Disclaimer: This is not a book review. Really, it’s a love letter.

I’d never heard of Bob Goff or this book until I received it as a Christmas gift, along with “Everybody Always” – another Goff title published in 2018.

The word love is thrown around all the time. We use it to describe how we feel about a Netflix series or a new pair of cute flats, as well as our beloved parents, spouses, babies, and pets.

But what does it actually MEAN? How does love show itself in real life? At work? At the grocery store?

Goff answers the question in this collection of essays taken straight from fascinating personal experiences such as:

• convincing the law school dean to admit him after repeated rejections
• pursuing his future wife for years before she’d even go on a date
• in the aftermath of September 11 encouraging his distraught children to write to heads of state with some of their ideas to help facilitate peace & understanding among nations which led to the Goff family being invited by world leaders to visit and discuss the children’s ideas

“Love Does” perfectly illustrates the “do” part of the Christian walk.

And I don’t know about you, but from my perspective, there are too many loud voices in the Christian community tearing down instead of building up. Goff’s message is positive and uplifting from page one.

I made myself savor it by only reading one essay per day, sometimes two. He invites the reader to step out and experience the “do” part of faith in their daily walk.

“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 turns down an invitation to the White House, but I’ve seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.”

Bob Goff, Love Does

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away and I can’t think of a more appropriate gift.

Happy Reading