Category Archives: Solio Deo Gloria

Did Black Friday Surprise You?

Janis Van Keuren

Whether you looked at a newspaper, watched a television program, walked into a store or talked to a friend, the chances you heard about Black Friday and the anticipated sales are close to 100 Percent! No surprise here! It’s doubtful that the advertised, over-the-top sales caught you by surprise. Coupons were crammed in your mailbox so that no one had an excuse to miss out on what businesses labeled “the year’s biggest sales.” As the day approached, I felt my … Continue reading →

The Writing Connection

Janis Van Keuren

This is Part II of a story about God’s dream and plan for my writing. Part I appeared two days ago here. It began last year with the American Christian Writers Conference. I was dragging my feet about going as my writing was a ringer for the round file. Then I heard that another blogger Janis Cox had arrived in Phoenix to spend her winter months away from the depths of snow in Canada. We began chatting online, and I … Continue reading →

Little Blessings that Light Up the Day

Janis Van Keuren

     With spade in hand, I was churning the hard clay dirt now ringed in citrus food. Crawling  backwards on my hands and knees around the trunk of our lemon tree, I bumped into an unexpected object hanging from the tree.     A lemon!! A hard, large, green lemon. I was elated. That made two lemons on our tree. A tree that had suffered such severe damage from last year’s frost, we weren’t sure it would even survive. It has survived … Continue reading →

Woman in Her True Role

Janis Van Keuren

       I just noticed Michelle De Rusha’s post on Genesis and laughed when she said she wondered what new insight could we possibly gain from the creation story.     Our pastor’s current series is on Genesis and this week he focused on the creation of Woman. Quite an impressive creation of God when the Hebrew meaning of “helper” is understood.      As I sat and listened to our pastor, my mind was clicking off the well worn passages but … Continue reading →

His Love Endures Forever

Janis Van Keuren

               When the week threatens to drag you away from center~Jesus.     When the circumstances throw you to the edges so that you seem like a foreign remnant of your old self.     When it seems your life has been sapped from you and you just want to throw the covers over your head.     When you can’t find a breath from the Spirit within to give you the passion to write:      Remember:      “Give thanks to the Lord, for … Continue reading →

The Holiness of Rest

Janis Van Keuren

My feet touch the criss-cross brick pavers with sentimental recollection. Memories of salt air brushing against my face. Walking hand-in-hand with the man I’ve loved for more years than I thought I could count. Sunsets sinking into the ocean’s horizon while we cuddle on Hawiian, floral beach towels. In this quaint, artistic town sculpted around a God-carved nook in the ocean, we once again feel the

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The Super Moon

Janis Van Keuren

For a second night, the Super Moon hung in the sky beckoning us to leave behind the artificial blue lights of our technology and gaze upon real light created by the Master. Hubby and I grabbed the camera and stomped through the ankle deep, nighttime green of our grass. Pushing aside the possibility of what type of bugs my bare feet could encounter (Hubby wore flip flops), we plodded to a space against the block wall where the great beam … Continue reading →

The Impossible Dream

Janis Van Keuren

       To be the kind of person who would have the determination, drive, ability, and persistence to walk into another person’s life and make a powerful and positive difference was the deepest desire of my heart. Even before Jesus had come knocking on the door of my heart, I thought I could do that if I just did not give up  and continued to encourage and lead that person into a new and hope-filled life.      To live the … Continue reading →