I’m the family “container queen.”
Actually, I’m obsessed with containers — cute ones, practical ones, and especially “potential ones.” You know, those containers — those boxes that come in the mail, that are sturdy and reusable, and even trendy looking … and those bags, like from the Apple store, or places like JJill and Trader Joe’s. They are perfect to reuse in practical and lovely ways.
Read MoreEveryone suffers.
You may be suffering right now, or you have recently suffered, or you may soon suffer. But for a child of God, suffering is NEVER punishment!
Jesus took our punishment to the cross!
Read MoreTwenty-plus years ago, our family began to walk through the trial of our lives. Our precious son Jeremy began to have obvious issues that led to a diagnosis of thyroid cancer on February 13, 1998. My goodness, he was only 20 years old, athletic, handsome, healthy (or so we thought). As his mom, I experienced pain that I had never felt before or since. I watched my gorgeous "baby boy" walk through the trial of his life with courage and grace, despite his normal fear.
As I now look back to that time, the one thing I always say is "God carried us!" And I guess that is all I can say ... we were held and carried! And there is a bittersweet joy in that kind of deep trial ... when all there is to make it through is HIM and His loving Presence.
Read MoreSurely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8
PAIN!
Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it?
For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!
And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...
...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.
Read More"God never gives us more than we can bear!" For some reason, I've been hearing that a lot lately, have you?
I don't know about you, but in my experience, it has been the opposite! God regularly gives me more than I can bear...and I'll tell you what I think is the reason.
As I now like to say, "I'm a tough nut to crack." I'm a pretty strong personality! So for a lot of my Christian life, I've believed that it's my strength and know-how and abilities and wisdom, coupled with the blessing and help from Above, that will get the job done...successfully...even in the spiritual realm. I've eaten over and over again from the "Tree of knowledge of Good & Evil" thinking that was God's will and way!
But now I know differently. His way is His strength in my weakness! Not His help in my weakness! HIM doing it and being it!
Read MoreEveryone suffers.
You may be suffering right now, or you have recently suffered, or you may soon suffer. But for a child of God, suffering is NEVER punishment!
Jesus was punished for us!
Read MoreThis is scary. This is hard. But I have Jesus!
I was on my way to the hospital to pick up a CD and written report on my CT scan done several days ago. Something suspicious had showed up in a previous test. I wanted to find out, but I didn't want to know.
Walking from the parking lot, I sensed the Holy Spirit give me my "Jesus Prayer."
Read MoreSurely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8
PAIN!
Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it?
For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!
And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...
...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.
Read MoreThis day in July 2020 is our reality. It is part of the journey God has ordained for each of us.
If we are believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we live it out from our union with Christ. He lives in us, and we have the mind of Christ. Let us live with His indwelling attitude.
First posted in May 2020. But I fear we need this reminder again:
Read MoreBrothers and sisters, we all need to get a grip! Our God owes us nothing! Absolutely zip! As Americans, as His children, as ____________ (whatever you may think entitles you).
All is pure gift! Absolute grace! Amazingly unconditional love!
Brothers and sisters, we all need to get a grip! Our God owes us nothing! Absolutely zip! As Americans, as His children, as ____________ (you fill in the blank with whatever you may think you are entitled to).
All is pure gift! Absolute grace! Amazingly unconditional love!
And He certainly doesn’t consider us Americans (because we are Americans) to be exempt from sacrifice and suffering. He doesn’t say we can call all our own shots because we are the land of the free, in contrast to the rest of the world.
Read MoreBut right now, Janice is suffering. According to a shocking medical diagnosis, Janice may soon see her God, the Lover of her soul, face to face.
Prayers are ascending to the Throne of Grace — for mercy, for healing, for grace to face each day. We, her friends and loved ones, want her to stay with us.
Please, O God!
Read MoreEveryone suffers.
You may be suffering right now, or you have recently suffered, or you may soon suffer. But for a child of God, suffering is NEVER punishment!
Jesus was punished for us!
Read MoreThings aren't always what they seem to be. Take, for example, geodes.
Who knew that a particular rock could be more than a rock in Arizona (the site of our recent travels) ... or anywhere else for that matter? It's just a rock, right? Sure it is, until it is cracked open, that is. Then wow! what "glory" inside! Yes, a geode is not just any rock. It's a rock that contains a shining treasure of crystals. However, the treasure remains hidden until it is cracked open with a hammer or a fall or a landslide or some kind of trauma. The rock will just stay ordinary and unattractive and obscure and unrevealing to those who have not witnessed the breaking or who are not willing to let the rock be broken.
Read MoreA question jumped out at me in my "catch up" chronological Bible reading this week. It was so simple yet profound, but it grabbed hold of my mind and heart.
Is there no God in Israel?
A curious question to just jump off the page and grab me, isn't it? Where did this question come from? And why now?
Read MoreThis is scary. This is hard. But I have Jesus!
I was on my way to the hospital to pick up a CD and written report on my CT scan done several days ago. Something suspicious had showed up in a previous test. I wanted to find out, but I didn't want to know.
Walking from the parking lot, I sensed the Holy Spirit give me my "Jesus Prayer."
Read More…Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 NLT
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!
jeremy
Eighteen years ago ... right about now, our family began to walk through the trial of our lives. Our precious son Jeremy began to have obvious issues that led to a diagnosis of thyroid cancer on February 13, 1998. My goodness, he was only 20 years old, athletic, handsome, healthy (or so we thought). As his mom, I experienced pain that I had never felt before or since. I watched my gorgeous "baby boy" walk through the trial of his life with courage and grace, despite his normal fear.
As I now look back to that time, the one thing I always say is "God carried us!" And I guess that is all I can say ... we were held and carried! And there is a bittersweet joy in that kind of deep trial ... when all there is to make it through is HIM and His loving Presence.
Willam and me, baby
So here's another song to add to our "Joy in January" series. It's a song for seeming un-joyful situations and periods in life.
So if you are going through what seems to be the "perfect storm," pause here, let go, ... and let yourself be held!
[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZitK6_IMQ']
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And now for a shameless advertisement at the request of my business manager (a.k.a. my husband John):
At the risk of appearing self-serving, I want to invite you to read my book, The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension,...not because I wrote it but because it reveals a God who is intimately and securely united with us in every possible way.The-With-ness-of-our-God-cover-temp-3-210x300
If you are struggling to feel connected to the Lord, though you may know in your head you belong to Him, please consider this little volume. In it you will receive manna for your heart, not just your head. You will find not only simple, practical instruction, but also meditation, stories for application, questions for journaling and just pondering...and more.
Or maybe you aren't struggling but just want to go deeper...this is for you too. You can dive into the deep or stay on the surface...your choice.
And the book is very accessible and affordable. You can purchase on online (see links). Locally, volumes can be purchased at BellHOP Cafe for just $14.00. And I've priced the ebook at the lowest allowed, $3.99 or even less on some on-line sites.
So please take a look and consider walking with us on this journey into The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension.
And thank you for your grace!
[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksDn82ujvc0']
Publisher website: www.janloyd.com
On my blog with links to Amazon etc, endorsements, outline, excerpt, pdfs of other resources and leaders guide: http://www.abranchinthevine.com/with-ness-of-our-god/
Surely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8
PAIN!
Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it?
For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!
And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...
...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.
Read More
Surely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8PAIN!
Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it?
For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!
And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...
...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S. Lewis
In pain as in joy, I'm learning to hold onto two truths that are my unchangeables:
GOD IS GOODThe LORD is good...
I AM LOVED...and His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 107:1
And it seems the enemy of our souls always assails at those two points with hislies. It happened in the Garden, and it happens every day in my life and in yours. We are just dull to recognize it.
But I'm hear to affirm by faith...
God's character is often bought into question when we face the "hard things" in life, like sickness, death, broken relationships, financial reversals, and so on.
When our son and daughter went through serious health problems (cancer and what turned out to be benign tumors) within months of each other, it threw me into incredible pain and confusion:
"How could this be happening to my children!? What kind of toxic waste dump have we been living in!?"
And I struggled on...for a long time! Finally, it was Jesus' words to His disciples, the night before He died, that stabilized me:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
But why all the suffering? God's Word tells us that because of the Fall, everything and everyone has been suffering:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:21-23
God's plan hasn't been stymied because of man's fall into rebellion. God is weaving all things in our lives into His eternal plan in Christ.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:28-29
As Bible teacher Kay Arthur says,
Everything in our lives is filtered through fingers of Love!
And that brings me to my second "Unchangeable"...
I am LOVED and you are too!
We all are seeking perfect love...loving and being loved in a real and deep way. This is God-given. But I get myself into trouble when I expect perfect love from another person, or I try to live up to others' expectations simply so that they will love and accept me.
The realization that I am loved with an everlasting love by the Lover of my Soul, the Lord Jesus Christ, enables me to let others off the hook. It also frees me to admit and repent of my failures to love...and then forgive myself.
Maybe this is part of what we each must go through in adulthood in coming to grips with our "parent issues."
In a perfect world, all of us would have been parented by perfect parents who met all our needs. But in reality, none of us has...though some of us have had some pretty darn good ones!
But in finally coming to grips with our grief and loss, we can forgive others for not loving us as only God can.
It's at that moment that you and I can fully embrace God's incredible, perfect love for us...and embrace our life, choosing to love with the love with which we have been loved by God.
Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing,... None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing— nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable —absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:35-39 MSG
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1 ESV
Janet 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.
