April 05, 2018

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

April 05, 2018/ jan

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 ...

April 03, 2018

Walkin' n Talkin' with my Savior

April 03, 2018/ jan

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'!

April 01, 2018

Lenten Meditation: Q & A for Holy Week

April 01, 2018/ jan

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...

March 31, 2018

No Joke! He is Alive ... Forever! And So Am I!

March 31, 2018/ jan

He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.
Matthew 28:6 NLT

Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.
John 14:19 NLT

March 12, 2018

Kiss Me...I Might Be Irish

March 12, 2018/ jan

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.

March 10, 2018

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

March 10, 2018/ jan

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 ...

February 24, 2018

a branch in the VINE: bigger than a blog

February 24, 2018/ jan

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."

February 11, 2018

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

February 11, 2018/ jan

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.

February 06, 2018

Finding Rest: Wearing the Yoke that Fits

February 06, 2018/ jan

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!

January 31, 2018

Letting Go of Enabling...especially in Parenting

January 31, 2018/ jan

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.

January 29, 2018

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

January 29, 2018/ jan

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.

January 21, 2018

Attachment: The Secret of Detachment

January 21, 2018/ jan

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.

January 16, 2018

Learning to Let Go: a Continual Lesson for Me

January 16, 2018/ jan

"Letting go" is a lesson I need to continually learn. While on this earth, my "people helper" self tends to go too far by jumping in to rescue and fix. Or I take on grief too deeply because of the wrong choices of loved ones, and such grief tampers with my soul-stability.

January 14, 2018

Letting Go: a Healthy Detachment

January 14, 2018/ jan

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."

January 10, 2018

Soul Care: Just Breathe

January 10, 2018/ jan

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 KJV

Ah! How to care for our soul, our inner person? We so often neglect our inside self until we are ready to go over the edge with anxiety, exhaustion, depletion, hole-ness ... often caused by failing to read the signals in and around us.

So my friend and guest branch Mary Petzinger returns today with her helpful insights into this very issue.

January 08, 2018

Quiet Places: Shared Wisdom from a Guest Branch

January 08, 2018/ jan

Today and next time here at the Branch in the Vine, I am honored to share words of wisdom from a new friend, Mary Petzinger. Mary and I met at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville, NC this fall. As we shared with each other bits and pieces of our lives, we discovered that we had much in common humanly and spiritually. And our husbands also have a common interest, "Evidence of the Creator in the Creation" (Intelligent Design).

January 06, 2018

The Wise Guys...Essential Oils, Part 2

January 06, 2018/ jan

Epiphany is over.
Christmas trees are coming down.
And perhaps in response to the awesome information shared in the last post by our family expert and my dear DIL, Cortney Solinger Loyd,
or even through previous contact with the "believers" in your life,
you are exploring the gifts of the Magi...the essential oils, in particular myrrh and frankincense.

If you are among that number, you may be interested to look at Cortney's links below

December 31, 2017

A New Word for 2018... my word found me!

December 31, 2017/ jan

...Now what about this year 2018? Well, my Word found me.

In the midst of some long-lasting, deep grief from life circumstances and relationships, my blood pressure has shot up again. It had been low and totally good for months and months. It was in the midst of this broken mess that my word came. I wasn't even looking for it.

December 27, 2017

Post Christmas Comfort: Fear not...Emmanuel Still! (Part 1)

December 27, 2017/ jan

Now that gifts are unwrapped, the food at least half-eaten, the many emotions grabbing at us during the season fading, the loneliness getting deeper and the grief, abandonment, "being left out" -- all having left their wounds...and the dread of bills looming in the back of our minds. We feel lost! So enters in...fear! Yes, fear!

God had set me up this year to think of fear...

December 26, 2017

Processing and Praying about Aging

December 26, 2017/ jan

I recently visited an older friend who is in a rehab center. The purpose for his being there is a good one: recovery from repeated infections in order to prepare for other medical procedures. But my friend is fighting it every inch of the way ... Oh how sad. What a waste of the precious few moments left in his valuable life.

But as I have been observing those older than me and listening to the stories of their care-giving loved ones, I have to pause. Oh how I want to age graciously. I want to leave this earth speaking truth and living love.

A Branch in the Vine