Monthly Archives: July 2015

Foundation Stones (Rocks Series Part 3)

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Foundation Stonesby Lydia Floren

We all have rocks in our heads, lies that need to be dislodged by truth.  As these are removed, they are replaced by bedrock truths we can build a life on.  I call these truths Foundation Stones.  Here are a few of my favorite Foundation Stones:

  • God knows and loves me right now, as I am.  (Psalm 139:1-6)  God’s love for me is constant, and is independent of my choices. He doesn’t love me more when I follow Him, or love me less when I don’t.  He doesn’t love me more when I try to be perfect, or less when I realize that I can’t.  God has hopes for me, not expectations.
  • God is invested; He is “all-in” with me. He came to get me.  He died for me.  He overrode death for me.  Hard to get more invested in loving me than that.
  • God is trustworthy.  He will do what He says.  I can count on Him
    • to be with me
    • to take care of me
    • to work in the world. God is active in this world, and when bad things happen to me, He will turn them into something good..  Even when I don’t understand what is going on, I can be sure that I am in good hands, and He will use the circumstances to create the best outcome.
  • God is my Father. He has adopted me as His child. I belong to Him, and to His family.  This isn’t hyperbole.  I am his daughter.  His very own.
  • God is good company. Wise. Interested. Peaceful. Considerate. I can be content with Him.
    God’s most dominant characteristic is His love. He tells us that he IS love.

Billy Graham wrote,
“His love is not a passing fancy or a superficial emotion; it is a profound and unshakable commitment that seeks what is best for us.  Human love may change or fade; God’s love never will.  He says to us, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’ (Jeremiah 31:3)”
http://belovedlove.org/reflections/tag/billy-graham/

These are just some of my foundation stones.  What are yours?  What are you building your life on?

Good Hands

Recent Posts:

Rocks In My Head (Rocks Series Part 1)

Loosening the Rocks (Rocks Series Part 2)

Loosening the Rocks (Rocks Series Part 2)

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Loosening the Rocks

by Lydia Floren

In order to be free from a deep seated lie, it is necessary to immerse one’s self in truth, and for that truth to sink way down deep.   When truth moves past our conscious thoughts, and buries itself into our hearts and spirits, it dislodges long-entrenched lies.  Here are some ways to anchor truth into your mind/heart/spirit:

Repetition.  Repeating truth over and over to yourself really helps to get it past the surface. For example, you could continually expose yourself to truth by any or all of the following:

  • Carry around a set of “truth cards.”
  • Program a message of truth into your phone.
  • Wear a bracelet, or other reminder
  • Write a reminder on your hand

The more creative and omnipresent your reminders, the more likely that the truth will be firmly implanted in your mind.

Different points of view.  Instill truth by looking at the facts from different perspectives.

  • Do this on your own, by asking yourself questions. In the case of the perfectionism lie (“I must be perfect to be acceptable to God”),  you could ask yourself,  “What is perfect?  Would I even know it if I saw it?  Is my definition the same as God’s?  What does God care about?  What does the Bible say?”
  • Get an outside perspective.  You might share your struggle with a trusted friend or advisor and ask for their point of view.

Multiple senses and learning methods.  In order to learn something well, and have it really stick with you, involve as many senses and learning styles as possible.  For example you might follow the adage “see one, do one, teach one.”  Watching someone, then doing it, and then teaching it greatly reinforces what you learn.  It also helps to absorb truth in different ways.  You might

  • Read about a truth
  • Say it to yourself
  • Listen to a song about it
  • Watch a video that resonates that truth

The more methods you employ, the quicker the truth becomes part of you.

Memorization.  The ultimate goal is to firmly implant truth in your memory.  In my opinion, committing part of the Bible to memory has an impact greater than any other. The Holy Spirit works through God’s word in both the conscious and the subconscious mind, and is powerful indeed.

Reminders.  No matter how you learn truth, remind yourself often of what you now know.  It is kind of like waxing your car, so that the salt and debris of the road don’t corrode the metal. The truth might be in you, but it may fade a bit and need some buffing, to bring it back into present awareness.

If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:31-32

What is your favorite way of loosening the rocks, and incorporating truth into your life?

Truth dislodges lies

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Recent Post: Rocks In My Head (Rocks Series Part 1)

Rocks In My Head: Rocks Series Part I

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Rocks in My Head

 

by Lydia Floren

I have struggled with perfectionism a long time. Perfectionism is based in the false idea “you must be perfect to be OK.”  This lie is embedded deep in my head, like a big rock surrounded by hard earth.  In order to dislodge it, I have to chip away at the dirt and debris that surrounds it. With a boulder like this, it can take persistent effort to get it out of my thought process.  But if I keep at it, sooner or later the rock will shift, and then shift a little more.  Eventually, it will loosen to the point that it just tumbles down the hill, and out of my life.  I experience a “paradigm shift”:  a sudden change in the way I look at the world.  It’s like a prism in the sun—when it turns, the light catches it at another angle, and a different color is revealed.  

So far, my struggle with perfectionism has been a slow process.  I’m not going to lie.  I’ve been chipping at this problem for a long while, and I would love for it to roll on out of my life RIGHT NOW. But so far it hasn’t.  

Truth seeps into my spirit, loosening the dirt.  Day by day, the rock shifts, often imperceptibly. It is not until I step back and see the big picture that I can truly appreciate the progress God has made over the years.  Slowly, steadily, He is dislodging this perfectionism lie from my life.

We all have big rocks in our heads, lies that have been ingrained in us for years. Some folks, like me,struggle with perfectionism.  Others have “boulders” of blame, or negativism, or materialism.  The process to extricate these lies can be arduous, because their tentacles wrap around many thought patterns.  All the more reason to keep at it, and to occasionally look back, and see how far we have come.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:32

What rocks do you carry in your life?  What truths is God using to dislodge those rocks?

 

Morning On The Marsh

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Morning on the Marsh

by Lydia Floren

For so much of my life, I brush past the magnificence of God’s creation. One day this past week, I stilled myself enough to absorb a bit of its wonder. Andrew and I were wrapping up a visit to South Carolina. We spent our last few days with dear friends in their Georgetown home, situated on the edge of the Edisto Marsh. Our final day, I woke up early and wandered out on the back deck. The boards were still damp from a nighttime rain. The breeze was uncharacteristically cool. I settled into a chair and tried to soak in the sights and sounds of my beloved South one last time before heading home. Here is my attempt to put into words a morning’s beauty in the Low Country:

Morning on the Marsh

Crickets hum.
Trees rustle.
Birdsongs echo.

Sound surrounds.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Wind-stirred leaves spill staccato drops.

Sparrows flit between moss-draped branches.
Tall pines brush a dusky sky.
Waters glimmer amid cattail reeds.

Seagrass ripples.

A snowy egret glides across
the flat expanse of gold-tipped green.

Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14

What are you noticing about God’s beauty this summer?

Related Posts:  Spring In The North Woods

Recent Post: Encountering God Our Father

Encountering God Our Father

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Encountering God our Father

by Lydia Floren

When we step into God’s heavenly throne room for the first time, I imagine we will be juuuust a little bit intimidated. God’s “glory”—His powerful presence, His bright beauty—will surely take our breath away.

But here’s what I see happening next:

God glances down the great hall, and spies us near the door. His eyes light up, and a big grin spreads across His face. He steps down from the dais and strides toward us, arms open wide.

We, His children, we know that smile. We know those arms. We break into a run and race down that gilded throne room until we reach our Abba. He scoops us up, swings us around, smothers us in a big hug, and then carries us back up to His seat. Settled on His lap, we chatter away. He listens intently, His warm eyes never wavering, His strong arms encircling us. Once our words are spent, and any tears dried, He murmurs a few words in our ear–words of wisdom and encouragement, kindness and grace. He gives us a squeeze; we smile and nod. Then He puts us down, and sends us on our way.

God wants–and invites–this kind of encounter with us now. Every day. Isn’t this what WE also want?

Each morning, choose to enter your Father’s presence, confident of His warm welcome! Soak in His love and wisdom. Stay in His arms long enough to be restored and refreshed. And then joyfully walk along the path He has shown you.

Be loved. And then love.
Soak in God’s love and shine!

“You encircle me from back to front, placing your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5 NSV

Baby 7:2:15

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