Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days...
Each morning at the beach, I experience sunrise after sunrise over the ocean, each one, unique and special and "speaking.". But I remember one evening, 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.
Read MoreThere is a gem of a hymn that really grabs my heart and soul. I almost forgot about it until someone commented on an old post containing the song. The hymn? -- "The Love of God." The metaphor in the third stanza absorbs my mind and imagination:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,…
For several years before my mom went home to Jesus, I spent lots of precious time with her on the coast in New Jersey. One of the highlights had always been my early morning walks along the beach at sunrise.
I’m returning to this blog that I wrote after a sweet summer with my mom at my sister's house in Belmar.
Maybe you too need some peaceful reflection today. Why not join me as I "go down the shore" and enjoy the glory of our great Creator in pictures (my own), Scriptures and song.
Blessings, my friend.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreI’m taking a virtual vacation at my favorite of all places: the East Coast ocean beach. Why the East Coast? Because it is there that I can also enjoy another favorite — sunrise over the ocean. So why not join me there in my next few posts … specifically the Jersey shore, because I’m a Jersey girl.
When my mom moved to the beach in New Jersey many years ago, I was able to spend many early morning hours on the beach.
I am basically an intuitive, rather than sensory, person (a la Myers-Briggs). But I've found over the years that my senses come alive at the beach.
Read MoreLife is a mix, a conglomeration.
There is confusion and clarity, flailing and focus, excruciating pain and exquisite peace.
There is bitterness and sweetness, strength and fragility, "rugged seas" and "smooth sailing."
As Paul Lawrence Dunbar so aptly expresses in his poem Life:
Read MoreBut I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
Good morning, brothers and sisters in Christ.
May you rejoice in this gift of another day to experience the sufficiency of Christ who lives in you today … right now.
And let’s face it … there will be battles today in this fallen world. Christ has won the war. But while we are here on earth, we will face opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil (who uses the world and the flesh to lie to us and lure our dependence away from our loving Father God).
So here are a few thoughts and scriptures that may help as we face our today:
Read MoreBut I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
The simplicity that is in Christ, my word for the year, has grabbed hold of me deeply.
As I was preparing a lesson on Spiritual Warfare in our ladies’ Bible class, I was arrested by my word and verse again.
Of course, HE is the key to spiritual warfare, and setting my mind simply on HIM is the answer to every battle I face in this life. After all, HE is the One who has already won the war (Hebrews 2:14-15)!
Read MoreFor years this hymn has been my go to song…from the time I was “in the convent” back in the late 1960’s to this very day no matter my Christian context. And recently it has been my morning song as I awaken the dawn walking in my area — even as the darkness is departing and my neighborhood owl is singing out the final hoo-hoo of his “day.”
And so I sing…even aloud…despite the high school young people passing me by on their way to the bus stop, wondering about this weird, white haired woman softly singing. I love the focus. I love the plaintive melody. I love my indwelling God who draws me toward thoughts of HIM Alone. And I love the story behind the song…
Read MoreFriends, I’m feeling a need to return to the Simplicity that is in Christ … Join me?
Drum Roll please … simplicity is the word the Lord has given me for this year. And actually, it came to me during my devotions about a month ago.
I had been feeling like we Christians can make everything about knowing God and living the Christian life so complicated and sometimes, so intense. It was then that the Holy Spirit brought me again to a cherished, heart-warming, favorite verse of mine BUT in a different translation:
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Cor 11:3 NKJV
Here at A Branch in the Vine, we are proclaiming our Declaration of Dependence! We are celebrating that every day is Dependence Day for those of us who "live from the life of Another."
Read MoreI referred to this “word of the year” from 2016 in my last post WHAT IF our Plan B is really God’s Plan A. And “unfolding fullness” still remains my favorite. I often pray in the morning,
O Lord, unfold Your fullness in my life today.
So I decided to share this post from back when these words were fresh in my mind and heart. Maybe you would like to adopt them too.
Read MoreOr stated in another way:
What if God’s Plan A is really our plan B?
Makes me think of the verse that was hanging in my children’s “nursery” as babies:
We may make our plans but God has the last word.
Proverbs 16:1
This verse is not just for my babies, but for all of us “big people.” So it is still on display in our guest room, where we can be reminded. And I am reminded as I sit in my “Prayer Chair” in that lovely room in our condo.
LET LIFE UNFOLD … God is in the unfolding.
So since this is still my birthday month, I’d like to share again my thoughts on God’s unfolding of our days via my favorite flower the rose:
Read MoreHe was!
Yes, we know that, but when we are hurting or are trying to move on from past rejections and past “abuse,” (no matter big or small, we may feel that we were all alone in that terrible time.
Well recently, I was going through actually feeling the emotional hurt of some of those past things. They had stayed locked up inside, because I learned to stuff emotions (especially what we term “negative emotions”) and stoically move on … oftentimes, thinking that was the spiritual thing to do.
Read MoreI had an interesting conversation with a friend about mentoring. We marveled at how so many Christians we know, who have matured in the Lord through the help of a mentor, end up being rejected by that same mentor for not agreeing with them on minor points of doctrine or practice, or for moving on in a different direction in ministry, or for some other difference of opinion. How sad. But how common!
Well, there is good news! There is a gem of a spiritual father tucked away in the gospels, one of my heroes of the faith, John the Baptist! He shows us what a true mentor is like. John is not only a clear example of "letting go," but also a stellar model of attachment to his Lord Jesus Christ.
Read More… The interesting thing is I had years before read the book The Blessing by Gary Smalley & John Trent. In that wonderful book, the authors explore our human need for approval and validation. They show how this need was met in the Biblical blessings given by fathers to children. But they shared how we could also do this for our children today and for others we care about.
The authors listed 5 elements to the Blessing:
The parent-child relationship is perhaps the most critical metaphor of our relationship with God. Why? Because it’s in our relationship with our earthly fathers that we begin to form our concept of God our heavenly Father — for good or for ill.
But all is not lost if our concept of God is askew, filled with false beliefs of what God is really like. There is an Abba Father who fathers us with unconditional love and acceptance, tenderness, and the “loving sternness” that comes with parenting in truth.
Read MoreYou belong to me, and I belong to You, TODAY, my Jesus.
You live in Me, and I live in you, TODAY, my Lord.
You abide in me, and I abide in You, TODAY, my Vine.
You save me TODAY and always, my Savior, and You save me right NOW, my King!
You are my I AM, now, TODAY...AND FOREVER!
Read MoreI’m feeling the need to revisit the truth of living my “today,” embracing my real life for all that it holds. Though I wrote this almost 7 years ago, the message applies not only for then, but also for now . . and actually every today of my life. It preaches to me (the author) to never lose sight of the present reality of my God in my very real today.
If I just lost you with that last statement, why not keep on reading. This is where I chose to live. How about you?
Read More… Nothing is too great for His Power,
And nothing is too small for His LOVE.
… Well, this week, God totally knocked my socks off, proving that nothing is too “small” in my life for Him to show His love for me. This is what was going on —
…
Read MoreJanet 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.
