Author Archives: Lydia Floren

Facing My Failures, Embracing God’s Grace

It’s hard to see my own shortcomings. I don’t want to look at my ugly wounds. But, if I desire to heal – to be restored – I must first face these flaws. Then, I must be still and allow the Great Physician to free me from the habits-rooted-in-lies that keep me doing the same destructive things over and over. Sometimes God’s knife must go deep – it can’t be helped – to get to the root of the lie. The results are definitely worth it: true healing, and with it, profound joy.

Father, forgive me for my haughtiness, my rudeness, my feeling of superiority, of trying to jockey for position, or importance. Help me to be an instrument of your peace, not of my own pride. Thank you for restoring my soul.

The deeper my soul reaches toward Truth, the more deeply God’s love reaches into me, warming me, like a cup of hot tea on a cool morning. In the safety of His embrace, I can celebrate my God-given identity, value, belonging and calling independent of others’ fluctuating opinions, or influence.

Each time I manage to turn around and face my failures, the brilliance of God’s grace takes me by surprise

Why do I forget this? How can I learn to remember?

Do you ever find yourself running from yourself? What prompts you to remember the brilliance of God’s grace?

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God's grace is brilliant - joy - God's love

Wait, and Hurry Up

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by Lydia Floren

Have you ever been driving and in a hurry? Have you ever, when you were running late, come upon a long line of vehicles stopped in front of you, and impulsively swerved off the main road, barreling down side streets to avoid waiting? Then, found yourself repeatedly checked by school zones and stop signs, eventually had to admit to yourself that you would have been better off just staying on the main road?

Sometimes God’s work in us is visible, and sometimes it isn’t.

If we jump in to try to move things along, it will often just slow us down. Lack of discernible movement does not indicate lack of progress – quite the opposite, in fact. Much of God’s most important work is accomplished in us through our waiting.

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Enjoy the Music, and Give Thanks

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Love is spontaneous, but it is not random.

God sees an opportunity: one heart open and willing to give, another heart ready to receive. His Spirit prompts, and we respond. He uses us “in the moment”, to love and encourage someone who crosses our path. And we both are blessed. Occasionally, often after the fact, He will show us what He has been about. And then our joy multiplies.

In those moments, we must remember to give thanks. The practice of thanksgiving acknowledges God at work through us, and keeps us from seeing His work as something we can take credit for. It reminds us that our identity, value, belonging and calling come from Him alone, not from what we do. We are following our Shepherd in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Thanksgiving assures the continued flow of God’s love through us, toward those around us.

give thanks for what God is doing and has done through us

Enjoy God working through you, but make sure you are directing attention and praise – yours and others’ – to Him for what He is doing, not to yourself. You are an instrument, not the musician – a violin, not the maestro. You do not create or play the music. It moves through you.

If you become comfortable receiving accolades, you will start to think that you don’t need the Maestro. You might think you can sit and play a ditty, and expect people’s hearts will be touched and changed. They won’t.

I am the instrument, God is the maestro

Beware of giving yourself pats on the back for God’s work though you. Then, pride multiplies. And a sense of self-sufficiency, and the false belief that you can love, as God calls you to, on your own. Nothing kills the movement of the Spirit in our lives quicker than this kind of attitude.

We must always be careful to give thanks for what God is doing, and has done, through us.

Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the music, and the part you get to play in sharing it with the world.

And, always, always remember to give thanks.

True Peace is the Absence of Fear

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My peace I give to you…

The peace of God is unlike any other that we see on earth. It is not an uneasy truce, or an acquiescence to domination. It is the abiding understanding that our identity, our value, our belonging, and our calling are safe. No person or spiritual force can change this in any way. We can come to God in tears, feeling worthless, or abandoned, or like failures. He reminds us that we are precious. We are His, and we are one of His chosen vehicles for loving the world. We can go into our days with confidence and light hearts. And, we are safe. We are not alone. The God of Peace is with us, within us, and He loves us.

True peace is the absence of fear, and the Presence of God.

He restores my soul. Psalm 23:3

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. Psalm 126:6

Perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

God’s Supreme Attribute

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by Lydia Floren

I love this quote by Billy Graham, so appropriate in the Easter Season,from his book The Journey. He gave the ultimate gift – His life – so that we would be able to connect with Him intimately, daily, His presence continually with and within us. Nothing can demonstrate His love and deep desire for all of us more than for us to spend an unending future with Him in the bliss-filled place called Heaven:

“The more I read the Bible, the more I realize that love is God’s supreme attribute. Behind every dealing God has with us is His perfect love. It was love that made Him create us, and it was love that caused Him to send His Son to redeem us. His love pursues us and draws us to Himself, and His love will someday take us into His presence forever. ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin…s’ (1 John 4:10). 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).”

-Billy Graham (The Journey, p.22)

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13 NLT)

For more thoughts/observations about God’s great love, visit Belovedlove.org.

Peace in Chaos

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Andrew and I were the first of our friends to have a baby, and as all new parents know, that first little one goes with you everywhere. When Michael was first born we were going to a lot of weddings, and so Michael attended his first nuptials when he was just 2 months old. Afterwards at the reception we stuck him in his carrier and put him up on a table next to the dance floor so we could keep a close eye on him. Michael sucked on his pacy and slept while we twisted to “Pink Cadillac,” shagged to “Sweet Home Alabama” and slow danced to “Endless Love. ” He was conked out for hours.

Noise is Just Noise

How did he do that? Why didn’t all that noise wake him up? Why wasn’t he afraid?

He was fed. Warm. Safe. He already knew from past experience that if he cried–or even so much as stirred–there would be many hands to soothe and care for him.

The noise was just noise. He tuned it out.

God’s Peace

God gives us that kind of peace, a peace that comes from knowing that he is right there, protecting us and taking care of us. It is a peace that has nothing to do with the noise of life. It is an inner calm, a knowing, that He is with us—within us—and He loves us.

We don’t understand this. We can’t. We must just accept it. And know that when we become aware of the din, or of our need, he is right there. We are safe. We are loved. That is all we need to know.

God’s peace has nothing to do with our circumstances, and everything to do with His presence.

The Fruit of the Month for April is peace. Share with us your links, thoughts, experiences of God’s peace!

Those Things You Do

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I must always leave room in my heart, and my plans, for the unexpected – those “God things” He does. He sometimes shifts direction, or changes timing, or offers new possibilities, or paths. These things can seem like detours, or delays, and my response is frustration or impatience. But I can count on this:

God works ALL things to good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

I can relax. If there is a delay, or a detour, or a change in direction, there is a very good reason for it. The more I accept and anticipate that there will be these sorts of things in my life, the more at peace I can be in the present.

Who is so blind as the servant of the Lord?

I don’t need to know – and often don’t have the capacity to understand – why He does the things He does. But I can trust Him. Implicitly. Completely.

Thank you Father, for those things you do, that can seem like obstacles, or delays, or detours, but are really very much a part of Your plan. Thank you that I can be at peace, no matter what comes my way, knowing You work all things for my good.

Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of the LORD? (Isaiah 42:19 NASB)

Has there been a time in your life when you were frustrated by the unexpected, but later saw God at work in it?

Please share with us. We would love to hear from you!

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Indescribable Joy

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by Lydia Floren

The sunrise behind our house this morning was so exquisite I got out my camera and started taking pictures.

I kept checking the photos, trying again with a new angle, a different lens setting.

Pretty soon, I realized: I can snap pictures all I like, but no image will compare with the experience of changing-color-behind-tree-shadows that I see out my window every morning.

The joy of God’s presence is like that.

I can write all I want, but just as a photograph can’t capture the beauty before me, no words can convey the joy of a life lived embraced by the love of God within me.

Thank You, Father, for Your presence in the sunrise this morning.

And your presence within me.

In Your presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11 NASB)

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9 NLT)

Waking Up to Beauty

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Yesterday morning I woke up to this:

This morning I woke up to this:

Each view is

breathtaking, dazzling, unique, captivating, lovely.

Created and adored by our Heavenly Father.

Every day, I wake up to me, in my skin, with my unique blend of personality, temperament, gifts, talents, DNA, history. Whether I recognize it or not,

I am

breathtaking, dazzling, unique, captivating, lovely.

I am created and adored by my Heavenly Father.

I am beloved.

You and I

wake up to beauty every day…

and then we open our eyes.

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made and my soul knows it very well.”

Breathing In

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I have done mouth to mouth resuscitation many times in my medical career. I have performed it on apneic newborns, overdose victims, and heart attack sufferers. Like anything, mouth to mouth is pretty routine when you have done it enough, kind of like riding a bike, but it is important to know the process. To do it effectively, each of the following steps must be followed, and each done in sequence:

Check to see that nothing is obstructing airflow into the patient’s lungs.
Position the neck so the airway is straight, and pinch the patient’s nose.
Take a deep breath in.
Seal your mouth over the patient’s mouth, and blow.
Observe the patient’s chest, to be sure it rises and falls.

It is amazing how effective this simple little procedure is, and how often it has saved a person’s life.

God breathes life into us in a different way, a more enduring way, and helps us in turn to breathe life into those around us. Jesus said:

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10 NASB)

I want to live life abundantly, and help others to do the same, but often my efforts have seemed futile or ineffective. Even worse, they seemed to drain me. This important truth is changing my life:

In order to give love to others, I must first receive love from God. I must take a deep breath in—soak in God’s presence, and His love for me personally. The more life-giving love I receive, the more I have, and the more I have to give.

Step #3: Take a deep breath in.

How does one take a deep breath in of God’s presence and love?

This is what has worked for me so far:

Make space in my life to be still and quiet, usually in the early morning.
Remember that everything in life, including life, is a gift from the father above.
Focus on the fact that God is with me, and within me, and loves me, and is taking care of me.
Thank God for who He is, what He is doing, what He has done, and what He will do.
Listen for His still small voice in the morning.
Be aware of the many ways He chooses to communicate with me throughout the day.
Make it your number one priority. This is probably the most important suggestion I can give. On your “to do” list, put this item at the top every day:

Be loved.

Be loved.

Breathe in God’s life-giving love every day.

It is the most important thing you can do.

His love will give you the joy-filled life you so desire. In turn He will empower you to breathe life into those around you.

We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19 NASB)

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4 NASB)

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16 NASB)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3b NASB)

Share with us: How have you learned to breathe in God’s presence and love every day? What works for you?