The scriptures and the devotionals that popped up this week all point the way to our preparation for spring. Get ready! Be prepared! Make way for the new!! It will come, won’t it? Eventually?
I am more than ready for our ice (used to be snow) piles to melt and allow the bulbs to wake up and begin to sprout!
Isaiah 43:16,18-19-
This is what the Lord says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing…”
But, I do remember those former things!!
These were the last of them from last spring.
I am ready to hang my spring wreath and I am ready to “Spring Up!” my clocks tonight in preparation for Daylight Savings Time.
I am ready to keep that time schedule all year round to give us more hours of daylight in our waking hours. How about you?
Get ready for a sunny Sunday! I am ready for more sunshine. How about you?
I love it when my friend, Lisa, sends me photos of her sunrises above the lake near her home in North Carolina.
I’m ready for a ride on “Lucille” (our redheaded ATV who is a “Ball”) into the springtime wildflowers on our mountain trails around here.
Right now, looks like that’s a couple months away.
This year we won’t have our TazE (our beloved Boston Terrier traveled over the Rainbow Bridge last December. We miss her!) to keep us company on our rides. She was sure a great trail companion!
We saw some mighty PURDY sites together on those rides! Sometimes we’d take the trail all the way over to Pony, Montana, the cute little town northwest of us where there is a cute little tavern. We’d meet our other ATV friends there.
So, get ready, my friends. Make way for the realization of those dreams once more when we can take that ride again!
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal (that’s my time right now); a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh (that’s ALWAYS now!); a time to mourn, and a time to dance (let’s do!!); a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace (let’s do that, too), and a time to refrain from embracing; …
May your storms diminish and your sunshine increase; May your troubles decrease and your joys abound.
May your eyes clearly see the beauty all around you. God bless you, my friends. Make way for those blessings! They are coming! Rest assured!!
Love and Lotsa Hugs, JanBeek
P.S. My eyes are healing after the cataract surgery last week. Thank you for your prayers. The farsighted vision is bright and clear – beautiful colors. Single lens replacement instead of the multiple variety was my only option. It has to do with the age of these tired 83 year old eyes and the shape they were in. But I’m not complaining. Another follow-up appointment is scheduled in 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Thinking positively!
Let’s embrace blooming – Both the blooming of flowers As well as ideas.
Let’s embrace blooming – Blooming of plants and ideas As well as people.
Let’s embrace blooming – Blooming of people today; The world needs blossoms!
Charles Stanley – In Touch Magazine cover
One is fully bloomed – One is on its way to bloom – A couple are curled.
To fully open, We must face toward the Son Light. Do not turn away!
You, too??
Blossoms need sunlight. We need the light of the Son In order to bloom.
Isaiah 35:1-2a
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; It will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.”
Your soul will sparkle; It will bloom and grow in love If you walk humbly.
As long as Christ leads We can make it all the way; We can bloom and thrive.
Let your blossoms dance! Follow in obedience. Let your spirit shine.
My choice for the look alike contest. Don’t you love those smiles? “Smilers never lose, and frowners never win.” Listen to the song below!!
Your smile’s contagious When you blossom from inside. Let’s Embrace Blooming!
You deserve this award!
Your blogging sparkles And your face reflects the Son. You’re brilliant and bright!
Fertilize others With words of encouragement. Continue to bloom!
Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com God bless You!!
My heart bubbles over with gratitude for God’s Bright and Brilliant Light. May it continue to bubble over in our hearts and lives. “Open up your heart and let the sunshine in!” Listen to the sunny song below – It’s a favorite from my childhood.
“… So wrap your troubles in dreams, and dream your troubles away!”
Do you remember that song? I thought of it today because it has something in it about “no matter if it’s sunny or gray” – and today is another gray day in s-w Montana. We’ve needed the rain, but enough already! I’m ready for summer sunshine and no “w.” (We never say that “w” word for fear the gusts will follow and blow us right off our Pintail Ridge!).
We had gusts up to 52 mph last week. Oh my! I was praying to God that our hanging baskets wouldn’t blow off to the end of our Madison Valley!!
Sing Your Troubles Away
Both Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby sang this song… I like the Sinatra version because I love the swing! But listen to the original, too… that’s Bing Crosby waaaay back in the beginning of his career. Doesn’t even sound like him. Accompanying music is 1930s melancholy stuff…. but yup, it’s the Crosby whistle! He had it perfected even in the late 30’s.
Oh, if you hang on, following Sinatra, we hear Doris Day’s version on this first link. She was a favorite of mine, too. (Wasn’t that his whistle I remember in “Singin’ in the Rain?”)
“Just remember that sunshine always follows the rain, so wrap your troubles in dreams, and dream your troubles away.”
Sing along:
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy hearing various versions of the same song. It’s fun to hear how different artists take liberties and make it their own.
Another popular artist back in the 40s and 50s was Perry Como. Here’s his version of the song:
By the time you heard that last one, you HAD to sing along, right?
Have you wrapped your troubles in dreams and dreamed them all away? I wish it were that easy!
Do you remember dreams? If not, maybe you need a dream catcher by your bedside. Catch your best dreams – and live them!
I have a dream catcher by my bed … and a nice big one in the window down in the guest bedroom.
This dream catcher is really special. It was a gift to us from my sister, Sally. (If you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you know my only sister, Sally, lives in a care facility in PA near her daughter. Sally has Dementia.)
Come and dream your troubles away here in Montana. It’s a perfect place to do so!
Do you have troubles you want to “dream away”? Tell me about ’em and I’ll add ’em to my prayer list. No better place to put your troubles than in the hands of God!
Pray your troubles away!
Thanks for singing with me. Share your troubles. I care. I’ll pray for you. Hugs, Jan
I love playing around with various poetry forms. I love learning about new forms. Yesterday I encountered a “Dalit” for the first time. Do you know it? It is 4 lines of 8 syllables each. I thought that would be fun to try. Here we go…
The choice is yours – choose joy today. We are blessed to be in sunshine. I select happiness today, And it splashes over to you!
Yes, even if you are in rain or snow, you can have sunshine in your heart. My heart prays for peace in war-torn places. My heart prays for safety for those in Harm’s Way. My heart prays for rain in Australia and stability in all places of turmoil. My heart prays for joy in your heart. Choose joy!
Try a Dalit poem. Share it! And Have a Marvelous Monday! See ya later.
In today’s sermon, Elaine told a story of A lighthouse keeper:
On a stormy night, He climbed the rocks to the light; Turned it on and fell.
He fell and he died That night on the rocky hill After doing his job.
A sailor that night Saved his passengers and crew Because of the light.
The lightkeeper died So that others might be saved From falls in darkness.
Is your light shining in the dark?
Elaine Hundley, who delivered the message in church today reminded us that, like this lighthouse keeper, Jesus died that we might live. He gave His life for us. Likewise, we are reminded to share our lives – give what we have – to brighten the lives of others.
Elaine read from Luke 12:13-21, and she reminded us – “All we have is on loan to us From the Lord, the Almighty. If we have extra, we are told To give it away; don’t hold tightly.“
These are eleven of the WordPress bloggers who provide sunshine in my life – They share the writing talents they have been given; They are my choices for the Sunshine Blogger Award :
Here’s my Sunshine Award for you! Congratulations for being such a great blogger! You shine your light on my life each time you post!
Dear Readers, you will enjoy checking out the blogs listed above. They are always inspiring. If any of these people wish to accept the award (Big Sky Buckeye already did – he sent this to me) and put it on their blog site, check back to see the rules posted yesterday on JanBeek.
Among the rules, I was asked to answer 11 questions and then create 11 questions for my Sunshine Award recipients to answer. Here are my questions:
When did you start blogging?
Why did you start blogging?
How often do you generally blog?
What’s the main topic of your blog (your “niche”)?
Is there a particular time of day when you generally blog? If so, when and why?
Who is your most faithful follower?
Do you have a tendency to post with that person in mind? Or do you have a different technique for personalizing your message?
Of all your posts, which one would you save if all were lost except one?
What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to beginning bloggers?
Where do you get most of your ideas?
If you could improve one thing about WordPress, what would it be?
My blogging friend, BigSkyBuckeye, was nominated for the Sunshine Award. In the process of accepting it, he was asked to nominate eleven other bloggers. I was #11 – Yay!
Thank you, Richard, for the affirmation. In your acceptance, you were told to publish the rules – and you asked your nominees to pass them along.
The Sunshine Blogger Award Rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. Thank you, https://bigskybuckeye.com/2019/10/05/sunshine-blogger-award/
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post. (Here they are … and here it is)
3. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you. (I will do that now… see below)
Questions:
Name one person who always finds a way to inspire you: Derrick in BC
How has blogging benefited your life? It has given me a way to find a group of friends world-wide who read my daily messages and inspire me to share the positivity in my life.
Do you like to experience nature? YES! If so, what is one of your favorite activities? I love four-wheeling in the Rocy Mountains n our ATV with my hubby, my dog, TazE, and our friends.
How important is family to you? Extremely! I am blessed with a terrific son, a darling daughter, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a sister, six loving in-laws and their children, a wonderful niece and her family… ah, Gof is good! That reminds me, my church family is such a blessing, too. Brothers and Sisters in Christ enrich my life… Important is putting it mildly!)
What is your favorite season of the year? Springtime. Why is it your favorite? It seems to spell newness and rebirth. I love the freshness. It feels like “Beginning again” – and it contains Easter, my favorite holiday.
What month were you born? July
If you could visit any place in the world for the first time, where would you want to go? Maine and Nova Scotia. They are on my “Bucket List.”
Who is one of your most favorite authors? Bob Goff: “Love Does”
What is something which you have a great deal of passion for? Two H’s:Honeybees and the Holy Spirit
Share a favorite verse of Scripture or an inspiring quotation. John 3:16
Tell us one interesting facet about yourself. I was “Tammy Tiger” the University of the Pacific’s first female mascot – after it changed from C.O.P. to U.O.P. – and my band director was disgusted that I did that. He said, “Anyone can wear a costume and run around the football field, but you’re my first chair clarinetist… not just anybody can do that!” But, what he didn’t know was, the costume for Tammy Tiger fit my 5 foot frame… not just anybody could fit into that either!
4. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts. (This will be done tomorrow)
5. Ask the nominees 11 new questions (I need have time to think about that!)
