Loved by God Faith Blog Hop

Welcome to the Loved by God Faith Blog Hop! We are so blessed to have you be a part of it. If you arrived from Tammy's  blog you are in the right place. If you just happened to have landed here, go on over to www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com so that you can catch the beginning of the hop. 
I have noticed that since we were pretty much created we have an innate need to be loved and desired. There is such a longing in our souls to be called beautiful, adorable, precious, accepted, and loved; and many times we find ourselves living lives of beggars, accepting the pennies people are willing to give. To be loved by man is temporal and it will always leave you thirsty for more. To be loved by God is to find satisfaction and to never thirst again.
This month we want to share with you what it has meant for us to have been “Loved by God”. Every Brave and Precious woman participating in this hop has a beautiful story of how God has shown His love to them in a very personal way. We invite you to hop around and discover the AMAZING ways the Lord chooses to love us, even when we do not deserve it.  
The Bible says that there is no greater love than that from one who dies for his friend… and God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you. Take a minute and listen to this song:
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Our prayer is that the Lord would open your eyes so that you too can see how God has loved you. Here is how He has chosen to show me His love:

You're probably wondering what a big black goofy dog has to do with God's love for us, but for me it has everything to do with it! You see, I didn't want a dog. I REALLY didn't want a dog. I have four young children and did not desire a fifth. Just the thought of getting a dog got me stressed out and my two oldest kids asked for one multiple times a day. One day I was looking at my almost four year old son and was overwhelmed by this sense that he NEEDED a dog. So overwhelming was that sense that it brought me to tears. My son did not want a dog at all but I was convinced he needed one! A few weeks later I watched a movie about a boy who got a dog and it helped him with his autism. At that point I was beyond sure that my boy needed a dog despite the fact that I had no idea what so ever that the very next day our lives would change when the words “mild autism” would come out of our pediatrician's mouth. My husband didn't want a dog anymore than I did but this new diagnosis began to change his heart. I knew a puppy would be best for Jacob but I could not imagine getting one. I began to pray for the right dog for him.

I contacted an agency who trains dogs for kids with autism. I knew Jacob did not need a service dog but I was hoping for one of their dogs who didn't make it as a guide dog. I was told we were the exact kind of family that would qualify for one of those dogs but we lived outside their jurisdiction so we could not have one. For the next four plus months I checked all the shelters for adoptable dogs but never found the right one. By this time I had helped Jacob with his fear of dogs and he now wanted one...a black one!

The first week of February 2011 I got an e-mail from a cousin who knew of a dog that needed a home. A few days later Tammy came home with us. At first I panicked thinking “what have I done? This will add so much stress to my life!” But as the days passed I realized that Tammy was no trouble at all. In fact she  brought us so much joy that my heart could hardly contain it! I was completely overcome by God's love for me. (us) I already knew  that God loved me. He has done so many huge amazing things for me and we are so blessed. I see his love so clearly in the big stuff,  but in the smaller details of life I can easily miss it. But to think that the great big God who created the universe would care about such an “unimportant” desire like this was beyond comprehension! Tammy is much more than what I could of asked for or imagined!

Two days before we got Tammy we were told that our son does not have autism. The healing happened through a number of miracles that I will share another time. None the less, Tammy has helped Jacob in many ways, thanks to her he is finally talking at school!

And me well, as it turns out I still had some room in my heart for another “kid”! And I continue to feel a great amount of God's love every time I look at Tammy!

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.....even when you don't realize that you desire it! He knows what we need more than we do.

We are doing things a bit different this month. We actually want to have you be a participant with us. If you feel inspired create a project that reflects what the Lord has shown you, write a poem, or simply post about the Love of God in your blog. Then go over to www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com to link up your post. We would love to see how the Lord works through you.
For this month alone, there will be no greater gift we can offer you than the love the Lord has awaiting you, so there will be no Grand Prizes. Still you can be blessed by the beautiful RAKS some of the participants have available.


 I have a personalized letter from God album to give away. Join my blog and comment for a chance to win.

Know that we are praying for you and sure hope to see your creations!  This is the end of the hop, but we hope it is the beginning of your own journey on creating a project that shows how the Lord has Loved YOU. Remember to post your thoughts, or creations over at www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com. We can't wait to see what the Lord will accomplish. :)