Why is it easier to weep with others in their suffering than rejoice with them in their success?
Jealousy?
Insecurity?
Self-importance?
Disappointment with my own life?
Scarcity mentality (that there's not enough "good stuff" out there for me too)?
Back when we were in our late thirties, John & I moved our young family from Dallas to Dayton, Ohio because of a job change. At that time we became a part of a fellowship called "Believers' Assembly." In those days, we were among the older folks because the congregation had been formed of college kids who had come to Christ and were spiritually growing under the ministry of young Rennes Bowers. So there was lots of life in that congregation.
I'll never forget the songs in the "blue songbook."** I'm not sure where these songs came from ... whether original to the group or not. But I do remember them being enthusiastically sung to guitar music.
Read MoreFacing my mortality is good for my soul.
And my "decade-turning birthday" does give me pause, unlike any other. I don't care that they say that 70 is the new 60. Who are the "they" anyway? It's wishful thinking ... just like all the other decade-turning birthdays were. For some reason in our culture, we think we should be above aging!
Yes, there are amazing advances in medical and health sciences that keep pushing the survival rate higher and higher. But what about the "soul's survival rate"? What about the quality of the inner life that transcends the outer?
Read MoreLately, there has been a lot of talk in Christian circles (at least the ones that I'm involved in) about mentoring ... in particular, older women mentoring younger; older men mentoring younger.
And hasn't that always been true, no matter the term used? Discipling, spiritual parenting, sharing the Lord ... Of course, we think of Jesus with His disciples, then Paul with his Timothy (and not to forget, Mom & Grandma with their Timothy), also Naomi with her Ruth, etc. You get the picture.
But as we transition from May the month of moms, to June the month of dads, I would like to share about my all time favorite Biblical example when it comes to mentoring.
Read MoreIf you have been following my last few blogs, you know that I have become more aware of the enemy around us as we walk out our life in Christ. He and his minions are not so thrilled when we are walking in peace and rest. And so, there are those dark forces around us that seize any and every opportunity to distract us, discourage us, disturb us and cause us to distrust the Lover of our Souls.
This week, our beloved son Jeremy told us that he was scheduled for a biopsy in the area where he had thyroid cancer almost 20 years ago.
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Bullies don't often give up. They just look for another opportunity in a different place of vulnerability, changing tactics and catching the victim off-guard.
And so true to form, the Bully didn't take long to regroup and sneak up on me in another situation. (See the previous post) It sent me into a tailspin of emotion...trying to choke back tears and keep on doing life. But thankfully, my Hero, the Holy Spirit of Christ broke through the emotional cloud I was churning in.
"Ok Jan. Resist! Stand! Say NO! Remember that? Now look at the entire passage and park yourself there."
Read MoreThe devil and his demons are bullies. But in the presence of Christ, they become wimps.
Pete Briscoe
I love the old Westerns. Whenever I am home in the afternoon and have some time to relax, I turn on Me-TV and enjoy Gunsmoke or The Rifleman or Rawhide. What is it about these shows?
Yes, they take me back to my childhood.
Yes, they speak of a simpler time when right was right and wrong was wrong.
But also, and maybe above all, the good guys always win.
Often there's a scenario where the poor dirt farmer in the story gets bullied and threatened by some heartless, powerful, rich rancher or tycoon of some kind ... maybe to sell or give up his land at some ridiculous price. Why? For the water rights or the railroad access or ... You get the idea. But eventually, and often not till the end of the story, the ultimate "good guy" rescues the underdog by standing up to the bully and overcoming him. The bully then wimps out or is destroyed. I love that!
Read MoreMotherhood is a Sisterhood...unrivaled by any other (except perhaps, Grandmother-hood). So if you are a mom, you are my beloved sister...
And sometimes we mama-sisters just need to be daughters...Abba's (Hebrew for Daddy) little girls.
So this Mothers' Day, let us hear these restful words of promise from our Abba:
Read MoreMotherhood is filled with emptyings -- from the emptying of the womb in childbirth to the emptying of self in child-raising to the emptying of the nest, the ultimate goal. The stripping is hard, every step along the way.
And eventually, it may mean being alone on the day when moms have always been lauded and honored. This happened to me early on in the empty-nesting process. It could have shattered me were it not for my Abba Father's loving gifts to this hurting mama.
Read MoreThings are going along well. Life is good.
The kids are getting along ... "What a great mother I am!"
or ...
Your job review turns out much better than you thought ... "I can face every challenge people throw at me!Read More
Where do you go to commune with your God?
Do you go to a chapel or a church? to a favorite place near a stream, at a mountain retreat, or on a beach? Do you go to a "prayer closet," a special place in your own home?
But maybe you are frustrated because there never seems to be a "place" where you can go. Maybe you're a mom with young children or a special needs child. Perhaps you are a working mom or a worker who needs to moonlight at a second job to make ends meet. Maybe you or a loved one has a handicap or serious illness that takes you to services and medical places that seem to consume your life. Where is the place for you?
I have good news for all of us ...
Read MoreEvery Easter I think of family and friends who have died in Christ. Somewhere and sometime on their earthly journey they each met the Risen Christ in a unique way...some quite dramatically, some softly and quietly.
During this Easter week, I'd like to tell you about a friend who was arrested by the Risen Christ. She's virtually unknown, except by those whose lives she touched. Her name is Brenda.
Read MoreNow I lay me down to sleepI pray the Lord my soul to keep If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take
So goes a traditional nighttime prayer taught by American moms to their children for generations.
It may seem odd to us today that there would be the mention of death in a child's prayer. But scientists say that sleep is the closest we come to death while still alive. The Greeks even had a proverb,
Read MoreSleep and death are brothers.
Jesus said “...what is that to you? You follow ME!”
John 21:20-21 ESV
Sometimes we just need to go it alone.
I know...that's not a popular thing to say in the "church." And I get it because God has placed us into families and communities. He wants us to care for one another.
But stay with me here...there are times when we truly are alone .... and other times when we need to choose to be alone.
Read MoreAs I was walking one day, listening to a mixture of songs on my ipod, one of my old favorites by Steve Green came on, He Holds the Keys. This song dates back to the era when Steve was singing big songs about our big God! It was also during the time that I was beginning to experience Jesus as my Life in a deep way!
Read MoreAbandoned! Left on the "doorstep of Life"...but with no Rescuer in sight! What happens next in the unfolding drama of the crucifixion of our Lord is incomprehensible!
It's an abandonment so profoundly mysterious that it boggles the mind...but ravishes the believing heart! Let's watch it unfold...
It is noon.
Read MoreAs far back as I can remember, I longed to know God. At my mother's knee, I would sit and listen to stories she would tell me from our big gilded Bible. You know the one...with the records of births and deaths, marriages and first communions. But it wasn't until later, in my young adulthood, that I became aware that I could hear God's voice speak to me...not audibly, but in the still, small voice of His sweet Spirit dwelling within.
Read MoreI have a precious friend named Kitty. She sees and hears God EVERYWHERE! Her favorite "mantra," so to speak, is"He is is SO personal!" And that's what I love about Kitty!
However, for Kitty and for all of us, hearing God can be a little tricky. Jesus said we DO hear Him if we belong to Him. But how? Where does the hearing take place?
Kitty and I had such a conversation the other day. Here is my paraphrase:
Read MoreKitty: I'm struggling. One minute I hear this message in sermons and songs and blogs,
"Wait upon the Lord. Keep silent and wait."
And that's what I'm trying to do. But then the next minute, it is
"God is waiting for you to step out in faith, and then He will move."
Which is it?
Jan: This is the key, Kitty...
I would like to tell you about Lou, a friend and brother in the Lord. Lou was a "flower child" of the '60's. He, of course, would never have missed Woodstock -- along with all his long-haired hippie freak friends. And Lou loved to share. What he always shared was the latest "turn on" he had discovered and enjoyed, no matter what it might be. But there was Something missing in Lou's life. He didn't realize that it was a God-shaped Someone, and He had a Name. His Name is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Read MoreDear woman, behold your son…behold your mother. John 19:26
Jesus has a special love for His own.
As we’ve already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering. Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.
What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary’s face
Read MoreJanet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
