Yesterday I told you I’d share my word for the new year with you today. Are you ready? My word is:
READY!
Ready for whatever unexpected blessings God sends my way.
Open. Receptive. Perceptive. Accepting. Ready!
How about you? Have you decided on your 2023 word? My friend, Terry, chose “Connections.” Your word is??
Love and God’s blessings to you from JanBeek ❤️
None of us on earth lives alone.
Each of us is kin the the other.
We need one another –
You are my sister, my brother.
I will defend your right
To live in peace and justice.
I will work to be an example
Of the love we need, so you can trust us!
Trust us to work together
To make this earth a place of care,
Care for all God’s creation –
A place we equally share.
No man is an island
No man stands alone.
Each man’s joy is joy to me;
Each man’s grief is my own.
We need one another,
So I will defend
Each man as my brother,
Each man as my friend.
We need one another
So I will defend
Each woman as my sister,
Each woman as my friend.
Recently I posted this picture on my blog along with a series of photos that exemplified random acts of kindness. This woman could easily be me. The man she is standing beside is a friend from across the world whom she met playing Words with Friends.
I play Words with Friends with a myriad of people from all over the world. Some of them are busy chatting with me between plays, asking questions, helping us get to know one another.
I’d like to picture one of them wearing a “Love Felt” heartfelt t-shirt like that fellow … and then coming to visit me. I have WordPress friends that I invite to come to Montana and visit me, too.
Might you do that someday?
Each one of you is my brother/sister … each one of you is my friend. We need one another. What would it be like to be writing a blog everyday and have no one out there to read it and respond? Pretty sad!
Thank you for reading over my shoulder.
Thank you for being my friend.
Thank you for being the holder
Of my heartfelt thoughts that have no end!
We need one another.
Virtual hugs from
JanBeek
BEAUTY PARLOR
A place where women curl up and dye.
CHICKENS
The only animal you eat before they are born and after they are dead.
COMMITTEE
A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
DUST
Mud with the juice squeezed out.
EGOTIST
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
HANDKERCHIEF
Cold storage.
INFLATION
Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MOSQUITO
An insect that makes you like flies better.
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority.
RAISIN
A grape with a sunburn.
SECRET
A story you tell to one person at a time.
SKELETON
A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.
TOOTHACHE
A pain that drives you to extraction.
TOMORROW
One of the greatest labor-saving devices of today.
YAWN
An honest opinion openly expressed.
WRINKLES
Something other people have … similar to my character lines.
OLD
I very quietly confided to my friend that I was having an affair.
She turned to me and asked, “Are you having it catered?”
… and that, my friend, is the definition of ‘OLD’!
And just in case you wondered,
NO, by the way, I am not OLD!
80 is the new 40…
Didn’t anybody tell you??
Think young!
Have fun with words and ideas.
See ya tomorrow!
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His Glory…
full of grace and truth.”
Meaningful Relationships
Meaningful Conversations
help lead to
Meaningful Relationships.
The grace and truth of “The Word”
are two of the most essential elements
of meaningful conversations.
“The Word” is Christ – His Love – and His Example to us.
The “thinking, talking, and acting”
in faith are essential elements of
meaningful relationships.
Importance of Intimate Words
Meaningful conversation is not small talk.
It is heart-felt, genuine sharing from your soul.
It’s transparent.
It doesn’t have to be long.
It has to be deep and authentic.
It has to be free of intimidation,
and opening intimate…
knowing it is spoken in TRUST.
From “This Day’s Thought,” an anonymous quote reminds us:
“The love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay,
love isn’t love till it’s given away.”
Stay Connected
Yesterday we went with Ty, Monika and Sam (our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson) to Amador County, California. Kevin (the one in the black jacket) was a high schooler – and friends with Ty in their teens. Distance cannot keep us from remaining friends with Kevin, his wife, Karen, and their beautiful daughter, Morgan.
Just as we stay connected with them through annual Christmas cards and occasional phone calls, and face-to-face visits whenever we can, we also stay connected with Kevin’s parents. Our honest, open, intimate sharing of life’s joys and struggles keeps our friendship alive and meaningful. It’s a blessing!
Family Dynamics
Just as “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we [see] … His Glory… full of grace and truth,” so it is that this son of our flesh, a gift from God himself, dwells among us full of grace and truth. We are so grateful for the way in which he and Monika open their hearts and home to the greater family … and allow us to converge on them en mass!!
We are a diverse group of people, connected by the Love of Christ, the Blessings of the Spirit, and the determination to remain open and honest with one another. It ain’t always easy. It ain’t always purrrdy! But, it is always worth it… and it is what God calls us to do.
Love One Another
I Corinthians … “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always TRUSTS, always HOPES, always preserves.”
May the love in your heart reach out in honest, intimate, trust-worthy conversation. May it protect and preserve your relationships. May it be
Tell me about a relationship
you are keeping alive with
intimate words of love and caring.
Thanks for being a sharing friend.
I cannot pretend
To be a good listener
I am or I’m not!
I cannot pretend
True unconditional love
It is or it’s not!
I cannot pretend
To speak with kindness of heart
I do or I don’t!
No pretending!
Never estimate your capacity to
live in love,
listen actively,
and speak kindly!
Have a love-filled Saturday!
I love that you visited JanBeek today.
Thank you. I love you, my blogging friends.
See ya tomorrow.
Kind words are easy
Spoken from a sincere heart
They can change a life
Think of all the words
You might speak to folks today
Do they pass the test?
Are they lily pure?
Is every word uplifting?
You can’t take them back!
Words spoken with love
Can be the perfume of life
Hurtful words just stink!
We have declared November to be the month of kindness and gratitude. Not just kindness to those who are kind to us, but kindness to to everyone and everything. Kindness to ourselves, our neighbors, our pets, the neighbor’s pets, our plants and trees… even kindness to those who hurt us!
Let our words be like the fertilizer that helps others to change and grow.
What’s a word you might say today from your sincere heart that will brighten someone’s day? It doesn’t have to be eloquent. It isn’t flattery. It’s just simple and honest.
I love that you are here on JanBeek today. You make my day brighter with your “like” and your comment.
But, you really lift my spirit when you are inspired to take the message to heart – and go out and LIVE a LIFE of LOVE.
Sing along with this beautiful song that reminds us to speak and sing and think and live in the perfume of “Wonderful Words of Life.”
Feed your mind loving words…
“Wonderful words, beautiful words, wonderful words of life”
and then go out and feed others!
See ya later.
These are things that are
NOT my responsibility
Look around
Other people’s:
These are the things that
ARE my responsibility
Look within
My:
Today
Take Responsibility
for the things
that are yours to control.
Be thoughtful
Be active
Be prayerful
Be kind
Be creative
Be passionate
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Be all that God made you to be.
Ask Him to help you meet
the people He wants you to meet.
Ask Him to help you know what
He wants you to say.
Ask Him to help you do
what He would like you to do.
.
Take responsibility
for
yourself.
Bee loving!
See ya tomorow.
If you are blessed with good health
You have more riches than all earth’s wealth
You have life and opportunities untold
You have a better chance of growing old
But health is more than what you eat
It is more than the quality of people you meet
It is what you think and what you say
It is what you choose to do every single day
Begin your day with prayer and gratitude
Remember health has a lot to do with attitude
Decide to be helpful; decide to walk in His will
Decide to take time occasionally to just be still
Whether you are under a cloud suffering pain
Or you are standing out in a pouring rain
You have control over your ability to smile
You can choose to exude God’s grace with style
Your mental health affects your physical being
You can choose happiness and be agreeing
Disagreeable people find their own misery
Be the kind of person who is cheerful company
To stay healthy, we must never stop looking up
We must never be stingy with our overflowing cup
Count your blessings; look at others with sympathy
Good health is contagious; Spread it gleefully!
I love you, dear blogging friend.
JanBeek sends cheers!
Have a healthy, joy-filled day!
See ya later.
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com
Every first and third Friday our Madison County Writers’ Group meets in Ennis, Montana. We may have just two participants, or we could have eight or ten. Last February during our third Friday meeting, there were just two of us. I recently came across my notes from that meeting.
We begin our meeting each time with a prompt we draw from a bag. Anyone can add prompts to the bag at any time. On this particular Friday, Steve drew the prompt, “Writer’s Block.” We had ten or fifteen minutes to write on that prompt and then share with one another what we had written.
I decided to write a Haiku. It ended up as a 5 stanza poem… each stanza a syllabic count of 5-7-5 syllables. What would you have written with the prompt “Writer’s Block”?
Let me share mine with you.
Writer’s Block can trap
You and me in wordless haze
Floating in nothing
Nothingness can hold
You and me in dilemma
Pen in hand stands still
Stillness can reveal
Treasures in the quietness
You just can’t force it
Forcefulness is great
If you adamantly feel
Thoughts begin to swirl
Swirling thoughts spin out
With contemplation and ease
The Block disappears
We had so much fun sharing our ideas on Writer’s Block that we decided to draw another prompt. This one was “Words.” We gave ourselves another ten minutes.
This time since I was on a roll with the Haiku rhythm, I wrote a 3 stanza poem. Sharing it later with my husband, Bob, he asked, “What determines if your Haiku is going to be one stanza or 3 or 5?”
“You write what you have to say,” I told him. “When you have said it, you stop. The thoughts dictate the length.”
Here’s what I wrote to the prompt, WORDS:
When words just fail me,
I sit back and dream awhile.
Dreams don’t have to speak.
When dreams are wordless,
My imagination spins –
Motivating scenes.
Let pictures emerge.
Print them on your mind and soul.
Eventually: WORDS!
These kinds of dreams come to us as writers, but they come to painters and potters and musicians as well. It’s a capacity of the human brain that needs to be cultivated.
A productive life is one that can get beyond writers block, can use words to express inner feelings, and can listen with heart to the unspoken words of those around them.
I hope you are a proponent of the kind of arts education that promotes such critical thinking. Let your curious mind fly free.
Be a wise consumer of words and thoughts and dreams! Do you have a Writers’ Group? If so, tell me about it. If not, think about forming one. It’s such fun to share your creative thoughts with others face to face, not just on WordPress.
Haiku x8
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com
When is the last time
Someone complimented you?
Who? Friend or stranger?
When is the last time
You complimented someone?
Who? Friend or stranger?
Which feels better –
A compliment from a friend
or from a stranger?
When do you speak up
To give out a compliment?
Is it natural?
Or do you have to
Struggle to give compliments?
Do you accept them?
What do you say back?
A simple “Thank You” will do.
Do not disagree.
“Oh, this old sweater?
I’ve had it for a long time.”
Try a humble, “Thanks!”
Speak sincere feelings,
And don’t underestimate
The power of words.
You’re Awesome!!
See ya tomorrow!
Hugs to You !!
Inspire to Love
Let the SonShine!
You inspire me to respond
Learning to Live; Living to Learn; Learning to Love; Living in Love
