WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

http:www.facebook.com/loveysDiaryI had the privilege of attending a wonderful lunch today.  The lunch was a fundraiser for a local Young Lives chapter.  This group is a division, I think, of Young Life that mentors to young, unwed, high school girls.  These young women are remarkable.  They come to this group, many from the most devastating situations and difficult home and/or personal situations, with no where to go or no one to look to.  Here, they're shown unconditional love, acceptance and the One who can meet all their needs and provide the hope they need for a future  - a future already planned in advance for them from the beginning of time.  These young women are the Hagar's of our day.  Women with children born out of wedlock and often looked down on, despised, mocked and turned away.  Women who are left with children to care for alone.  Young women who are cast out but found by their Redeemer who "sees them" where they are at their lowest point.

I guess many of us feel as Hagar did at one point.  Though we may not have an illegitimate child, we are in the position of feeling alone, cast out, ridiculed and despised because in our sinfulness, we failed to trust God and tried to do things in our own way and in our own timing.  We too have had haughty attitudes, despised another, mocked another and even hated in our hearts.  We have been Hagars at some point.  We have hit our Hagar moment.

What is your name right now?  Is it Hagar?  How are you feeling?  Did you know that someONE sees you right where you are?

I'm thankful HE has seen me

STUFFING AND SQUEAKERS

http://facebook.comWell, he's done it again!  We bought Hershey a new stuffed toy for Christmas and he has totally destroyed it!  He LOVES stuffed toys....especially those with "squeakers" in them.  He's had many, many of them.  And with each one, he has meticulously managed to open each one, remove the stuffing all over the house over the period of several days (I guess to give me the "pleasure" of having white carpet for a LONG time) and remove the "squeaker" from it, carrying the "squeaker" around in his mouth like a prize bird he had just caught!  After chewing on the squeaker for a period of a day, he manages to leave plastic chunks in areas I won't even talk about and then throws up in his bed at night. 

Well....his new Christmas toy, a BEAUTIFUL stuffed Baylor Bone was no different.  And I had managed to keep it so well hidden in the Christmas tree from him until Christmas day.  He didn't start on it right away.  But this past week....he went to town.  I have picked up stuffing ALL WEEK LONG!  Then...last night...THE SQUEAKER!  I saw it in his mouth and grabbed it before he could....well, you know.  I thought I was pretty smart.  Yep...that's me...pretty smart all right.  Yep...pretty smart....and who's the one who GAVE him the stuffed bone??????  Well, you can guess where that beautiful Baylor bone is now.

But aren't we like Hershey?  We take the beautiful things God gives us and yank the stuffing right out of them.  The fluff that God put in it to make it beautiful for us, we somehow seem to destroy or remove.  How often in our complaints and selfishness do we flatten the beauty of the gifts God gives us?  Then, we take the "squeaker", the "joy" he puts inside, and rip it out until there is nothing left.

I'm so thankful God is not like us...he doesn't throw it or us away like I do.  God restores, renews, loves us and returns us back to a state of rightness with Him.  He continues to shower us with His gifts and teaches us to to lovingly care for them and those around us.

Thank you Father for loving us enough to teach us the joy in the gifts you provide.

SLEEPYHEAD

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Hershey just cracks me up! I go to wake him in the mornings to let him out and he can hardly wake up. I've never known a dog that has such a hard time waking up. I don't know why...he just does. He's such a sleepyhead. I open his crate door and he slooooooowly comes out.....strrrrreeeeeetches, leeeeeeeeeans into me and just stands there, like he needs something to lean on until he can get his bearings. Then he gives this HUGE yawn, looks up....and BAM! He's awake! Don't get it. One minute half asleep....the next, BAM! Awake. Blows my mind.

Are people really different? I guess I am. And of course, here I am this morning, as I have the past few mornings, awake since 3:00 am. MAN! I hate these mornings. I am NOT an early bird, though I usually get up early. But its not my favorite time of day. Like Hershey.....I'm slow to wake up. And when it do finally awake...,it is NOT a BAM! It is more like a....Oh jeeee whiz......do I really HAVE TO ???????

However, I have found in these times when I can't sleep and end up getting up at these, as other people call them, "ungodly" times of the morning, they are really my "Godly" times of the morning. It is in these wee hours of the morning, when the house is soooo quiet, soooo still, no one to interrupt me, no Hershey bounding about, no barking, nothing,,,,that I get to meet and hear my Lord. It is in these "Godly" times of the morning that I can really listen, without interruption, without phones, without all the other stuff, with a clear mind and with only God's Words.

So today....I'm thankful for those days I can't sleep and God wakes me up...opens the cage I sleep in. Encourages me to get up, come out, snuggle up to Him, listen and visit.

Good morning sleepyhead!

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

http://facebook.com  I've already introduce you to our new puppy.  Yep, Hershey...our chocolate labradoodle.  Yes, he's adorable.  He's lovable, friendly, funny and the cutest dog on earth.  I know, I know....EVERYONE says that about their dog.  However, it's really true about Hershey!  He's chocolate and I could just eat him up!

The thing about Hershey is that he is the most social dog I know.  He loves people.  ALL people.  Doesn't matter who they are.  I thought, perhaps, it was just me, and MAYBE, Jimmy.  But no...he loves ALL people.  And he desperately wants ALL people to love him.  He even SMILES at people.  You can tell by the last picture I posted.  He's a HOOT!  Well....except for those times when he gets so excited that he "relieves" himself as he bounces around greeting someone. ( Most don't think that is very charming).  But Hershey can't help himself....he is so jealous for other's love.  He loves them so that he wants their love too. 

The fact is, when people talk about man's best friend, I truly believe they are talking about Hershey.  They guy is just a knock out of a friend.  He's all over you with kisses and fun!  When you are down...he makes you laugh.  When you need to exercise and don't want to ....he's there pushing to walk.  When you have too much on your plate and are feeling guilty for over indulging...he's there begging to take the hit for you and take it under the table.  When you are cooking and drop stuff on the floor...he's there cleaning for you (what a champ)!  If you leave food on the table, he'll clean the table for you.  (now really, do your children do that?)  And when the grandchildren come.....he BABYSITS!!!!!!  WOW!  When you are in bed and cold, he's there to keep you feet warm.  They guy just does it ALL!  MAN'S BEST FRIEND!

However, there is someONE else who we might consider even more than my Hershey as man's best friend.  SomeONE who is just as social in His relationships with those he cares for.  SomeONE who not only loves me, but loves everyone and wants everyone to love Him.  SomeONE who loves people so much that He is jealous for their love.  SomeONE who brings us joy in times of sadness, pushes us to be our best when we want to go otherwise.  SomeONE who doesn't want us to carry around the guilt, so took the hit for us on the cross.  SomeONE who http:www.facebook.com/loveysdiarycleans up our messes when we are trying to follow His recipe for life.  SomeONE who babysits our families when we turn them over to Him and leave them in His hands.  Someone who holds us in His arms and comforts us and warms us in the glow of His presence.  Man's Best Friend.  SomeONE...Our Lord Jesus Christ!

ROCKING

http.//facebook.comWe have a rather new puppy.  His name is Hershey.  Hershey is a year old, and is still in the "chew" stage of his "toddler" years.  If you want proof...just look at the skirt of the chairs in the loft upstairs in our home.  For some reason, Hershey decided the skirt on one of those chairs was VERY tasty!

Those two chairs are really the most comfy chairs in our home.  My husband and I LOVE to sit in them to watch movies.  He says we need to have them recovered.  I hate to do that because they just wont be the same...you know how that goes.  They just won't "feel" the same.  The original fabric felt so good and the chair cushions were "just right".  So....what do I do?  The question begs...do I look for new chairs or do I recover?

If I look for new chairs, I would love to get those neat "glider/rockers", like they have in baby rooms.  You know...they are soooooo smooth and soft.  There is something about sitting in them that just puts you to sleep.  You just sigh when you sit down in one of them.  They are plush and soft and they rock and swing and turn and make you feel all kinds of good!  Yes...perhaps that is the answer.

Don't you wish there were "gliders/rockers" for things that could make you feel like that at those times in your life when you are down or even those times of despair?  Those times of loneliness, when you feel all alone, desperate, no where to turn and no one to turn to.  No one who understands and you don't know what to do next or how to "fix" what is going wrong?

I was studying Genesis this week, where Hagar had run off from Abraham and Sarah and was in the desert.  She was alone and pregnant with Abraham's son Ishmael.  She fled Sarah, who was angry with her.  She was desperate, no food, no money, no family, no help and no one to turn to.  BUT....God met her were she was....God "saw her".  And when God spoke to Hagar....it was like He "rocked" her in His arms and made all things right.  He spoke truth to her, told her what to do, told her what would happen and told her to go back to Abraham and Sarah and obey.  He brought peace and joy to Hagar.  He cared for her.  God was her "glider", her "ahhhhhhh", when all the world seemed right, because He was there in the center.

I had that experience once.  I was alone, pregnant, desperate, in despair and felt as if no one understood or cared.  God "saw me" in my despair and God actually "rocked" me!  It's true....it was like rocking/gliding in one of those baby rockers.  He made all things right by His peace and joy, truth and mercy.  It was as if He was rocking me and holding me "under His wing and close to His heart."

Have you been rocked recently?  If not.....I know someONE who is waiting with open arms.