…Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 NLT
Lord,
Because I am your child and YOU indwell me,
I AM an instrument of YOUR peace.
Where there is hatred, YOU sow love in and through me;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to let YOU console others in and through me, To be understood as to let YOU understand others in and through me, To be loved as to let YOU love others in and through me;
For it is in giving that I receive from YOU; It is in pardoning that I am pardoned by YOU; It is in dying to my self-absorption that YOUR eternal, zoe life is borne in and through me.
[a remake of the prayer of St Francis of Assisi]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The God who spoke light into existence, saying, “Let light shine from the darkness,” 
is the very One who sets our hearts ablaze to shed light on the knowledge of God’s glory revealed in the face of Jesus, the Anointed One.
But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.
We are cracked and chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but we are not crushed by them. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair
We are persecuted, but we have not been abandoned. We have been knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
We always carry around in our bodies the reality of the brutal death and suffering of Jesus. As a result, His resurrection life rises and reveals its wondrous power in our bodies as well.
For while we live, we are constantly handed over to death on account of Jesus so that His life may be revealed even in our mortal bodies of flesh.
So death is constantly at work in us, but life is working in you.
2 Corinthians 4:6-12 VOICE
Janet 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.
