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 MoreIt's not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy. Anonymous
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 was punished for us!
Read MoreI used to think that I had to have my act together (whatever that means) in order for God to love me and use me in the lives of others. But I’ve come to realize that God loves little ole broken me and little ole broken you. He loves to show forth His love and grace in and through us. And in our brokenness He teaches us to “do life” because we can depend on Him to be our Strength.
Read MoreWhat is it about two year olds? Do they all wake up singing? Or do we just not notice that they do . . . until they don’t.
Sorry for the double-speak, but I have just returned from being with my 2 year old granddaughter Claire. And she, like her now 4 year old brother William did at 2, is waking up with a song in her heart and on her lips. So again, John & I are being awakened in the guest room by the sweet sounds of darling Claire’s lilting voice.
Read MoreFour years ago this week, this prototype arrived in the mail. My 91 year old mom had just passed into the Arms of her Savior. So as excited as I was to see this book published, it was supplanted by the grief of losing my greatest mentor and unconditionally loving friend, my darling mother.
But as the days, months, and now even years have passed by, I have grown in amazement (a long story, because of so many obstacles) and appreciation to the Lord for using my feeble words and thoughts to produce this little volume exalting The With-ness of our God: Relationship in Every Dimension.
This anniversary would have passed me by had it not been for Facebook pointing out that the post containing the above photo was “Janet's most commented photo on Facebook of 2015.”
So I’m celebrating . . .
Read MoreThis Halloween, I’m thinking about the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life and my indwelling Source. Thank you, Mercy Me.
There's a ghost
There's a ghost inside of me
Not like those draped in old bed sheets
Saying "trick or treat"
Different
Oh, this ghost is different
Not one that leaves me scared to death
But one that puts my fear to rest
O weary, worried, Wobbly One,
We have an enemy around us as we walk out our life in Christ. He and his minions are not so thrilled when we are walking in peace and rest. And so, there are those dark forces around us that seize any and every opportunity to distract us, discourage us, disturb us and cause us to distrust the Lover of our Souls.
Read MoreDear Wobbly Friends,
Today the words that flooded my waking mind were a song. We have been singing this song at our women’s Bible study and at our Sunday worship. And lately I have been singing the chorus in the early morning darkness of my walks in our condo-complex neighborhood.
What I know is that HE truly holds us fast, dear wobbly-worthy ones . . . no matter what our “wobble” as we walk with HIM in this broken, wobbly world.
Read MoreI’m walking wobbly these days. Intermittent vertigo and bouts of mild dizziness have been mine as I go about my daily life — difficult because I never know when it will hit (two times while driving were terrifying).
So changes have been made, especially since the testing determined that a couple of small strokes (past) in the balance area of my brain are likely the cause of my symptoms. Scary but good to know and now to process.
Read MoreChristianity is a PERSON, not a procedure; the LORD, not a list! Not church attendance, not Christ-like qualities, not good works, not the Christian "to-do list" (which may vary depending on the group and "camp" you are in)...
Not evangelism, not mission trips, not a quality "quiet time," not Scripture memorization or Bible study...
Not spiritual disciplines, not prayer, not fasting, not obedience, not miracle-working faith...
Read More“Should we knock on the door or just leave them here?” I wasn’t sure which would be best.
John and I were just passing through on our way home from a Bible conference at the Cove in Asheville. And now we found ourselves on the front porch of a perfect stranger in a neighborhood of a city not our own.
Having checked into our hotel, we had walked out the door to build up a few thousand steps on our exercise app. After all we had been sitting in the car for hours. And in the course of our walk we found ourselves walking past some houses in an older neighborhood reminiscent of earlier times in our lives.
Read MoreYears ago I had a mentor-friend named Donna. She was the one the Lord used to usher me into experiencing Christ in me as the One who does the doing in the Christian life! Her key phrase was (as I remember it) "God does it."
Then by the Spirit of God came the realization that my indwelling Lord Jesus Christ is my All in All! He is the Father's Ultimate Gift to me...no-thing else, no-thing more!
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Read More
Are you a child of God (John 1:12)? Have you been born anew by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God (John 3:3ff)? Then there is good news for you ... you are flawless like the best diamond, yes totally forgiven, clothed in the rightness of God Himself (2 Cor 5:21).
You are not a "sinner saved by grace." (I hate that term!) You are a "saint," a holy one, a person set apart by God. And He loves you ... not because of your performance or lack thereof. No, because of HIS performance on the cross and His amazing grace on your behalf (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Read More“Go down, Jan.”
My mentor-friend Donna would say this to me, time after time. “Jan, you are in your head. Go down”
My problem was that instead of actually feeling my negative emotions, I would do “commentary” on them and the situations that provoked them. Donna was trying to help me actually feel my emotions. You see, for years in “evangelicalism” I came to believe that anything negative was “sin” — negative feelings, negative thoughts, negative desires, etc. etc.
What a lie from the pit!
Read MoreThings aren't always what they seem to be. Take, for example, geodes.
Who knew that a particular rock could be more than a rock in Arizona (the site of our recent travels) ... or anywhere else for that matter? It's just a rock, right? Sure it is, until it is cracked open, that is. Then wow! what "glory" inside! Yes, a geode is not just any rock. It's a rock that contains a shining treasure of crystals. However, the treasure remains hidden until it is cracked open with a hammer or a fall or a landslide or some kind of trauma. The rock will just stay ordinary and unattractive and obscure and unrevealing to those who have not witnessed the breaking or who are not willing to let the rock be broken.
Read MoreI came up short . . . was she speaking to me?
No doubt about it as I saw her with her rolled down window, pausing before continuing on her way.
I hate missing opportunities! It has always been a problem for me . . . especially in my younger years. But now in my very “senior” years, I’m learning to make choices in response to my Father’s teaching to pace myself and sharpen my response to HIM, not to the awesome opportunity — to HIM.
So in the learning and in the choices, I still struggle with regret (did I make the right choice?) and grief (I can’t believe I chose to miss this incredible opportunity! What a loss!)
And so I’m amazed at the choice I just made . . .
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.
