“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.
Let’s celebrate together!’
Matthew 25:23 NLT
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. At our wedding, we danced to, you may have guessed it, "We've Only Just Begun." Lyrics like "White lace and promises, a kiss for luck and we're on our way" made it the perfect song to start out a new marriage...or so we thought.
But as the years have rolled by and reality and maturity have set in, so has the realization that the romantic expectations of youth are so unrealistic and can only truly be fulfilled by an Almighty God.
Read MoreToday I’m celebrating Cancer Survivors, those brave but suffering souls who have battled and prayed and cried and begged and pushed through . . . or maybe who have suffered in silence and pushed through inspite of it all. All were scared and maybe still are.
I’m celebrating the loved ones who suffered alongside and didn’t run away from the “not knowing” . . . who cried and prayed and begged and never gave up….
Read More♥We are fa-mi-ly...my mother, brothers, sisters, and me! ♥
They have left our beloved New Jersey (home of the famous Jersey shore and my favorite sunrises over the ocean) and have gone over to the “dark side” a.k.a. Florida!
So A Branch in the Vine will be taking a break for a while.
But before I do, I would like to share a post from 2012, after one of our special times together at Nancy's home in Belmar, New Jersey. So may I introduce you to these precious folks who have beckoned me back to New Jersey again and again . . . and now to Florida.
Read MoreBut right now, Janice is suffering. According to a shocking medical diagnosis, Janice may soon see her God, the Lover of her soul, face to face.
Prayers are ascending to the Throne of Grace — for mercy, for healing, for grace to face each day. We, her friends and loved ones, want her to stay with us.
Please, O God!
Read MoreJust for fun as we close out January and some gray days in OHIO, I just have to post this — an almost “flash mob” at my very own Kroger. But by doing so, I’m departing from my “rule” that everything that I post on A Branch in the Vine MUST have a spiritual theme or application.
Well, since everything is spiritual for a child of God, I guess I’m not really “breaking my rule,” am I? So here it is and enjoy with me. I dare you to not at least tap your foot or hum along.
Read MoreLife, glorious life! How we take life for granted, until...
someone we love dies,
our health or safety is gravely threatened,
we realize our days are waning because of the years...
It is then that we value what we've had all along.
But there's a Life that we never need fear will diminish, be endangered, be lost...
In fact, this Life can grow in our experience even in this time-based, fearful, waning physical life.
What is this Life?
Read MoreTo follow up the last post on our Hero — the Holy Spirit — I remembered this amazing song. Even my young grandson William started to “get it” as we sang it last Halloween.
You and I are never alone, my journeying friend. Let’s enjoy Him and His Presence . . . no matter what!
Read MoreBullies don't often give up. They just look for another opportunity in a different place of vulnerability, changing tactics and catching the victim off-guard.
And so true to form, the Bully didn't take long to regroup and sneak up on me in another situation. It sent me into a tailspin of emotion...trying to choke back tears and keep on doing life. But thankfully, my Hero, the Holy Spirit of Christ broke through the emotional cloud I was churning in.
"Ok Jan. Resist! Stand! Say NO! Remember that? Now look at the entire passage and park yourself there."
Read MoreGod’s children are being attacked left and right. Some of us are stuck. Some feel worthless. Some are walking through the trials of our lives, believing that God is against us.
Why, God?
You can be sure that when God is doing something in our lives, the devil is always helping the weakness of our flesh to draw us in the opposite direction.
Read MoreDid you know that praise and thanksgiving to God about everything, everyday can change your perspective on your life. Why? Because HE is our God, our Source. And HE IS WORTHY of every praise and thanksgiving.
Why not begin right here until it becomes the habit of your soul....EVERY PRAISE is to our GOD! Amen!
Read MoreYour value doesn't decrease, based on someone's inability to see your worth.
Truth!
Where does our value lie? Our value is based on our Creator's opinion of us...which is love and grace and glory!
Read More!’ve been feeling a bit low lately, and I don’t know why. You too? No matter, our Abba Father God loves us anyway, no matter how we feel . . . no matter how depressed, no matter how dark, no matter how ugly.
And so I prayed this morning,
Read MoreGood morning, LORD
I’m feeling a bit low this morning, and I don’t know why, Lord. But I will trust You to be the Joy and the Strength of my fluctuating soul.
I had to giggle. . . it sounded like Peggy was basically telling me to “Suck it up, Jan,” despite my vertigo and dizziness.
And the Holy Spirit whispered His encouragement and His own “Suck it up” to me:
If Peggy can keep on painting at 88 years of age, despite her health issues, you can keep on writing!”
Yes, my darling friend Peggy is 88 years old and still painting. So let me share a few of her gems with you:
Read More17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray,
do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
For I am your GUEST—
a traveler passing through,
as my ancestors were before me.Psalm 39: 4-5, 12 NLT
In my morning devotions the other day, I was struck by these sobering words about my aging life and the speeding passage of time that has been my 72 years.
Read More. . . The whole time I was jealous. The joy on their little faces! The freedom! The abandonment! To freely give their physical selves over in total trust to those foam blocks to “save” them. WOW! Something like that has never been easy for me, and still isn’t.
But like most things in our physical, human existence on this earth, this abandonment and resulting joy is a picture, a metaphor. And I can get the metaphor: Just as my grandchildren joyfully abandoned themselves to “the jump,” so I day by day, abandon myself to the LORD, Who is my total security and trust!.
Read More. . . The Gentile seekers were led to Jerusalem by a celestial phenomenon, the star. They were not experts in the Scriptures, but they were driven to learn more about what God was doing in their day. And they undertook an arduous journey that probably took months to find the answer to their question.
Israel’s wise men knew the Scripture, yet they were not motivated to find out for themselves what God had done. They weren’t motivated enough to travel five miles to Bethlehem to see for themselves.
I love the Scripture, I’ve known the Scripture since I was a small boy. But I understand that Bible knowledge alone cannot generate spiritual vitality. . .
… we are like the star that led the Magi to Christ … or we can be. We can, in our very person, be the light that points another to the King. You and I have the King of Kings living within us. But as always it is our choice whether we allow the King to live through us and manifest His presence to seeking hearts who are walking in darkness all around us.
Author Tim Chester, in his lovely Advent devotional on Philippians 2 The One True Gift, caught my attention when he pointed out from Scripture one way that God says we can shine like stars …
Read MoreDear friends
Happy New Year 2020. It’s hard to believe we are entering a new decade, isn’t it! The past ten years have brought many changes for each of us — from the delightful to the challenging to the downright tragic and everything between. And God has been with us and in us every step of the way because we know Him who is Life indeed.
And now we can “let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.” (Oswald Chambers)
Before we continue on with our blog posts in this new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you,
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.
