Life is a mix, a conglomeration.
There is confusion and clarity, flailing and focus, excruciating pain and exquisite peace.
There is bitterness and sweetness, strength and fragility, "rugged seas" and "smooth sailing."
As Paul Lawrence Dunbar so aptly expresses in his poem Life:
Read MoreI'm receiving Christ's fullness as my daily portion, morning by morning, day by day.
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
John 1:16 NIV
And so as I embrace HIM for my day, moment by moment, I'm also revisiting some of my previous meditations.
Would you like to join in and relearn with me? I don't know about you, but I need to be reminded often of that which I already know. But I need to know it today ... in my real life ... now.
Read MoreOur Father ... give us this day our daily bread.
I love my word for the year, daily bread. (You can read the story behind it here). But it wasn't always so. In fact, would you believe that after embracing it as perfect for the stress I was feeling, I began to feel cheated.
Cheated? How could that be?
Read MoreOh, life has been full of losses lately...deaths, illnesses, failures. And these during and after times of refreshment with loved ones and beaches and the simplicity of Amish peaceful countryside.
As a result, I am reflecting, revisiting, and responding in new ways to previous thoughts...some of which have already been shared. Forgive me. But if you would like to listen in, here is my meditation:
Life is a mix, a conglomeration.
There is confusion and clarity, flailing and focus, excruciating pain and exquisite peace.
There is bitterness and sweetness, strength and fragility, "rugged seas" and "smooth sailing."
Today the "Unfolding Fullness" of God in my life just got hard . . . not hard like cancer or broken marriage or wayward children- type hard. It was the stress of my plans being rearranged- kind of hard. Now I love spontaneity when it's MY spontaneity (a.k.a. my own change of plans). So today didn't start out well . . . until my husband John reminded me, "It's His Unfolding Fullness."
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.
