… Happy Total Eclipse Day from Dayton, Ohio,
Just thinking out loud about the total eclipse here today. Amazing! What a unique experience! Surprised at the switch-flip to darkness that didn’t happen until the very last rays disappeared! Even saw one star come out during totality!
Abandoned. With no Rescuer in sight. What happens next in the unfolding drama of the crucifixion of our Lord is a mystery. Let's watch it unfold...
It is noon.
Read MoreDear woman, behold your son...behold your mother. (John 19:26)
Jesus has a special love for His own. As we've already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering. Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.
What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary's face.
Read MoreChrist’s first saying from the Cross ushers us into our basic need as fallen humanity. Listen in and reflect on the amazing love and grace of our forgiving Lord …
Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet, once said,To err is human; to forgive, divine.
So true...but we humans more readily echo what someone else has said,
To err is human, but to get even? THAT is divine.
We struggle so, with forgiving our offenders! Perhaps that's why we are amazed and awestruck to realize that Jesus' first words from the Cross were ones of forgiveness.
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreMy Child...
Fear not...you are never alone for I am with you!
Fear not...you are never left out for you are one with Me !
Fear not...you are never condemned, but always accepted! I not only love you...I like you!
Fear not...you are always adequate with My adequacy...no matter how helpless and inadequate you feel!
Fear not...you are alive with my everlasting, indestructible life, no matter how dead you feel inside! I am your Life!
I AM in your "right here, right now," whether it be suffering in a hospital room or struggling over a wardrobe choice in your closet...and everything in between...I am with you!
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! But if he had lived longer, Conrad Renner would have been 100 years old on tomorrow, October 19, 2023.
Read MoreToday is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think! Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts. In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the Final Judgment Day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.
But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning. This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider. In other words, "count on something to be true". My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true. It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it. So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true. I can take it to the bank and live from it :)
Read MoreIt is truly "holy ground" to reflect on the Cross — what our Lord went through … but more than that, what He accomplished there. Would you meditate along with me ... and revisit Christ's seven sayings from the Cross? [links below]
What a perfect preparation for the joy, freedom, and release of the Resurrection.
Read MoreAbandoned. With no Rescuer in sight. What happens next in the unfolding drama of the crucifixion of our Lord is a mystery. Let's watch it unfold...
It is noon.
Read MoreDear woman, behold your son...behold your mother. (John 19:26)
Jesus has a special love for His own. As we've already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering. Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.
What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary's face.
Read MoreChrist’a first saying from the Cross ushers us into our basic need as fallen humanity. Listen in and reflect on the amazing love and grace of our forgiving Lord …
Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet, once said,To err is human; to forgive, divine.
So true...but we humans more readily echo what someone else has said,
To err is human, but to get even? THAT is divine.
We struggle so, with forgiving our offenders! Perhaps that's why we are amazed and awestruck to realize that Jesus' first words from the Cross were ones of forgiveness.
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreMy Child...
Fear not...you are never alone for I am with you!
Fear not...you are never left out for you are one with Me !
Fear not...you are never condemned, but always accepted! I not only love you...I like you!
Fear not...you are always adequate with My adequacy...no matter how helpless and inadequate you feel!
Fear not...you are alive with my everlasting, indestructible life, no matter how dead you feel inside! I am your Life!
I AM in your "right here, right now," whether it be suffering in a hospital room or struggling over a wardrobe choice in your closet...and everything in between...I am with you!
Read MoreMothers are awesome creatures. They are the lovely reflections of our Father God's unconditional, sacrificial, faithful LOVE! Moms are the true HEROS of life, or should I say, HEROINES! My mother, Jeanette Galuszka Renner, is MY hero!
Read MoreI'm such a worker bee...how about you? I get great satisfaction out of accomplishing something. It can be a "driven" thing if I'm not careful. By the time I realize it, I'm really dragging! And rather than being satisfied, I'm disgruntled and out of sorts!
Being the worker bee is especially dangerous when it comes to the spiritual life. I lived for a long time under the yoke of what I call "to do list" Christianity. What a bondage! Self-effort doesn't work when it comes to doing what only God can do...which is anything and and everything of any spiritual value.
Read MoreFor several years before my mom went home to Jesus, I spent lots of precious time with her on the coast in New Jersey. One of the highlights had always been my early morning walks along the beach at sunrise.
I’m returning to this blog that I wrote after a sweet summer with my mom at my sister's house in Belmar.
Maybe you too need some peaceful reflection today. Why not join me as I "go down the shore" and enjoy the glory of our great Creator in pictures (my own), Scriptures and song.
Blessings, my friend.
Read MoreYou belong to me, and I belong to You, TODAY, my Jesus.
You live in Me, and I live in you, TODAY, my Lord.
You abide in me, and I abide in You, TODAY, my Vine.
You save me TODAY and always, my Savior, and You save me right NOW, my King!
You are my I AM, now, TODAY...AND FOREVER!
Read MoreThese were my waking thoughts one morning. And it became a conversation with my Lord. Maybe this is for you too...
Read MoreLet it happen... Let life unfold... Step into each day, each moment, and let it unfold before you...the moment...the day
A few years ago, I came across an inspiring cartoon in my "Easter" file (See enlarged image below). I think my husband John, who had been the family reader of the Sunday funnies in years gone by, cut it out and gave it to me back in April 2001. So there in my file, this little treasure has been tucked away for all these years.
For those of you who have been following the Lenten Meditations on a branch in the Vine, this piece serves as a fitting climax during Holy Week.
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.
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