Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘USA’

Embrace Freedom

God Bless America
Land of the Free…

God Bless America,
My home sweet home.
From Detroit to Houston
From San Francisco to New York,
It’s time to say,
“I love this land!”

There’s nothing like
a good ole hometown parade…
Celebrating our freedom –
Celebrating our love of this land.

Our little town of a thousand
Saw about 20,000 pour in today
To watch our old fashioned parade.
It’s like stepping back 50 years!

No fancy floats worth thousands
With hundreds of hours donated
To create a great big splash…
No sireee! Just good ole home-spun fun!

The Grand Marshalls were ladies
From the Madison Valley Woman’s Club
Celebrating one hundred years of
Service to this wonderful community.

You know you’re in Montana when
The town’s physician and his wife
Enter the parade on horseback
Celebrating their equine family!

Thanks, RJ and Andy!

We’re so blessed to have the MVMC
(Madison Valley Medical Center)
In our little community… so blessed!
Our nurses and doctors’ kids donned the float.

Bob & I had the fun of front row seats
Because our friends who live
Right on the parade route invited us to join them.
Main Street would not have allowed us these views!

Barbara & Roy … Thank you!

Their darling grandkids kept us entertained
As they watched the parade, too –
And ran to gather up the candy
That some of the participants threw to us!

We saw vehicles of every kind,
Decorated with flags and competing
To be chosen as the most unique
Or most beautiful, or most aged.

The Shriners are annual participants
Businesses used this parade
as an opportunity to advertise.
Ray Easter is a mainstay in our parade…
A native of Ennis – a rare breed, indeed!
Wouldn’t be complete without ponies!
The children love this little guy!
Puppies for Patriots
Maybe you can put Ennis, Montana
on your calendar for July 4, 2022.
Come and enjoy the fun!
I think it was 2019 when our daughters,
De & Laina, were able to be here.
Of course, we missed the parade
in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Maybe they can return to enjoy this holiday with us next year!

So nice to have this fun event back again
And the weather cooperated.
Parade was 10: to 11:30 and the
Rain didn’t come until later this afternoon!

Rain? Yup, surprise!
It was not predicted…
.
.

If you’re in the USA,
what did you do to celebrate
this special Independence Day today?

In another country?
Do you have parades like this?

Time for dinner…
Thanks for celebrating with us!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Hugs,
JanBeek

Embrace Reason

Reason required to:
Reach resilience
Rebuild Trust
Repair relationships
Require responsibility
Review daily briefings
Reach across aisles
Revive compassion
Reassure doubters
Resist rumors
Release resentment
Return to mutual respect
Reject falsehoods
Retain faith
Rescind travel ban on Muslims
Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement
Restore Federal loan repayment pause
Renew ban on evictions and foreclosures due to the pandemic
Refuse divisiveness
Resurrect trust in the press
Renew dedication to our constitution
Remember to pray
Rely on God’s plans for our lives and for this world
Reason Required… so,
EMBRACE REASON!

Reason Rallies Renewal

God Bless America
and
God Bless You!
See ya tomorrow.
Hearty Hugs,
JanBeek

Embrace God

Just As God Embraces Us…

… we need to embrace God! We need to lean on Him and let Him enfold us in His loving care. We need God now more than ever! Feel God hugging you as you reach out to Him.

Today during our ZOOM worship service, Rev. Steve Hundley delivered a powerful Pastoral Prayer. As he explained to us (the two dozen members of the Madison Valley Presbyterian Church in Ennis, MT who logged in) during his introduction to the prayer, “I am relying heavily on the prayers of the Reverend Dr. Peter Marshall, who was elected Chaplain of the United States Senate on Jan. 4, 1947.”

PASTORAL PRAYER

“We know, Almighty God, that in this desperate hour, we as a nation need You.  We need Your strength, Your guidance, Your wisdom.  These are problems far greater than any human wisdom can solve, for what shall our leaders do in such an hour?  May Your wisdom and Your guidance come upon the President, the President elect, the Senators and Congress men and women, to whom have been entrusted leadership.  May the responsibility in the midst of this pandemic and civil unrest lie heavily on their hearts, until they are ready to acknowledge their helplessness and turn to You.  Give them courage, and the moral integrity to confess that they don’t know what to do.  Only then can they lead us as a nation beyond human wisdom to You, who alone has the answers.

Strengthen the courage of all our elected representatives—sincere men and women who want to do what is right, if only they can be sure what is right.  Make it plain to them, O Lord.  And then, start them out on the right way, for You know that we are hard to turn.

Forgive them for the blunders they have committed, the compromises they have made.  Give to them to courage to admit mistakes.  Take away from us, both as a nation and individuals, that stubborn pride which, followed by conceit, imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism.

Save our leaders, O God, from themselves and from their friends—even as You have saved them from their enemies. 

  • Let no personal ambition blind them to their opportunities.
  • Help them to give battle to hypocrisy wherever they find it.
  • Give them divine common sense and a selflessness that shall make them think of their call to service and not gain.

May they have the courage to lead the people of this Republic, considering unworthy the expediency of following the people.

Lord, we pray for the families of the thousands who have died this week alone of this terrible and relentless virus.  We pray too, for the families of those who lost their lives and were injured in our nation’s capital.  Bring an end to the violence that would cost just one of our citizens their lives.  We pray for a peaceful transition of leadership, in our nation’s capital in the coming weeks.    

We pray for those within our own community who have contracted and been exposed to the Corona virus.  Heal them and protect them from any long-term effects of the virus.

We pray too for those people whose needs You place on our hearts. Hear and answer, we pray, that You will forgive us all our unworthiness; cleansing us from every ignoble thought and unworthy disposition that we may be renewed in spirit and mind and heart, through Jesus Christ, our Lord… Amen.”

Thank you for visiting JanBeek today.
I will post my sermon notes a little later.

Hugs from JanBeek to you.

Embrace Unity

“For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the Lord,
“Plans to prosper you
and not to harm you.
Plans to give you hope
and a future.”

Jeremiah 20:11
Photo by Bhavitya Indora on Pexels.com

It’s a day when we in the USA
Are feeling particularly vulnerable.
A day when we ponder the meaning
Of the troublesome events of yesterday.

It was a day of Troubled Waters
When our fragile democracy
Seemed on the brink of collapse,
A day some imagined, but not I.

I knew we were a country deeply divided,
A country needing a renewed sense of unity,
But never did I think our Capitol
Would be under siege by our own people.

Thousands gathered at the “Trump March.”
Many thought Trump was at the front leading them.
He was not.
They just kept coming…
and they roiled over into the Capitol building.

Not just one of the rioters was killed in the debacle,
but 3 health care workers also lost their lives.

In the aftermath, when the Senate and Assembly
resumed their stations and continued
the task of counting the electoral votes,
a new sense of purpose seemed to emerge.

It took an attack on our democracy
for our lawmakers
to unify and recognize
the importance of our constitution.
The tone was bipartisan.
The future is hopeful.

Photo by Rakicevic Nenad on Pexels.com

A ray of hope
for the unification
of this divided country
was launched yesterday.

A seed of collaboration was planted.

The importance of
“Love Thy Neighbor”
seemed to be elevated.

Yesterday I posted a meme that read:
“We’ve tried hate.
We’ve tried wars.
We’ve tried destruction.
They only caused more pain.
Let’s try something different…”

…and the “different” was
peace
love
empowerment
collaboration.

Today let’s reinforce that commitment.
Let’s try
Open and Honest Communication,
Building bridges instead of walls,
LET’S EMBRACE UNITY!

EMBRACE UNITY!
Let’s honor
One Nation Under God.
One world for us all,
One CREATOR of us all.

Back in 1970, Paul Simon was inspired to write the words to the song,
“Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”
The video below is the story of how that song came to be.
The words are just what we need today…
A Bridge Over [these] Troubled Waters.

Let’s Embrace UNITY.
Let’s see how that turns out!

I hope you took time to hear that You.Tube story. It’s powerful.
Believe me,
the song is just what we need today.

“When you’re weary
Feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes
I’ll dry them all.
I’m on your side.
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down…
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silver girl
Sail on by… More

Source: Musixmatch

Photo by Mohamed Almari on Pexels.com
I’ll drink to that:
UNITY!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
A comment about your reaction

to the song and the turn of events would be appreciated.

How are YOU feeling today?
See ya tomorrow.

Embrace Peace

The events at the United States Capitol in Washington DC today were more than disturbing. I watched about a half an hour of President Trump’s speech to thousands of his followers who came to his rally this morning near the Capitol Building in Washington DC. His speech was so disturbing that I had to shut it off.


About 10 minutes into his speech, I wrote to a friend saying, “I am listening to a rabid crowd that is listening to this delusional dictator/cult leader. So troublesome!! He’s so dangerous!”

About 10 minutes later I wrote, “I am praying for peace. I’m worried about his power base believing the election fraud lie and being riled up… He is damning ‘Weak Republicans’ and obviously trying to plan a coup… inciting insurrection. He said there were ‘explosions of bullshit’ – and the crowd loved it! He said, ‘The media has become the enemy of the people’. The crowd applauded. This man is dangerous.”

I couldn’t stand what I was hearing, so clicked out of it and turned on XM Radio’s Escape while I finished my breakfast and then went to my dental appointment. Bob & I were gone for the day. It was a beautiful drive to Bozeman and back along the Madison River.

I got my teeth cleaned, we did a little grocery shopping, and when we returned home, we turned on the TV.

Can you imagine our dismay? Sure enough, that “rabid crowd” was incited to violence. They had stormed the White House and in the mayhem a woman was killed and the entire Senate and House proceedings to affirm the electoral counts that would confirm the election of Biden/Harris had been halted.

As I write this, the Senate and Assembly are back in session. It is nearing midnight in Washington DC and they promise to stay in session until their job is done and the electoral votes are properly counted. The rioters were cleared out, of course. But very few were arrested, as far as I can tell. Why not? What they did was despicable and unlawful.

They were incited by the rhetoric of our President Trump. I heard it. I could switch it off and tune into some music and go on a nice drive. But those rioters were caught up in it. They didn’t turn it off. Their actions were …

… well, I can’t find the words. I can’t describe how concerned I am about our country, how disappointed I am with our president and his unwillingness to accept defeat. I cannot put into words how concerned I am about what Donald Trump may do in the next 14 days (until he is out of office) to put the USA at risk. His behavior is not rational. I heard him. I saw him. I saw the results. Did you?

How are you feeling about it?

Let’s Embrace PEACE.
Pray for peace.
Be the peace we need to see.
Feel the peace.
Breathe.

What do you say?

Thanks for visiting JanBeek
and listening to me vent.
See ya tomorrow.
I hope it’s a better day.

Acquiescence

ac·qui·es·cence/ˌakwēˈesəns/ Learn to pronounce nounnoun: acquiescence; plural noun: acquiescences

  1. the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.
    “in silent acquiescence, he rose to his feet”

Today I understand the meaning of reluctance.
Today I see the evidence of it in President Trump.
But I see no evidence of acceptance.
He’ll continue to fight long after the battle is lost.

My prayer is that in his unwillingness to accept defeat,
He will not rile his supporters to violence.
Now is a time to accept the democratic process.
Now is the time to dig deep for decency.

Acquiesce, Donald Trump!
This is not a steal.
It is the will of the people.
Acquiesce!

“We will Lead
Not only by the Example of our Power,
But by the Power of our Example.”

President-Elect Joe Biden

“Dream with Ambition.
Lead with Conviction.
See yourself in a way
That others may not.”

Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris

Congratulations to Joe and Kamala!
God Bless America!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
I appreciate you.
See ya later.

Celebrate!

Photo by Sebastian Ervi on Pexels.com

Every day’s a celebration
If you just know where to look.
Look at all your many blessings.
Take a look in the Good Book.

Galatians 5:1

“Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom.
Therefore, be firm in this freedom, and don’t become slaves again.”

Photo by William Eickler on Pexels.com

Unlock the gifts of freedom
With the key of appreciation.
Be grateful for our liberties –
We’re a very blessed nation.

We enjoy liberties that people
In many other countries will never see,
But will long for their whole lifetimes.
Thank the Lord that we are free!

Free to vote and free to protest;
Free to shout when we disagree.
Free to love and be loved in return;
Free from the oppression of tyranny.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Lamentations 3:22-24

“Because of the Lord’s great love,
we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself,
‘The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will wait for Him’.”

With my morning cup of coffee,
I will wait in my sanctuary.
I will read and pray and ask the Lord
For hope to live in you and me.

I will seek the peace that God can give,
And put the results in His hands.
I will seek His strength for today
Ask Him to heal the hurt in our lands.

I will celebrate the right to vote
As I listen for the results to come.
I will celebrate the eternal joy
That I can claim. It’s denied to some.

If you are feeling disgruntlement
And joy seems strangely aloof,
Ask Jesus for His divine power
To shine His joy – and Celebrate Truth!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
(By then, we may know a bit more of the election results!)
Celebrate Freedom!!

…And defend GER? Yes, defend HER!
God Bless the USA.
Preserve freedom.
Celebrate your right to differ –
Celebrate the ways we agree!!

Trump’s State of the Union

Do we have the courage

to seize this opportunity

to win for our country?

Is there power in

American pride today?

What were you thinking

as you listened tonight

to the State of the Union?

You can’t go wrong

by honoring and saluting

American war and space heroes.

Space travel promises and

Promises of quality of life

For all our citizens are

Words – Ideals we all embrace.

Common good – yes!

Political stalemates – no!

Greatness or Gridlock?

Duh, uh, I’m not sure.

Which do you choose?

”We are just getting started!”

I can believe that.

Can you?

So, what’s next?

Economic growth

and greater employment…

Opportunities for the disabled…

Show me!

Pompous claims – divisive smirks-

Divided applause – UNITY?

An ocean of white –

Chants of USA, but not by all.

Ridiculous partisan investigations?

Partisan wars?

Nominations stuck?

Bi-partisanship?

Mistreatment of veterans…

All agreed that should end.

Alice Johnson – prisoner –

Unfairness of criminal sentencing –

Tears, Joy, Accolades, Redemption

and Unity of Destiny.

Matthew Charles – released by

First Step Act – Unity!

Urgent National Crisis –

End border problems –

Solutions? 3,750 troops!

Protect lives and jobs

of our citizens, and acknowledge

contributions of legal immigrants.

Accusations of the speaker:

reduced jobs, increased crime,

very cruel attitudes of those who

advocate open southern borders.

Gang members streaming in.

Horrible heartache of Debra –

Compassion for her loss.

Oh yes, the folks who come

across our southern border

are all a threat to our safety…

Do you believe that?

Play on our fears  –

Convince us that sadistic

traffickers are all illegal aliens!

Common sense proposal

Sounds so sensible, yes?

Build a wall!

Smart and strategic.

Walls up, tunnels under,

Border cities, dangerous,

Fixed. ‘Cuz walls work. Do they?

Look at those 58% of women

Who filled new jobs last year.

They scaled the sexist borders!

Women in the work force = Unity!

Women in Congress = Right!

Congratulations!

Economic Empowerment for Women,

Chinese theft of USA – what?

Taking advantage of weak leaders!

Hmmm – trade blunders – who’s fault?

Bring back manufacturing-

4 Beautiful words =

“Made in the USA” – and rebuild

“Crumbling infrastructure” –

Unity!

Let’s protect those

with pre-existing conditions

and lower drug costs –

Unity!

Will a bill to lower costs pass!?

We see the value of

American freedom.

Will it bring politicians

to an agreement for the

benefit of all Americans?

Will it cause us to join

in a fight against

Childhood Cancer??

Grace Eli – so darling –

Brain cancer victim-

raised $40K for cancer fight –

completed her chemo.

She touched all of us.

Will her story inspire us all?

Paid family leave for parents

of a newborn child -yes!

What about the late-term abortions?

Right side stood and applauded.

Left side sat – but some clapped.

Where’s the unity for unborn,

late-term babies? Where?

Defense spending – military build-up,

INF treaty withdrawal, agreements –

outspend all others? Unity, nope!

Relationships with Korean leaders –

Divided applause.

Venezuelan connections – divided applause.

Socialism – Bernie Sanders- USA –

Complex and divided theories-

Israel and our relationships –

Divided reactions.

Wars abroad – new approaches –

End of endless wars – divided response.

Time to welcome home our troops:

Divided response. Where’s Unity?

Try for peace. Defend our people.

Kill leaders of the opponents…

Divided response.

Hero of USA – Cole – honor him!

Iran Nuclear deal withdrawal –

Divided response.

Where is our Unity!?

Confront prejudice and honor –

Officer Timothy Matson –

There’s our Unity!!

“Thank you. We are forever grateful.”

Concentration camp survivor –

Honor his 81st Birthday- UNITY!

“It’s the Americans!” UNITY!

Proof that God exists –  Herman –

Liberator – unifier – Joshua – 😘

We salute you both!

You did it for America;

You did it for us, and we are

Eternally grateful. Unity – yes!

Politicians coming from all of the USA,

We ask you to continue to work

in greater UNITY for the good

of all of us  – transcending our

differences and reigniting the

American imagination.

Choose to work for UNITY.

Go forward together.

This is my prayer.

Thank you, President Trump,

for your appeals for unity.

My prayer is for the unification

of our great nation.

No more divisiveness.

No more fear mongering.

No more partisanship.

Let us work as one

for our common good.

Yes!

 

The pundits are busy now.

Analyze what was said.

Second-guess the motives.

Question the energy.

But when all is said and done,

Can we come together as Americans?

Will we work together as one for the common good?

I’m trying…

Are you?

 

 

 

 

Change is Challenging

Change is inevitable
Change is challenging
Resist or embrace?

May as well embrace
To resist change is futile
Change is inevitable

Chrissy-TazE.JPG

This is my grandson, Chris. I told you I would write more about him. He has been the center of life for Bob and our family since he arrived in the USA from Switzerland last Thanksgiving. When you first met him (if you have been following my blog), this is what he looked like:

5db04d50-3598-4b99-a456-4c0e440d0e8f

See the change?

And when you first met that pup he has under the blanket in his lap up there, this is what TazE looked like:

HappyTazE

Well, he is so covered up in that first picture up there, you can’t really see the gray in his face and the change in his body, can you? But, trust me… now at age 8 1/2, he has changed from that frisky guy you see there. Here’s a current one that shows you what I’m talking about:

TazE in bed

Yes, change is inevitable! And it can be scary. And it can be very exciting. But it does not do any good to resist it. Much of change is healthy and invigorating. It’ll happen whether you bid it or not. May as well plan for it!

When our grandson came last year, he knew he was in for a year of changes. He had the courage to fly into a new life here – with new opportunities – different in countless ways from his life in Sierre, Switzerland.

fullsizeoutput_4bcb.jpeg   fullsizeoutput_4ba7

Today we are driving in Montana snow (really came down yesterday… and more is expected today) from Ennis to Anaconda. It’s about a two hour drive. We will stay overnight there, hoping to find a place that will allow pets. TazE will go with us.

We are taking Chris to the Job Corps in Anaconda. He will check in at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. He has qualified (US citizen between the age of 16-24 with a clean record who is interested in training in one of 7 manual labor areas that are deemed understaffed by the Federal Government) and has been accepted into the program.

IMG_5472

We took a tour there in December and we were wonderfully impressed with the site, the program, the facilities, the instructors, the equipment, the ambience, and the students. About 200 young people are there. More than 75% of them are from out-of-state. Chris will be the first who was born and raised in another country. (Our daughter is his mom… and as such, Chris has dual USA-Swiss citizenship).

There are 4 dorms, 3 for men and 1 for women (that’s the ratio of the students). Not surprising since the trades they are learning include:

  • Heavy equipment Operating
  • Heavy equipment Mechanics
  • Welding
  • Painting (buildings inside and out – not oils, acrylics, watercolor, etc.)
  • Carpentry
  • Culinary Arts
  • Brick-laying

Chris will have a month to explore the various options and then he will select the one he wishes to concentrate on. Each student is self-paced. The training could take as little as three months and as much as a year, depending on prior experience, work ethic, skill, etc.

Stay tuned. I am sure our grandson is in for changes he cannot even imagine at this time.

We are excited for him.

Aren’t you glad to know our Federal Government is supporting this kind of internship/apprenticeship program for young people?

 

U = Unity

Day #21 in the A-Z series”What Makes Me Happy?”

Unity

We are one nation

United under one God

Let’s behave as One

Yes, today is Election Day –

Mid-term elections in the USA.

Time to cast our ballots,

Make our political choices,

And then live in unity.

Let’s work together for

The common good of us all.

people walking on green grass

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

There’s nothing like
Unity to make
Me happy.

What’s the “U word” that brings U joy?

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