Category Archives: Finding God’s Love

There are many habits and strategies we can learn that help us draw nearer to the Lord. And sometimes finding Him simply involves an attitude shift.

Sharing a sunset. Enjoying the presence of God.

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by Lydia Floren

“Solitude is not withdrawal in order to get away. It is withdrawal in order to be with Someone who normally gets crowded out of our lives…. it is the place of love and trust. It therefore puts presence before action and seeks companionship before help.” (Charles Rigma)

So many times when I am alone with God, I have an agenda. I might want perspective, or wisdom, or direction, or healing of some sort. But I think much of that time with HIm would be better spent not seeking anything, except to just hang out with Him. No agenda. No words, really. Just two friends relishing a companionable silence—aware of each other, but not expecting from each other. We have an understanding: I enjoy His presence, and He enjoys mine.

I liken it to sitting with a close friend at the beach watching a sunset. Though no words are exchanged, the connectedness is almost palpable. And the silence between us seems to magnify the beauty surrounding us.

In Heaven, I expect God and I will share many such quiet moments, enjoying the sweep of a mountain vista, the trill of a child’s laugh. Or the velvet touch of a horse’s nuzzle, or the fragrance of a rose in bloom. But those experiences will pale compared to the stunning beauty of God Himself. His integrity. His wisdom. His vitality. His strength. His gentleness.

heaven is a ways off, thought, and there is much yet to do in this life. People to help. Commitments to keep. Plans to make, and then to follow.

There is a journey. And I am on it.

However, I must remember: part of that journey includes tasting a bit of heaven from time to time. It is dangling my legs over a seawall with a Good Friend, watching the horizon together in companionable silence. It is enjoying My Creator’s presence, not for what I can learn from Him, or for what He can do for me—but simply because He is there, and I love Him, and He loves me.

And because it is just nice to share a sunset together.

Share with us: How do you find the time to enjoy God’s company?

Recent posts – Time Management Series: Taking Aim: Goal Series – Part I, Beginning With The End In Mi nd: Goal Series – Part II, The Right Things For The Right Reasons: Goal Series – Part III

Be Still and Know that I am God, by Lydia Floren

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Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

In the swirl and stress of the holidays, or just daily living, God often uses these 8 words to restore my soul.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

The simple acts of being and knowing, free us from the Twilight Zone of Anxiety, the Abyss of Never Enough.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Be.

Just be.
Be aware of being alive. Appreciate that you have a beating heart, and air to breathe.
Settle into the truth that
- You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
- You are wanted. Treasured. Valued. Loved.
- You are known and you are loved.

Be still.

Just stop. Rest. Take a breath. Or two. Be still.
Be still on the inside, as well as the outside.
Release all those thoughts swirling around in your head.
Take your mind off your responsibilities, your concerns, those things in your head that are nagging you.
Let go right now, and just be still.

And know.

Let truth sink in.
Be aware of what is real, and what is not.
What is beyond seeing and understanding—and is in the realm of just knowing.

Know that I

Know the Person who made you,
Who knows you better than you know yourself.
Who loves you with an everlasting love, which is in no way dependent on what you do or don’t do.
Who lives within you.
Who has your back.
Who has shown, and will show you how to live.
Who will never steer you wrong.
Who goes after you when you stray—deliberately or unintentionally–and brings you back to the path of life and joy.
Who restores your soul, leads you into the light and away from the darkness.
Who will never leave you or reject you.
Who keeps you safe—protects your identity, value, belonging and calling—for all eternity.

Know that I am God.

Know that this person–your heavenly father, your friend, your one and only guide in life, your creator—is God.

He is God.

He is

100% good.
The most powerful being in the universe.
Wise
Trustworthy
Present
Compassionate
Understanding
Forgiving
Non condemning
Full of life and joy
Available
Ready to show you a better way to live
Committed to walking with you on that way.

“Be Still and Know that I AM GOD.” Psalm 46:10

How has this truth changed your life? Please share with us!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

God Showing Off: The Master at work

The fall colors have been spectacular this year in Eau Claire.

As i was wandering the neighborhood taking picture after picture I thought:

God has really been showing off this year.

Showing off? No, not really.

Fall colors in Wisconsin—like spring flowers in South Carolina—are just napkin-doodles for The Master Artist.

God showing off? How ’bout

Angels singing in the air.

God inhabiting a human body.

And a world transformed.

Now that there is some serious artwork.How has He transformed you? Please share!

Does God Have Favorites?

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By Lydia Floren

I have a confession: It has always annoyed me when Jesus’ disciple, John, described himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.” When I see those words, my insecure, overachiever brain thinks like this:

Phase 1: Annoyance: “Boy, John really thought a lot of himself!”
Phase 2: Insecurity: “Does God have favorites? I thought He loved everybody. Does he love some people more than others? Where am I on his favorites list?”
Phase 3: Competition: “What makes John so special? Personally, I like Peter the best. He was one of the Big Three too, you know. And I’m not so bad either.”
Phase 4: Reality check: “You know, John didn’t call himself ‘The disciple Jesus loved MOST’, or ‘The ONLY disciple Jesus loved.’ He simply called himself ‘the disciple Jesus loved.’”

The truth takes awhile to work its way through my convoluted thought processes, but eventually I get it: John wasn’t proud of being loved by Jesus. He was awed by it. John had experienced Christ’s love so profoundly that it had become THE defining characteristic of his life. To John, Christ’s love was a magnificent gift, a bright light that obliterated all his faults and failings.

For example, In the gospel of John it is interesting to see what John didn’t say about himself. He didn’t identify himself by his

Importance: “John, one of the Big Three” (Peter, James and John), or
Role: the only disciple Jesus asked to care for His mother Mary, or
Occupation: “the Fisherman Disciple”, or
Family connection: John, a son of Zebede.
Accomplishments: the NYT bestselling author of 4 books in the Bible—yes, THE BIBLE.

John never said that he was “the disciple that loved Jesus,” although his life showed that he did love Him. John understood that even his ability to love was due to Christ’s love for him: “We love,” he pointed out in 1 John 4, “because He first loved us.”

I imagine John experienced Jesus’ love most profoundly when he was at his worst. John discovered that Jesus’ love did not waiver when he was imperfect, off track, or had his priorities mixed up. Jesus loved John just the same when he…

Cowered in the boat while his buddy, Peter, climbed out and walked on water.
Tried to manage things, like shooing the kids away, or sending the 5000 to scavenge for supper.
Stood by while his helicopter-mother jockeyed for a better position for him in heaven.
Conked out – in spite of Jesus’ plea to stay awake and pray – in Jesus’ greatest hour of need.
Hightailed it, when Jesus was arrested, and when they tore his clothes off while chasing him, he kept on running naked.

In his darkest times, John could understand that Jesus’ love was a gift with no strings attached: it had nothing to do with his performance, and everything to do with God’s grace. Jesus loves us the same way. God’s love has nothing to do with our performance, and everything to do with God’s grace. His love is as constant as the sun’s rise. So wherever you are – at your “best,” or at your worst, or somewhere in between – claim this truth by saying today: “I am the disciple Jesus loves.”

Does God have favorites? Of course He does. We are each His favorite.

The steadfast love of the Lord never changes. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, O God. Lamentations 3:22-23

What about you? When do you experience the love of God?

The Kindness of God’s Acceptance

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God’s acceptance of me boggles my mind, when I think about it.

Too often, I don’t – think about it, I mean. Instead, I hide from myself,or others, or Him. Yet hiding doesn’t change reality. No matter where I hide, He is there, with His arms open wide to me. He is fully aware of my faults and failings, and loves me lavishly in the middle of them. (BTW, one of the best ways to hide from yourself or God is to stay too busy.)

In order to receive the full measure of God’s acceptance, I must stop each day and remember that God knows my every thought before it becomes a word or an action, and is intimately acquainted with all my habits.

This is gritty reality. He accepts me knowing every unkind word I have uttered, every selfish act I have done, or will do. Even more daunting, God accepts me knowing the ugliness of the motives behind some of my words and actions, those things often hidden from others. He accepts me with my petulance, pride, manipulation, greed, impatience, annoyance. It boggles the mind.

You would think this would be depressing, but in truth, it is quite the opposite.

The understanding that finally someone knows me completely and loves me unconditionally, empowers me to accept myself with all my faults and failings, an to give my true self to Him each day, and allow Him to make me whole once again.

I can start each day:

Celebrating who I am – His precious child, made perfect by Him.
Rejoicing where I am – on His path to growth and wholeness, with Him showing me the way.
Embracing what I am called to do – love Him, others and myself – in the unique way He created me.

How are you starting your days? enclosedbehindbefore_lg

By Lydia Floren

The Kindness of Receiving

One of the kindest things I can do

with my life, is to choose to receive the love of God everyday. I know that seems contradictory, but just hear me out:

Taking the time each morning to receive God’s love, frees me to be the person I am meant to be. It allows me to shed

insecurities,
selfishness,
restlessness,
unforgiveness, and
self-condemnation.

Being loved also energizes me. It moves me to

love My Heavenly Father well.
love my neighbor better.
love myself more.

And, as I live in my belovedness, I can’t help but act on it. Experiencing God’s love ignites a fire in me to love those around me, and to act kindly towards others (for more about this, read Breathing In!). This may be in the form of a smile, a shared joke, a word of encouragement, a listening ear, a gift (delivered in secret, if possible), or a note.

Heart-Kindness

But even these aren’t the most far-reaching acts of kindness I can perform. The most precious acts of kindness are heart-kindnesses – decisions of the will. Heart-kindnesses can look like

withholding judgment,
giving grace,
forgiving,
letting go,
or apologizing.

Heart-kindnesses shape my attitude, my outlook on life. The more heart-kindnesses I choose to do, the more profoundly my outlook on life is transformed. And a joyful attitude is the most profound kindness I can give to the world. It affects every word I say and action I do.

The Fruit of the Spirit named “Kindness” will be manifested in my life only to the degree that I allow God’s love to move through me, prompting me to heart-kindnesses, transforming my attitude, and moving me to acts of service.

Has someone been particularly kind to you recently? We’d love to hear from you!

By Lydia Floren

Photo by procsilas

The Kindness of God, by Lydia Floren

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ocean pray photo romans 2 4 When we don’t have prayers answered in the way we would like, particularly the ones that start with, “Lord give me….”, it may be because God knows what we desire is not good for us. At least not right now. Yet, when we don’t hear a “yes” we are tempted to believe God is holding out on us, instead of protecting us. Our stubborn hearts say, “Fine, you don’t want to give me this, so I will just get it for myself.” And we strike out on our own.

Good Gifts

When we follow this pattern, we move away from our growing understanding of God’s goodness. We forget that God DELIGHTS to give good gifts to His children. HE LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to give good gifts to His children. He does not try to spoil our fun. He tries to protect us, give us what we can handle, show us the way. He wants MORE for us, not less. He doesn’t want us to settle for the mediocre, when He is planning “fantastic” for just around the corner. When we choose our way over God’s, we are choosing to settle for less than His best, less than wonderful.

God’s leading is thoughtful, and it is kind.

He wants us to avoid the dangers that lurk beneath the surface of superficial satisfaction. He wants to keep us from trading true riches for false promises. But in order to receive the blessings He so much wants to give us, we must choose to follow His way, His timing, His wisdom. We must choose to say no to the enslavement of our impulses, and accept the growing freedom that comes from saying yes to His leading.

We must remember and believe that God is good.

Daily we need to turn back as quickly as possible, and remind ourselves again that every step God leads us to take, is one He has chosen because He loves us, and wants the very best for us. When we are off track, the kindest thing God can do for us is to lead us back to following Him.

Repentance is turning away from our own way of doing things, and turning back to reliance on God’s leading. It is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance.

What thoughts do you have? Please leave them below!

Photo by honorbound

Indescribable Joy

Joy = Love + Laughter

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Everyone loves to laugh. Why is that?

Laughter is infectious. If you are around someone who is bent over laughing (and also maybe about to pee their pants if they are a certain age), you immediately smile. And if they keep on laughing, even if they don’t say a word, you start to laugh with them, and try to get their attention to find out what is so funny, so you can share the joke.

Laughter, like a good cry, is soul cleansing – but unlike tears, laughter doesn’t usually leave you exhausted or melancholy. On the contrary, it is invigorating.

Laughter is bright. Not in an ethereal-lumninous-sort of way, but in a blinding-flash-of-light kind of way. In fact, you could say

Laughter is audible sunshine.

Laughter is refreshing, especially when someone is laughing at themselves. It reminds you not to take yourself too seriously.

Laughter is a game changer. When your sense of humor is tickled, and you start to laugh, whatever foul mood, or pity party, you might be experiencing tends to evaporate.

Laughter is a gift from God. Think about it: God invented laughter, just as He did everything else we know and experience. He programmed us each with our funny-o-meter. And here’s an interesting concept: God laughs.

God laughs? Of course He does. In fact, I bet He laughs a lot. No one could create some of the amazing quirky creatures in our world without a lively sense of humor. He surely chuckles, as any loving parent would, at the many funny things we say and do. And He must certainly laugh – in that deep satisfied way – when his children step into joy.

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11 NASB

Joy is the hallmark of a person who lives in God’s presence. Such a person loves. And smiles. And laughs.

You might say

Joy = Love + Laughter.

A Prayer for the New Year, by Lydia Floren

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A Prayer for the New Year

by Lydia Floren

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Lord, thank you for loving me through the words and actions of those around me. Thank you for loving me when you have sent someone to:

Lend a hand with a car stuck in snow.
Listen to a triumph or heartache.
Bring a meal.
Give an unexpected gift.
Write a message of hope.
Speak encouragement.
Give a hug.
Share a smile.

Thank you that we each have something to give, something that has been given to us, and that we each give to others in our own unique way.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Tune and polish me, and then play me with your Maestro’s touch. Lift a melody of your love through me, for those who cross my path.

Belovedlove

Category Archives: Finding God’s Love

Sharing a sunset. Enjoying the presence of God.

Be Still and Know that I am God, by Lydia Floren

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Be.

Be still.

And know.

Know that I

Know that I am God.

He is God.

God Showing Off: The Master at work

The fall colors have been spectacular this year in Eau Claire.

Does God Have Favorites?

The Kindness of God’s Acceptance

God’s acceptance of me boggles my mind, when I think about it.

You would think this would be depressing, but in truth, it is quite the opposite.

The Kindness of Receiving

One of the kindest things I can do

Heart-Kindness

The Kindness of God, by Lydia Floren

Good Gifts

God’s leading is thoughtful, and it is kind.

Indescribable Joy

Joy = Love + Laughter

A Prayer for the New Year, by Lydia Floren

A Prayer for the New Year

by Lydia Floren

Sarah McLachlan – “Prayer of St. Francis”