Conferences, Conventions, or Christ?

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Conferences, Conventions, or Christ?

The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. (Daniel 11:32 ESV)

The above verse became familiar to me when I began to lead Precept Upon Precept Bible Studies back in "the day." Kay Arthur would often punctuate her messages with this gem of truth. And yes, it made me want to know my God even more.

And over the course of my life I have benefitted by teachers and trainings, workshops and witness, conferences and conventions. But now I'm slowing down and realizing that it's really all about my Abba Father GOD. It's all about my Lord Jesus CHRIST. It's all about my indwelling HOLY SPIRIT ... my Triune GOD. And I want to know HIM purely and fully, more than ever ... as much as a human on this earth has spiritual capacity to do so. How about you, my friend?

If so, here is a short devotional by a formerly unknown, but now beloved, devotional writer of the past. This may be a good way to begin a new week or to walk a new path. It may also be helpful in decisions to soon be made about registering for upcoming conferences or studies. Is it God's appointed time to meet Him there or is it just frenetic busyness and not wanting to "miss out"?

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A Time to Live & a Time to Die: Reflections on Time & Eternity

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A Time to Live & a Time to Die: Reflections on Time & Eternity

For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
    A time to be born and a time to die...
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a,4a (NLT)

Time, that fleeting commodity that holds us while on this earth! Yet, we can't hold onto it! And for all of us, time is ticking away. We are closer to the end of our earthly journey every second that we live.

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Peace for a Dying Soul: there is a Shepherd!

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Peace for a Dying Soul: there is a Shepherd!

Lord, bring Your Peace into the room as we go.

So I pray as we enter the hospice facility. Jesus can bring peace because He IS Peace! And how much darkness could be ready to rush in when souls are hanging between life and death.

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I AM there in their midst.
Matthew 18:20 NASB

And so HE is here!

In the room a sweet, familiar voice speaks the eternal Word:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

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Of Haircuts, Bananas, and Traffic Patterns: Is anything too Small for the Lord?

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Of Haircuts, Bananas, and Traffic Patterns: Is anything too Small for the Lord?

Is there anything too small for the Lord?

OK, that's not how the verse goes: 

Is there anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17; 32:27; Luke 18:27)

But maybe the first is a question we should also ask. Let me share why...

The other day I was taking my daily walk down our hill, through the nature path, alongside the horse farm, through a park area with the baseball fields and grove of trees...then back again. Many times this walk is when I commune with the Lord....listening to praise music, talking with  my Savior and Friend.

And other times, I commune with friends or family via my cell phone. Also lovely and meaningful.

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Secular or Sacred: Is there Really a Difference for a Child of God?

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Secular or Sacred: Is there Really a Difference for a Child of God?

If we believers are temples of God (and we are), 
     if we hold the glory of the Lord in the earthen vessel of our body (and we do),
          if we live unto Him as we walk out our lives (and we can), 
then can anything we do ever be "secular"?

All we do and are is sacred, isn't it? 

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Broken Open Glory: in All Its Glory! (Part 2)

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Broken Open Glory: in All Its Glory! (Part 2)

The Glorious GOD lives in ME, little ole broken me! 

... So can I spell out for us an amazing thought:

the Glorious God of Creation; 
the Arresting God of the Burning Bush; 
the Blinding God of the Desert Mountain; 
the Still, Quiet God of the "behind me" Voice; 
the Gentle God of the Judean Hillside; 
the Truth-filled God of the Living Way; 
the Compassionate God of the Overflowing Well;
the Caring God of the Secure Sheepfold; 
the Life-filling God of the Fruitful Vine; 
the Resurrecting God of my Salvation; 
the Fire-tongued God of the Holy Spirit

... lives in ME! 
and YOU too, my sister and brother, by grace through faith in the glorious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! 

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Broken Open Glory: Seeing God in Seemingly Unlikely Places (Part 1)

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Broken Open Glory: Seeing God in Seemingly Unlikely Places (Part 1)

Things aren't always what they seem to be. Take, for example, an ugly fruit -- all gnarly on the outside, but incredibly luscious and sweet on the inside. Who knew?
Or how about a middle school aged boy, like my grandson Evan -- an ordinary (except to his parents and grandparents, of course) young man, ...
And what about a bush? I imagine the Old Testament patriarch Moses just thought the bushes on the backside of the desert where he tended sheep back in the day were just ordinary bushes. ...
Well, who knew that a particular rock could be more than a rock in Arizona ...

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Walkin' n Talkin' with my Savior

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Walkin' n Talkin' with my Savior

Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road...? Luke 24:32

Carter and I have this thing goin' -- walkin' n talkin'...n talkin' n walkin'...n walkin' n talkin' n....on and on and on.

It's pure delight for both of us, because Carter is 3-1/2**...and I'm Carter's Babci (Polish for Grandma).  I know it won't last forever -- he'll grow up and become interested in many other things.  But for right now, we have each other and walkin' n talkin' n talkin' n walkin'!

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Lenten Meditation: Q & A for Holy Week

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Lenten Meditation: Q & A for Holy Week

Question: "What is Palm Sunday?"

Answer:Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, exactly one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1–11)....

 

Question: "What is Passion Week / Holy Week?"

Answer: Passion Week (also known as Holy Week) is the time from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday (Resurrection Sunday). Also included within Passion Week are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday...

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Kiss Me...I Might Be Irish

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Kiss Me...I Might Be Irish

That was the saying on a balloon I saw at Kroger.  And it was also the sentiment in the elementary school we kids went to in New Jersey.  St Matthew’s was an Irish parish (maybe because the founding pastor was Irish, Fr Duffey), so our sports teams were the “Fighting Irish.”  Anyway, the sentiment was that everyone was Irish on St Patrick’s Day. I remember us Renner girls (mom’s maiden name = Galuszka; so you do the “ethnic” math ) spraying our hair green, putting on our already green uniforms, and heading next door to school.  (Yes, we lived next to the church and school!).  We FELT Irish…even if we were really German & Polish!

Everyone was indeed “Irish” at St Matthews on St Patrick’s Day, except for the few rebellious students and even teachers who wore orange instead of green.

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"Where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?"

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"Where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?"

A mature young Christian woman goes to her regular adult Bible study class. The teachers of the class  are experts in Biblical counseling. Week by week they share from the Scriptures answers to common problems faced by individuals and families in today's culture. One Sunday after learning the "formula" for solving a particular problem biblically, our mature young woman asks, "But where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?" 

A member of a sound evangelical church is a student in a class on Christian church history.  He reads some articles ... 

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a branch in the VINE: bigger than a blog

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a branch in the VINE: bigger than a blog

I can't believe it. A branch in the Vine is seven years old this month! THANK YOU, dear readers, for reading and encouraging me to keep writing! You have blessed me beyond measure. Can I share a little of the story behind it all?

Eight years ago, I started to be aware that some young women in my life (among whom was my daughter-in-law Cortney) were writing blogs ... quite effectively, I might add. I thought to myself,

"I'm too old to do a blog, but if I weren't, I would call it A branch in the Vine."

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Celebrating Love, Life, & a Son, 20 Years Cancer-free

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Celebrating Love, Life, & a Son, 20 Years Cancer-free

This month is a special month. This month I celebrate my darling son and his amazing, godly life that our sovereign Father God spared 20 years ago ... and not only spared, but brought to abundant fruitfulness inside and out! Can I tell you the story? 

Twenty years ago on February 13, 1998, my beautiful baby boy, Jeremy John Loyd, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  OK, he wasn't a baby at the time...he was 20 years old and a sophomore at Grace College.  But as every one of you moms knows, your baby is always your baby.

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Finding Rest: Wearing the Yoke that Fits

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Finding Rest: Wearing the Yoke that Fits

Finding REST, yes! Oh yes!

Rest is my "word of the year," yet it is still a quest for me. You too? Actually, rest is both a gift and a quest while on this earth. Let me explain. 

When we come to Christ by faith, He gives us rest, in fact He Himself IS our Rest -- rest from the penalty and power and one day, the presence of sin. As a result, we are totally acceptable to God, born into His family, beloved children of His who live by His indwelling life. I am IN Christ, and He is IN me. And this rest is a free gift ... given! Not earned!  

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Letting Go of Enabling...especially in Parenting

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Letting Go of Enabling...especially in Parenting

Helping or enabling? Enabling or helping? It can be difficult to know the difference. And knowing the difference can make or break a relationship ... and I might add, it may be the difference between being God's instrument in the life of another or blocking God's work in that same individual. 

Welcome again to my friend Tresca who clarifies the difference for us. She deals with the issue as it relates to our children. But if you are like me, you will also learn about healthy helping in other relationships in your life.

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A Hard Detachment: Letting Go of Our Own "Figuring It Out to Fix It"

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A Hard Detachment: Letting Go of Our Own "Figuring It Out to Fix It"

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take....

Catherine Marshall says the the hardest thing to relinquish is our will. But I might add that equally hard is yielding our own wisdom, our own understanding, our own abilities, our own "good intentions," to another, even to our Ultimate Other, the Lord Himself. Lately, God has been personally speaking to me again about this very issue. 

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Attachment: The Secret of Detachment

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Attachment: The Secret of Detachment

Detachment, Relinquishment ... Letting go! No matter how you say it, it is hard but beautiful. And it is needed...needed, that is, in order to grow in the spiritual life. In fact, Jesuit Richard Rohr, says, "All great spirituality is about letting go." (Everything Belongs) Our Lord Jesus was the One truly spiritual Person on this earth. And He was detached in a healthy way. He was detached because He was attached to Another ... to His Heavenly Father. All through the gospels, especially the gospel of John, we see and hear this truth clearly. 

 

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Letting Go: a Healthy Detachment

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Letting Go: a Healthy Detachment

Jesus lived with what I call a "healthy detachment." I discovered this years ago as I was meditating in John, chapter two. Even though people were "believing" in Jesus left and right because of the miracles He was performing, He didn't entrust the well-being of His soul to them. He knew human nature. Jesus deeply cared about people, but He knew the only One to whom He could safely entrust Himself was His heavenly Father.We need that healthy detachment in our own lives, don't we? But it is often difficult to know when and how to "let go" in a relationship. I am delighted to introduce you to my friend, Tresca Grannum, our Guest Branch for today. Tresca comes to share some helpful insights into this whole issue of "letting go."

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