Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘serving others’

Git Walkin’

This is the week to git walkin’ –
It’s time to git off m’ butt –
Time to leash the pup.
Git outta this home-bound rut!

So off to the park
On this beautiful day –
Git walkin’ before the sun
Warms too much and I wanna stay.

Git m’ hubby to come
And join me in the park.
We’ve got a gorgeous place –
Let’s go before it gits dark!

Take the pup to the river
And enjoy the midday sun.
Let the hubby walk her –
They’ll both have fun!

Bob & TazE
@Lion’s Club Park

With my trusty camera
I’ll git some photos fir ya.
Come walk a spell with me.
Come close – let me stir ya!

Ready? Let’s walk!!

It’s a gorgeous blue-sky day.
There’s not another soul in sight.
We’ve got the park to ourselves –
The day looks mighty bright!

Ya gotta come in person
If you wanna read this sign –
Can’t tell ya about it
Not even the upper headline.

It’s so peaceful to be
In this place with only me
And my hubby and my dog.
Let’s sit a spell and just BE!

Didja bring along a snack?
We could sit here and eat.
Give our pup a treat
And get off our weary feet.

But, no that’s not why we came.
We came to just git walkin’ –
So git a move on, Jan,
And quit yer silly talkin’!

TazE says the day is heating up
So we gotta keep on movin’ –
Whistle a tune as you jog.
Exercise the dog and get groovin’!

Around the back side of the park
The scenery changes a lot.
Fields of baled hay and no shade –
Now it’s starting to get hot!

Don’t you love these round ones?
They were square in fields back home.
Things are done differently
When you git out and roam.

Looking beyond the hayfield,
You can see a ridge halfway up.
That’s where our place is located.
It’s a great neighborhood, yup!

Walking back into the shade
Of the tree-lined park, we see
A gazebo on the lawn out there.
Wanna come sit a spell now with me?

No, it’s heating up; let’s move.
I was surprised as I walked on
To see my friends from the Manor
Having a picnic out on the lawn.

That’s some of the folks
That I lead Bible Study with weekly.
When they saw me out of context,
Some greeted me quite meekly.

Isn’t it wonderful that friends
From our local nursing home
Can get into the van and travel
To the park and watch others roam?

When I saw a couple of the kids
From our neighborhood at play,
Their greetings were robust!
Their smiles and hugs made my day!

Time for a potty stop before
Heading home to get some rest.
I’m so grateful to the Lion’s Club
For their park. Kudos to Cherrie and the rest

Who work to keep it pristine.
It’s a gift to our community.
We plan to walk there most days.
Aren’t you glad today you joined me?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek


Walk with me
through the darkness.
Pick me up each time I fall.
You’ll bring light and erase the starkness!

(Love Randy’s invitation in the song below)

Giving Your All

Mark 12:41-44

And he sat down opposite the treasury
and watched the people putting money into the offering box.
Many rich people put in large sums.
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,
which make a penny.
And he called his disciples to him
and said to them,
“Truly, I say to you,
this poor widow has put in more
than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
For they all contributed out of their abundance,
but she out of her poverty
has put in everything she had,
all she had to live on.”

Our dear neighbor, Scott, came by today.
He brought his shovel and gave us his all!
All the energy he had stored up he poured out!

Our front porch was buried in snow.
Our TazE’s exit from the kitchen door was blocked
with over a foot of snow.
The sidewalk approaching our house
was covered with over 2 feet of snow
that the wind had blown as a drift yesterday.

When Scott left, the porch and entry were cleared.
The sidewalk is passable, so UPS and FedEx
can deliver the package we are expecting today.
And TazE was able to go out
and do her business.
Hooray!

The robins who were hovering
under the patio chairs yesterday
are dancing in the trees today.
The sun is out – melting the snow
that had clung to the branches.

Happy Holy Week, my friends.
Scott gave us his all!
He was exhausted when he finished.
God bless him!

Jesus gave His all!
How much energy – how many coins –
are we willing to give?

I send my love to you, my friends.
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
See ya tomorrow … Maundy Thursday…
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

Montana Service Award

Awarded for Reaching Out

man and woman holding hands on brown wooden table

It’s always the right time to reach out a helping hand!

At the AARP Annual Awards dinner in Helena, MT tonight, Bob & I were awarded a wooden Montana serving plaque as a thank you for our years of service to the Ennis communty. (Thank you, Elaine Forsberg, for nominating us). We do so little compared to so many others!! But, we know every helping hand matters.

What an honor to be among a room full of people from all over our state who enjoy serving others during these, their senior years. Our community of Ennis is filled with people who work tirelessly to help others in a variety of unheralded ways.  On behalf of all of you who volunteer to help others at:

  • The Senior Center
  • The Madison County Library
  • The Lion’s Club (Park & Auction, etc.)
  • The Manor
  • The Madison Valley Medical Center
  • The Food Bank
  • The Ennis Arts Association Festival
  • The Fly Fishing Festival
  • The Ennis Children’s Community School
  • The Senior Companion Program
  • Local Churches
  • The Ennis Schools
  • The MVWC (Madison Valley Woman’s Club – Nearly New)
  • Etc., etc., etc

We thank you … and we encourage you to keep on giving of your time, talents and love.

This award is for all of you who volunteer!

AARP Award

Tell me some of the ways YOU enjoy volunteering your time.

No Action wasted
See ya tomorrow.

Reaching Out to Others

Reaching Out To Others

 

man and woman holding hands on brown wooden table

Happy Friday morning to you, my friends.
What’s on your calendar for today?

Many of you know that I am a retired educator
who enjoys spending my time volunteering.
I enjoy the spirit of “Paying it Forward.”
It’s not difficult to find people and places
where a helping hand is needed.

One of my favorite places to volunteer my time
is at our local nursing home.
I am a member of the auxiliary there.
At the beginning of each monthly meeting
we all recite this prayer together:

z- Prayer for Auxiliaries.JPG

When I read “all who are in distress of mind and body,”
I personalize it and think of the specific friends
who now live in the nursing home,
and remember them as the
independent, capable,
helpful folks they were…
that person is still in them!!

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Here is my friend, Elaine,
Always reaching out to others,
Always ready with a smile,
The life of every party!

Living now in half a room
in a nursing home,
dependent on others for meals,
transportation, shelter…
It must be hard!

Loneliness could set in
if caring people did not reach out
with generosity, discretion,
and gentleness.

My friend, Elaine, is one of the fortunate ones.
She has a son and daughters nearby.
They come regularly to visit
and to take her to church and to their homes.

Others are not so blessed.
They sit alone in their rooms,
waiting for the next meal, or
the next CNA to come in to check on them,
unless someone volunteers
to come and lead the Bingo game,
visit with them in their room
or on the patio on a good day,
or sit with them in the dining hall.

What can you do to reach out to others
who are in need of comfort, hope,
and companionship?

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This wonderful lady lived for nearly 25 years
in our local nursing home.
Her mom visited her daily,
but could not care for her in the apartment
where she lived alone.
As Karen’s MS progressed, she became
less and less able to manage her own affairs.
But she was always a lion at heart.
A strong soul who inspired those around her.
This face painting and costume
was done for her one Halloween a few years ago
by my granddaughter.
What a joy to see my friend’s true spirit emerge!!

Here is another person who was a lion at heart!

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One Thanksgiving, we had my friend Gloria,
come to celebrate the holiday with us.
She lived in the nursing home the last 5 to 10 years
of her long and illustrious life
(she used to sing with the NY Opera!).
Getting to know her and spending time
talking to her about her life
was such a privilege!!

Another one of my friends
was one who lived alone in a log house
at the edge of the Madison Range
where the deer and the antelope roam.
One early December day we went together to the nail salon
and had matching polish jobs.
See the snowmen on our pinky fingers?

Hands On Christmas

If nursing homes
or visiting the elderly in their homes
are not your bag,
think of other places where you can
reach out to help others.

Today I am volunteering at the
Madison Valley Medical Center.
We “Purple Ladies” do a lot to raise money
for hospital  equiment and other needs,
and to save money by being the
receptionists at the front desk
daily from 8: to 5:
The last two Fridays each month are my turn.

ladiesaux-johnbishop.jpg

I’m the “shrimp” with the silver hair in the middle back.

Today is my day to serve.
Better get going.

Who will you reach out to today
with wisdom and humility
to help make their life better?

Jan @ MVMC
See ya later!

 

Our Trip to Switzerland – Part Two

Our Grandsons

My husband, Bob, and I went to Switzerland June 27 through July 16 this year. It was our best Swiss vacation ever! One of the reasons it was so great is that our three grandsons, Mike, Nick, and Chris were such a joy to be around. Nick joined us for lunch our first day there. Tante (Aunt) Irene did, too. We ate at Le Rothorn, the restaurant (bar and grill) that our daughter and son-in-law own there in Sierre, the Sun City of Valais, Switzerland. Andre’, a master chef, prepared chicken in curry sauce over rice with veggies. His meat sauces are the best! The restaurant is a place people go for a cup of coffee and a place to read the newspaper in the morning. The plate of the day is a popular lunch time fare. Lunch is the main meal of the day. The menu includes typical Swiss dishes of cheese, chicken, pork, beef, cheval (horse), and pastas. The bar is the most popular part of Le Rothorn, in spite of Andre’s wonderful cooking skills. I wish more people came to enjoy his talents!

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Our youngest grandson, Chrissy, joined us up in the apartment after he finished work. De & Andre’ and the boys live in a three bedroom, one bath, no kitchen apartment above the restaurant. They allowed us to stay with them during the first four days of our visit. The boys all bunched up in Mike’s room on two beds and the floor so we could have Nick & Chris’s beds. We really appreciated it because staying with them gave us a chance to really have quality time with our grandsons who have grown from “boys” to young men since we saw them two and a half years ago.

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At age 17, Chris has quit regular school, lived for 7 weeks in Germany with a family (to try and learn to speak that language), and then returned to enter a nursing apprentice program. He works three days a week at the Nursing Home in Sierre and attends classes two days each week to get his vocational nursing certificate. Chris has a tender heart. He is a compassionate, thoughtful young man with a bright future ahead of him.  Bob and I enjoyed several long, insightful discussions with him during our three weeks together.

Nick, likewise, entered an apprentice program – but he finished his regular schooling near the top of his class and chose to go to work as an apprentice at SwissCom, the state owned telephone company, rather than going on to college at age 17. Now, as a 19 year old with two years of experience in the work world under his belt, he has his resume’ out and is looking for a job before going for a year to serve in the army. Army is mandatory for young men in Switzerland. After that year, Nick plans to go back to school to become a “mediamatician.” He plays a mean steel guitar, has a magnetic personality, and is the life of every party.

To complete the grandson picture, Mike (21) also is an apprentice. He worked last year as an assistant to a disabled 12 year old who was in a wheel chair and needed one-on-one help at school. Now, with the school year completed Mike is considering a computer programming apprenticeship. He has had an interview and is awaiting results. Meantime, he worked a week at a summer camp for handicapped teens. Isn’t it wonderful that our young grandsons have such a giving heart for service to others? I am so proud of them!

In the evening on our second day there, we took the three boys to dinner in Sierre. De and Andre’ had to work at their restaurant that night. We went back to Le Rothorn after dinner, had a “nightcap,”  and visited with friends before tucking in for a good night’s sleep.

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Stay tuned for Part Three – more “Family Time” and some scenes of Sierre, Switzerland 🙂

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