Make Me an Instrument of Your PEACE
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O Prince of Peace, this Christmas time and always …
Lord, make me an instrument of your PEACE:
where there is hatred, let me sow love; …
ADVENT (Week 2) -- Fullness of PEACE in Jesus
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… The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, PRINCE of PEACE.
His government and its PEACE will never end.
Oh how we long for PEACE — especially as our world is riddled with wars, violence, hatred, racism, suffering of all kinds. And hasn’t it always been so? This is nothing unusual in this fallen world.
Read MoreBalancing Acceptance and HOPE
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… The truths here have been intensely practical for my own life and the lives of many others with whom I’ve shared.
May you be blessed to see there is great HOPE in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is your Almighty God, Emmanuel (God With YOU!)
ADVENT (Week 1)-- Fullness of HOPE in Jesus
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I’ve always loved Advent. Advent used to call to me, even as a child, that Someone Important was coming … God! Emmanuel, Jesus. And as far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved Jesus.
Read More52 Years TOGETHER -- a Letter to my Beloved Husband
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“Together.” What a significant word.
“Together” was significant in the beginning years of our marriage. We were no longer two single young adults, making decisions on our own, doing our own thing. And together we started building a life and a career and a family and many other aspects of making it on this earth.
Read MoreThanksgiving: Overflowing with Gratitude
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Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith,
just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Colossians 2:6-7 NASB
Years ago, I taught writing to adult GED students. Every Wednesday, we would do an exercise together as a class to practice writing a five-paragraph essay. As the end of November approached, I chose the topic of Thanksgiving. I thought that in this age of “entitlement” it might be a double “win” for the students to count their blessings and practice their writing.
Read MoreGLORY...available now
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Print copies available NOW from Barnes & Noble -- free shipping or pick-up at store.https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144292012...
Read MoreA Falling Leaf -- "You're My Girl!"
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… "Was that YOU, Lord! Did I do OK?"
Then He immediately said to my heart (no doubt about it!),
"Well done! You're my girl!"
"YOU'RE MY GIRL!"
from the God of the Universe!
from my Abba Father "who is very fond of me!"
…
Glory in Disguise is Published!
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Great news, dear friends!
We hit the button…PUBLISH. So now Glory in Disguise is available in ebook form at many online outlets. Print book will be available in the next week or so.
Read MoreWhy the Fall Colors? by John Loyd
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The fall is my favorite season. The colors overwhelm my eyes as every tree and bush shouts, “Here I am! Look at me! You didn’t even notice me as an individual all summer long. But now! Look how I stand out from all the other foliage around me, even though my neighbors are just as striking. But pay attention to me! Now you can see the full glory of all that I am!”
But why does all that color exist? What is its purpose? What is the point of all this color? From whence comes its vibrance?
Read MoreThere's a Ghost Inside of Me
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Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 NASB
… Predictably, we got to see the neighborhood again filled with ghosts and goblins, scarecrows and pumpkins, punctuating yards all around. .
Read MoreMy Burning Bush ... Every Day
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…Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” …God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. … the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. Exodus 3:2-5 NLT
There is a “burning bush” in my daughter’s yard in Illinois. And it is ablaze with glory right now! So when three year old William and I came outside yesterday morning, we couldn’t help but notice the changes that seemed to happen overnight.
“It’s RED!”
“Yes, William, and it’s called a Burning Bush. You know what? God spoke to a man named Moses from a Burning Bush. It’s in the Bible.”
Read More100 Years Old? / Remembering my Dad (New Photos from back in the day)
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I'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 MoreRomance: Loving Jesus
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Another entry from our soon to be published book of meditations, GLORY in DISGUISE: Seeing God in our Every Day…
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.
Read MoreA Day of Reckoning...Put Off/Put On!
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Today 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 MoreRe-Purposing ... More Than Containers
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I’m the family “container queen.”
Actually, I’m obsessed with containers — cute ones, practical ones, and especially “potential ones.” You know, those containers — those boxes that come in the mail, that are sturdy and reusable, and even trendy looking … and those bags, like from the Apple store, or places like JJill and Trader Joe’s. They are perfect to reuse in practical and lovely ways.
Read MoreSuffering . . . Never Punishment
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Everyone 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 took our punishment to the cross!
Read MoreSunrise, Sunset: Remembering His Faithfulness
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Just as a sunset brings closure to a day, so this meditation brings closure to our “Beach Series” for another year. May you be blessed as you reflect along with us — another selection from our soon to be published book of meditations, Glory in Disguise: Seeing god in our Every Day.
A Message on the Beach
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I was walking one morning on the beach at sunrise, taking in the glory of the vastness of the Ocean (my favorite metaphor for God) and the littleness of me.
All of a sudden, I stopped dead in my tracks…Wait! I had just walked this way a few minutes ago.
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