Every year for the past several I have reflected here at A Branch in the Vine on our dependence as believers on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now more than ever we need to bow our knee before the One who has set us free indeed. I invite you to join me again, friends.
Read More
Last week I was with my dear daughter Beth and son-in-law Nate and their four darling kids. William (almost 5 y.o.) recently had discovered that he could “do” Minecraft. And so now he is eating and drinking and living Minecraft (much to my chagrin).
However, what mom and dad discovered is that when William is not cooperating, is disobeying, or is in any way defiant, removing Minecraft for a day or two can get across to him how unacceptable his behavior has been. And so it was, one of the days of our visit . . . no Minecraft for the next day.
As Beth and I were sitting outside the next morning enjoying our coffee, William appeared at the doorway describing in vivid detail his Minecraft dream. (I wish I could recount it for you, but I “glaze over” at the first mention of Minecraft or other video games.)
Oh well, so much for removing Minecraft . . . who knew. You can take the boy out of Minecraft, but you can’t take Minecraft out of the boy.
Then I realized . . . what a great illustration of a basic spiritual truth in our walk with Christ in grace:
Read MoreWith every morn my life afresh must break
The crust of self, gathered about me fresh;
That thy wind-spirit may rush in and shake
The darkness out of me, and rend the mesh
The spider-devils spin out of the flesh—
Eager to net the soul before it wake.
That it may slumberous lie, and listen to the snake.
First posted December, 2015:
These were my thoughts as I awoke early today. And it became a conversation with my Lord. Maybe this is for you too...
Let it happen... Let life unfold... Step into each day, each moment, and let it unfold before you...the moment...the day
But Lord, what about the preparing for what I know are my responsibilities? I don't want to be stressed, but how does that fit into my unfolding day?
I will unfold even the preparing before you, "This is the time...the way... for this preparing, for this scheduling, for this looking ahead... walk in it NOW!"
Yes, Lord! Is that how being "Ready for Anything" can be true? "Be it done unto me according to your word"...this way...this moment...this day...this life!
The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual The stars seem brighter then they've been before Deep within I feel my soul a stirring As though my hope has been restored
The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels Confirming rumors spread across the land That a child protected well from Herod's anger Is our Father's Son, and the Son of man
Love is raining down on the world tonight There's a presence here I can tell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel He's a Savior we have been praying for In our humble hearts He will dwell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
I feel compelled to tell all who will listen That peace on earth is not so out of reach If we can find grace and mercy and forgiveness He has come to save, He is all of these
Love is raining down on the world tonight There's a presence here I can tell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel He's a Savior we have been praying for In our humble hearts He will dwell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
Love is raining down on the world tonight There's a presence here I can tell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel He's a Savior we have been praying for In our humble hearts He will dwell God is in us, God is for us, God is with us
You're the Savior we have been praying for In our humble hearts You will dwell You are in us, You are for us, You are with us, Emmanuel
I am a June girl. My birthday is in June. And so I have always loved my traditional birth flower, the rose! Yes, I adore roses — especially pink or red.
So imagine my delight when my darling husband “showered me” with roses this year. There was a pop-up bouquet of cut paper loveliness in a card; then a smiling delivery person carrying a vase filled with perfectly formed hot pink roses framed in baby’s breath on my doorstep; but most special of all, John’s message filled with scripture and poetic metaphor celebrating not only my love for roses, but also my obsession with a significant life-changing word, “unfolding.”
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! Twelve years on earth less than I have had to this point.
Here are my reflections of my dad from a post a few years ago. I hit a grief that caught me by surprise:
An Unexpected Grief, first posted November 2016…
There I was, sitting at the stop light. All of a sudden, an overwhelming grief ... not primarily for my mom who died an exact year before, almost to the day. No, for my dad ... who had died in 1983 right before Thanksgiving.
But why am I grieving now ... why this year, when I hadn't thought of him at this time other years?
I tried to track my train of thought and realized that my thoughts had gone from grieving over my mistakes in my parenting to the difficulties in my own childhood home.
Read MoreFor all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. …As we come up to Fathers’ Day, I’m remembering this song. Its a heart-warming reminder of my True Father, and it grabs my grieving soul with its moving music and lyric.
You see, the beautiful person deep inside my earthly father had been often obscured by the abuse of alcohol that trapped his soul and body. (Remembering My Dad)
Oh how sad and painfully tragic! Oh how I miss the real Daddy whom I truly loved yet often “hated” at the same time.
Read MoreWe are not cowed into timidity by death and life. Were we forced to rely on our own shabby resources we would be pitiful people indeed. But the awareness of Christ's present risenness persuades us that we are buoyed up and carried on by a life greater than our own.
The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.
Read MoreOne of my spiritual fathers was still alive on this earth when I first "met" him. Henri J. M. Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books on the spiritual life.
Our "meeting" came in two ways. A mentor friend of mine pointed me to Nouwen's classic work, The Return of the Prodigal Son. This is an amazing book based on meditations on Rembrandt's painting by the same name. (See my previous post for a favorite quote).
Read MoreMy husband John and I were students at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in the mid-1970's. It was during our student days at Moody that we were introduced to A.W. Tozer. My impression of Tozer at that time was that he was a somewhat controversial Chicago pastor of recent years who had a unique gift for being very sound biblically but at the same time shaking up the conservative evangelical "troops." I bought a set of his volumes entitled, The Tozer Pulpit and enjoyed his fiery words. He said such things as...
Read MoreOne hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. . . .
How do I abide in Christ? How do I live the Christian life if it's by faith and not about "doing?" What is faith? These were questions that circled around, on and on in the midst of my confusion...that is until I "met" Andrew Murray. Actually, I had read him early in my Christian walk, but that was during the time that "faith formulas" and "to do lists" and "theological systems" were more the answers to my quests than was Christ Himself (although I didn't realize it at the time).
I am writing to you, fathers,because you know him who is from the beginning. 1 John 2:13,14 ESV
Since the month of June is Fathers Day month, I'm thinking about spiritual fathers. I've been blessed to have some. My life has been forever enriched by being "spiritually fathered" by these people of God.
So this month, I would like to share a few of them with you. But first, let's think together about "spiritual fathering."
Read MoreDo 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 MoreHave you ever felt like you don’t belong? Like you don’t fit anywhere?
Welcome to the club. But it’s not really a club, because as far as your feelings go, there are no other members, right?
Actually, feeling out of place CAN be a good thing. Let me tell you why.
Read MoreMug of coffee in hand, I walk out into the early morning air, ready to commune with my Lord as I walk the circuitous path outside my home.
No one is stirring so I quietly sing my prayer-filled greeting to the Lover of my soul:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart. . .
But today, there is a decision to be made, and we don’t know which way to go. So in the presence of my Lord, I’m thinking and praying as I walk along.
Read MoreI’m anticipating a meaningful addition to my “quiet place of reflection” deep down in the recesses of our home. It is a birthday gift, not to be hung until my mid June birthday.
But in preparation for the treasure of a gift, I have been thinking of this special place where I meet with God most mornings. My soul is still quiet before the hustle of my busyness intrudes upon the solitude.
Can I take you with me, dear reader, to visit my special place that embraces my “all-my-own” chair I have come to call my “Prayer chair”?
Read MoreBy this time in our “sequester” of sorts, we may be getting a bit bored. Things are beginning to open up, but maybe you are still cautious or going slowly out into “the unknown.”
Why not consider using some of your time on a project which can prove valuable for yourself and even for your children and grandchildren in years to come. What I am suggesting is to begin writing about your faith journey.
When I started writing mine, I remember thinking, “Oh how I wish my godly grandmother (“Babci”) and my godly mother had kept a journal or had written of their journey with God through the trials of life.”
But alas, they had not. And it was most likely not possible for them in their situations. But it was possible for me, so I began.
Read MoreEach of us is a real person behind the masks we wear. Some of those masks are self-imposed to protect us from “being exposed” for who we are. They portray a false self.
But then there are other “masks” that are “good” in the sense they are rightful or necessary or “just are.” I say “masks” because they still can, in a sense, hide the real person inside. I’m thinking of the roles we have in life: mother, teacher, athlete, sister, wife, pastor, etc.
And I just realized something — our bodies can serve as masks…physical beauty or lack thereof, aging, physical handicaps etc. And here is a shocker. . .
Read More“Masks or no masks” has become a big controversial deal these days. But there are masks that have been a bigger deal than we have realized all along in most of our lives. They are the metaphorical “masks” that we humans tend to don, to hide who we really are from others….
But I have been thinking now of “masks” of a different sort… these "good “masks” can also tend to keep others from discovering the real me deep down inside. They are the masks of the “roles” I rightfully have in life. We are most often seen by others in our roles and maybe in no other way….
Read MoreI recently read somewhere on social media that we shouldn’t wear face masks during this pandemic because we are made in the image of God and His image is reflected in our faces.
Really?
True, it is hard to recognize someone if the bottom half of their face is covered. But I’ve been thinking about this lately . . .
“The eyes are the window of the soul,. . .
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.
