May 29, 2020

My Prayer Chair

May 29, 2020/ jan

I’m anticipating a meaningful addition to my “quiet place of reflection” deep down in the recesses of our home. It is a birthday gift, not to be hung until my mid June birthday.

But in preparation for the treasure of a gift, I have been thinking of this special place where I meet with God most mornings. My soul is still quiet before the hustle of my busyness intrudes upon the solitude.

Can I take you with me, dear reader, to visit my special place that embraces my “all-my-own” chair I have come to call my “Prayer chair”?

May 24, 2020

A Project for This Pandemic and Beyond: Remembering Stones

May 24, 2020/ jan

By this time in our “sequester” of sorts, we may be getting a bit bored. Things are beginning to open up, but maybe you are still cautious or going slowly out into “the unknown.”

Why not consider using some of your time on a project which can prove valuable for yourself and even for your children and grandchildren in years to come. What I am suggesting is to begin writing about your faith journey.

When I started writing mine, I remember thinking, “Oh how I wish my godly grandmother (“Babci”) and my godly mother had kept a journal or had written of their journey with God through the trials of life.”

But alas, they had not. And it was most likely not possible for them in their situations. But it was possible for me, so I began.

May 22, 2020

Behind the Mask to the Real . . . Pressing into 1 John 4

May 22, 2020/ jan

Each of us is a real person behind the masks we wear. Some of those masks are self-imposed to protect us from “being exposed” for who we are. They portray a false self.

But then there are other “masks” that are “good” in the sense they are rightful or necessary or “just are.” I say “masks” because they still can, in a sense, hide the real person inside. I’m thinking of the roles we have in life: mother, teacher, athlete, sister, wife, pastor, etc.

And I just realized something — our bodies can serve as masks…physical beauty or lack thereof, aging, physical handicaps etc. And here is a shocker. . .

May 19, 2020

"Removing our Masks" in this Pandemic . . . Pressing into Psalm 139

May 19, 2020/ jan

“Masks or no masks” has become a big controversial deal these days. But there are masks that have been a bigger deal than we have realized all along in most of our lives. They are the metaphorical “masks” that we humans tend to don, to hide who we really are from others….

But I have been thinking now of “masks” of a different sort… these "good “masks” can also tend to keep others from discovering the real me deep down inside. They are the masks of the “roles” I rightfully have in life. We are most often seen by others in our roles and maybe in no other way….

May 16, 2020

Loving and Being Loved in this Pandemic . . . Pressing into Philippians 2

May 16, 2020/ jan

I recently read somewhere on social media that we shouldn’t wear face masks during this pandemic because we are made in the image of God and His image is reflected in our faces.

Really?

True, it is hard to recognize someone if the bottom half of their face is covered. But I’ve been thinking about this lately . . .

“The eyes are the window of the soul,. . .

May 13, 2020

Getting a Grip in this Pandemic . . . Pressing into 1 Peter 5

May 13, 2020/ jan

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.

May 11, 2020

Waiting Eagerly in this Pandemic . . . Pressing into Romans 8

May 11, 2020/ jan

It seems that we are all waiting these days, doesn’t it? What are you waiting for, my friend, . . . maybe even waiting eagerly?

Stores and restaurants to open? Jobs to call you back in? Hospitals and nursing homes to allow visitors? Schools to reopen? Playgrounds? Pools? Churches? Beaches? State Parks?

I’m waiting eagerly. NO! I’m chomping at the bit, to be able to drive two states over to be with my military “babies.” I’m waiting to be able to grab hold of my “babies,” young and old, near (here in Dayton) and far (there in Illinois), and hug and squeeze them. And I’ll bet you have loved ones that you are dying to grab hold of and HUG too.

May 08, 2020

The Emptying of Motherhood -- Alone? On Mothers' Day?

May 08, 2020/ jan

Motherhood 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.

Now in this pandemic, it may be an emptying that was totally unexpected.

May 07, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #6 -- Ah! the Harvest...All About Love, Always Is

May 07, 2020/ jan

Ah! the harvest! The reason the Vineyard exists!

When our daughter and family lived in southern California, I was able to observe grape vineyards in all major stages of growth -- from pruning to blooming with green fruit and leaves and finally to the harvest of ripe fruit followed by early stages of the "dying" process. All of this to begin again the Cycle of Life!

I love the metaphor of the Vine & the Branches in John 15! It encourages me in my FAITH . . .

May 05, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #5: Growth in the Vineyard -- Extending Grace to Ourselves and Others

May 05, 2020/ jan

One year, I celebrated my June birthday with my daughter and family in California. To my delight, Beth took me to my vineyard for lunch at the lovely restaurant there.

On the way to the Temecula vineyard area, I was amazed to see how the former ruthlessly pruned vines were now covered with lush green leaves. You may remember those stark vines from a previous post.

May 04, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #4: Fruit Killers in the Vineyard-- Jealousy and Her Cousins

May 04, 2020/ jan

… But there are hindrances to the fruit-bearing process. One of the biggest "blockers" to unique fruit-bearing is jealousy...and related evils, like comparison and competition, one-up-man-ship, expectations, holding offenses, and the like. All of these will kill the fruit the Lord wants to produce in our lives.

Think about it! If we are always comparing ourselves to "other branches," we have our attention off of the Lord and what He may be doing in and through our lives. What a waste of precious time and energy...much less spiritual fruit!

May 02, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #3 -- The Father's Pruning: Stripped Bare? Why me?

May 02, 2020/ jan

I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me...that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15:1, 2

From what I understand, important to the process of growing grapes is pruning the vine. Now I am definitely not a gardener! So if I have ever pruned anything, I've done a very wimpy job of it. So I was shocked a few years ago when we visited a vineyard in Temecula Valley, CA.

April 30, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #2 -- Job Descriptions: Who Does What in the Father's Vineyard

April 30, 2020/ jan

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.John 15:8

Have you ever started a job with no job description? I have, and it's pretty confusing.

Years ago, I was looking for a part-time teaching job. A friend asked if I would like to apply to substitute teach in ESL & GED classes. I told her that I didn't have a clue about either one of those. She assured me that it wasn't difficult. All I had to do was follow the teacher's lesson plans. So I naively applied.

April 29, 2020

Vineyard Tour Stop #1 -- The True Vine: Tell Us about Your Name

April 29, 2020/ jan

I AM the True Vine... John 15:1

“Tell us about your name…”

That was the opening “ice-breaker” at a teacher in-service I attended a few years ago. I was glad for that topic, because I have an interesting name. In fact, each of my names (even including my married name) has something unique about it.

April 28, 2020

A "Virtual" Pandemic Tour -- Welcome to the Vineyard

April 28, 2020/ jan

I would venture to say that many, if not most, Americans like to travel — even if it is just across state lines for a day or to the neighboring town for a change of pace. And it seems that though the current quarantine has halted it all, folks have found ways to travel.

How? By taking to their computers and other devices to do “virtual tours” of museums, zoos, famous landmarks, parks, and vacation spots. In fact, there are so many choices that it is mind boggling where technology can usher us.

Well, I woke up this morning realizing that I can offer a bit of a “virtual tour” right here at A Branch in the Vine. This “tour” is one of the first I had “offered” way back in 2011 when I launched A Branch in the Vine.

So let’s take a trip to the Vineyard . . . but not just to any vineyard . . .

April 26, 2020

Abiding Today in this time of Quarantine and Every Today

April 26, 2020/ jan

Abiding, dwelling, sinking down deep … living IN HIM Who lives IN ME! That’s what this hidden time is all about, isn’t it?

We don’t know for how long or when it will end. But we do have an amazing opportunity right now to learn in our experience what it means to abide … whether in quarantine or in our everyday TODAY.

April 25, 2020

Fruitful Hibernation: Reflections by Kathy Godwin

April 25, 2020/ jan

Hibernation! It is for bears, bumblebees, hedgehogs, ground squirrels, bats, turtles, woodchucks, and a few other animals. But we humans do not hibernate very well!

We are all learning and experiencing much during this mandated hibernation. Our experiences and emotions vary – some are entertaining or teaching lively, restless children or some are struggling with loneliness, some the frustration of trying to work from home with many distractions or all the above and more!

April 22, 2020

Balancing Acceptance and Hope: How to Make It through a Crisis

April 22, 2020/ jan

… Well today, in the midst of it all, a beautiful nugget of emotional and spiritual health was briefly shared by Dr Acton at the end of her report. In referring to a favorite book of hers authored by a Holocaust survivor, she shared that two things kept in balance helped folks survive situations of extreme crisis, such as the Holocaust and others down through the years. The implication was that this same balance can help us survive this present pandemic crisis.

The two things kept in balance are “accepting our present reality” and “holding on to hope” at the same time….

April 20, 2020

This Time of Pandemic -- God's Sifting

April 20, 2020/ jan

It was sixteen years ago now ... that day when we unboxed the items my mother-in-law was discarding because of her need to downsize. Betty Jean Loyd was moving to a senior community, states away from where she had lived most of her adult life and where she had married a man and raised an only son.

At 80 years of age, Betty Jean, an only child herself, knew that she needed to be near us, her only family. So we helped her dispose of her discarded things.

And there it was -- her sifter!

April 19, 2020

Learning from Jesus…the Father’s Perfect Child (a Bible Study)

April 19, 2020/ jan

The parent-child metaphor is perhaps the most tender picture of our relationship with God as believers. This is so movingly expressed in the Scriptures by the Hebrew term for Father God "Abba," meaning "Daddy." In our last post, we explored the truth that in reality we are all adult-children deep down who still really need a Father in order to do an adult life right here and now.

Let's look at Jesus, the perfect Son of our Abba Father God, and do a little digging into the Scriptures. Let’s ask the Spirit to speak to our child-hearts.

A Branch in the Vine

A Branch In the Vine