"Musings and Wanderings": A Collection of Thoughts and Talks with God

By Wilma Rennels

What I have written and put together has turned out to be such a hodge-podge of different subjects, even though not all my thoughts are included. Maybe this will be good, since it will bring variety as the accounts are presented. I never know from one day to the next where my wanderings with God will take me. This is what makes it such a wonderful adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973627791

Wilma Rennels

Wilma (Cook) Rennels is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL, class of 1955. While there, she met her future husband, Bill Rennels. She was his helpmate during the fifty-seven years he preached. Thirty-nine of those years were spent at Glenwood Church in rural Noble, IL. Bill passed away in September of 2012. After her husband’s death, her writing increased and developed into a much closer relationship with her heavenly Father. Wilma is proud to be the mother of two, grandmother of three and “Nana” to seven. She enjoys her work as the Director of Music at Glenwood Church. She likes to cook up her own concoctions, some being dismal failures and she is a “NASCAR buff.” During her extensive illness in 2009/2010, Wilma began keeping journals of her devotions. These journals have developed into what she calls her “Musings and Wanderings.” She felt God was leading her to share these writings with the folk at church. After the urging of friends and her church family, she decided to share some of them with others which resulted in this work. Wilma’s objective is for others to realize that God is a Friend who is always present and interested in our daily lives. He can be approached at any time and will listen even to the most mundane thoughts of His children. She feels that the peace of God has deepened her own life and she wants others to possess it also.

Book preview

"Musings

and

Wanderings"

A Collection of Thoughts

and Talks with God

WILMA RENNELS

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Copyright © 2018 Wilma Rennels.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Interior graphics by Cynthia Rennels Schnell.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2778-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2777-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2779-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018905389

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/7/2018

Contents

Dedication

About The Author

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Endnotes

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my daughter-in-law

Karen Sue Rennels

who valiantly fought ovarian cancer for five years.

Some of her battles and the effects of them were used in my writings.

She is now with her heavenly Father since October 2, 2014, 6:15 A.M.

She never blamed God and was faithful to Him to the very end.

She will be greatly missed by those who were blessed to know and love her.

and

To my special support system,

my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

my family and my Glenwood Church family

who encouraged me to write and publish this work

that God has directed me to do. Special thanks to my daughter

who got me out of more problems with my computer

than anyone else will ever know.

Thank you.

About the Author

Wilma (Cook) Rennels is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL, class of 1955. While there, she met her future husband, Bill Rennels. She was his helpmate during the fifty-seven years he preached. Thirty-nine of those years were spent at Glenwood Church in rural Noble, IL. Bill passed away in September of 2012. After her husband’s death, her writing increased and developed into a much closer relationship with her heavenly Father.

Wilma is proud to be the mother of two, grandmother of three and Nana to seven. She enjoys her work as the Director of Music at Glenwood Church. She likes to cook up her own concoctions, some being dismal failures and she is a NASCAR buff.

During her extensive illness in 2009/2010, Wilma began keeping journals of her devotions. These journals have developed into what she calls her Musings and Wanderings. She felt God was leading her to share these writings with the folk at church. After the urging of friends and her church family, she decided to share some of them with others which resulted in this work.

Wilma’s objective is for others to realize that God is a Friend who is always present and interested in our daily lives. He can be approached at any time and will listen even to the most mundane thoughts of His children. She feels that the peace of God has deepened her own life and she wants others to possess it also.

Foreword

I have often said, I was going to write a book someday. Today, July 22, 2014, I solidified an arrangement to work with Westbow Publishing House to prepare my Musings and Wanderings for publication. This will be a challenging work to accomplish. I’m not a typist and I get tired doing the hunt and peck method. For some reason, I feel led to do this. Even if any part of this book helps only one person, it will have been worth the time and energy that was put into it.

What I have written and put together has turned out to be such a hodge-podge of different subjects, even though not all my thoughts are included. Maybe this will be good, since it will bring variety as the accounts are presented. I never know from one day to the next where my wanderings with God will take me. This is what makes it such a wonderful adventure.

I often start with one idea or verse of Scripture which, may or may not, evolve into something entirely different. Sometimes the thought continues from the devotional book I use for my morning readings. The progression just depends on where God directs my eyes. There are four collections which were written in different phases of my life since 2009 when I first began to record my thoughts. At the end of the work, I decided to include the study I did of the Book of I John.

As you stroll along my path, you may undergo a diversity of thought processes. Perhaps my musings and wanderings will stir your creative juices and spur you to put your own thoughts down on paper. Allow the Holy Spirit to control your gleanings and see where He leads you. Have a great adventure.

To God be the glory for what he has inspired me to write.

Wilma

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When God speaks … Does God speak to His children? Does He quietly lead us day by day? Let me tell you what an impact the book Jesus Calling has had on life. My husband, Bill Rennels, had pastored our church for thirty-nine years and was now no longer physically able to carry on his work. We had had Hospice coming already for about six months, and our granddaughter had become his primary caregiver. Our family and friends knew his death was imminent. One day in August 2012, I had to go to Walmart to pick up some of the things he would eat. As I went down the book aisle, I stopped to look at some of them, just meandering as I often do. I felt the need to look a little closer. When I did, a book by Sarah Young fairly jumped out at me. Maybe it was the title, Jesus Calling, that really caught my eye because of the situation at home. I knew Jesus was calling Bill home. I was so enraptured by the book, that I didn’t even notice the people who were going around me. Looking back, I think I was cluttering up the aisle with my cart and all. When I left the store, one of the books was safely in my bags.

As soon as I got home, I went to my bedroom and read about the author and how the book had evolved. That, probably, is not the right word to use. It developed through Jesus’s influence on Mrs. Young’s life, which she recounts in the preface. She related how God’s peace had taken ahold of her through different experiences.

I felt God speaking to me. I needed that deep, calming peace in my life as my husband laid in the living room on that hospital bed, slowly failing day by day. Every morning as I ate my breakfast, I read the short devotional message and the Bible references. Previously I thought I already had that blessed peace, but I was wrong. Each day the readings seeped a bit more into my heart.

When I went to my beautician the next week, I took three books – one for her, one for her mother-in-law who lives with her, and one for a friend who has her hair done at the same time. I told them how the book was affecting me, and I wanted to share it. The next Sunday at church, they told me enthusiastically how the book also spoke to them. I went home and pondered that thought. I gave one to my daughter, who had the same feeling.

When Bill passed away in September, I had a peace that stunned me. In place of tears and sadness, I was confident everything would be okay. I knew he was with Jesus and whole again. As we laid his shell of a body in the ground, I knew, beyond even a shadow of doubt, that God had placed that book into my hands for the specific reason and at the specific time in August to prepare me and my family for my husband’s departure.

It is true that God leads in mysterious ways. For instance, I was aware that Bill had taken care of my needs if, and when, God would take him home first. I was surprised when I realized how God had made provision for the needs that would be forthcoming for the project that He had planned for me.

Three months passed, and as I sat having my devotional time one day in January of 2013, God spoke to me about sharing my experience. As the pastor’s wife, it had been my privilege to plan programs for our church. I had been praying for a theme for the Mother-Daughter Dinner in May. That morning, as I looked at the clutter on my table, Mrs. Young’s book was there. It was like it said, Here I am. Use me. So, I did. As I contemplated possible prizes, I thought, Why not give out Sarah’s books and share what God had done for me through the messages in it? Do you see God’s leading? The program turned out to be a super success and about twenty or so books had been given away. How could it not be a success, when God led all the way? When God speaks, we must seek to do His will.

More leading. Shortly after the program, I felt the need to make sure each family of our church should have access to this book. I called Thomas Nelson Publishing House to see if they would just send me a case or two of the books. The representative I spoke to agreed. When the boxes arrived, the invoice was made out to Wilma Rennels Ministry. God’s hand was still leading. Now I had a purpose, a definite ministry. This has turned out to be my mission for as long as God takes care of the funds and as long as He sees fit to use me. I am blessed.

I don’t know how many cases I have given out, but I will continue to do so as long as I can. My goal is that people will know this extraordinary peace, and that they will covet it for themselves and seek to also share it. In order to have this peace that God so freely gives, you need to first accept Him into your life as your Savior and Lord. Then you, too, can experience this phenomenal peace as your own gift from God. This is my prayer. It slowly sneaks up on you. You will feel it as you spend time with God. Sarah Young’s book will guide you to a deeper relationship with the God who loves and cares for you. Every day will be a new adventure as you strive to make God the center of your life, the captain of your soul, the gentle shepherd of your universe. He, alone, can give you that deep, abiding peace that will help you weather the storms of life.

When God speaks, do you listen?

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One Sunday evening recently, Pastor Doyle began by asking if anyone had anything to share. Just about everyone had something to relate. Ever since I had been struggling with my health in 2009, I would make notes as I had my devotions. I would like to share some of the things that my mind wanders to as I read the scriptures to which He leads me. My mind sometimes wanders to things that might relate to what I read, or simply to push me in another direction altogether. For instance:

The Holy Spirit – a note in my Bible led me to Zechariah 4:6. Zechariah was having a vision about a candlestick and olive trees. In verse 6, the Lord said to Zerubbabel, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit …, which had a note that sent me to Malachi 2:15, which had a note that told of all the things that the Holy Spirit did, and still does. I was amazed but probably shouldn’t have been. He is still a part of the Godhead Trinity. He is different in the Old Testament than He is in the New Testament. He did not indwell people. This came as a result of Jesus’s ascension recorded in Acts. Christ promised this in John 14:16 – that the Holy Spirit would replace Jesus Christ when Christ ascended to His Father in heaven. In the Old Testament, God the Father communicated to His people in different ways — a burning bush, an ass, etc. In the Gospels, Jesus was the Communicator — in the flesh. In the Church Age, God the Holy Spirit indwells Christians and is the communicator as much as we allow Him to be. Each entity of the Godhead has His own work to do. We become the blessed of all because the Holy Spirit is within us! All we have to do is allow Him to work through us. I am now wondering — should we address Him as Holy Spirit or as the Holy Spirit? Holy Spirit is His name, right? God the Father —, God the Son —, and God the Holy Spirit?

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Peace — denial of Self. God is not pushy. He speaks in a still, small voice. He quietly knocks. But we can’t hear that little voice or the gentle knock if we are so consumed with Self. I need to empty myself completely of Self. Then I can communicate with God fully. Psalm 46:10 says, Be still and know that I am God … Then He can fill the void that was vacated by Self. Self gets in the way of what Jesus wants for me. Self says, I am weak, I am tired, I can’t do anymore. I am completely and utterly broken down. I can’t go on. I am alone. God says, I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), I will strengthen you to do all things (Philippians 4:13), Come unto Me and let Me give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30), Let Me give you My peace. Let Me prepare the way before you (Philippians 4:6-7), and Let Me ease your heavy load (I Peter 5:7). Invite Me into your life and let Me show you what you and I (God) can do together. And that brought me to the many songs about God’s wonderful peace, – in peace that only He can provide. And when that peace takes hold of our lives, it brings with it a complete restfulness that our soul craves.

Self debilitates; Self hinders; Self is egotistical; Self has tunnel vision; Self is prideful; Self wears a chip on its shoulder; and Self