak) from the Czech Republic, will cause you and all who hear them to say, “I Believe in Music.” The talent, skill, and perfection of these girls and their director and accompanist brought tears to my eyes! Tears of joy and appreciation.
They were so animated… and pitch perfect. Adorable!
The girls were amazing. The music transcended my ability to put into words how gorgeous and impactful it was. The director obviously exuded talent and elicited the love and respect of his choir members. What a delight!
The concert was in the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Virginia City, MT, just 15 minutes from our home. This group has performed at Carnegie Hall, in New York, in Tokyo, in Australia … all over the world! And we got to hear them in our little community!! What a treat! What a blessing!
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
I wish I had taken some pictures of them during the first half of the concert. Their costumes were different. They changed during the “half time” break.
Yesterday the choir sang at two Bozeman, MT high schools and joined those schools’ choirs last night to perform in a combined choir concert for that community.
During the day today the girls enjoyed our Montana culture, touring this old mining town of Virginia City and dressing up as cowgirls, 1800’s western madams, and having their old fashioned pictures taken. Tonight was their last concert on this USA tour. Tomorrow they’ll fly home to the Czech Republic. I’m so grateful they were here and we got to hear them!
I wish you could have been there to see and hear them with us and see/feel the charisma of their director. Do you “Believe in Music”? What’s a favorite concert you’ve attended?
Have a great rest of your week, my friends. I send my love – JanBeek
