Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I drank the Kool-Aid
You can now visit me at www.dawnlovitt.wordpress.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I had another dream

Friday, April 23, 2010
Surrender....Not just a Cheap Trick song.
Dang! I AM a human being!
You see, my first mistake has been the fact that I believed that the descriptive word "difficult" or "strained" or "bad" that I put in front of the word "relationship" was a SHARED belief between me and the other party.
My second mistake...maybe there is no heirarchy or order of mistakes...my OTHER mistake was my timing in my efforts to "repair" or "reconcile" this relationship. Just because I thought the timing seemed appropriate does not mean that it WAS APPROPRIATE for that other person. Looking back at all this, that person has every reason to think, say, believe that I am a stark raving LUNATIC. That person did not know that I had been having "nudges" I believed were urging me to move toward "fixing" the relationship. For all I know, that person was able to put the past in the past and I am digging up corpses. To that person I look like an insane mechanic that is changing the oil on a car that just had it's oil changed and in the process replaces oil with transmission fluid and therefore creates a NEW (and/or worse) problem.
My big DING! though...this is what hit me...maybe all this time, these "nudges" I was feeling were more about NOT taking action. These nudges were more about me realizing that this is beyond MY control and that I should turn it over to GOD and pray...."Search me O God"...SURRENDER. This is bigger than me. I do not have the power to change anything or anyone other than ME.
(Trite cliche: Hindsight is 20/20.) Sometimes in my efforts to "be (or do) better" I need to slow down and examine the possible outcomes. (Glib response: Haste makes waste)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Three small words. One huge statement.
...from a gentleman going from A-Z under the heading of "churches" in the phone book. He quit drugs 2 years ago and is now suffering from cardiac sudden death syndrome and is awaiting his disability hearing. He and his wife of 17 years are facing eviction next week and his vehicle (a $150 beater that someone gave him) was totalled this past week. They have no income. He has nothing of value except the "$3000 dog" that someone gave him.
We (our church) is not in a place to solve his problem and part of my job - with the hope of finding help and the ability to resource them - is sometimes asking hard questions. After hitting many brick walls, it occasionally (more often these days) comes to the point where I have to ask the hardest ones:
Many people divert attention to the care of their pets. They love them and can't imagine sending them to the humane society where they could be euthanized or to a refuge organization where they will never get them back.
I have pets. I love them. If it came to it, would I give them up and take my family to a shelter?
I have never been in that place. I don't know the turmoil in the heart and mind of a person in this situation that causes this to be a tough decision.
It's hard being the voice of reality sometimes. It rips at my heart to have to tell someone that I can't help them. The only thing I can do is pray. This situation is beyond me.
I am seeing an increase in calls for assistance and this one made my heart hurt. I know, it could have been someone trying to "scam" the church. But I choose not to be jaded and err on the side of mercy.
So often people wait until the situation is past the point of repair before seeking help. Three small words, so hard to speak.
"I need help."
Monday, April 19, 2010
I had a dream

Saturday, April 17, 2010
Finding peace in 21 words
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
...To Return to Facebook...or not.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Historical Human Behavior, Hot Guys at the Gym, and Honoring God and Husband…

I have always found a nicely defined upper body an attractive trait on a man. Physically, it was always the first thing I noticed when spying a prospect from afar. . I am a girl who appreciates a nicely defined arm…not Mr. Universe over inflated…nicely muscled, proportion is important. That is the historical data.
Seconds later…Nice Torso Revisited steps up to the counter (WHAT THE? The gym I go to has not before had a plethora of eye candy!) I am distracted yet again and then my eyes travel North of said torso and the face is cute and has a great smile! COME ON! At this point, I turn to my husband and I know - that he saw - me seeing - Mr. Revisited and so, I closed my eyes and focused on whatever P!nk was singing and finished my workout blind.
I kept thinking about the reason I was at the gym. Is it because I want to be healthy and get into shape? Yes, but also, there will always be that young girl that lives inside my head who can remember the looks on the faces of and hoots of excitement from all the boys when one of the boys in 6th grade brought in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition – 1981 with Christie Brinkley on the cover…yeah, that one, and thinking that I need to look like that someday and struggling ever since then and never EVER reaching that ideal.
I do not need my husband comparing himself to these guys and wondering if he measures up. He far exceeds them! How often have we said “married not buried” or “look but don’t touch” It is the attitude that one small thought cannot POSSIBLY lead to one small step, or lead to another step, or a leap and then the next thing you know…you are not happy with what you have.
Am I saying that comparison shopping leads to unhappiness in your marriage or even infidelity? No, yes, maybe. It all depends on the situation I guess. For me, I don’t think that it is God honoring for me to be looking at these other men, not to mention whether or not it is honoring my husband, even though I believe myself to have the best marriage EVER. This is not about that. I don’t want my husband to doubt that I am happy with him. That I love him and am attracted to him as he is; that he does not have to be any version of “ideal” other than his current self.
but Jesus holds us to a higher standard: Matthew 5:27-30
The NIV versions states it this way:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'a]">[a] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
I like the way The Message translates the same verse:
27-28"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29-30"Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
the jerk
During the planning of a large event here at the church, I felt like the lives of we women playing significant roles in pulling off this event were either under attack or being over taxed. I won't get into those details here...don't want the jerk (that is what I call, Satan, Lucifer, the devil...whatever...I call him the jerk - no capital letters.) reveling in any glory.
However, I will share this, since I am the only one this is affecting. The other day my husband was talking about an issue I have with one of my elbows and I told him that it has not been bothering me in the way that it had in the past. It used to hurt really bad after I had been sleeping and then just ache, all the time and if I used it for anything it went from ache to PAIN. Well, for a few months, I had not felt that pain after waking or the ache unless I really overused it, and I had learned how to use it to a certain point and then let it rest.
Well, let me tell you, no sooner had I said those words...the next evening I awoke from a little early evening nap with my elbow in excruciatingly familiar pain and since then...the old ache is back and it makes me wonder...
the jerk
Just venting.
1 Peter 5: 8-11 (Message) Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.
Flickr
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I drank the Kool-Aid
You can now visit me at www.dawnlovitt.wordpress.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I had another dream

Friday, April 23, 2010
Surrender....Not just a Cheap Trick song.
Dang! I AM a human being!
You see, my first mistake has been the fact that I believed that the descriptive word "difficult" or "strained" or "bad" that I put in front of the word "relationship" was a SHARED belief between me and the other party.
My second mistake...maybe there is no heirarchy or order of mistakes...my OTHER mistake was my timing in my efforts to "repair" or "reconcile" this relationship. Just because I thought the timing seemed appropriate does not mean that it WAS APPROPRIATE for that other person. Looking back at all this, that person has every reason to think, say, believe that I am a stark raving LUNATIC. That person did not know that I had been having "nudges" I believed were urging me to move toward "fixing" the relationship. For all I know, that person was able to put the past in the past and I am digging up corpses. To that person I look like an insane mechanic that is changing the oil on a car that just had it's oil changed and in the process replaces oil with transmission fluid and therefore creates a NEW (and/or worse) problem.
My big DING! though...this is what hit me...maybe all this time, these "nudges" I was feeling were more about NOT taking action. These nudges were more about me realizing that this is beyond MY control and that I should turn it over to GOD and pray...."Search me O God"...SURRENDER. This is bigger than me. I do not have the power to change anything or anyone other than ME.
(Trite cliche: Hindsight is 20/20.) Sometimes in my efforts to "be (or do) better" I need to slow down and examine the possible outcomes. (Glib response: Haste makes waste)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Three small words. One huge statement.
...from a gentleman going from A-Z under the heading of "churches" in the phone book. He quit drugs 2 years ago and is now suffering from cardiac sudden death syndrome and is awaiting his disability hearing. He and his wife of 17 years are facing eviction next week and his vehicle (a $150 beater that someone gave him) was totalled this past week. They have no income. He has nothing of value except the "$3000 dog" that someone gave him.
We (our church) is not in a place to solve his problem and part of my job - with the hope of finding help and the ability to resource them - is sometimes asking hard questions. After hitting many brick walls, it occasionally (more often these days) comes to the point where I have to ask the hardest ones:
Many people divert attention to the care of their pets. They love them and can't imagine sending them to the humane society where they could be euthanized or to a refuge organization where they will never get them back.
I have pets. I love them. If it came to it, would I give them up and take my family to a shelter?
I have never been in that place. I don't know the turmoil in the heart and mind of a person in this situation that causes this to be a tough decision.
It's hard being the voice of reality sometimes. It rips at my heart to have to tell someone that I can't help them. The only thing I can do is pray. This situation is beyond me.
I am seeing an increase in calls for assistance and this one made my heart hurt. I know, it could have been someone trying to "scam" the church. But I choose not to be jaded and err on the side of mercy.
So often people wait until the situation is past the point of repair before seeking help. Three small words, so hard to speak.
"I need help."
Monday, April 19, 2010
I had a dream

Saturday, April 17, 2010
Finding peace in 21 words
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
...To Return to Facebook...or not.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Historical Human Behavior, Hot Guys at the Gym, and Honoring God and Husband…

I have always found a nicely defined upper body an attractive trait on a man. Physically, it was always the first thing I noticed when spying a prospect from afar. . I am a girl who appreciates a nicely defined arm…not Mr. Universe over inflated…nicely muscled, proportion is important. That is the historical data.
Seconds later…Nice Torso Revisited steps up to the counter (WHAT THE? The gym I go to has not before had a plethora of eye candy!) I am distracted yet again and then my eyes travel North of said torso and the face is cute and has a great smile! COME ON! At this point, I turn to my husband and I know - that he saw - me seeing - Mr. Revisited and so, I closed my eyes and focused on whatever P!nk was singing and finished my workout blind.
I kept thinking about the reason I was at the gym. Is it because I want to be healthy and get into shape? Yes, but also, there will always be that young girl that lives inside my head who can remember the looks on the faces of and hoots of excitement from all the boys when one of the boys in 6th grade brought in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition – 1981 with Christie Brinkley on the cover…yeah, that one, and thinking that I need to look like that someday and struggling ever since then and never EVER reaching that ideal.
I do not need my husband comparing himself to these guys and wondering if he measures up. He far exceeds them! How often have we said “married not buried” or “look but don’t touch” It is the attitude that one small thought cannot POSSIBLY lead to one small step, or lead to another step, or a leap and then the next thing you know…you are not happy with what you have.
Am I saying that comparison shopping leads to unhappiness in your marriage or even infidelity? No, yes, maybe. It all depends on the situation I guess. For me, I don’t think that it is God honoring for me to be looking at these other men, not to mention whether or not it is honoring my husband, even though I believe myself to have the best marriage EVER. This is not about that. I don’t want my husband to doubt that I am happy with him. That I love him and am attracted to him as he is; that he does not have to be any version of “ideal” other than his current self.
but Jesus holds us to a higher standard: Matthew 5:27-30
The NIV versions states it this way:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'a]">[a] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
I like the way The Message translates the same verse:
27-28"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29-30"Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
the jerk
During the planning of a large event here at the church, I felt like the lives of we women playing significant roles in pulling off this event were either under attack or being over taxed. I won't get into those details here...don't want the jerk (that is what I call, Satan, Lucifer, the devil...whatever...I call him the jerk - no capital letters.) reveling in any glory.
However, I will share this, since I am the only one this is affecting. The other day my husband was talking about an issue I have with one of my elbows and I told him that it has not been bothering me in the way that it had in the past. It used to hurt really bad after I had been sleeping and then just ache, all the time and if I used it for anything it went from ache to PAIN. Well, for a few months, I had not felt that pain after waking or the ache unless I really overused it, and I had learned how to use it to a certain point and then let it rest.
Well, let me tell you, no sooner had I said those words...the next evening I awoke from a little early evening nap with my elbow in excruciatingly familiar pain and since then...the old ache is back and it makes me wonder...
the jerk
Just venting.
1 Peter 5: 8-11 (Message) Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.