Who are we?

Belovedlove is a nonprofit faith-based venture.

 

Our purpose is:

1. to help people find the joy that comes from embracing, soaking in, and absorbing God’s unconditional love, and

 

2. to encourage people to then follow His greatest commandment: to love God, and their neighbors, and themselves.

 

The cornerstone principles of Belovedlove are found in the following Bible passages :

 

Matthew 22:37-40 (NAS): ~And He [Jesus] said to him, “’you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. And a second is like it ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

 

1 John 4, esp. v19 (NAS): We love because He first loved us.

 

Our name:

Be loved: The name belovedlove was chosen because it represents the importance of first learning to receive God’s love: to be loved. It is impossible to give His love unless we have first received it.

 

Love: Once we begin to absorb and live in God’s love for us we can start to love others with His power, insight, joy, spirit.

So first of all, be loved. Then love.

Be loved, love.

 

What makes us unique?

• Strong biblical foundation

• Fresh approach

• Original content and downloads

• Clear, concise language and concepts

• Well-organized multimedia resources

• Imaginative ideas for incorporating truth into your life

• Practical tools to help you learn and remember new habits of thought

• Speaking availability for events and retreats

 

 

How did this organization begin?

“I [Lydia] have been focused on the importance of receiving and living in the reality of God’s love for the past several years, and have written extensively on this topic. As I grew in my understanding of what it means to embrace and live in this life-giving, joy-producing love, I felt like God asked me to begin sharing some things I have learned in my journey. Thus the website, and the writing and speaking.”

-LYDIA FLOREN  |  FOUNDER OF BELOVEDLOVE

 

 

Lydia’s life goal is to soak in God’s love, love God and those around her, and encourage others to do the same.

 

Lydia Floren loves people, and loves to laugh. She is passionate about encouraging folks to embrace the joy-giving love God offers every person. It thrills her to help people learn more about their identity and value, and then grow to the point of connecting and sharing what they’ve learned with those around them. She is an ENFP, and her primary love language is words of affirmation. Despite (or maybe because of) living with a houseful of males for the last 26 years she is fond of “girl stuff”: talking, sewing, reading, jewelry making, antiquing, collecting old silver and linens, and talking, to name a few. She deeply values friendship, both new and old. A Southerner born and bred, Lydia’s idea of heaven is the beach and a book, preferably with a good friend the next chair over.

 

The daughter of a Baptist minister, Lydia’s nomadic upbringing stretched from New York City to the south Florida beach town of Bradenton, where she graduated from Manatee High School. She earned her Bachelors in History from Furman University, and her Doctor of Medicine degree from Medical College of Georgia, and is a practicing board certified Family Medicine physician. She and her wonderful husband Andrew, also a physician, met and married in Orlando Florida and now live and work in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Their 3 grown sons, Michael (Kiley), Daniel, and Samuel – are currently scattered from Texas to California. Lydia and Andrew are part of the community of believers at Jacob’s Well in Eau Claire, WI. She believes in the tenets of the Nicene Creed and Apostle’s Creed.

 

Writing

Lydia has loved to write ever since she was young, and while she has shared her stories and thoughts with her immediate circle for years, she has just recently begun to share these with a wider audience. In her writing she connects everyday experiences with biblical truths to challenge herself and others to dig deeper and reach higher in their lives. She is working toward publishing a study on Guidance, and is currently writing a series on the topics of identity, value, belonging and calling.

 

Authors who have influenced Lydia: Henri Nouwen, Brother Lawrence, Oswald Chambers, Ann Ortlund, Brennan Manning, Dr. Paul Brand, Phillip Yancey, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, David Seamans, Francis of Assisi, St. Augustine, Charles Spurgeon, Chuck Swindoll, and C. S. Lewis.

 

 

A personal note from Lydia:

I have been a lifelong believer, raised in the performance-based culture of middle-class America. Even in the Christian community I often perceived my value to be linked to my performance or what others thought of me. In my struggle with feeling “not good enough” I have searched high and low – in my career, in books, in activities, organizations, roles and relationships – to find the sense of satisfaction and completeness often missing from my Christian faith. As I have begun to absorb and live in the fact that I am a beloved child of God – precious and valuable to him, not because of what I do but simply because I am His creation – my life has been transformed. This I know: if you learn to be loved—to soak in God’s love for you personally – and then share it with others, you will shine in such a way that you can’t help but draw people to Christ.

 

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:16 NKJV)