Hello beautiful sunrise from my dear North Carolina friend!
Hello Montana Snowdrifts!
Hello, dear friend, who walked over the 3’ drift to come say, “I’m here to plow you out!” (Oh my, look how the snow came in the front door!) God bless our helpers!
Hello Daughter#2 back in Maryland. Thank you for your love, hospitality, transportation, and luscious food! We miss you already.
Hello Lacey! You’re such a lucky pup to have your “People Grama” taking care of you while your parents are on their honeymoon!
Hello Daughter#1… So glad you’re back safely in Switzerland, enjoying a luscious dinner with your hubby. 👍🏽
Hello PicNick! Hey, DeDe, How fun that your #2 son came to visit and to show you his new car! Congratulations, Nicky (my #2 grandson). We’re so glad for you!!
Hello again, Lacey! Yes, I know, you need attention!!
Hello Montana sunset! Another day gone by, and we are so grateful for clear skies, for friends, neighbors, WP contacts and their comments, and for our local chiropractor who helped relieve my body aches!
(That was my first visit in my 83 1/2 years to see a chiropractor. I wonder why I waited so long!)
Have you ever been to one?
Whew! Feeling like an Angel just touched me! I hope you’ve had a blessed day, too, my friends.
Bee 🐝 well- and free of pain!
See ya tomorrow. Hah! It’s tomorrow already… I forgot to click “Publish” on this one yesterday ;o(
Is it hard for you to ask for help? Some people find it very difficult. Some people feel like they are a burden. They want to be self-sufficient.
Bob and I have learned Self-sufficiency is harder as you age. Asking for help is imperative, Especially when you are stuck!!
That red dot out there is the back – The back light of our car. We high-centered in.a snow drift. That’s about 50 yards out.
It is freezing out there – Brrr! We walked home and left the car. Brrrr… Help! We can’t do it – Can’t dig ourselves out.
It’s not the first time We needed help this week – Not the first time this year. What would we do alone??
Thank God for friends and neighbors. Thank God for Bobcats & snow blowers And friends who come to help. We would be toast without them!
Tomorrow’s sunrise promises us A better day – a chance to get out A chance to go to church and thank God For the HELP we receive from so many
Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Do not be afraid to ask Do not be too proud to admit You need help – can’t do it all yourself Let others help… and ask God for help, too!
No request is too small.
We reached out yestersay We asked our friend, Joe, for help He came and helped Bob Unbury our snow fence
Earlier this month I reached out And asked my friend, Susan P, For help with my Christmas decorations She came – we did it together – God bless her!
I couldn’t have done this without her!
May the Lord bless and keep you May your neighbors and friends Be the help you need when in distress Don’t be afraid to cry out: HELP!!
There is no joy in aloneness When you are craving assistance People want to help you They want to be asked. So do!
Do ask for HELP when you need it Ask for HELP when you want it You will be blessed and so will your helper We all need to be needed!!
This is my adorable 10-year-old friend Hailey helps to give me a sense of purpose Each week she joins me in my sanctuary We study scripture and read devotionals
I am so grateful for her and her mom They let me know they needed something In helping them, I am the one who is blessed You, too, can be the helper as well as the one who’s helped
Reach out today and make someone’s life better In the process, you will make your own richer, too. Help is a two-way street – Don’t miss it! God bless you, my dear WP friends… you help
You help by reading my blog and commenting You help by posting your stories and inspiration You never know just who needs what you write You never know who you’re he[ping today! Thanks for dropping by JanBeek today.
Your “likes” and comments lift my spirits. I’m headed to go see your blog right now, too. Thanks for your HELP!!
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!
Here is the Madison Valley and Range as seen from the Gravelly Range
We went on an adventure today into the Gravelly Range with our friend, Julie, and her dog, Zeke. Come enjoy the Montana Vistas with us!
The Gravelly Range is just south-west of Ennis. We were looking for wildflowers. This is the time of year when they usually are prolific. However, it has been a relatively dry spring and summer so far, so the flowers were not as colorful or plentiful as usual.
This field of flowers is irrigated – so they’re not the “wildflowers” we were looking for.
See that line up the mountain? That’s where we are headed.
We drove the pick-up with trailer to the base of our destination and took the ATV up from there.
Julie & Zeke rode in the back. TazE sat in my lap. Bob’s the driver.
TazE enjoyed the views. That mountain above TazE’s head is called the Sphinx.
The clouds made the sky so beautiful and interesting today, but they also threatened rain. Fortunately we had about an inch or two of rain last night, so it settled the dust. And it held off until we were headed back home this afternoon.
On the way up, we saw a lot more cattle than usual. Definitely more cattle than wildflowers!
Zeke was quite interested in the beauty of the Madison Valley vistas.
This is Caroline’s tree! We always think of her when we see it. Caroline loves tree skeletons!
As we climbed, the clouds moved out from the Madison Range and began to cover the valley.
This is a purple sticky wild geranium. Julie has an app on her iPhone that allows her to take a picture of a flower and then have the phone tell her the name of that flower. What a cool app! “Picture This” is the name I think. I need to check it out.
I can’t remember the name of this hairy wildflower. Isn’t it interesting?
We reached a place where the road was closed and we could go no further. So, we stopped and rested a while and let TazE and Zeke run around.
Julie took our photo, and while we were distracted, Zeke went out exploring.
Zeke found some wet, runny cow poop and thought it was great fun to roll in it!
Like I said, there were more cows than wild flowers, so of course, there were plenty of places for an inquisitive pup to explore!!
Julie was intrigued by some of the leaves.
I walked beyond the closed gate and took this photo of the US Forest Service sign and the field of wildflowers beyond it.
They were more brilliant than this photo shows.
Heading back down the mountain, the cows bellowed at us! They were not happy that we were disturbing their peace.
The one we enjoyed earlier was still there on our way down.
TazE continued to enjoy the views with us.
The sprinkler systems keep the fields green in spite of our near drought conditions.
The storm clouds threatened … and we got a few raindrops on our way back to the pickup.
See the squall on the other side of the valley? You can see that it is raining there.
Ah, home – with great memories of beautiful Montana Vistas!
And a beautiful sunset ended our day…
Thank you for sharing our beautiful Montana Vistas with us.
I hope you had a beautiful day, too. Embrace Montana Vistas. Come visit us!
I could have called this “Embrace Maturity,” but that would have been pussyfooting around the issue. Not everyone matures as they age, but aging is not an option.
You do it or you die.
However, I embraced this meme when I saw it:
Aging is a privilege only given to the lucky ones, you know. So, yes, I will count this year … but at 81, I sometimes forget if it is 80 or 81 and if I try to get by with the lesser number, I have an 82 year old husband who is quick to remind me.
Hah! Can’t fool him… He keeps a check on me – – – but he’s not big on donuts. Darn!
My daughter (most of you have met her on this blog in the past – DeDe – lives in Switzerland) sent me this a little while back. She particularly liked it because one of Bob’s nicknames for me is “Rocky”
Most of you also know that I have a sanctuary where I spend the first hour most every morning… and in it I have three antique rockers. Ah, yes, it’s the perfect image of me!
But the chair that brings us mutual joy is the one we put in the back of our ATV and pull out when we stop for a break. The best way to embrace aging is to find a hobby that you can enjoy with someone you love.
For Bob and me, it is joining friends and going four-wheeling on these wonderful Rocky Mountain trails. .. stopping to fish the mountain lakes. Ah, that’s livin’!!
What hobbies make your aging process more enjoyable? One of our mutual hobbies (besides four-wheeling) is teaching Sunday School.
Here are darling Ruby & Cord.
COVID got in the way of being able to meet each Sunday morning with these two darlings and one other… and then these two moved away. As they age, their mom sends us pictures.
Getting picture from family and friends is a great way to welcome the new day and look forward to the next time you can visit.
Aging is easier to embrace if you have dreams – something to look forward to, right?
We dream of next October – when COVID-19 will be controlled and it will be safe to travel to see our daughter, De, and her husband, Andre’ – and stay in one of the hotel rooms above the restaurant.
As we age, some of the benefits outweigh the struggles that come with aching joints and lowered energy levels.
One of them is, when your grandkids act up and get on your nerves, you can just send ’em back to their folks!
Couldn’t do that when you were younger and they were your own kids!
Gotta look for the perks in this aging process!
Oh my! Take ’em home!!
Another advantage of aging is that we have time to reminisce about the “Good Ole Days” and the songs we used to sing that these youngsters with their guitars and drums don’t seem to understand anymore.
And if those songs and the memories they bring aren’t enough to make you feel good about still being on this earth, try singing this one:
Another way to “Embrace Aging” is to relish the extra time you have to just find a good book, pour yourself a hot chocolate or a glass of wine, curl up in front of a warm fire, and spend some uninterrupted quality time.
When you were younger, that luxury was seldom yours, right?
Now, if you are a youngster (under retirement age) reading this blog, you are probably thinking that I am a dreamer. You’re right. I am! And each day I dream up all kinds of things to keep me exuberant about life.
Yesterday it was effervescence. The day before it was … oh, do I have to go back that far?
Nope! A trick to aging gracefully is to remain playful. Keep your hobbies, and make up ways to keep the sparkle alive. Take those boots that were left at the front door and get creative!
If you can’t get out because you’re snowed in – and you’re longing for sushi, but the nearest place is an hour away, send money to your kids and tell them to go out for sushi on you. But make sure they send you a picture… and drool all over the computer screen when they send it!
Ask your friends to send you a picture of the table they decorated for some recent holiday – and then marvel at their creativity as you sit down for the 10th night in a row at your kitchen counter… thanking God for your life, your food, your kids, and your kitchen counter.
A trick to embracing aging is to always remain thankful for your blessings… even if they aren’t at a yacht club!!
Now, here’s a couple who knows how to live it up: My friends, the Rosens.
Embrace Aging by feeding your mind Hope, Truth and Love on a daily basis.
Don’t let your mind tell you you’re OLD. That’s a state of mind for the senile. It’s not for you!
Tell your mind that aging just adds to your story… and you’re not finished telling it yet!
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.
My good friend, Lisa, who lives in North Carolina, sent me this sunset video last night. I was home here in Montana on a dark, stormy night… missing the chance to see a sunset here… and along came this gift:
Yes, it is God’s gift of love!
In the past, Lisa has sent other sunsets … and a lot of sunrises … along with prayers for blessings and health and happiness. What a wonderful friend!
My collection of sunsets and sunrises come to you with prayers and love, too.
If you love the way God chooses to start and end each day as much as I do, let me share with you other sunsets I’ve received:
And I love sunrises just as much. Let me share a couple of those with you:
Fran McNeill’s sunrise
I shared that last one with you a couple weeks ago, but I couldn’t talk about sunrises and not include hers. Talk about beautiful! Isn’t God the greatest artist ever??
So, whether you are ready for your next sunset, like we are here in Montana, or your next sunrise, like my daughter in Switzerland, let God’s handiwork amaze you…
… and share your love of the Light with all you meet. Have a blessed day – and a restful night. I’ll see you tomorrow.
After I posted a few sunsets tonight, my friend, Fran, sent me this photo of her sunset! She lives on the Madison River half way between me and Yellowstone National Park.
Take a look at this!! How would you like to have THAT view out your back door tonight?
