Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘photography’

Travel to Uganda

I probably never will travel to Uganda, but my friend, Lisa Glines, just returned from a trip there. I was privileged to travel with her – vicariously, of course.

Lisa’s daughter-in-law, Aneesa, was Lisa’s travel partner. Aneesa celebrated her birthday with their wonderful Ugandan travel guides and travel partners. This photo is their friend, Sam, celebrating with them. Happy Birthday, Aneesa!

Thank you, Lisa, and Aneesa, for sharing your adventure!
One of their guides was a bird expert.

This is the Crested Crane, Royal Uganda’s national bird

Other guides were animal experts
who knew just how to find
where these exotic animals
lived,
swam,
and dined.

Doesn’t Aneesa look like a fun-filled travel partner?

Waiting for a hand-out?
Sunrises and sunsets were spectacular!
Must have been quite a thrill to get so close to these beautiful animals.
Ready to travel home. Thank you so much for sharing!!

Luke 3:11  

And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

I may not have had a tunic to share… nor food to share with you today, but I had travel photos that were graciously shared with me… so time to pass them on with gratitude for Lisa’s big heart! I hope you enjoyed the virtual Uganda trip, too.

Sharing colors my world. I hope it colored yours today, too.
Have a Happy Presidents’ Day here in the USA,
and a Marvelous Monday, my friends.

Lotsa Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Animals, Bible Lessons, Love, nature, relationships, respect, Serving One Another, Sharing, Travel, trees

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Reblog #8 – Be at Peace

Seek the stillness
Seek the tranquility
See the peace within
The calm in you and me

Photo by Lisa Glines

Imagine a peaceful lake
Breathe contentment into your life
Relax and be a gentle presence
Turn away all stress and strife

Don’t try to hear me –
The wind drowns out my voice.
Just enjoy the scenery!

That is a video
Taking you down the driveway
to our home behind the trees

Photo by Nick Kwan on Pexels.com

Do not let the wind
Disturb your tranquility
The wind moves the clouds

The clouds paint pictures
The clouds bring much needed rain
Wind whips them away

Let the wind help you
Blow away any distress
And just be at peace

Smile, my friends!



When this post was first written,
Bob & I were headed out in the boat
to float the Madison River.
Since then, we have sold the boat.
A lot has changed in our lives.

I took this photo on my walk earlier the day this post was first written.

I took TazE for a walk by the river.
She loved it.
Today it is snowy and blowy here…
No river walks.
But I will post a few pictures to show you
what peaceful scenes our Madison River provides!

Many thanks to Ed Coyle for his talented photography

.

Come and visit us here someday!

Be at peace, my friends.

I gotcha covered in prayer.
Have a peace-filled day.

Love,
JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Family, Fishing, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Living in Harmony, Love, Montana, mountains, peace, photography, Poetry, relationships, Travel

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In the Winter Now

Jem Croucher, Poet’s Corner introduced to me today a new poetry form. Her blog beautifully described “In the Autumn Now” in an aaab rhyme scheme.

For those of you unfamiliar with those poetic descriptors, the aaab scheme means the first three lines all rhyme, but not the 4th one.

The fun thing about her last line is that it was the poem’s title and it was repeated in each of the four stanzas. Brilliantly done! (There are probably other rules to this rhyme form, like 7 or 8 syllables to create rhythm on each line… but I’m not sure I can do that! So will just go with the rhyme scheme and number of lines for now.)

I’m going to try my hand at this poetry form, but as you know if you saw my post yesterday, we – here in Ennis, MT – are “In the Winter Now.” Alas, our fall colors are buried under several inches of snow. Beautiful, but – oh my – too early for me!

From my kitchen window

October snow fell softly

The view from our dining room
Through the screen of my bathroom window –
Look up – can you see the icicles?

October snow – unseasonable
Way too early – unreasonable
Return of colors – unfeasible
In the Winter now

Lack of wind – delightful
Snow in clusters – rightful
Blue sky returning – eyeful
In the Winter now

Howling winds return – disappointing
Wind chimes play – enjoying
Returning storm looms – annoying
In the Winter now

Tasting falling snowflakes – purely
Venturing out in the snow – securely
Getting skis ready – prematurely
In the Winter now

Wanna try your hand at this poetic form?
Go ahead … give it your best shot.
It’s fun!

For a really good example of the form,
check out Jem’s
In the autumn now
It’s delightful!

Send your poem to Jem Croucher
She’d be delighted to hear from you.

Speaking of fun –
Look at that photo of us –
100 years ago –
Ready for winter!

Hah!
See ya later.
Stay warm.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

learning, Love, Montana, nature, photography, Poetry, trees

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Scenes So Lovely

Seeing the falls he named in honor of his queen, David Livingstone wrote in his journal, “Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”

Waterfalls and all God’s natural beauty affect me the same way. This country of Switzerland is so full of those “scenes so lovely.”

Waterfalls and bridges in Switzerland amaze me!
Chalets with lovely flowers abound
This was on the way to Zinal yesterday
But De & André’s is the best!

As we venture out, the lovely scenes are amazing in every season here.

Tania at Hotel Weisshorn – photo by Mike Solioz – taken last autumn
Way back when … we climbed waaay up with DeDe.

Scenes so lovely!

Flowers are abundant in private gardens and public places.
André’s croûtes au fromage (potato or bread w cheese, etc.) is a Valaisan specialty. It’s a “scene so lovely” too!

André and De are so generous as they share their chalet, meals, transportation and their love with us and with De’s best buddy (our daughter #2 Laina) and her daughter Katy. What a grand reunion we had with them here yesterday!

Katy, Laina, me, Bob & DeDe

Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Last night Mike & Tania joined us for a fun evening of raclette & karaoke. Chris & Nick and their girlfriends came, too. Ah, we are so blessed with this wonderful Swiss family!

Thanks for joining me and sharing these “Scenes so Lovely” today. Wish you were here in person! Come back tomorrow, okay? See ya then (God willing).

Hugs, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, contentment, Faith, Family, flowers, food, Gratitude, Love, mountains, nature, peace, Travel

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The Joy of Being (in Switzerland)

The joy of just being

Is certainly joy enough

But the joy of being in Switzerland

Is a joy that’s hard to beat – it’d be tough.

While friends and family back home

In California and Montana are roasting

We were enjoying comfy mid-seventies

And lovely meals and yummy wine toasting

Then the weather changed!

.

We were having ham with salad & sausage

At De & Andrés wonderful chalet

I came back to our room to post

And left Bob to finish dessert, but hey…

.

There were two girls outside

Hunkered under umbrellas in the rain

So I pointed to our inside table

And sent them to Bob – let me explain

He was having sorbet; I was done

My place at the table was free

He will love getting acquainted

And they will love his company!

This morning we cooled it in our room

Bob read and I enjoyed reading posts

The day started off rather quiet

More alone time than Swiss’s most

We went for a walk in Vissoie

And enjoyed every sight and each sound

We visited the local church and had

Time for prayer, finding God all around

“Daily Word” gave us the scripture

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice”

Let nothing keep your joy from you-

Respond with a song; raise your voice!

Like a well that can never run dry

My joy is a wellspring from the Lord

I deal with whatever life brings me

With a smile – and I never am bored!

Keep your sense of humor alive

Find the joy in whatever you see

That poor bunny hit the door with a bang

Oh come on, have a good laugh with me!

There he is on the other side!!

.

The joy of being in Switzerland

Is part of the happiness of being alive

Well enough to travel and adapt

Thanking God each day we survive!

Thank you for traveling vicariously with us!

We love sharing with you. Take joy!

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” Psalm 32:11

See ya tomorrow (God willing) –

Love, JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, contentment, God, Gratitude, happiness, Jesus, Love, optimism, Poetry

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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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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!

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, Family, God, Gratitude, Jesus, Love, Montana, mountains, music, nature, optimism, Poetry, prayer, relationships, writing

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Bloganuary#20 – Favorite Photo

https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/20/favorite-photo/
Check out my response to the #Bloganuary prompt #20.
Click on the link above.

By the way, I love that photo of Bob back in his beekeeper days when he permed his hair. Don’t you? It was taken in our house in Modesto, CA with our Boston, Jacques. He had funny buck teeth (the dog, not Bob).

Do you know why Bob curled his hair? He hates to wear hats. As a beekeeper with naturally oily hair, bees loved to buzz in there and sting his scalp. The curls lifted the hair off the scalp and dried out the oiliness. The bees left his head alone. Interesting, huh?

I hope you enjoy the collection of photos I put on the Bloganuary site today.

Tell me, can you choose a favorite photo that you have taken?

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

Category:

blogging, food, friendship, Love, Memories, photography, writing

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Embrace Old Churches

Photo by gifted photograher, Gerry Mooney

This old church in McAllister, Montana is a treasure! The bell in the dome still rings, though the organ in the church no longer plays and the roof and foundation of it are compromised. It needs a lot of TLC.

Its history goes back to 1885 – when the land was gifted to the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1887 the structure was completed. It was transferred to the Presbyterian Church (where Bob & I are members) in 1952.

We (as a congregation) love this old church, and many of our members, their friends, and their grandparents or parents or children or grandchildren have been married or baptized there.

Preserving precious old churches such as this one is an ongoing responsibility. It is costly and time-consuming. Respect for what it was and how it served its community in decades past keep us loving those old buildings.

Here are a few others that are treasures in their communities. If only they could talk!

Dilapidated
Sadly abandoned old church
Is God still in there?

Matthew 16:6.
In many ways Matthew chapter 16
is a chapter about the church.
Jesus was the first to mention the church.
He only mentions the church twice,
and both times are here in the book of Matthew.


In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said,
“And I say unto you,
That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

This is the first time that Jesus used the word church.
He used the word church only twice,
so it is good to know exactly what Jesus taught about the church.
It may be that the things that Jesus taught about church
are the things that are the most important to know about it.

Church is a place to trust in God’s promised presence
( Matthew 18:20)
as we worship Him together,
out of a sense of love and obedience
( Colossians 3:16 ).

When the church is functioning biblically,
it’s more active and alive when the seats are empty,
and the community is filled with those
seeking to activate the gospel in love for each other.

Many of these old churches were also home
to the cemeteries that bear the tombstones
of its deceased members.

What a shame to allow them to
deteriorate and collapse.
But, who has the money
for restoration and maintenance?

Weekly church attendance is down in our society today.
It sometimes downplayed into a legalistic ritual.
According to Pewforum.org, 61% of churchgoers
attend to feel closer to God,
while a sizable majority of non-churchgoers
state they practice their faith in other ways.

Which is the right way?
Modern society may beg us
to believe the choice is ours,
but biblical truth is clear
about going to church.

Jesus Christ seeks in earnest
to meet us on a day set aside
to commemorate His defeat of death,
to equip us to sustain our faith until He returns.

I am so grateful for my friends
who sit in the pews with me every Sunday.
Indeed, they help me sustain my faith.

Old churches remind us of the
value placed on weekly worship
in communities gone by.

Let’s all work to keep our churches
vibrant, healthy, and inviting.
Don’t let it become a place of ruin!

Oh the church in the valley
Is a place I know so well…
Listen to Jim & Jesse
sing to you about it:

Do you have a little old white church in your history?

Category:

Aging Gracefully, Bible Lessons, Faith, God, Haiku, Jesus, Living in Christ's Family, Love, Memories, Montana, music, photography, respect

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Embrace What’s Not There

The world always seems brighter
when you’ve just made something
that wasn’t there before.

― Neil Gaiman


More than 500 people came to enjoy the display of art
at the Madison Valley Arts Festival yesterday.

Sue Kinn-Brown created something new with pottery.
I love her poppy motif.
Another artist created unique purses with beautiful fabric.
I love this elegant belt as its closure.
Joe Gillispie used old wood to create a unique table (Thanks, Joe! )
This artist used her photography skills to capture unique images.
Then she enlarged and framed them.
Aren’t these fox kits adorable?
As a seamstress, “Joy” creates personalized gifts.
You can capture meaningful phrases and
create unique wall hangings.
This is personalized fishing gear.
Those rod cases and fishing nets
include etched names –
personalized for your favorite fisherman!
Start your children young – enjoying art festivals
and creating their own art…
Who says giraffes can’t have red eyes?

This children’s art area also gave kids a chance to paint rocks.
Why not?
Always good to have a spot where
young artists can create their own
unique items that weren’t there before.
Let your photography enhance other folks’ homes!
Do you have a wall that needs something that wasn’t there before?
Thanks, Margie Reck, for ordering our 25th anniversary cake.
Baking and cake decorating is another way to
create what’s not there.
And within a half an hour it’s not there again!
Festival customers enjoyed this dessert –
celebrating with us!

Before these artists created their cakes, photo images, colored giraffes and painted rocks, rod cases and wall hangings, stockings and tables, purses and pottery, those items obviously were not there.

Use your God-given talents and unique inspirations to create what’s not there yet.

The world would be a very different place, a much less interesting place, an environment with much less beauty if we didn’t have artists. Thank God for our artists!

Embrace What’s Not There.
Create it!


Thanks for visiting JanBeek.

See ya tomorrow (God willing).

Category:

Animals, art, children, Love, Montana, photography, work

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