The book was called Love & War by John and Stasi Elderege. And, the only catch was that you had to agree to write a review of the book on your blog.

Since I like to read, and [...]]]>

So, a few months ago a friend passed along a link for a free book on marriage.

The book was called Love & War by John and Stasi Elderege. And, the only catch was that you had to agree to write a review of the book on your blog.

Since I like to read, and write, I signed up.

It wasn’t too long before the book arrived in the mail. Upon opening the package I was surprised that it was, in fact, an actual hard-cover copy of the book. It wasn’t a cheap paperback edition, or a photocopied pamphlet. It was an actual book.

A couple days later I started reading.

The book was a team effort written by a husband and wife who obviously have a few years of marriage and ministry under their belt.

It began pretty much like any marriage book, and it wasn’t until page 24 that something jumped out at me. Here’s what they wrote.

The bible begins and ends with marriage.

Simple.

And yet profound.

Maybe I’m the dumbest guy to ever get a degree in religion from a Christian, liberal arts college but I had never really thought about the Bible beginning and ending with the image of marriage.

Interesting stuff.

And, upon further reflection, and reading, I came to the realization that the entire Bible is filled with the imagery of marriage.

Quite interesting when you consider how messed up marriages are in today’s society, especially in Christian circles. You’d think that with all of the time the Bible devotes to the concept of marriage Christians would have it down.

Not so.

Throughout the rest of the book the couple goes on to discuss what that means for our marriages and our relationships with God. I won’t go in to any more details because this is already getting long but I will say if you’re married, and a Christian, you should pick a copy of this book up.

Prior to getting married I read a lot of books regarding the subject and I thought I was pretty well prepared. But, I have to say that I definitely didn’t really understand everything I read then. And, I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of it. Today, more than 5 years into my marriage, I had new insight and life experiences to bring in as I read Love & War. I’m sure you will to.

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Here’s the truth about telling stories with your life. it’s going to sound like a great idea, [...]]]> I had considered writing a few more posts about Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, but instead I think I’ll just share a couple more passages that jumped out at me as I was reading.

Here’s the truth about telling stories with your life. it’s going to sound like a great idea, and you are going to get excited about it, and then when it comes time to do the work, you’re not going to want to do it. It’s like that with writing books, and it’s like that with life. People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain. (pp. 99-100)

This really hit home. It’s really easy to have grand plans, but it’s tough to actually follow through with them. I usually get lost somewhere between planning and implementing.

I was watching the movie Star Wars recently and wondered what made that movie so good. Of course, there are a thousand reasons. But I also noticed that if i paused the DVD on any frame, I could point toward any major character and say exactly what that person wanted. No character had a vague ambition. It made me wonder if the reasons our lives seem so muddled is because we keep walking into scenes in which we, along with the people around us, have no clear idea what we want. (p. 113)

This also hit home. It’s a question I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately. What do I want? What is my story? What is my ambition? I’ll probably explore this more in a future post because it’s something I’ve been struggling with for a while.

If these thoughts intrigue you at all, I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book. It’s a really good read. And, it’ll challenge you to take a look at your life and the story you’re living.

I was notified of this oddity while exploring iLike.]]>