Hi friends! Happy Fri-yay! I hope this has been a great week for you! This week’s section was different than I had in mind before I started reading. I thought it would be mainly about romantic love but it wasn’t. I am challenged to fall more deeply in love with my life and that it encompasses. I hope you feel encouraged and challenged too š¤ Let’s discuss!
The Power of Falling in Love
*Are you a person who is prone to falling in love? Do you feel that love can lead to more fun in life?
Haggart’s 1801
*“Feelings are allowed to ride along with me anywhere I go; they just aren’t’ the best drivers. I need to feel them and hear them and pay attention to them but not the let them lead the way. Love can lead though” (pg. 93) What is your response to this quote?
Onsite
*What’s something that’s a part of the way God made you that you love or that you’re learning to love?
Harvest House
*What have you learned from slower, sowing kinds of times in your life? Have you experienced that slow love that leads to harvest in your life?
The Little White Kitchen
*What’s your reaction when you ask yourself the question, “Do I love my future more than I love my present?”
Lost Valley Ranch
*“You can get so lost in your own life and your own expectations that you forget what it is like to be just a person…And if you don’t remember that you are a person first- that when it was just Eden, you were just you- then fun may be easy to find, but it will be hard to maintain” (pg. 128). Have you experienced the truth of this statement?
New York Tattoo Company
*How do you typically handle sad situations that you’re facing? Is it difficult to believe that savoring even the sad moments can be beneficial to you?
Ryman Auditorium
*“They hold memories and they hold space and they hold who we were, who we are, and what we love” (pg. 148) Do you have places in your life that are like this?
The Pet Shop
*“There is Eden even in loss. There is deep joy in profound connectedness, even if it doesn’t last.” Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
Sevier Park
*“There is no protecting your savor this from bruises if you’re going to love and live your life” (pg. 163). Are there situations in your life where you are feeling scared to hope, scared to love, scared to end up bruised?
Scripture of the Week
Ephesians 3:20
Romans 8:28
Prayer of the Week
Father God, thank You for being with us in this rollercoaster of life. Help us to be brave enough to love and love deeply! Would You help us to have eyes wide open to Your hand in all things- the good and the bad? We know life isn’t what You had planned for all of us and we have to live in this loss of Eden. Help us to trust You and lean on You as we go through our days. Give us courage to be open to love and loss and to what they both will teach us. We know You are good and You work all things out for our good and Your glory. Thank You Lord for Your faithfulness. We love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For Next Week
*Read sections “Why You Need a Hobby” and “Chase the Fun”
Iām so happy Annie addresses the power of falling in love – and not just romantic love! While itās easy to use the term āloveā too flippantly, I appreciate how she really focuses on the genuine ways one can love people and things.
āI feel love big. I feel everything very big. I donāt feel one thing small.ā (Page 92) This. Is. Me. Iāve always give 100% and go into things 100%, and loving and feelings in general are big for me.
Lately Iāve been wrestling with how deeply I feel my emotions, so this book is helping me sort through it all. I love how Annie says, āI need to feel them [feelings] and hear them and pay attention to them but not let them lead the way.ā (Page 93).
If I feel something deeply, thatās ok; I may not necessarily have to share it though. If I love things that arenāt shared by others (music, coffee, clothing, etc.), thatās ok – I can still love them and donāt have to get lost in the emotions associated with the pressure to change. I can be me.
This isnāt to be confused with the āyou do youā mantra that has popped up recently. š Iām simply meaning we are in control of not only our feelings but also of checking our responses to those feelings.
In addition to loving and feeling big, I love to do things quickly. Yes, I want to enjoy things, but Iām all about doing more in the amount of time I have. That being said, I generally have loved the future more than my present because Iām always rushing to get ready for the next thing. This āworkedā for a long time, and then I found myself exhausted! š©
I was getting lost in my life and seriously started forgetting that I was a person. I was a wife, stepmom, employee, friend, daughter, sister, but did I remember I had a name?! š
So when I came to this realization, I got bitter. Yep, not better: bitter. Resentment started growing and I started to cave. For the record, it hasnāt just happened once. Getting lost in life happens far too often and is a cycle thatās so easy to repeat. But we can grow from these challenges and emerge from our caves if we allow God to work in us. Even when itās scary to hope, to love, to risk getting hurt, we can know every season has a purpose.
And within every season there is work to do. The harvest kind of work that Annie talks about (Page 108) is so powerful to me. Iāve always thought of harvesting as the easy part: you get to enjoy what youāve been preparing and waiting for. But itās not sitting back and relaxing and having someone bring you what youāve planted. Itās you getting out there and gathering, cleaning, cutting, packaging, and sharing what has been grown. The harvest, Iām learning, isnāt about me. šÆ
Joy can be seen in all situations if we have the right perspective. Iām working on this. Iām trying to feel the joy, feel the love, feel the fun where Iām at – and not rush to get to the next season.
This section really reminded me that it’s okay to risk getting hurt. I’ve always wanted to be careful not to risk anything too valuable, or risk getting hurt, or even risk what people might think of me. I’ve been quieted and told not to be so vocal in what I love and I think that after so long of that it’s taken its toll on me. I forget to be enamored with things. But that’s not really living. And it’s really not fun at all.
I love what you said about harvest… I think I had the same mentality as you did (that it’s the sit back and relax part) but you’re right- it is also work! And not always what we expected it to be. But having eyes wide open to what God is actually doing makes the difference.
I guess it is all about falling in love with your life and your surroundings and people because otherwise the alternative is to be disappointed and grouchy and bitter. One of my goals this year was to cherish things in my life – not just be grateful enough to write it on a list but to truly embrace it and love it (which fittingly love is a synonym for cherish!). So I am definitely praying to be able to do so!