I’m currently reading the awesome Love Does book by Bob Goff. I’ve heard so many good things about the book and really enjoy following Bob on Twitter {Love Does on Twitter too!} so decided it was just about time to actually read the book. The book is all about love as an action – not just about feelings, thoughts and emotions. I’m only on chapter 13, but wanted to share a few of my favorite bits and pieces from the book so far. The last quote below has been echoing in my head since I first read it yesterday morning. Hope you’re as inspired by his light, inspiring words as I am!
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Whimsy needs to be fully experienced to be fully known. Whimsey doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is that you are on your way.
Living a life fully engaged and full of whimsey and the kind of things that love does is something that most people plan to do, but along the way, they just kind of forget.
It becomes clear that we need to stop plotting the course and instead just land the plane on our plans to make a difference by getting to the “do” part of faith. That;s because love is never stationary. In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.
But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It’s a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright. What I learned from Randy about the brand of love Jesus offers is that it’s more about presence than undertaking a project. It’s a brand of love that doesn’t just think about good things, or agree with them, or talk about them. What I learned from Randy reinforced the simple truth that continues to weave itself into the tapestry of every great story: love does.
Being engaged is a way of doing life, a way of living and loving. It’s about going to extremes and expressing the bright hope that life offers us, a hope that makes us brave and expels darkness with light. That’s what I want my life to be all about – full of abandon, whimsy and in love. I want to be engaged to life and with life.
I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.
There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I’m tempted to turn it down all the time. I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn’t come in an envelope. It’s ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It’s the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turned down an invitation to the White House, but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.