Gran Jan's JOY

Psalm 103

April 15, 2013 10:58 AM 1

Good Monday Morning friends! Today is “Tax Day” and also one month since I have posted. WOW! Time flies when you’re a wife, mom, Gran Jan, mother-in-law, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, women’s ministry leader and WOMAN! Life is busy but all is good because GOD IS GOOD. Yes He is!

I am participating in the “Scripture Memory Team” over on Beth Moore’s blog – you can go HERE to read all about this wonderful plan. Living Proof Ministries offers this every other year and I am very thankful. I will never forget my trip to Houston in January of 2010 with Emmy, Wendy, and Deborah for the first celebration ever! We had the most wonderful time, and I shared it all HERE.

This year I have chosen to memorize Psalm 103 in its entirety – and today I posted verse 8…a wonderful verse full of TRUTH for us.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

I honestly can’t remember why I chose Psalm 103 but God sure knows. The verses have been absolutely what I needed each week…but today’s verse has been marvelous.

THE LORD IS MERCIFUL
Yes He is and His mercies are new every morning. Have you heard that mercy is God not giving us what we DO deserve while grace is God giving us what we DON’T deserve? I am thankful for His tender mercies – those times when something happens in my life that only He knows and that I know it’s Him. Tender mercies.

GRACIOUS
Proverbs 11:16 talks about a gracious woman – a desire of my heart, especially as I age. But a GRACIOUS GOD? Kind and benevolent – that is our GRACIOUS GOD. He is so good to us in our downfalls – always ready to forgive.

SLOW TO ANGER
I surely am thankful for this wonderful attribute of our God. He is slow to anger. Have you ever been the victim of an angry person? It is so painful. I don’t have a quick temper, but there have been times I have lost my temper. I have regretted every single time I did that – especially with two little boys back in the day. God knows that we need His merciful graciousness – exhibited in Him being slow to anger…

ABOUNDING IN MERCY
Abounding – to exist in great quantities…to be rich or well supplied…to be filled. Glory to His Great Name. He abounds in mercy. His mercy will not run out. You and I won’t use it all up today or tomorrow or ever. There is more mercy than we will ever need or deserve. New every morning…how glorious of our God to give us His mercy.

I stepped out on my front porch last night as I often do…just to see the setting sun or the rain or to take a deep breath of air. This greeted me…a beautiful rainbow, more confirmation of God’s merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding LOVE!

Blessings to you all,
Gran Jan

Five Minute Friday – REST

March 15, 2013 9:27 AM 2

Today is a Five Minute Friday where I join hundreds of other writers RIGHT HERE using a single word in a 5 minute prompt. This week, Lisa Jo invites us to write about “REST.”

REST – all elusive rest. Rested bodies? Rested souls? Every single one of us in this sleep-deprived world must have rested bodies to survive and thrive. A good night’s sleep is so precious. How many times do we say, “did you rest well?” And how many commercials do we see about sleeping pills… But these next few moments I want to focus on something that is even more elusive – SOUL REST. Many people would give up sleep to have SOUL REST. Peace of mind and heart.

I’ve been a pastor’s wife for 35 years and I’ve served in women’s ministry for 15 years. One of the things I’ve seen that keeps us from SOUL REST is the captivity of activity. God gave me an acrostic years ago that I’ve shared when given the chance to speak at women’s events…it is R-E-S-T. So when I saw the prompt today it immediately came to my heart.

R – Relationship
We absolutely must have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the only One who can give you rest of soul. For years I struggled with this one until finally giving up my goodness for His free gift of salvation. My story is HERE.

E – Encouragement
One of the ways to find soul rest is to focus on another person in need and really be an encouragement to them. It always works for me. I get my mind off myself and onto someone else.

S – Simplicity
In this fast-based world many long for simplicity. I especially think of my favorite old show from the 1980s – Little House on the Prairie. Now we don’t have to go back that far…but we can KISS our lives with this truth: “Keep It Simple Sister.” Everything doesn’t have to be homemade…

T – Time
Time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word will provide the best SOUL REST. These two gifts – prayer and His Word are vital to us as we sojourn.

Get some REST this weekend friends. A little nap on the sofa and then some good SOUL REST too. Remember that God is in control, breathe deeply, and REST in the knowledge that God is awake. All the time. And He has everything in His Hands. Isaiah 40:28-31:

²⁸Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Resting in Him,
GranJan

Delicious Meatloaf Recipe!

March 14, 2013 3:18 PM 1

My tried and true recipe for MEATLOAF is a family favorite and really is delicious. I use a broiler pan to bake the meatloaf, and I believe it makes all the difference (fat drips out). [Be sure to spray both the top and bottom of the broiler pan with Pam for easy cleanup.] This is a great recipe that my youngest son Jonathan really likes. His wife makes it for him now, and she’s a good cook. So sweet! This Southern woman knows it is especially good with side dishes of mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and homemade biscuits. And steamed cabbage, yes that’s a favorite side of mine too. My recipe for homemade biscuits is right here.

MORTON MEATLOAF
INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. ground beef
3 eggs, beaten well
1 medium onion diced (I cook the onion BEFORE I mix it in w/the ground beef.) I do this by placing the diced onion and a splash of canola oil or olive oil in a bowl and heating in the microwave for 3 – 4 minutes
½ cup ketchup – or a tad more to preference, plus some extra to cover the top!
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, finely crushed (I put the crackers in a zip-loc bag and use my rolling pin to crush the crackers.)
1 package of Lipton onion soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use broiler pan and spray both top and bottom pieces with Pam.
3. In large bowl:
                              mix ground beef and beaten eggs
                              add microwaved onions
                              add ketchup
                              stir in crushed Ritz cracker crumbs
  mix in the package of Lipton onion soup
salt & pepper to taste
4. Mix all ingredients well and form into a rectangular loaf and place on the broiler pan.
5. Squirt 😊 ketchup over the top of the meatloaf.
6. Bake through for 1 full hour. I use a meat thermometer and make sure the internal temp is 160 degrees.
Let the meatloaf sit/rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. I will sometimes return the meatloaf to a warm oven while I get the side dishes ready.
Transfer to a serving platter before slicing.Happy Meatloaf Making!
Gran Jan

Five Minute Friday – HOME

March 8, 2013 8:42 AM 5

This is my FIRST EVER “FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY,” although I’ve loved this concept of fast fun friendly five-minute writing for a long time – almost as much as I’ve loved getting to know the creator of this Friday Fun, Lisa Jo Baker. It’s really crazy…but just because I spent 2 weeks in South Africa (almost 3 years ago now) I think I KNOW her…because that is her HOMELAND and could have been mine too because I loved the people there so much. Here goes…

HOME
I literally just heard Building 429 singing “Where I Belong,” from my K LOVE iPhone app. The lyrics that speak of HOME…

“All I know is I’m not HOME yet, this is not where I belong,
take this world and give me Jesus…this is not where I belong.”

We know as believers in Christ that our real HOME, our eternal HOME is Heaven. I’ll admit there are days my sojourning on this globe make me long for that HOME because I can feel deep in my bones that this really isn’t my HOME. As a child I had many homes, and none were ever even ours because my father was a career Marine and we lived in what’s called “goverment housing.” We lived all over…and even though we didn’t own those houses, my mom always made them feel like HOME. So HOME for me as a child wasn’t a specific place, but a knowing that wherever my mom and dad and sisters were, that was HOME. If ever I was away from them, I would be so homesick. Home is my people.

HOME for me as a newly married pastor’s wife was a little duplex apartment. Our first HOME as a married couple. We’ve served three churches and every HOME I’ve “set up” has been so special – not because of the bricks and walls, but because of the memories made with my church people during the seasons of life we served them. A lot of living went on in these HOMES…Home is my church family.

The HOME near our first church that my husband’s grandfather had lived in 50 years before…
The HOME we lived in when we brought our baby boys home from the hospital…
The HOME we lived in where I had my first garden…
The HOME we lived in where we raised up our boys…
The HOME we lived in when the boys got married and left HOME…

And now the HOME we live in as empty nesters. My sweet man always says, “this house ain’t empty, we’re still here!” And yes we are, and this HOME now welcomes four little people, Gran Jan’s JOY – Zeke, Madie Ruth, Jackson, and Emery. HOLLERLUJAH! Grandbabies make every HOME precious.

As my five minutes wind down, I am reminded of an older version of “Where I Belong.” 🙂 If I close my eyes, I can hear my mom’s younger sister, my Aunt Sandy singing in her Southern twang…

This world is not my HOME, I’m just a passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
and I can’t feel at HOME in this world any more.

And I believe this with all my heart! Wonder who I’ll live next door to in Heaven?

Gran Jan

Women’s Ministry – Don’t Lose Heart

March 5, 2013 10:03 AM 0

SERVANT LEADERSHIP is important to me. We lead by serving, we serve by leading. In my church I serve in the music ministry and in the women’s ministry. Tonight our women’s ministry Leadership Team is meeting…over chips and salsa at a local Mexican restaurant. (We are hoping for a “table in the back!”) I love these ladies so much. Left to right – Cindy serves as our Events Coordinator, Teresa serves as Bible Study Coordinator, Jennifer serves as Outreach Ministry Coordinator, and I serve as Director. Tonight we will pray, share, and go over our calendars. Yesterday I emailed them the following encouragement. [It isn’t original to me, but I can’t pinpoint it’s origin, and just tweaked it a bit to fit women’s ministry; however, it can apply to any of us out there serving and leading.] It is easy to lose heart and focus. Why? Besides the spiritual warfare that is rampant to servants of Christ, a whole lot of living just happens. In the lives and families of this team just the past year we’ve experienced births, deaths, hospitalizations, and more. Just like your lives I’m sure…

WOMEN’S MINISTRY – DON’T LOSE HEART!
From 2 Corinthians 4

#1 The Temptation to Lose Heart
In verse 1, it says “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we DO NOT lose heart.” It doesn’t matter what our ministry is, sooner or later we’re going to be tempted to lose heart, to get discouraged, to listen to naysayers, and to want to give up. We can’t! When others accuse us or reject us, remember what’s at stake: the gospel of the glory of Christ (in every women’s ministry event we plan, that is our priority).

#2 The Temptation to Lose Focus
In verse 5, it says “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” Do we need a focus check? (I do.) No matter what our job or ministry is, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, our ultimate goal ought to be to shout out the name of Jesus in everything we do. WE are so commited to this!

#3 The Temptation to Lose Power
Verses 7-12 are some of the greatest in the whole Bible: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” GLORY!

Those are awesome verses, aren’t they? We must walk in the Spirit and overcome our flesh and fatigue. We must FOCUS! Let God’s Spirit have His way in us. That’s our treasure. That’s our secret. Don’t let the difficulties we face cloud the truth of God’s Word.

#4 The Temptation to Lose Faith
There’s more! In verses 13-15, the Word says “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, so I spoke”, we also believe, and so we also speak.” Do we believe God? Are we resting on His promises, or do we still follow our feelings? Feelings are terrible leaders and we know that as women we can RUN on emotion. Faith is believing God’s Word and acting on it no matter how we feel, because God promises a good result. ARE we doing it?

#5 The Temptation to Lose Vision
Finally, like it can get any better, 2 Corinthians 4 ends with these verses: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Can y’all hear the music soaring? This is not the end. Our vision is fixed on eternity. There’s more to come and I cannot wait.

I hope you know these truths in the depth of your soul. I pray these truths will fill you with joy to keep on enduring for the sake of HIS GREAT NAME.

Hollerlujah,
Jan 🙂

1,000 GIFTS, #985 to #1,000!!!

February 11, 2013 11:03 PM 6

My journey to ONE THOUSAND GIFTS will finish with this post, but the counting will not stop! I’m thankful for the discipline that this sojourning has grown in me. An intentional attitude of heart, mind, soul and spirit…to see His grace in everything. Everything! It has truly been so good for me, and I hope for you too!

985. The sound of rain as I type this post. Blessed rain on our tin roof. I love the sound of rain, the smell of a fresh rain shower, and the way my gardens look after God waters them. We’ve had several good long DAYS of rain. So thankful.

986. A text message from my friend and praise team member that says “WE HAVE A NEW SISTER IN CHRIST!” Her precious little girl came to faith in Jesus last week. God’s GRACE manifested in the most wonderful of all ways – salvation. By Grace we are saved through faith.

987. My sons serving together in ministry – Jeremy preaching at our church’s Disciple Now event this past weekend and Jonathan leading in worship. I love when Jeremy can “come home” to his home church, and that Jonathan still attends his “home church” with his wife and two of my grandchildren. I’m so thankful for the investment our church makes in young people called to full time vocational ministry.

988. A trip to Covington this past Saturday to honor Memama, the Morton family Matriarch and my wonderful mother-in-law. She will be 91 in four months – it was good to spend time with her. Here she is holding great granddaughter Emery. Priceless.

989. The Metro 2 Music Conference ended in a wonderful way last week as we were blessed to be led in worship by Christy & Nathan Nockels. It was pure joy to share a meal with them too. One of my favorite things is when she told us we were “her people.” Indeed we are! They are precious people.

990. I am not sure I can even share the JOY that this picture gives me. Jackson was standing on the steps to the stage (he wanted to be up there so badly) and he was “playing” his little guitar as he watched his daddy play his guitar. And bobbing his head in time with the music…

991. A quiet time place that calls to me. The privilege of prayer and God’s Word so readily available in several translations, a journal, pens, highlighters, and even the ability to be able to read and understand. Thankful for my Teacher, the Holy Spirit.

992. GRANDSONS. Gran.Jan’s.JOY! Can’t wait to see these two cousins grow up together. They remind me SO much of their daddies.

993. LIVE OAK TREES. Savannah. Hearing Christy Nockels sing “For Your Splendor.” I love THIS CD and the lyrics about our roots deep in Christ and becoming branches bearing fruit.

994. Being around young worship pastors and their wives – and being refreshed by them, and praying that they were encouraged by older worship pastors and their wives…like me and mine.

995. RIVER STREET in Savannah is a special place. Gary and I love to go there – we went to both Savannah and Charleston for our 25th anniversary. Walking River Street again this past week and thinking about how good God has been to us the past 10 years (as we’ve now been married 35 years) and our family has grown to include two daughters-in-law and four grandchildren this past decade! So very thankful!

996. I am especially thankful for my job and the good people I work with. As hard as my schedule is sometimes with family, work, and church commitments, God gives me the health, grace, and blessing to work. I’m thankful for His daily provisions.

997. Refreshing times that include a glass of good old Southern iced tea. I like mine “cut in half,” which means half sweetened/half unsweetened. I don’t like really sweet tea, so this is just right! I enjoyed this glass while sitting at the table at Paula Deen’s Restaurant. The sprig of fresh mint was just like the icing on the cake…that special touch!

998. And may I tell you how much I love coming home and driving down this driveway of oak trees? Especially on Friday afternoons when the weekend awaits! Time in the garden, time on the front porch, time to just be.

999. The Blessed Assurance of my faith in Christ that daily gives me the JOY, HOPE, and STRENGTH to live and abide in His love.

1000. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than All our sin.

Thank you Jesus for this Journey.

Much Love,
JAN

1,000 GIFTS, #967 to #984

February 4, 2013 9:24 PM 2

967. MY DAD CAME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL after 54 days! Praising God from Whom ALL Blessings Flow! Thankful for his healing, for this journey, and for the JOY of having him back home. Thank you to everyone who prayed. We are most grateful. Here he is with his little dog “Dixie.”

968. I’m writing today from beautiful Savannah, Georgia while helping my husband host the Metro 2 Music Conference, an annual conference for worship pastors and their wives. This conference has meant so much to me when I’ve been able to attend. This year serving as one of the hosts has been very special. It is good to serve. This is the view from our room on the Savannah River!

969. It is really a blessing to be with a group of women whose husbands are ALL worship leaders. We have an immediate bond, and that bond is Jesus, but that bond is also music ministry. I was in our room early yesterday wondering who will fill these chairs…

970. This dear lady, Mrs. Esther Burroughs, is speaking to the wives attending the conference alongside their husbands. She is JOY!

971. I enjoyed sitting at the registration table on Sunday afternoon greeting all the music pastors and their wives as they arrived with a big “Hey Y’all!”

972. I’m excited about another conference that is coming up May 31-June 1, 2013. Enjoyed a meeting last week as the Planning Team met for a rally in Atlanta. Click here for all the details for the Living Proof Live with Beth Moore and Travis Cottrell event!

973. I cannot imagine a trip to Savannah without a stop at Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons” Restaurant. We had a joyful time here and the staff loved hearing all the music pastors “singing the blessing” as they beautifully lifted their voices to sing The Doxology.

974. These grandbabies are the JOY of my heart – you all know that if you’ve read much of these gifts to 1,000…here are the oldest three atop a hay bale visiting with Pop’s cows…

975. I worked in a different office a couple of days last week and was blessed beyond imagination when a lady told me at the end of the day…”You love Jesus and it shows.” I cried and hugged her and thanked her for affirming me that way. Oh God, may my light shine for You in all I do.

976. A big, long, tight, squeeze around the neck from Zeke. I know he loves me because he tells me and then hugs me so tight. I sometimes think my heart will just burst from the JOY.

977. The joy of watching sweet Madie Ruth talk and express herself with her eyes and face that lights up. We had lunch at “flick-chil-a” last week. I LOVE the way she says Chick-fil-a. She is precious.

978. My mom with my granddaughter, her great-granddaughter, Miss Emery. Sweetness.

979. And my mom has been an amazing pillar of strength during my dad’s illness. She’s an old-fashioned strong woman, who endured long times away from my dad while he served in the Vietnam War. Her faith was a testimony to her girls.

980. Sweet fellowship and bonding with my sisters Joan and Jo while dad was so very critically ill. I saw the goodness of their love for him and realized what my family “is made of.” I know they will be there in the tough times – they proved that the past 2 months.

981. Cards in the mail. That someone took the time to write, address, stamp, and mail. I love emails and I love Twitter and quick text messages, but nothing beats a card to read and hold in your hands. I love how God graces us with perfect timely messages.

982. Love stopovers at little restaurants in the country…

983. This is my son Jonathan (on the right) with his baby girl and one of our staff pastors (Dawson) and his baby girl Brylee. The dads are the same age and the baby girls are the same age. Delight!

984. New mercies every morning…to count His gifts of GRACE, of family, of service, of healing, of ministry, of work, and knowing that they are ALL grace gifts from His Mighty Hand.

Blessings my friends,

Gran Jan

Gran Jan's JOY

Psalm 103

Five Minute Friday – REST

Delicious Meatloaf Recipe!

Five Minute Friday – HOME

Women’s Ministry – Don’t Lose Heart

1,000 GIFTS, #985 to #1,000!!!

1,000 GIFTS, #967 to #984

GRAN JAN

GRAN JAN'S JOY!

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