If I could leave a legacy that exemplified these six words, I’d die happy!
First, I want folks to say, “She loved the Lord with all her heart ❤️ and she sincerely loved her family and friends.” 🥰
(Yes, my family is a huge part of my legacy… they will live on and on … and hopefully exemplify the values I hold so dear!)
Additionally, may they say, “She was ethical and lived a life of integrity. Trying to avoid hypocrisy, Jan lived to show her faith on her sleeve, striving to behave in a way that would be pleasing to God.”
Gracious living means extending to others the undeserved love and forgiveness, the acceptance, inclusion, and hospitality that we received daily from the Lord. May they say, “She was gracious.”
I hope my legacy includes the idea of attentiveness to others, attentiveness to the details of the responsibilities assumed, and daily attention to prayer and Bible Study. I happily shared those with others. A desired part of my legacy would include, “Jan was attentive.”
Daily I asked God to help me shine His compassion through me to others. My heart reached out regularly to family, friends, former students, neighbors, and others in need. Strangers were just “friends I hadn’t met yet.” I would like my legacy to include, “She was compassionate.”
Yummy? It’s not that I want to be considered yummy, it is that I love to cook. As part of my legacy, may I be remembered as someone who delighted in preparing yummy meals for Bob and for guests in our home. May I be remembered as someone whose greatest joy was in serving others.
Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
When I leave this earth and join the heavenly angels, I am counting on seeing all those saints who went on before me… And we’ll feast on heavenly food and feed the scraps to all my Boston Terriers who’ll be there at the pearly gates to greet me.
Yes, you’re in my life for a reason. Thanks for showing up on my blog!
In his book, Ever Faithful, David Jeremiah was inspired by Psalm 145:16 when He wrote about hand gestures:
“Hand gestures can communicate our innermost thoughts and emotions. Clenched fists reveal anger. White knuckles and trembling are usually the result of fear and nervousness. We close our hands around things we want to hold on to and open them to receive and give gifts.”
My friends, Ed and Maria, open their hands to receive each others love and close them around each other to hang on to the one they love. Bob & I do the same!
David Jeremiah went on in his devotional to say, God’s generosity is described in Psalm 145:15…
“You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
It might be the prayer For a miracle to receive Or could be something simple You just have to believe
Believe that when you open Your hands to receive gifts God will fill them with wonders – With gifts that your heart lifts
Open hands are a symbol Of giving – giving our all And knowing in the process We’ll be standing tall
As a humble giver, Know what you give comes back And God knows your needs He will fill your every lack
David Jeremiah went on to remind us, “If we overlook God’s generosity, or find ourselves in the midst of a painful season, it’s easy for a mindset of scarcity to take over. We become afraid of losing what we have, and our hearts’ stance becomes one of grasping as we seek to control our circumstances.”
Grasp all the love you can get Then open your hands to give It all away – every single bit Because it’s refillable as long as you live
Bob’s hands are open to receive his “just desserts”!! Are yours open, too?
I pray for your hands to be filled Filled to overflowing Filled with love to give away Love that’s alive and showing!
God Bless you! Have a “Open Handed Day!” Will you?
She was witty She was strong She worked hard All day long
She was cranky She was smart She always finished Whatever she’d start
She was pretty She was neat She was clever But not too sweet
She was never Without an opinion Expressing ideas Was her dominion
She loved Lodge And organization Any laziness Was her frustration
She loved poetry And crooning songs Her eye was tuned To finding wrongs
She loved her girls With all her heart I know that more Now that we’re apart
She always boasted Behind our back Whatever we needed We’d never lack
She was a guide She was no saint A perfect mom No, that she ain’t
But would I trade her For another mother? My heavens, NO! I want no other
MOM!!
If you were to write a poem or sing a song about your mom, what would you have to say?
Here’s a beautiful tribute to a mom from her three sons. I love it! I dedicate it to my dear children, Ty (his wife, Monika) & De, and to my other daughter, Laina. Thank you for being such great parents!!
Beneath all the crap Lives the Word and the actions We should emulate
Let hope lift you up Take shovel and start digging Find the love in there
Fertilize your life With sincerity and grace Uncover the love
This song was recorded in 1961, the year Bob & I were engaged, the year I graduated from college. Love indeed made the world go round. We were married in 1962 and I left the west coast of the USA for the first time and moved to Germany with Bob (who was stationed in the army there). My world became bigger… filled with new love!
Let love uplift you Let love make your world sweeter Eliminate crap!
Uncover pony Rest in God’s peaceful pasture Send nay-sayers out
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.
Yesterday our granddaughter gave birth to our great-grandbaby #5, a perfect little girl. Hope and Drew named her Charlotte. Don’t you love that name?
Psalms 127:3-5 3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Dear Baby Charlotte, this poem is for you:
Bob & I have two children, Ty & DeAna. Also God blessed us with a beautiful, smart, loving daughter-in-law, Monika, and a clever, fun-loving, creative, talented son-in-law, Andre’
From those two children and their spouses we have seven grandchildren and now five great-grandchildren.
We feel so blessed to have lived long enough to see our family expand in such a beautiful way.
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This is some of the California crew two Christmases ago before our granddaughter, Faith (in the white hat), had our great-granddaughter, Mable. But, you can see great-granddaughter, Cosette, in there. Bob & I are on both sides of our daughter-in-law, Monika. Monika’s parents are behind us. Our son, Ty, is at the back. Only granddaughter, Hope, the new mommy, is missing here. Also, missing are DeAna, our daughter and her family… they are in Switzerland.
That’s our oldest grandson, Mike, with his wife, Tania, in Switzerland. We went last year to their wedding. We are looking forward to their gift of great-grandchild #6!!
Here’s De, with her hubby, Andre’, who is THE CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE in their chalet (hotel/restaurant).
We love going there to enjoy our daughter and her family (three boys) !!!
Let me know if you ever decide to travel to Switzerland. I’ll put you in touch with this wonderful Relais des Mélèzes. (You can check out their facebook page, too).- Just type that name in the search bar.
Here are Andre’ and our DollyWolly, DeAna.
Oh, and if you are blessed as much as we are, you have adopted other “kids” to be part of your family, too. Here is our dear Daughter #2, Lainalainalaina, with us!!
Yes, we are blessed indeed! She is such a sweetheart… and she has blessed us with two other granddaughters, as well.
Children are such a blessing. Babies are such fun, aren’t they? Are yours all baptized?
Here I am with DeDe. Ah, what a sweetheart she is, too!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today. See ya tomorrow.
His description of the Day 3 poetry prompt intrigued me:
NaPoWriMo Day 3: Find a shortish poem that you like, and rewrite each line, replacing each word (or as many words as you can) with words that mean the opposite. For example, you might turn “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to “I won’t contrast you with a winter’s night.”
Then Rahul shared a poem he wrote using that “Opposite” prompt: On his blog site you can see a link to the original poem.
When I am standing on the edge Revelling at the vista, which the mist blurs I forget the lovely image, hers, as She fades… fades… fades away Over me, joy has taken me in its veil More a creature of this world And one less angel on the earth I want nothing more, nothing less When I am standing on the edge Revelling at the vista, which the mist blurs I think I recall the image, hers, again She passes…passes… passes by I want nothing less, nothing more
I picked up on Rahul’s prompt and decided to write a poem inspired by poet, Holly Haley.
The original poem: “Friendships”
Write life without friendships And who would read it through? Paint life without its friendships Where is the rainbow hue? Build life without its friendships Who would live therein? For friendship’s glow leads to the goal That each of us would win.
poet: Molly A. Haley
And mine:
“Enemies”
Live life with enemies And no one would join in Scribble life with its enemies And forget to add a grin. Tear down life with its enemies And regret the choices you choose For death darkens your door When you’ve no friends to lose.
Jan Beekman
Want to try your hand at this opposites poetry? If so, I’d love to have you share it in the comments section here.
Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com Friends are such an important part of every happy life!
On the other hand, enemies are sometimes hard to find (at least for me). If you look at everyone through your Jesus glasses, you will see the divine in them. You will pray for them, and you will realize that they are placed in your world to teach you. What do your enemies teach you? Well, for one thing – they teach you what you don’t want to be!!
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com Hmmm… what does that mean, “Front Toward Enemy”??
You want that person at your back to be your friend, right? When your friend says, “I’ve got your back,” what’s that mean? To me it means, when my back is turned and someone intends to harm me, my friend will be there to protect me. Turning your back on your enemy can be dangerous!
How do we avoid having enemies? Can we really live a life without them? The PollyAnna in me says, “Of course!”
