Hero

6 months ago yesterday, an American Hero gave the ultimate sacrifice. I had the honor of serving his family as their Casualty Assistance Officer. My Hero left behind a 21 year old wife and 18 month old daughter as well as a loving mother, father, sister and brother.  I laughed and cried with my new family as I did my best to ensure they had all of the available resources afforded to them, but no matter how much help I brought, it would never bring back their Hero.  He knew the risks and faced them anyway. I wear my bracelet to remember this Hero in my heart always.  May we never forget.


As I reflect on the sacrifice of My Hero, I can’t help but think about the fact that we are not guaranteed another day, we may not have a tomorrow. If you knew that tomorrow you would face your maker what would you do differently?  What if you would face Him in a month, or a year? Would you spend that year loving your neighbor? Would you spend more time in prayer? Would you finally find a church to be active in?

James 4:13-17 13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

This very same reflection changed my life the day after the twin towers fell on 9/11.  I realized that my number could come up Any day and I wasn't going to make excuses for living for God when I was out of college or when I had more time or I got married anymore. I turned my heart over to Him on September 12, 2001. Now I could never go back for He is faithful!

Reflection Question: What excuse would you make to God for not giving Him your all if you met Him today? How are you going to stop procrastinating TODAY?

**This Blog Entry is posted in Honor of ALL Gold Star Family Members**

Keep Your Eye on the ..... Quarterback

One fall afternoon at a little league football game, a young boy named Josh was playing defense. He was really good at his job of tackling the quarterback. Too good. The other team double teamed Josh, and he was still getting through. One of the blockers was obviously getting frustrated and on the next play he grabbed Josh’s face-mask and took him down. If you know anything about football, you know that grabbing a face-mask is not only against the rules but dangerous.  Josh was angry. He ran over and told his coach what happened, and the coach calmed him down and said “Josh, don’t worry, the ref will catch it next time.”

On the next play, the offensive lineman did the very same thing. He grabbed Josh’s face-mask and threw him down... still no call from the ref. Josh was furious! He ran back to the sideline and asked the coach what to do... same response from Coach. “Josh, just keep doing your job, the ref will call it.” Josh was more than visibly agitated at this time, and as he ran back on the field he told the ref that he better be watching number 77 because the offensive lineman keeps grabbing his face-mask.

Before the next play was run, Josh’s dad said to the coach, “I’ve seen that look before; this isn’t going to go well.” Sure thing, during the next play, the offensive lineman went to grab Josh’s face-mask, but this time Josh was more than ready for his revenge. He picked number 77 up and dropped him on the field, not legal. Then he proceeded to grab the kid’s pads and drive him into the field over and over again, definitely not legal!  You can believe that the ref caught that one.  The worst part of all, was that if Josh would have look up for a second, and not focused solely on his revenge, he would have seen that the quarterback was only 2 feet away!! The prize, the goal, the whole reason Josh was there was so close but he was so focused on revenge and blinded to the fact that his prize was so close.

Don’t we do this all the time?  Our prize is Jesus and God is our referee. God doesn’t always make the call right away, but it’s His timing.  Sometimes he lets things happen to build our character. Sometimes it’s to build theirs. And sometimes we have no idea why he doesn't make the call right away. Often we tend to focus all our time on something that is just in our way of Jesus -- our prize. We focus on the road block and get caught up with moving the entire road block in stead of going around it and focusing on the goal destination ahead.

Philippians 3:12-14- 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Reflection Question: Where are you trying to get revenge that is blocking you from seeing the prize? 


Story borrowed with permission from Charles Martin

Mean Girl

From the beginning of time we were selfish.  Eve wanted to “be like God” so she ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed his brother Abel, not because Abel did anything to Cain, but because God found Abel’s sacrifice to be worthy of His blessing and He found Cain’s to be lacking (Genesis 4).  He was jealous of his brother’s good favor.

Why do I do this? I am frustrated with something... maybe something from work, or some person who cut me off while I was driving. The next thing I know I’m yelling at my kids because they’re laughing too loud (yes, laughing... Really laughing?!?) or I’m being snappy or critical of my husband for something he’s done that is helpful for the family!! Ugh!

I want TO LOVE!

1 Cor 13:4-8
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  8Love never fails.

I want to be able to say “Loren is patient and kind; she is not self-seeking, easily angered, rude and keeps no record of wrongs”. I can’t say that about myself. Right now I feel more like “Loren is impatient and mean; she is selfish, easily angered, rude and holds a grudge.” So where does that come from? Why do I do these things and feel this way? How do I combat this?  

We are in a spiritual war for our hearts everyday. Our decisions and actions point to the condition of our hearts. We have the ability to choose which way our hearts are going to point. I can pray and trust God to change my heart to be of love, like His.

Reflection Question: Are you going to let the devil control your heart or are you going to give it over to God?

I Found HOPE Today!

I had some extra time for lunch and since I didn't get to do my devotional in the morning, work gets in the way sometimes, I set off for some time alone.  I decided I was feeling a little bloggy. I had no logical reason for bypassing my usual "God Spot" of Starbucks to tryout Greenbeans Coffee Shop for THIS "God Time". They had a Greenbeans at my base in Iraq, and that was a wonderful haven for escaping reality for me then, but I still prefer my Starbucks now that I'm stateside.


When I got to the register for my Chai I noticed the girl's name-tag said "Hope" which made me smile since I was there to spend time with the Lord of Hope, AND my Blog's name is Overflow with Hope. :)  I ended up writing and publishing my last blog post right from my iPhone. Hope was kind enough to let me take a picture of her name-tag to include with this post.

We can find Hope anywhere! But really, I think that God wanted to send ME some specific encouragement. He wanted to send me a present in the way only He can. God gives us these little gifts because, like us, he likes to be romantic. Most people just aren't observant enough to receive them and be thankful to the giver. I have been reading "Captivating" by John & Staci Eldridge and during one of the chapters John talks about him going to the beach and God giving him the gift of seeing a whale. John is wild and adventurous and a whale is exactly the gift John would have wanted. He told his wife Staci about it and she asked God for her own whale.  God, in his infinitely love, didn't give Staci a whale that day... He brought her to find bunches of Starfish! Much more Staci's style, gentle, peaceful and lovely. He is so good! He calls to our very own hearts. I literally asked God for MY whale and he gave me HOPE.

Reflection question: What romantic gifts have you received this week that you have yet to thank the lover of your soul for?

How Do You Describe God?

How would YOU describe God? What kind of adjectives come to mind? Go on, really think about it for a minute before you continue reading. I already know what I think.





Most people think of God as a man. Man was created in God's image right? So calling God Him and thinking about Him in
masculine terms just seems to go hand in hand. How would you describe a man then? As strong? Confident? What about provider and protector? Yes yes yes! My God is all those things!

But I think God is more! "He made them in His image...male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27) Let's think now about how you would describe a woman. As compassionate? Nurturing? Would you even say romantic? Adventurous and beautiful?

Wait just one second, assuming you're following me here and that maybe you can agree, how many of you had beautiful in your original descriptive words about God?

It just makes sense though doesn't it? What about that sunset or the amazing colors the leaves make before they fall? All stunningly beautiful. That wonderful beach haven that calms your soul, coincidence? Beauty is so inherently God and so inherently feminine.

A woman knows she yearns to bring beauty to this world, as does God.


Reflection question: How are you misconstruing God in your mind? Who is He really?

Great Expectations

I tend to pray for things I already expect to come true. What kind of faith is that?  I want to have Great Expectations and therefore pray for big powerful things to a big powerful God.  Was he not the one who said “let there be light” and there was light?  Why then do I pray to get to work on time instead of an end to world hunger, with a focus on how I, myself, can make a difference.  Sure I give my $10 a month to feed starving children in Africa... but what does that mean?  

Do you know how big a mustard seed is? About 1-2mm! Yeah, it’s like one of the tiniest seeds. If I have faith the size of one of the tiniest seed available “I can say to that mountain, move, and it will move” (Matthew 17). Really! Move a mountain? Wow, how can I have that kind of faith?!?

I also read a wonderful explanation this week about this parable.  Beth Moore in "Believing God", told it this way, before Jesus told his disciples that they could move that mountain, they all climbed up the mountain to see Him transfigured. So it is also for us who put our faith in Him; if we ask God to move the mountain and it won’t move, assume that Christ wants you to climb that mountain instead and see Him transfigured. I don’t know which is more amazing! To see a mountain move or to see Christ transfigured!

Reflection Question: Are you prepared for mountains to be moved? 

Horse and Buggy

There I was speeding along a back road trying to get where I was going when WHAM out of nowhere I have to slam on my brakes for an Amish family trotting along on my road with their horse and buggy going just as slow as you can imagine. As soon as it's safe, I speed past, a little annoyed I might add, just to have to do the same thing at least 10 more times along this road.  Each time about a minute or two apart and each time I think that I MUST have passed the last one. Good gosh how many Amish people could live in this area? And are ALL of them out right now?!? 

I was learning about Mary and Martha this week also and the two seemed so tied together.  Here Martha is preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples, whom She invited over I might add, and her sister Mary, of all people, is just sitting there doing nothing but listening to the conversation. Not helping at all. And Martha gets fed up, and says (paraphrased) "Jesus, can't you make Mary come help me?" and Jesus in his infinite wisdom says (also paraphrased) "Martha, Mary has figured out how to slow down and enjoy this life I've given her and she's enjoying time with the Word of God (aka me, Jesus) and I'm not going to make her start hurrying up and just do do doing all the time." ~at least... that's how I read it ;) Check out Luke 10:28-42 for reference.

So hmmm, maybe the Amish people had it right in some ways.  Maybe they were not annoyed as I was trying to just get where I was going. Maybe they were just enjoying where they were while they were there.  And who says it was my road anyway?  I wanted them to get out of my way, but all my rushing about probably threw up some dust and rocks at them.  How selfish of me. 

How often do the busy things of life become the "important things" just because they're the most urgent, not because they are truly the most important?  And how often do we ignore the truly important things just because they're not screaming at us with urgency?

Reflection Question: What is important in your life that has been pushed aside by the urgent things in your life? What are you going to do to change that?