Love Does

So, I've been meaning to pick up this book since it came out...  And I finally got it!  Love Does is a collection of musings and stories from the life of Bob Goff.  If you've read any of Don Miller's recent books, you probably recognize the name.  This man lives a life of whimsy, generosity, and faith - in an engaging and delightful way!  Anytime his name comes up, I'm excited to hear the story behind it.  (Dad - you would love him!  He's a lawyer that has one of his "offices" at Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyworld.  Pirates and all!)

I met him briefly at Don Miller's Storyline Conference a couple of years ago.  "Met him" is overstating it...  I shook his hand.  I was too nervous for anything beyond that!  But he's the kind of guy you wish you could sit down and have a beer with.  It would be a great night, for sure!

Anyway, so I finally started reading his book - and I love it!  Love it.  The premise is that love is not just thoughts or feelings...  But that love takes action.  Love does.  Sounds simple - but he gives examples that make you want to do better.  His love of celebrating life and making memories - for others, as well as himself - is contagious. 

Here's a few of my favorite pieces of wisdom, so far:

  "As I sit on the island, 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."

  "...I learned that faith isn't about knowing all the right stuff or obeying a list of rules.  It's something more, something more costly because it involves being present and making a sacrifice.  Perhaps that's why Jesus is sometimes called Immanuel - 'God with us.'  I think that's what God had in mind, for Jesus to be present, to just be with us.  It's also what He has in mind for us when it comes to other people."

"...Jesus lets us be real with our life and our faith...  What Jesus said we could do is leave typical behind.  We could leave all of the comparisons and all of the trappings and all of the pretending of religion.  Jesus told the people he was with that it's not enough to just look like you love God.  He said we'd know the extent of our love for God by how well we loved people."

"...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."

Last one -

"...God finds us in our failures and our successes, and He says that while we used to think one way about things, now He wants us to think another way about those same things.  And for me, I've realized that I used to be afraid of failing at the things that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter."

If you want some laugh-out-loud good stories AND some wonderful inspiration...  Read this book. 
And if you ever have the chance to shake Bob's hand...  I highly recommend it.


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Bob Goff.
2.  Starbucks gift cards.
3.  Going out for tea with Barb and Michelle.  Very fun!
4.  Friends sharing stories and inspiration.
5.  People who return their shopping carts to the cart corral.
6.  A great workout.
7.  The movie "Billy Elliot."
8.  Cheese.

9.  The movie "Despicable Me."
10.  Planning something fun...!

QotD:  What time did you wake up today?
It's Saturday!  8am.  (I could have slept longer if it weren't for the crazy pup...)