Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘writing’

Love Returned

In his prompt today, David at

ben Alexander

ben AlexanderThe Skeptic’s Kaddish 

invited us to try our hand
at a poetry form
that is new to me:

Sijo

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

David did a fantastic job with the form. Click on his name & blog title above to read his contribution.
I told him I was not sure I was even going to try… it sounds too complicated! But… with the following meme as a prompt, here goes:

Your mind will always believe, if you are ever truthful;
But when you are deceitful, you feed it sorrow, deep grief.
Feed your mind sincere love and truth, and it will be returned to you.

Bob & I send our love and deep peace
to you and your loved ones today.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
Will you try your hand at Sijo?

Blogging Friends

Why do you blog?

Today’s prompt made me pause and reflect on the why.
Why am I here? Why have I posted “stuff” here for so many years?
It’s not for rewards or recognition.

The title up there tells the story.
It’s my place to stay connected
with Derrick & Dwight,
Ann & Sue,
Richard & Donna,
Caralyn & you!!
It’s blogging friends old and new
who take the time to comment,
who post their own inspirational messages …
that’s why I’m here.
I care about you.

Thank you for also blogging and for staying in touch!

Love,
JanBeek

September Promises

September blows in with its many promises
Of new beginnings and of endings, too.
Away with sandals, sunscreen, summer scorchers,
Mowing lawns, trimming hedges, trips to the zoo.

Enter colors rich in autumn hues,
Football mania, school admissions, taxes due.
Welcome loved ones who waited to visit
Until the bustle of summer was behind you.

September promises the joy of learning
New ways of navigating challenges that spring
Up unexpected as we explore new venues,
Putting the old behind, welcoming each new thing.

Each season has its own kind of newness
And this one is certainly no exception.
September ushers in a ton of TV shows
That viewers hope to see with clear reception.

But staying in and looking at some screen
Is not what this season’s all about.
The outdoors begs you to explore
September’s promises – take a new route.

  • There’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. Just like the natural seasons change, so do the seasons in our lives. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season.” It also tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “ [God] has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Paint a word picture for me here
Of what you hope September will bring.
I’m looking forward to our visitors –
Family always makes my heart sing.

What’s in store for you this September?

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
Happy September first to you!

If you have time, listen to this beautiful song sung by my favorite singer from my high school and college days… Liquid Velvet!! The year Nat King Cole recorded this was the year I graduated from college and began my teaching career! Yup, an oldie, but goodie!!

Reblog #10 – Prayer

Prayer

openhands-thanking

Prayer is the topic of a book study we are doing with our pastor these weeks of November 2022. But, back in 2015, it was also a topic of discussion and the title of our guest minister’s sermon. Take a step back – and join me:

Prayer was the title of our sermon on Sunday, August 16, 2015 by Rev. Carol Shellenberger of Bozeman, MT. Here are the notes I took while I listened to her very meaningful and inspiring message:

Turning to the Lord in prayer
Is a habit I cultivate.
Turning to the Lord with concern
Is wise, before it’s too late.

But turning to the Lord in praise
Is a minute-by-minute habit.
It’s not just a request for courage
When we’re afraid. It’s a joy. Grab it!

Prayer is a source of inspiration.
Our Father has so much to give.
Prayer is a way to receive it…
The gift of wisdom; abundance to live.

Some folks expect too much or too little,
Looking for extraordinary results
Or doubting that God even hears.
But prayer is a part of us – like our pulse.

Turning to the Lord in prayer
Tells God we are here – and so is He.
We know He is wherever we are.
I know my Lord cares and answers me.

Prayer is not just a matter of speaking;
It’s conversation, but it’s silence, too.
If you never stop talking in prayer to God,
You never hear what He’s saying to you,

In Luke 11, Jesus teaches His disciples
To pray in a wise, simple way.
Recognize the power of God
And reflect on what this version has to say.

It’s a personal, approachable prayer
To Abba, our Papa, our Dad.
It invites us to be honest with God,
Especially when we’ve been remorsefully bad.

Be specific in naming your sins.
From your core, tell Him of your failure and fear.
Then look for the way your Savior responds.
Notice His Spirit within you. Feel His Love near.

God may not answer in ways you expect.
Our Lord is not Santa Claus in disguise.
Listen and look for God’s exquisite response.
He cares, He hears, and His response always is wise.

In faith, hope and trust,
Just PRAY!

Amen.

Take your troubles to the Lord today.
The Holy Spirit is in you – always ready.
The God of Creation who created you
Is here to help you … Helpfulness is steady.

There is nothing quite like prayer in song –
especially when it is Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion!

I have you in my prayers tonight, my friends.

Look up for your purpose!

Be safe. Be well…
See you tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Reblog #6 – The Power of God’s Love

Posted back in 2014, “The Power of God’s Love” was my response to reading Bob Goff’s book, “Love Does.”
In today’s world here in the USA, one day away from one of the most crucial national elections in our democracy’s history, this message definitely is worth reblogging!!

May this message touch your heart strings and help you share a message of UNITY with those you encounter this week!

My 2014 Post:

Your hands are God’s heartststrings on earth.
The love of God is demonstrated by YOUR love.

I just finished a New York Times bestseller by Bob Goff titled “Love Does.”
My granddaughter loaned it to me at Christmas time with the highest of compliments:
“I know you’ll enjoy this book, Grammy.
I want you to read it and be sure to return it to me when I see you in February.
I have other friends I want to loan it to, also.”

How wonderful that she knew this book would resonate with me.
Chapter by chapter my husband and I enjoyed the book more than you can imagine.
We vowed to read a chapter a day. There are 31 chapters.
Some days we couldn’t put it down.

In 20 days we were finished with the book
and now we are going back to reread some sections
and internalize the messages.
You will want to do the same. Here are a few excerpts:

“…make a difference by getting to the ‘do’ part of faith…love is never stationary…love doesn’t just keep thinking about it…Simply put, love does.”

“The world can make you think that love can be picked up at a garage sale or enveloped in a Hallmark card. But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence.”

“What I’ve noticed… is that almost every time I type in the word love, it gets changed to live. It’s a kind of reminder to me… Fully loving and fully living are not only synonymous but the kind of life that Jesus invited us to be part of…”

So, I am off to be fully loving and fully living today. I will put God’s love into action today by sharing it with friends and looking for ways to live the way Bob Goff does. The subtitle on the cover of his book says, “Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World.” I want to be secretly incredible today. Don’t you?

Love Does. I like that title.
It’s my walking orders.
The power of God’s love is in your hands and mine.
Let’s go DO God’s love today.

You with me?

If you are in the USA, be sure you have made your voice heard by casting your ballot.

God loves us… God loves you… I love you!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.

See ya tomorrow.

Unlock Your Creativity

There’s a muse who lives inside you
She is clever, strong and cute
She is lonely there and waiting
For your visit – she’s not mute

When you meet her, she will speak up
She will help you find your voice
Pick up pen and grab a paper
Writing is your muse’s choice

You’ve a muse who lives inside you
She is waiting to be free
Free to help you find your own voice
Unlock your creativity

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com



My muse just woke me up tonight
She was screaming for expression
Turned my sniffles into giggles
Lifted me from my depression

She can laugh at my incessant cough
She can find light in the dark
Turn her loose and let her be, please
All she needs is one small spark

Don’t you wonder how she does it
How she keeps her spirit light
My muse is just an angel
Her encouragement is bright

You’ve a muse who lives inside you
She is ready to inspire
Unlock her full potential
She will raise your spirit higher

Creativity that’s hidden
Under cover we create
Needs our angel muse to lift it
Unlock it now – you’re great!

Let’s be the spark that lights another!

Have a great Thursday, my friend.
Unlock your muse – and go create!

Love & hugs to you,
from JanBeek

Welcome Awesome October!

I love October
When the leaves change their color.
Hold off the freeze, please!

Too soon icicles –
Winter comes too early here.
Hold off for awhile!

God bless the colors
That brighten our autumn days
Now, please stick around!

Happy October, my friends.
I send my love & hugs your way.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
Have a lovely
October first!

July Take-Aways

Each day as I read my Daily Guideposts
and reflect on what the message
means to me, I create a “Take-Away.”
I have a page or two on which I record them.
Here are the take-aways from July.
Which one or two resonates with you
as a “Take-away” for the month
that you can carry with you into August?

July Take-Aways

  1. Be an investor in prople
  2. Be grateful for daily love, joy, and peace
  3. Celebrate the peace of Christ
  4. Freedom isn’t free!
  5. Treasure your friends; tell ’em so
  6. Happy Birthday, Mary Grace Reynolds (my pastor)
  7. Thank God for our loving children
  8. Celebrate the birthdays of friends
  9. Enjoy every day the Lord gives us
  10. Share freely and generously with others
  11. Spend quality time with our God/Creator
  12. Take refuge in the familiar
  13. Thank God for free will
  14. As God for direction; then Trust the Journey
  15. Care for the vulnerable
  16. Celebrate milestones with friends
  17. Keep an “I’m good” attitude
  18. Share the humor and laughter of others
  19. Slow down and watch where you’re walkin’
  20. Be forever grateful for God’s miracles
  21. Home is where angels live to guard us
  22. His grace is sufficient
  23. Praise God, friends & family for love
  24. Love your spouse, church family & kids extravagantly
  25. Love and appreciate the color in your life
  26. Git Movin’
  27. Praise God for His love, mercy, and guardian angels
  28. Be sure to exercise daily
  29. Thank God for giving you momentum
  30. Thank Jesus for His companionship

I read both
Mornings with Jesus
and
Daily Guideposts
each morning
up in my sanctuary.
Been doing it for over a decade now.

They help me plan my day
and start off on the right foot.

With the “Take-Away”
tucked in my heart,
I head down the circle staircase
with this 12 step prayer
spoken to God on my way:

Dear God,
Thank you for the
1. love,
2. joy, and
3. peace (that are mine) –
Help me with:
4. patience,
5. kindness,
6. goodness, and
7. faithfulness (which brings blessings).
Help me with
8. gentleness, and
9. self-control.
10. Help me live humbly
with an attitude of gratitude,
and a response of
11. generosity, forgiveness,
12. obedience and integrity.
In Jesus’ name,
AMEN.

And at that point, I am at the bottom… ready to start my day.
Here are half of the June Take-Aways

Which of the Take-Aways from June or July will you carry into August with you?

Have an Awesome month!
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Enough!

The poem above is an edited version of an original by Bob Perks. I first read his poem about two decades ago. It spoke to me. Like the one above, it did not give credit to the poet, so I credited “Anonymous.” I posted it on my FaceBook page or somewhere (I wasn’t on WP yet at that time).

I heard from Bob Perks. He was irate! People were posting his poem, tweaking it, and not giving him credit. I had done so innocently. Maybe others were as unknowing as I.

Is it OK to use someone else’s words without acknowledging them? Bob Perks said, “No, that’s plagiarism!”

But if you saw the poem posted as I did, without an author’s name, how would you go about researching who wrote it?

In today’s world, I just “Googled it!” I found this version:

Is that really Bob Perks’ original version? How can I tell? And is it ok for some company to put it on a plaque and sell it for profit without the poet getting some kind of royalty? Did Bob Perks copyright it? I don’t know.

I have mixed feelings on this subject – because I have always believed that when someone steals your idea it is a form of flattery. After all, they liked it that much, right?

People have been doing that with Jesus’ words and ideas for centuries.

Did Nancy DeMoss really create that idea?

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

People always are rephrasing Jesus’ words.
There are countless translations of the Bible
and dozens of books that paraphrase it.
But, they do not take the ideas
without giving credit to the creator,
do they?

So, is it OK to be a copycat
without acknowledgement?

Depends… depends on who you’re copying and why!
Sometimes copying is considered a cheap form of imitation.

As an elementary school principal, I used encourage my teachers to share their good ideas with others – and be happy if someone copied their method, stole their lesson plan, or imitated their teaching style. It’s OK to go beyond admiring an idea. It’s OK to use it, embellish it, improve upon it, personalize it. Is it enough to just recognize the other for their inspiration? If you copy, do you need permission?

In our WordPress world, we try to ask permission before reposting someone’s idea. If we don’t get an answer, is it enough to just acknowledge the source?

Lee Ann Womack advocates originality.

I believe Bob Perk’s poem is a beautiful original.
He deserves to receive credit for it.
I wish him ENOUGH accolades
to satisfy his heart’s content.
I love following his ideas
even today on FaceBook.
https://www.facebook.com/bob.perks

His website is about
Starting Over…
New Beginnings

I bet Bob Perks has had ENOUGH of this rewriting of his poem and people copying and tweaking it. I bet he is ready to move on… start over … reinvent his image. As a writer, he now says he is a “Speaker” and a “Vocalist.” He’s said ENOUGH of that old life. Let’s begin again. His website says, “Starting Over Again” at the top of it.

I am an orginal.
You are an original.
There is no one else on earth like you.
Your eyes are only yours.
Your fingerprints are only yours.
Your voice is an original – only yours!
Celebrate your originality!

Cheers!

Loved having you visit today.
Come back again tomorrow
and celebrate my birthday with me, OK?

I wish you enough!

Hugs,
JanBeek

5 Reasons to be Thankful

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?

  1. 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?

Tag Cloud

%d bloggers like this: