Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘nature’

Alacrity

Do you know this word?
Alacrity!

happy sportspeople of different ages preparing to run in forest
Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.com

Alacrity = cheerful readiness

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

When I chose my word for 2023, “Ready”
back on January 1, 2023,
I did not know what I needed to be ready for.
But I told myself, “Whatever comes my way,
I will be cheerfully ready!”

This past week, we had the privilege
of hosting my niece,
her husband and 16-year-old son,
and her bff from Utah, Melissa.
And mid-way through their visit,
our son and his wife came for
3 days and 4 nights.
A house full!
Was I ready?

Yes! When your guests are happy, helpful, and relaxed, it’s easy to be cheerfully ready for them!

A day in Yellowstone was a highlight. We all were ready for the bubbling geysers and pools, bison and other animals. Old Faithful always was a hit!

Are you ready to visit Yellowstone? Are you ready to ooh and aaah?

That photo captured only about 1/4 of the herd. It was the largest group of bison mamas and their calves that I’ve ever seen!

We were ready to see the elk and deer 🦌 So, yes, they did not disappoint us! We even saw a black bear. Rare!

My grand-nephew, Liam and I were ready to have our memories of “Artist’s Point” captured by a kind tourist. It’s my favorite Yellowstone spot!

And the guys were more than pleasantly waiting with alacrity for their day of fishing on the Madison. Each of them caught at least one fish … some caught three. No, we didn’t have a fish fry! The Madison River has a “catch & release” policy.

What are you ready for today? I hope you’re anticipating it with alacrity!

Have a Marvelous Monday!

Live, laugh, love ❤️ JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Family, Fishing, friendship, learning, Love, Memories, Montana, nature, relationships, Travel

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For the Beauty

Oh, the beauty of the earth
Is astounding day by day
Don’t take it for granted
Ot it may fade away!

The Tetons – and the oh so beautiful river

Montana wildflower hike

The Hardwick’s Montana sunset

(Psalm 98:7-9) 
“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.”

Have a gorgeous day
wherever you are
Enjoy this beautiful earth
The sea, the mountains,
the sun and stars…
And praise our God
Who made them all.

Amen

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, flowers, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, mountains, nature, respect

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Peace of Mind

How do you find peace of mind?

Photo by Jonathan Meyer on Pexels.com

In my devotional studies today,
the Moody Bible Institute’s “Today in the Word”
asked that question. What is peace and where do you find it?

If you go to Pexels.com
and put in the word “peace”
you will find many images
that suggest answers to those questions:

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

What does this one suggest to you?

Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com

Of course, this suggests prayer…

Photo by Nandhu Kumar on Pexels.com

… and this has a Zen origin, right?

Photo by M Venter on Pexels.com

Many folks find peace by going out into nature and finding seclusion.

Photo by Anastasiya Lobanovskaya on Pexels.com

Others look for peace in communication
with others who are seeking the same goals.

Photo by Fernando Arcos on Pexels.com

Music provides a source of peace for me and many others.


My greatest sense of peace comes from my faith.
As a Christian, PEACE is not a place.
It is not an unattainable emotion.
Peace is a person!

My peace comes from God’s grace
in the person of Jesus.


John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I find evidence of that joy-giving peace all around me…
and I am assured of it as I read my Bible
and study the devotionals that reinforce my faith.

Today in the Word
has a study of The Gospel of Luke
titled, “Peace on Earth” this month.

In his introductory pages,
Dr. John Koessler wrote,
“This promise of peace belongs to
those upon whom His favor rests.”

Does His favor rest on you?

Photo by mododeolhar on Pexels.com

Thousands of years before His birth, Isaiah predicted Him:

Isaiah 9:6

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be upon his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.”

Then, when Isaiah’s prediction came true,
Jesus came to earth… the Prince of Peace,
Here to show us how to find His peace,
Here to show us how to live.

Ephesians2:14 put it this way:

“Jesus is our peace”
Because Jesus “came and preached peace to you
who were far away and those who were near.”

Photo by Rodolfo Clix on Pexels.com

Jesus came, lived to show us and teach us, and died to save us.
Believing that is the road to His grace.
Believing that is the way to Eternal Life.
Believing that is the path to peace.

Dr. John Koessler wrote:

“Those who know the peace of Christ
become agents of peace themselves.
When Jesus first sent His disciples
to proclaim the kingdom,
He told them,
‘As you enter the home, give it your greeting.’

Matthew 10:12
(the traditional Jewish greeting, Shalom)

This was more than a social formality,
Christians are offering peace through
faith in Christ to others.
The shalom of Christ is more than a greeting.
It is a promise.
There is more to peace than a personal experience.
For the Christian, peace is a person.
Jesus is our peace.”

Photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

Reach out!
Touch Him!
He is the Holy Spirit in you.
He is the King of Peace,
here to give you His peace.
Take it!

In Him is my peace of mind.
Where is yours?
I pray you find it in Him.
Merry Christmas!
He came to save you and me.

Love and peace to you,
JanBeek

Thank you, God, Lord, Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit
for the love, joy, and peace that are mine!

Category:

Belief, Bible Lessons, blessings, contentment, Faith, God, Gratitude, happiness, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, peace, prayer, truth

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Visiting Zinal

What a wonderful way to spend a Monday afternoon in Switzerland! DeAna drove us up to Zinal… just to enjoy the time together, the scenery, and an ice cream. We did all three. Wanna join us?

Mountain majesty

Views usually not seen

Except in movies

Sharing with our De

Made all the more beautiful

By stream and mountains

Blue sky up above

Flowing River at our feet

Life can’t be more sweet

Then add some icecream

And the cows that made the cream

Surely it’s a dream!

Hearing the children

Laughing and playing outside

Yes, it’s Paradise!

Meantime, the Groshongs

Continued their hiking fun

In this same region

Found a gentle cow

Grazing on the Swiss hillside

Up close – personal!

Lucky the bovine

Was feeling cooperative

But don’t press your luck

Here comes another

He’s looking mighty leery

Don’t try petting him

Onward to glacier

Visit before it is gone

Then back to Zinal

What will tomorrow bring? Come back and see! I love sharing with you. Which of my pictures today did you like best?

Love to you from JanBeek (and Bob & De, too)

Category:

Animals, blessings, Family, friendship, Haiku, Love, mountains, nature, Poetry, relationships, Travel

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The Hills Are Alive!

The hills are alive with the sounds of family!

Yesterday our daughter, DeAna, drove us down into the Rhône River Valley, through Sierre, and up into the Alps on the other side to an area called Crans-Montana. It is where she & André lived 30 years ago when they first moved here. On the hillside e hind the restaurant André managed way back then are a few chalets. One of them, built in 1772, is owned by ZuZu & Célia. They invited us to spend the day there with them.

ZuZu (Christian Zufferey) was our AFS son in 1980-81. He is André’s first cousin. He and Célia prepared an amazing meal for us! The first plate was an outstanding eggplant quiche. The second plate was lamb (my favorite) and a ratatouille. All the vegetables they grew in their gardens here in this gorgeous high Alpine place.

The opportunity to be together again with ZuZu was so very special. After the meal we shared various liqueurs – also made by them using various fruits, etc. that they grew.

After our time there, De took us back down into Sierre where we had a nice visit with our friend, Christiane Rielle.

Then (as if day was not already blessed enough), we were treated by our DeDe and our grandson, Nick, to a wonderful dinner at Capri Restaurant in Sierre before returning to Vissoie for the night.

Then today we went on a guided tour of Sierre. Our grandson, Mike’s new bride, Tania, provided the tour. At the Sierre Tourisma Office, my buddy Terry found a hat for a souvenir… and I found a terrific pair of funky glasses that I could not resist!

Now you can see why I didn’t bring a pair of sunglasses with me on this trip. I needed THIS pair!!

Bob, Jim & Terry Groshong, our MT/CA best friends, learned all about the history of Sierre. There is the town hall behind the 4 of us. If you saw my post about Mike & Tania’s civil ceremony, it’s the same place where they were married last weekend.

Then Tania guided us to an old (1700s) chalet. Look at they key Jim is holding. It opened the cellar door where we did some wine tasting.

Next Tania drove us to Chateau Mercier where she explained the history and we tasted more fine Swiss wines.

Lovely Chateau Mercier has beautiful gardens, too. We walked around and admired them before going to Chateau Villa for Raclette dinner. Mike joined us there.

Mike & Tania’s church ceremony is Sept. 20, so we have another couple weeks here to enjoy the hills alive with family. Stay tuned!

Jim & Terry will leave tomorrow – so you can say farewell to them for now nit’s been wonderful to have them with us this week!

I can never tire of these beautiful Swiss Alpine views! Come back tomorrow. We’re going to take the bus down to stay with André’s mom. I’ll share those views with you, too..

Thanks for traveling vicariously with us! Bee 🐝 well, dear friends! See you tomorrow (God willing).

Love, JanBeek (and Bob)

Category:

Family, food, friendship, Love, mountains, nature, relationships, Travel

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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)

Category:

Gratitude, humor, Life's Challenges, Love, Montana, music, nature, Poetry, relationships, writing

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Embrace Day’s End

Sunset
Cooling down
Illuminating the clouds
Allowing colors to change
Night

Do play this beautiful music
and hear the soothing sounds
as you read on…

Sit
Find peace
Embrace day’s end
Reflect on today’s highlights
Breathe

Observe
Changing seasons
Time passing by
Snow melting in mountains
Notice

Capture
Time slowing
Night creeping in
Birds finding their nest
Sleep

Imagine
Better tomorrows
Problems being solved
God’s blessings poured down
Nightfall

Clouds
Drifting by
Silently gathering momentum
Taking troubles with them
Peace

Beautiful wonderful and majestic
Ocean Sunset Guincho Beach
I hope you’re listening to that

Glowing
Slowly disappearing
Taking struggles away
Timeless tides – shifting sands
Goodnight!



See you tomorrow (God willing!)
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, contentment, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, music, nature, peace, photography, Poetry, writing

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Embrace Swiss Beekeeping

In 2018 we were in Switzerland and our daughter, DeAna, arranged for our grandson, Michael Solioz, to visit a Swiss beekeeper with his Grampy Bob. Bob wrote up some questions ahead of time, and Mike translated them for the man who is the president of the Sion Beekeepers’ Club.

This video is so professionally done by Mike. I guarantee you will enjoy it. The beekeeper is such a delightful man – a retired physician!

So, what did you think of that?

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that Bob is a retired beekeeper… He did that for over 20 years after he retired from teaching/coaching.

Photo by FRANK MERIu00d1O on Pexels.com

No, that’s not Bob up there. He rarely dressed up like that! No suit, no gloves, just the hat and veil sometimes. He is the “bee whisperer” according to beekeeper hobbyists here who enlist his help with their hives occasionally.

Notice Bob’s short pants, bare hands, and hat without veil. Experienced beekeepers seem to know how to approach the bees with peaceful intentions that the bees can sense… unless they’re Africanized bees (that’s a whole other blog topic someday).

Anyway, it was fun to uncover that 2018 Swiss beekeeper interview. I hope you enjoyed it.

Bob & I wish you a Happy Monday
and a fun-filled, productive week.

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

Category:

Animals, food, health, Love, Memories, nature, work

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Embrace Fly Fishing

It’s a beautiful evening
for a maiden fly fishing adventure.
Bob & Steve took Mary Grace out on the Madison.

First, she needed a rod, reel, tippet, and some flies.
Steve Hundley made a box of ’em for her!
Then he taught her how to tie one on.
Every flyfisherperson needs a good pair of boots.
Thank you, Fran McNiell!!
Every fisherperson needs a license, too.
Next year Mary Grace will be a resident
and it won’t cost as much, we hope!
It was $120 for non-residents this year.
That was quite an increase!
Mary Grace watched carefully as Bob readied the boat.
Three happy fisher(wo)men!! Almost ready…
OK, boat’s in the water… now hop in!
The weather was warm (92 degrees) –
but it will be cooler on the river.
I watched to be sure they were on their way…
(They put in at 8 Mile Fishing access)
Then I drove the pick up with trailer home.
Happy Fly Fishing, Mary Grace.
I hope you have a great time!!

Stay tuned, friends.
I’ll give you a report tomorrow to let you know how they did.
I hope they are able to catch a few big ones.
They will call when they are ready
for me to get them at the “take out” in Ennis.
Bob says, “The tug is the drug.”

Do YOU embrace fly fishing??

Category:

contentment, Fishing, friendship, learning, Montana, mountains, nature, Serving One Another

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Embrace Majestic Calmness

Happy June 1st to you.
The “Official” start of summer!
And we finally have springtime in the Rockies.

Life can be hectic
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Play some “Spa Music”


Life can be stressful
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Take a walk outside

Life is difficult
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Take some time to pray

A life filled with faith
Embraces Everyday Calm
Knowing Who’s in charge


Have a Terrific Tuesday, my friends.
I hope you’re enjoying that spa music
And it is calming your soul.

What other ways do you have for finding calmness?

See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Category:

blessings, Faith, flowers, God, Haiku, health, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, Montana, mountains, music, nature, peace, Poetry, prayer

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