Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days...
Each morning at the beach, I experience sunrise after sunrise over the ocean, each one, unique and special and "speaking.". But I remember one evening, I unexpectedly witnessed a sunset over the bay. The horizon wasn't quite as straight and "uncluttered" as that of the ocean, but oh my! It was pretty close.
Read MoreI am never disappointed at the beach. I see and hear and feel and smell and even taste God here in a unique way. The vastness of the ocean and the littleness of me on the shore help to correct my perspective about God and my life. And the sunrise over the ocean speaks with new messages every day.
These mornings here at sunrise in Belmar, I have been arrested by an awesome observation.
Read MoreI’m taking a virtual vacation at my favorite of all places: the East Coast ocean beach. Why the East Coast? Because it is there that I can also enjoy another favorite — sunrise over the ocean. So why not join me there in my next few posts … specifically the Jersey shore, because I’m a Jersey girl.
When my mom moved to the beach in New Jersey many years ago, I was able to spend many early morning hours on the beach.
I am basically an intuitive, rather than sensory, person (a la Myers-Briggs). But I've found over the years that my senses come alive at the beach.
Read MoreEven though it is summertime, taking a look ahead toward winter can virtually cool us off and calm our souls. And it also causes us to remember a loved one in those later stages of life and treasure the beauty in a life well lived. May we do the same.
So I am looking ahead and also remembering …
Beaches are beautiful, no matter the season...and that even includes winter-time. There's a calm...an aloneness (not many brave the cold and wind)...a beautiful bleakness!
The winter beach is a silvery wonderland at times
Read MoreWhen my mom moved to the beach in New Jersey many years ago, I was able to spend many early morning hours on the beach.
I am basically an intuitive, rather than sensory, person (a la Myers-Briggs). But I've found over the years that my senses come alive at the beach.
Read MoreI'm at my "Happy Place," the Jersey Shore. It took the whole summer to get here this year, but it was so worth the wait.
I am never disappointed at the beach. I see and hear and feel and smell and even taste God here in a unique way. The vastness of the ocean and the littleness of me on the shore help to correct my perspective about God and my life. And the sunrise over the ocean speaks with new messages every day.
These mornings here at sunrise in Belmar, I have been arrested by an awesome observation.
Read MoreSince my mom moved to the beach in New Jersey many years ago, I've been able to spend the early morning hours on the beach.
Now I am basically an intuitive, rather than sensory person (a la Myers-Briggs). But I've found over the years that my senses come alive at the beach.
Read MoreSunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days...
Or so the song goes ... and so go our days. The days at the coast with my beloved extended family have flown by.
Each morning, I experienced sunrise after sunrise over the ocean, each unique and special and "speaking." (See my previous two posts). Then on our last evening there, I unexpectedly witnessed a sunset over the bay. The horizon wasn't quite as straight and "uncluttered" as that of the ocean, but oh my! It was pretty close. And the way it impacted me was surprising.
Read MoreBefore I return to my life in Ohio, I would like to share another aha from my mornings at sunrise at the Jersey Shore.
In my previous post, I wrote of the new realization that came to me as I viewed sunrises this trip ... that although our God is unchanging, God's mercies change day by day, just as the unique sunrise changes moment by moment. So too for us, each of our todays is unique with different circumstances, different joys, different sorrows, and different stresses. God who is our All meets us in each with exactly what we need as we trust Him day by day.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:24 NLT
Well, here is my final thought. God intends that His mercies spread to shape the atmosphere around us. In other words, His mercies are meant to be shared. You may ask where I got that from the sunrises. Well, let me tell you what I noticed.
I'm at my "Happy Place," the Jersey Shore. It took the whole summer to get here this year, but it was so worth the wait.
I am never disappointed at the beach. I see and hear and feel and smell and even taste God here in a unique way. The vastness of the ocean and the littleness of me on the shore help to correct my perspective about God and my life. And the sunrise over the ocean speaks with new messages every day.
These mornings here at sunrise in Belmar, I have been arrested by an awesome observation.
Read MoreAfter a summer riddled with surgeries, sickness, scans, and being stuck at home for "recoveries," we are "getting outa Dodge" and heading east ... to my beloved beach. So I am revisiting my blog posts written over the past 7 years that speak of sand and surf and sunrises at my favorite place. The beach early in the morning is a special place where I meet God in the Glory of His Creation and in the Peace of His Presence.
May you be vicariously refreshed as you "visit" with me there...
Read MoreSince my mom moved to the beach in New Jersey many years ago, I've been able to spend the early morning hours on the beach.
Now I am basically an intuitive, rather than sensory person (a la Myers-Briggs). But I've found over the years that my senses come alive at the beach.
Read MoreBeaches are beautiful, no matter the season...and that even includes winter-time. There's a calm...an aloneness (not many brave the cold and wind)...a beautiful bleakness!
The winter beach is a silvery wonderland at times
Read More
I have a Sunrise Club. My brother Conrad and I are charter members. Whenever I go to the coast in NJ, I must get up to see at least one sunrise. Often Conrad would call me to make sure I was up, and he would join me. Through the years, various members of extended, as well as immediate, family would sometimes come along. But no one seriously devoted to it like Conrad and me, until...
My grandson Kaden decided to join my club. He knew full well that the basic requirement is to see at least one sunrise. So that we did early one morning last year when I visited Kaden in California. We saw the sun gloriously arise over the mountains to the east of their home in Menifee.
However, as we East Coast sunrise watchers all know, the Cadillac of all sunrises takes place over the ocean. And so this summer Kaden joined me for one of those glorious events...enjoyed every day by fishermen and early morning beach-combers alike.
We even were able to get Kaden's cousins (2 of my other grandsons), Evan & Carter, to get up to watch a sunrise in Virginia Beach on their vacation. So our number is increasing!
You may ask why I love sunrises so much? Because to me a sunrise is a magnificent picture of the manifested glory of our God. Listen to what the psalmist says,
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.[a] Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6 NLT
It gets so exciting when after the gorgeous array of color of the early dawn, the tiny sliver of sun begins to peek forth. And then the reflection on the water...Oh my!
But as we all know, especially sunrise watchers, many days we are disappointed by no visible glory. The clouds, the rain, the fog, the haze may all obscure the rising of the sun. But we all know that the sun has still risen, often with a silvery beauty all its own.
How do we know that the sun has arisen? By faith! Because we know that we know that we know that the sun rises every day!
And that's why I now love all sunrises -- because each and every one is a picture of the glory of God, some times more manifested than at other times.
Isn't that also true about life? Sometimes God manifests Himself in tangible ways, like in the love of a mother for her child, in an encouraging note from a friend, in a deep experience in prayer and worship. But then at other times, His glory is obscured, as in the death of a loved one, the suffering of rejection, the struggles of financial need. It's then that by faith we can say, "I know that I know that...
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth!" Job 19:25 NIV
So maybe you'd like to get up early one morning and view a sunrise. Enjoy the glory of God in its amazing magnificence or the glory of God in its magnificent obscurity, remembering that
...faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 ESV
And no matter what kind of sunrise it is, let me know if you'd like to join my Sunrise Club...or better yet, my SONrise Club!
My Redeemer
Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning Who told the ocean you an only come this far? Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening Whose words alone can catch a falling star?
Well I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives All of creation testify This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives
The very same God that spins things in orbit He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken They conquered death to bring me victory
Now I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redemer lives Let all creation testify Let this life wihtin me cry I know my Redeemer, He lives
To take away my shame And He lives forever I'll proclaim That the payment for my sin Was the precious life He gave But now He's alive And there's an empty grave.
And I know my Redeemer, He lives I know my Redeemer lives Let all creation testify This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives
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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.
