Tag Archives: Know What is True

Gently

Gently

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by Lydia Floren

I’ve been avoiding God again. Well, to be honest, I’ve mostly been avoiding myself – what I might find when I slow down and get still enough to pay attention. Frankly, I don’t want to see the failure. The raw need. The fear. I skirt the edges of these feelings, afraid that, if I face them head on, I will get lost in depression and discouragement.

So, I stay busy. And keep God at arm’s length. But this is not a good long term plan. God is with me, within me, gently calling my name, ready to hear my concerns. I can’t ignore Him. And I miss Him.

So here I am, in the middle of the night, jolted awake by a bad dream. I reach for His comforting presence, before I remember not to. His kindness is startling. Gently He soothes. Embraces. Lifts away my burdens. Gently, He heals past wounds, still raw, gives insight into my pain, and offers perspective – on present events, and past ones.

Gently, He shares truth where I see lies. Gently, He reminds me that He is 100% good, and that I am 100% safe: nothing and no one can touch my identity, value, belonging and calling.

God meets me where I am. And ever so gently, ever so faithfully, He leads me out of my mess, and back into His joy.

He leads me out of my mess and back into His joy.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

The Lord is my Shepherd

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the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want

The Lord is my Shepherd

by Lydia Floren

This week’s blog is the first in of a series of pictoral blogs on Psalm 23. Take a moment to think about this phrase this week.  What does it mean for THE lord to be your shepherd?  What pictures or scenes make you think of the phrase “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”?  

Snap a picture, or jot a few words down, and share it with the rest of us.  It’s easy–simply post it on the Belovedlove Facebook page. (with photos, if you have time include a few words about your photo, such as why you chose it, or where you took it.)

Everyone’s eye is so different, and God speaks to each of us in special ways!  Thank you for sharing part of your world with the rest of us!

Lydia

I thank God in all my remembrance of you!

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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

Related Posts: No Condemnation

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?

 

Facing My Failures, Embracing God’s Grace

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God's love reaches into me warming me like hot tea - peace - he restores my soulIt’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?Hebrews 4:16 let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence

2 corinthians 2:19 my grace is sufficient for you

Psalm 23:3 he restores my soul

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