It was a marvelous Montana morning. The sun wasn’t up yet, but the doves were. They cooed and wooed and greeted the day. I was happy to be up before the sun.
Note the puddle on the rock there. It rained a little last night. Everything is so fresh and green. Welcome to Terrific Tuesday!
As the sky brightened, so did my spirits. Looking at the purple mountain majesty, How could anyone not be happy here? Montana is such a beautiful place to be.
Good morning, sweet Montana sunrise. Thank you, Lord, for another day; A day to rejoice and be glad in it, A day to sing God’s praises….
Sing along with me and the children:
Have a Terrific Tuesday! How will you celebrate life today?
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.”
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 cleardiagnosis and for healing, please. Thank you!
I could write a million reasons to be thankful, couldn’t you?
But if you had a Thankfulness Journal and each day you were only allowed space for five, what would they be today?
I am thankful for these five guys: Ed Platt, Bob Welna, Joe Stokes, Bob Beekman, and John Hauck. They put our stove back in the kitchen and hooked it up and moved our furniture back into the living and dining rooms. God bless ’em!!
2. I am thankful for our Ennis Arts Association and the program Cindy Owings presented to an appreciative audience at the Madison Valley Library today. Cindy’s book, The Purple Blanket, is available on Amazon. What fun it was to receive an autographed copy today!
3. I am so grateful for each new day… but especially the beautiful Madison Range that decorates our eastern landscape and the amazing sunrises that give us such wonderful views as we start the day.
4. I am so grateful for this fun-loving, faithful, generous, huggy character that I get to share my life with. Bob is the love of my life… and I am blessed to have had his companionship for these 60 years. We’ll celebrate our anniversary this Friday, thankful for each day God gives us together.
5. Listed last, but actually first in my life: I am thankful for God’s Word, my ability to read and comprehend it, the joy of sharing it with others, and the promises it holds for every day of life and beyond. Tonight eight of my friends who live in our local nursing home, The Manor, joined me for an hour of Bible Study. I love being with them and sharing selected scripture. So thankful that we can have that precious time together!
Do you have a Gratitude Journal? Do you take time each day to thank God for all your blessings?
If you do, you have discovered (as I have) that naming those reasons to be thankful has a way of magnifying the positive and shrinking your troubles.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek. See ya tomorrow (God willing) Hugs… Bee well!!
I’m thankful for this Attitude of Gratitude. Aren’t you? What five things would you list today?
Grandson, Nick, and his girlfriend, Céline, joined us for Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for family who come all the way from Switzerland to share time with us!
(See the bottom of the post for numbers 2-9 explaining the rest of the photos. Try to guess what you think I may say about each before you peek down there!)
2. Neighbor/friend, “Whooter” (Greg Winden, came at 8:30 am to help Bob prepare the smoker and to help me put the finishing touches on the turkey. I am so grateful for such caring, generous folks. We are blessed to live in this “hood!”
3. Thanksgiving is a day to be shared. I am thankful for those who joined us to make the day festive.
4 – 5. There’s Whooter helping Bob get the bird in the smoker. And there’s the turkey ready to be carved. I am grateful for Whooter’s tip: stuff the turkey with chunks of apple and orange! It kept the meat so moist! Have you ever done that with your turkey or baked chicken??
6. That’s our friend, Kathy, with Nick & Céline, and our pastor/friend, Mary Grace enjoying a few before dinner refreshments on Thanksgiving Day. Those hors d’oeuvres are part of Thanksgiving “trimmings”!
7. Meantime, in Switzerland our daughter, DeAna was having her own reasons to give thanks. Duchess (Pipo’s queen cow) gave birth to a healthy calf (a future queen for sure) and we gave thanks for his gift of naming her after our De! The calf ids (Diana – pronounced Deanna in French)! It’s quite an honor!!
8. That’s SureShot Lake … frozen over and dehydrated. We gave thanks for the fun of driving up there yesterday, but we’re disappointed to see how low it is. Those dirt mounds out there generally are under water!
9. Most mornings I start my day with a very special “Good morning” and a picture of the sunrise with prayers from my friend, Lisa, in S. Carolina.
Do you have a special friend who prays for you daily and greets you with his/her sunrise? If so, you are blessed indeed! I know for sure that I am!
What else contributed to your day of turkey and trimmings? I’m still celebrating… just finished a bowl of turkey soup made from the leftovers. Yum!
Enjoy your Saturday night, my friends. See ya Sunday. When I count my blessings, you’re right up there with the turkey!! Yup, part of the trimmings!
Bob & me on our 59th anniversary- It’ll be 60 in February!!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week, too. Can’t let this weekend pass without telling you how much I appreciate your visits here. Posting on WordPress is one of my favorite hobbies – and it wouldn’t be worth a darn if it weren’t for you. God bless you! Thanks for commenting and telling me a little about those things that count on your list of blessings.
Bee well! See ya tomorrow (God willing)… Love, JanBeek
Embrace each sunset Trust the sun will rise again Pray for clearer skies
Taken on the way home from Bozeman last night with smoke-filled skies
Psalm 65:8 “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”
Embrace each sunset Know the sunrise is coming Count on God’s promise
One season follows After another each year Changing day by day
Enjoy the beautiful voice of Aled Jones in this lovely song that reinforces the Sunrise follows every sunset focus… Close your eyes and imagine your most beautiful sunset.
Tomorrow’s sunrise Brings with it great promises Embrace each sunset
See ya tomorrow (God Willing) Make the most of it! What will you do?
Tonight I am praying for my friend, {{{Derrick}}} Do you follow his blog? Check it out. The photography is as captivating as the text. I can hardly wait for the sunrise when we get to see him & Jackie in person! Stay tuned… I’ll share it with you.
His mum peacefully retired over her last sunset on earth. My heart goes to to Derrick & Jackie and their family. Rest in peace, Mum. God bless you. Leave the light on!
I begin each day with devotionals That point me in the right direction. Then as I walk in His will the best I can, I try to spread His love and affection.
The “take-away” from each day’s reading Is a way to stay the true course. Let me share last month’s daily thoughts. “Daily Guideposts” was my source.
Daily Take-aways
Catch Problems Early
Support Others’ Efforts
Look for God’s Signs
Let Hope Abound
Embrace Today
Let God Lead You
Keep Moving Forward
Look for a Hopeful Future
Worship and Serve the Lord
Respond to Life Cheerfully
God Meets My Every Need
God’s Wellspring Quenches
Let God’s Word and Light Guide
Tend My Heart’s Garden Daily
Show Your Love and Appreciation
Trust God
Stop Worrying
Be Open to Opportunities
Be Thankful for Family
Trust God to Answer Prayer
Embrace Butterflies (Know the chrysalis important)
Listen for God’s Ah-Hahs!
Rest Secure in God’s Grip
Just Enjoy Life
Embrace Christ’s Power and Presence
We are One Family
Live Intentionally
See God’s Goodness
Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
Know God Knows
Thank God for Life!
Each sunrise is an opportunity To begin anew and make life better. Carry the daily take-away with you And live following Christ to the letter.
He led the way with His perfect life, Showing us how to love one another. He didn’t promise a bed of roses, Didn’t create puppets who would smother The good in each day or be down-trodden. God created us to be strong and tenacious. Gave us a heart we could stretch and broaden.
So, from sun up to sun down each day, Embrace the opportunities you are given To reach out in love and compassion And improve the place where you are livin’
What “Take-Away” speaks to you today? What can you embrace with open arms? What road beckons you to drive in and enter A place that needs your love and charms?
Embrace each day as a new beginning – A time to see what you can do To make the world a better place, And encourage those loved ones close to you.
How will you do that, my friend? What can you do to brighten the corner where you are?
My mom
My mom brightened her corner… That was one of the original “selfies” – (around 1989) Long before the word was coined with the use of our cell phones!
Such a character!!
Mmmmmm
I co-hosted fellowship after worship service today. Baked yummy, moist, gooey, chewy chocolate cupcakes… Mmmmm…
What will you do to brighten the corner where you are?
In my journal yesterday, I created a six stanza Haiku. It’s where I’m comin’ from on this day when I delivered Bob (my sweet husband of 58 years) into the hands of a surgeon. It’s a relatively straight-forward procedure… an angiogram to determine any heart issues that were not detected with the x-rays and EKGs. Bob is in good hands… and I am here in the hotel room relaxing:
What is Heaven like? I can only imagine. I see glimpses here.
The help of a friend The love of dear family Colors of sunrise
The pureness of snow Unconditional pet love Hidden surprises
Magnificent Son Thank you for your sacrifice So freely given
The warmth of welcoming hugs
Sending tight, heartbeat hugs to Bob as he undergoes his heart procedure
My daddy’s hugs were the tightest!!
… and eternal rest – That’s where my daddy is now. What is heaven like?
I can only imagine!
Hugging blankets works When hugging arms aren’t available
Just got a call from the hospital. Bob is out of surgery. Heart looks good. No blockages. No stents needed. Thank you, God, for hearing and answering prayer.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek and praying with me! You’re the best! See ya tomorrow.
Yesterday I missed writing for the first time in about 400 days. Did you miss me?
No, I wasn’t out on my ATV with TazE!
WordPress said I was only on my 20th consecutive day – or something like that – but actually what happened was I started the post on one day, finished it the next day and when I posted, they chose the day I started the post rather than the posted date. That caused me to miss a day. Have you ever had that happen to you?
I learned to check the post date in the future and don’t assume it will be exactly when you click on the “Publish” button.
Oh well… big deal! It caused me to stop being so obsessed with how many consecutive days I have! Just smile, post when you have something to say, And don’t sweat the small stuff.
Who cares how many consecutive days you’ve posted? I used to really care a lot. Now I have decided, “So I miss a day… big deal! Ya gotta live your life and eliminate the stress of unreal expectations!”
BUT, you know, I always have something to say! That’s not the issue. The issue is: some days other things besides writing occupy my time.
Two days ago we had the privilege of meeting for the first time IN PERSON a gal who has been my FaceBook friend for at least a decade. She and her husband were on a road trip from Ohio to California. They wanted to visit Yellowstone. It’s only an hour from us. I invited them to come stay a few days with us. They DID!! So, I was much too busy with Margo and Ron to stop and write on my blog. You understand?
Margo and me
It was fun to get acquainted with this gal who was my FB friend waaay back when we were both hooked on Farmville. Did you ever do that?
Margo used to help take care of my Farmville animals if I was away!
Now, we have graduated to helping one another in a different way. We reconnected when I reposted a comment by my friend, Father Keith, who is as concerned as I am about what’s happening with the US Postal Service. I opened Pandora’s Box – and the conversation turned caustic. Margo (who is a retired postal service worker and has a son and many friends who work for the USPS) weighed in on the conversation. God bless her!
Ron & Margo … FaceBook friend comes to life – real and wonderful!
It was wonderful to make a personal acquaintance with an on-line friend. I hope some day some of you who are my WordPress friends will come to Montana and let me meet YOU face-to-fce, too!!
What else occupied my time this past few days?
Walkin’ in the rain
Our weather here in south-western Montana is sooooo unpredictable! On Saturday we had temperatures in the high 90’s – and then Sunday it was lovely in the 80’s. That night, Margo and Ron arrived… and the next day we had rain, sleet, hail, and snow! Welcome to Montana! Let’s go for a walk in the rain!!
The flowers survived – and by Tuesday the sun was out and the temperatures were back to being comfortable again!
They say if you don’t like the weather in Montana, wait five minutes! It changes so radically so fast that it is always a topic of conversation.
I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday… and you missed me!
Take a ride this week. Take a beautiful break!
See ya tomorrow… maybe. What is keeping you occupied these days? Love ya, JanBeek
Written
on November 27, 2021