Christmas Perspective
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I found this on Facebook. It says it all…
Read MoreRevisiting a Childhood Prayer
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The TV police drama Blue Bloods grabs my heart as well as my mind week after week. I suppose it’s for a number of reasons: I’m from New Jersey and the show takes place in New York City. The Reagans (a large close knit Catholic family) reminds me of my own large close knit Catholic family. And many of the religious practices of the Reagans, like “grace before meals,” mirror those of the Renners (my family name). The individual Reagan family members are honest with each other and a bit out-spoken … and that is actually what many extended family members and friends (Renner-wannabes) “admire” about us.
So week after week, I reminisce as I watch Blue Bloods.
Read MoreA Word on Wednesday: VOICE
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1 Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking.
The Voice was and is God.
2 This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator;
3 His speech shaped the entire cosmos.
Immersed in the practice of creating,
all things that exist were birthed in Him.
4 His breath filled all things
with a living, breathing light—
Reflections on Emmanuel, God WITH Us
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Emmanuel…a Christmas Reading
by Kathy Compton
Christmas means different things to different people. For some, it is a difficult holiday because of memories that are cherished…but they are just memories now.
There is an emptiness about Christmas.
For some, it is the delight of family and friends, of decorations and cards, of cookies and carols. There is a fullness about Christmas.
Read MoreGetting Ready for Advent
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Hi friends,
Are you going into this holiday craziness season already shot? worn out? blank?
Really? Me too!
Some of you have walked through "the valley of the shadow..." of something. Big stuff or small. But even the small, piles up to make a big burden.
Would you like to pause with me these next weeks and reflect? Reflect on the God who became one of us ... not just to save, sanctify, and bring us into His glory (as crucial as that is), but also to experience humanness with His beloved creatures.
Read MoreTouching Each Other's Soul
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Another anniversary and a sad realization. We haven’t been doing a very good job at “touching each other’s soul” for the past 47 years.
I wasn’t even going to write this year, because I’m tired and kind of blank. But then this came in my email this morning, and I knew my thought for the next year of our marriage. So I am thankful for some more time to be refined in this way.
Read MoreA Thanksgiving Morning Prayer
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Good morning Lord
I’m so thankful to be Yours.
Your daughter, O loving Father
Your sister and friend, O my Jesus
Your dwelling place, O mighty, yet gentle Spirit
Thank you for the people You have given me.
Read MoreMy Burning Bush
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…Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” …God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. … the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. Exodus 3:2-5 NLT
There is a “burning bush” in my daughter’s yard in Illinois. And it is ablaze with glory right now! So when three year old William and I came outside yesterday morning, we couldn’t help but notice the changes that seemed to happen overnight.
“It’s RED!”
“Yes, William, and it’s called a Burning Bush. You know what? God spoke to a man named Moses from a Burning Bush. It’s in the Bible.”
Read MoreJESUS in Present Tense, Today, Right Now
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You are wound up tight!
So said my doc in relation to my blood pressure spike a few years ago. This was so unusual for someone who, all her adult life, has had BP below normal.
So again a wake-up call...this non-procrastinator needs to stay in the present...with her Present Tense Lord!
Read MoreSpeaking the Truth in Love ... Worth the Risk
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… speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ… Ephesians 4: 15-16 NLT
It is risky to speak the truth. In personal relationships it is particularly risky. Most people don‘t want to hear it if it means that they may be disagreed with or opposed or worse yet, wrong. It’s easier to pretend everything is ok or to put up walls that keep people out and maybe even confuse the real issues. …
Read MoreJesus is the Way...the Means...and the End
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For years in my Christian walk, I asked God again and again for peace, love, forgiveness, power, ability, etc. I read all the Christian "how-to books" and listened to the Christian "how-to sermons" and messages...on Christian radio, in church, conferences and seminars...anywhere and everywhere. I began jumping on (and off) the latest "Christian bandwagon."
Then I came to the end of my trying. My health was breaking and I declared, "I give up!" It was then that the Holy Spirit illumined my mind and heart to realize that all those things I sought were a PERSON who loved me...my Lord Jesus Christ!
Read MoreThe Secret Place of Communion
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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 MoreHoles in my Soul ... Again!
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I’m hitting a hole-y soul again … a whole year later. Only this time I’m needing this post as a reminder to myself, because things are constant and survival seems to be the name of the game. We are helping with the same four littles during some health issues. So if you care to read some encouragement for your own hole-y soul, just know that I am “needy” and “hole-y” with you this time too.
First posted July 2017:
Do you ever feel like there are holes in your soul? I do. In fact, right now I feel a bit like a piece of Swiss cheese. And I don't mean "baby swiss." No, the real holes kind.
The interesting thing is that nothing bad is going on right now in my life. It's all good stuff! But the constancy of the schedule with a newborn (darling first granddaughter!), a two year old (energetic boy, I might add!), two older boys (awesome, each one!), plus sleep deprived young parents (getting ready for a military move next month, I might add), and two aged, also sleep-deprived, grandparents (John & me!) has been hard and delightful at the same time. But to be honest, we adults are all living "on the edge" of something (I just drew a blank as to what).
Read MoreBe Ye Glad...Oh Yes!
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As we were beginning worship one morning at church, I was arrested by the beauty and the message of a song I hadn't heard or sung for many years.
Those of us who were young adults during the late 60s into the 70s and 80s may remember "Be Ye Glad" as a peaceful balm to our souls. So when those opening words and melody penetrated my consciousness, I had to stop and reflect on every word.
In light of all the upheaval in the world, along with the upheavals in your own world, why not take a few moments and listen, reflect on the message, and even sing along….
Read MoreGod's Voice (Author Unknown)
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Many voices come at our minds, day after day. Some of those voices come from the world around us, through our 5 senses. But then there are those inner voices. Where do they come from — our own thoughts? the voices of others within?
Discerning all those voices, within and without can be tricky. But believe it or not there was a post on Facebook recently that certainly helps.
Read MoreIn the Eye of the Storm
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For all of our loved ones along the East Coast, preparing and waiting for what may come in the path of the pending hurricane …
For all of us who may be enduring hurricanes of other kinds: deaths, chronic illness, rejection, loneliness, financial struggles, emotional abandonment, wayward loved ones, temptations and testings of any kind …
This is for us all, my friends, so we can find our “Way of Escape” into the cocooning Presence of God.
Read MoreThe Gate Left Open
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I'm so excited to introduce you to my favorite "Guest Branch," my darling husband John. John is a good writer and more important, he is a kind, loving, godly person. The first time he wrote for A Branch in the Vine, it was in response to an anniversary blog post that I had written. And I have been wanting him to write again (OK, nagging a bit too) for this blog.
So here he is in all his writing and "walking with God" glory. Thank you, John, for helping all of us, including your wife, to understand more deeply that God's grace truly is amazing and ...
Oops, it's your story, John! Thanks for sharing it with us, my love!
Read MoreA Surprise in the Sunset
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Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days...
Or so the song goes ... and so go our days. The days at the coast with my beloved extended family have flown by.
Each morning, I experienced sunrise after sunrise over the ocean, each unique and special and "speaking." (See my previous two posts). Then on our last evening there, I unexpectedly witnessed a sunset over the bay. The horizon wasn't quite as straight and "uncluttered" as that of the ocean, but oh my! It was pretty close. And the way it impacted me was surprising.
Read MoreFresh Mercies Shared
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Before I return to my life in Ohio, I would like to share another aha from my mornings at sunrise at the Jersey Shore.
In my previous post, I wrote of the new realization that came to me as I viewed sunrises this trip ... that although our God is unchanging, God's mercies change day by day, just as the unique sunrise changes moment by moment. So too for us, each of our todays is unique with different circumstances, different joys, different sorrows, and different stresses. God who is our All meets us in each with exactly what we need as we trust Him day by day.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:24 NLT
Well, here is my final thought. God intends that His mercies spread to shape the atmosphere around us. In other words, His mercies are meant to be shared. You may ask where I got that from the sunrises. Well, let me tell you what I noticed.
Fresh Mercies
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I'm at my "Happy Place," the Jersey Shore. It took the whole summer to get here this year, but it was so worth the wait.
I am never disappointed at the beach. I see and hear and feel and smell and even taste God here in a unique way. The vastness of the ocean and the littleness of me on the shore help to correct my perspective about God and my life. And the sunrise over the ocean speaks with new messages every day.
These mornings here at sunrise in Belmar, I have been arrested by an awesome observation.
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