I’ve always loved Advent. Advent used to call to me, even as a child, that Someone Important was coming … God! Emmanuel, Jesus. And as far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved Jesus.
Read More“Together.” What a significant word.
“Together” was significant in the beginning years of our marriage. We were no longer two single young adults, making decisions on our own, doing our own thing. And together we started building a life and a career and a family and many other aspects of making it on this earth.
Read MoreTherefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith,
just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Colossians 2:6-7 NASB
Years ago, I taught writing to adult GED students. Every Wednesday, we would do an exercise together as a class to practice writing a five-paragraph essay. As the end of November approached, I chose the topic of Thanksgiving. I thought that in this age of “entitlement” it might be a double “win” for the students to count their blessings and practice their writing.
Read MorePrint copies available NOW from Barnes & Noble -- free shipping or pick-up at store.https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144292012...
Read More… "Was that YOU, Lord! Did I do OK?"
Then He immediately said to my heart (no doubt about it!),
"Well done! You're my girl!"
"YOU'RE MY GIRL!"
from the God of the Universe!
from my Abba Father "who is very fond of me!"
…
Great news, dear friends!
We hit the button…PUBLISH. So now Glory in Disguise is available in ebook form at many online outlets. Print book will be available in the next week or so.
Read MoreThe fall is my favorite season. The colors overwhelm my eyes as every tree and bush shouts, “Here I am! Look at me! You didn’t even notice me as an individual all summer long. But now! Look how I stand out from all the other foliage around me, even though my neighbors are just as striking. But pay attention to me! Now you can see the full glory of all that I am!”
But why does all that color exist? What is its purpose? What is the point of all this color? From whence comes its vibrance?
Read MoreGreater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 NASB
… Predictably, we got to see the neighborhood again filled with ghosts and goblins, scarecrows and pumpkins, punctuating yards all around. .
Read More…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 MoreI'm so thankful for the man that GOD chose to be my earthly father. I wish I had had more time to get to know him as a person. He died young ... just 60! But if he had lived longer, Conrad Renner would have been 100 years old on tomorrow, October 19, 2023.
Read MoreAnother entry from our soon to be published book of meditations, GLORY in DISGUISE: Seeing God in our Every Day…
When my husband John and I were seniors at the University of Arizona, the Carpenters were at the top of the music charts. We embraced them as “our group” who sang “our songs” as we were "a-courting." Their mellow sound and rich melodies fed our romantic feelings toward each other and toward life in general.
Read MoreToday is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think! Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts. In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the Final Judgment Day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.
But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning. This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider. In other words, "count on something to be true". My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true. It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it. So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true. I can take it to the bank and live from it :)
Read MoreI’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 MoreJust as a sunset brings closure to a day, so this meditation brings closure to our “Beach Series” for another year. May you be blessed as you reflect along with us — another selection from our soon to be published book of meditations, Glory in Disguise: Seeing god in our Every Day.
I was walking one morning on the beach at sunrise, taking in the glory of the vastness of the Ocean (my favorite metaphor for God) and the littleness of me.
All of a sudden, I stopped dead in my tracks…Wait! I had just walked this way a few minutes ago.
Read MoreHi Friends, we have returned from our wonderful family time at the Jersey shore, my happy place. As many of you know, my favorite thing about the shore is walking early in the morning at sunrise.
So here are some current photos from our “down the shore” trip, along with another meditation from our upcoming book: Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in Our Every Day.
I pray you see Him afresh as you read and reflect.
Read MoreFrom my very first year of blogging and just about every year since (sometimes several times in a year) … I’ve been blogging my journeys to my “happy place”…the Jersey Shore.
This blogpost is a trip into yesteryear — one of my early Jersey shore blogs, Aug 2016.
And actually today, we are again on our way to that favorite place on earth for me. It’s not just the ocean that calls me. It’s my roots — the precious loved ones (family and friends) and memories of my growing up years. So off we go for another adventure…
Read MoreWe live under the illusion that a mature person is supposed to be enough to do life on this earth. And then the longer we live, we begin to realize that we are not enough. Life on this fallen planet is too much for us, no matter how mature we are … or self-sufficient.
Read More… I love Linda’s comment, “So glad this isn’t telling me I am enough! I am not, but He is!”
I had to say AMEN.
We both hate the lie that is being propagated that “You are enough.” Nobody seemed to be saying the truth. But then I remembered the book I saw at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.
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.
