Loyd Family Christmas Letter 2025
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In John’s own words this year …
“Just a short family update for this year to let you know we are alive, well and older in Beavercreek, Ohio…”
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4th Week of Advent: I Wonder as I Wander
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My friend Penny is a walker (a very serious, fast walker, by the way). But Penny doesn't just walk for exercise, she also "walks" closely with the Lord. So when Penny shares, I listen. And when she shared about a favorite Christmas carol, it made me take notice. Why? Because while walking, Penny has been doing what this song describes.
Read MoreA Cappella "Mary, Did You Know?" Backstory and Song
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Emmanuel … GOD with us! Jesus Christ, the Son of God became the Son of Man. This is Mystery without parallel.
No wonder this songwriter meditated for years to convey the depths of it all. Here is the backstory to what has become one of our current favorite Christmas songs … followed by a breathtaking performance.
Read MoreFulness of JOY in Jesus
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“Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David! …
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others
—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
Remembering PEGGY -- And Her "Journey with Jesus" (Part 2)
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When Peggy was almost 90 years old, she experienced the sudden and deep loss of her husband. And this came in the midst of a long period of personal physical pain. The surgery that was to be her only option to fix the fracture in her hip had to be cancelled indefinitely because of COVID.
Read MoreRemembering PEGGY -- An Encouraging Friend (Part 1)
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My precious friend Peggy was called home to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just a few days ago.
Peggy and I met online through my blog and my first book, The With-ness of our God (2015). Peggy lived in eastern PA at the time, so we often talked abut the Jersey Shore and how we missed the beach and ocean. But most of all we talked about Jesus and His Word and His amazing grace.
Peggy was an encourager to me and the “instigator” of our ZOOM Bible Study which began meeting in the fall of 2020 and is still meeting five years later. She was able to meet with us all these years until she lost her sight and her hearing was waning and confusion began to take over.
Read More3rd Week of Advent: EMMANUEL, Our God is WITH Us
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If ever we needed to know God is WITH us in every possible way, it's NOW, after another year of the unanswerable "why's" of life. We struggle to make sense of all the violence, suffering, and injustice we see all around us. Though we can't know the answers, we can turn afresh to the One Who has us in the palm of His Hand. The God Who became One of us...flesh and bone and joint and sinew...who experienced every emotion possible, raw and gripping, tender and affectionate! He felt it all! And He feels our current struggle with us too!
Read MoreAnxiety? Focus on PEACE HIMSELF
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Grabbing hold of Him who is the fullness of PEACE has been key for me and many others who find ourselves in the midst of anxiety.
May you be blessed to see there is great PEACE in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is your Almighty God, Emmanuel, Prince of PEACE….
2nd Week of Advent: the Really Good News -- GOD with US!
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"The Good News isn't just that Jesus died for our sins. The Good News is EMMANUEL...GOD WITH US!" So declared Deb at the end of our Bible Study.
As John and I drove home that evening, we reflected on her statement. We recalled a conversation we had had years before when we were discussing what the heart of the gospel ("Good News") is. The Good News isn't just that our sins are forgiven so we can go to heaven someday (and now we just do the best we can in the meantime).
Read MoreBackStories in a Podcast
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I love “backstories.” Don’t you?
When you hear the backstory to a song or a poem or a book, it can make all the difference in the world.
Well, I have had the fun opportunity recently to tell some of my “personal backstories.”
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1st Week of Advent: O Come, O Come, Immanuel
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When I was a child, I always loved Advent. There was a melancholia, a longing...but mixed at the same time with anticipation and hope. How did I get all that as a child? I'm sure I didn't, except to say that maybe all the sights and sounds and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories of the "liturgical celebration" weren't entirely lost on me, nor on many of you. The reality of our God-Man Jesus has grown in me over the years as I've walked and talked with my Savior.
But whether you have had that sort of background as a child or not, why not journey with us these next weeks. Take it all in as if for the first time...all the sights, sounds, and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories.
Read MoreGetting Ready for Advent
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Hi friends,
Reflect with us here at A Branch in the Vine 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.
Immanuel, God WITH Us ... in every possible way.
Read More54 Years Together...
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For the past 13 years, I have written an anniversary blog as a gift to my tender-hearted, patient love of my life husband John. But now it may just be time to live together and enjoy the years the Lord gives us.
Instead of a blog, I found this little treasure of a book in a gift shop a few months ago.
So this is my gift to John this year. What I wrote inside? You’ll have to ask him.
Thanks-Giving
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Thanksgiving will not be the same for many of us this year. There have been losses of loved ones and changes in circumstances. And even the thought of it may cause pain. For others of us, things may have opened up compared to last year, and we are grateful for that change.
But a friend reminded me of this song of thanksgiving years ago. It applies this year and every year. And so I decided to rest here, acknowledging HIM. I’m letting my heart and mind well up with gratitude for all HIS benefits … no matter what is going on around me.
Thanksgiving: Overflowing with Gratitude
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Therefore 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 MoreThe Burning Bush -- All Over My Life
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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 MoreA Falling Leaf -- "You're My Girl!"
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… "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!"
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Finally Home
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As I woke up this morning, I received the news that my dear “homeless” friend Lisa is homeless no longer. Lisa, who lived in her vehicle for many years of her adult life, is now in glory, experiencing Paradise, Heaven, her True Home ...mystery beyond measure!
Just hours before, in that beautiful hospice in southeastern Ohio, I had shared with Lisa the beautiful Scriptures
Read MoreDisappointment... His Appointment?
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We all experience it...from the day we are born until the day we die! Disappointment! Unmet needs, unfulfilled expectations, failed relationships, frustrated goals, and on and on...Disappointment!
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