Magi, Wise men, Three Kings...those figures way at the end of the Nativity scene (I suppose because they were still traveling from afar)... In recent years, this trio (if it was a trio) have become my heroes. Think about it! People probably thought they were crazy following a star to God knows where. THEY probably thought they were crazy after a time. What courage! What perseverance! What joy in the finding!
Read MoreA new year is upon us, along with those pesky thoughts of New Years’ resolutions. Well, resolutions are no temptation to me anymore. I’ve given up trying to change myself by my own self-effort. The indwelling Christ is my “Game-changer” and my “Life-changer.” And a few years ago, He brought a lovely “new thing” to my attention … the idea of a word for my year. So for the past several years, I have had my word. But my word had never stuck until in 2016 I stepped aside and allowed the Lord to “give” it to me, rather than trying to come up with one on my own.
So each year my word just seems to “find me.” Every year it has appropriately come in the midst of my “all too real-life”circumstances.
Read MoreThere's a song that's been going through my mind and heart these Advent days. I even find myself bursting into a line of lyric here and there. The thoughts I love most in it are truths that have become more and more precious to me as I reflect Advent after Advent -- that our Emmanuel came to earth from heaven, not just to pay for our sins (as crucial as that is), but also to give us His divine eternal LIFE...deity indwelling our humanity. We can become children of Almighty God!!!
Read MoreThe 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 More1 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—
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 MoreHi 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 MoreAnother 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 MoreGood 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 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 MoreYou 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 More… 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 MoreFor 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 MoreWhere 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 MoreI’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 MoreAs 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 MoreMany 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 MoreFor 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 MoreI'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 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.
