June 23, 2007
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another book for your collection
i just finished reading a book by Rob Bell (the Velvet Elvis guy). called…well, i will tell you what it is called after i give you the good quotes.
“We have to talk about everything we’re experiencing. repressing an stuffing and refusing to acknowledge never works…some of the most comforting words in the universe are “me too.” when you find out that your struggle is also someone else’ struggle, that you’re not alone, and that others have been down the same road.”
(recently, i sat and listened to a frustrated girl yell at me about a situation. i simply said “i agree. what they did was wrong.” and she stopped yelling and started breathing again. i was shocked to find out that was all she needed to hear. i started apologizing that i couldn’t fix or change the situation…and she stopped me and said i’d done enough. it didn’t matter that i hadn’t done anything…i’d understood and that suddenly made the whole thing bearable for her. if only the rest of life were that easy…)
“Lust comes from a deep lack of satisfaction with life…when we’re not at peace, when we aren’t content, when we aren’t in a good place, our radar gets turned on. we’re looking. searching. and we’re sensory creatures, so it won’t be long until something, or somebody, catches our attention…the idea creeps into our head and heart that we are lacking, that we are incomplete, that this craving in front of us is the answer.”
“Stealing (talking about the passage in Ephesians where it says not to–but to give instead) is the ultimate in being selfish. making something and giving it away is the ultimate in being generous. This passage is about something central to what it means to be human. it’s about desire. it’s about the thief finding something they’ll desire more than stealing.”
“Whatever it is that has it’s hooks in you, you will never be free from it until you find something you want more. it’s not about getting rid of desire. it’s about giving ourselves to bigger and better and more powerful desires.”
“Agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re worthy. Agape makes them worthy by the strength and power of its love. agape doesn’t love somebody because they’re beautiful. agape loves in such a way that it makes them beautiful.”
Have i ever loved like that?
“There is a love because, a love in order to, a love for the purpose of , and then there is love. period.” agape doesn’t need a reason.”
No, i haven’t loved like that. at least not for long extended periods of time.
“i have some friends who have been married over thirty years. i noticed that when the meeting was over and everybody was leaving the room, they were still seated, deep in conversation about something. he was smiling, she was leaning close to him as she spoke. it reminded me of a conversation i’d had with him recently in which he was telling me about a vacation they’d just taken and how the highlight for him was the conversations he had with his wife. It struck me as i walked out of the room: they’re still getting to know each other…still exploring just who this person is. they understand that people are highly complex beings and that the soul is infinitely deep. if you’re mingling your soul with another soul, and there is no end to the depth of both of your souls, this could take awhile.”
God i want this. i asked a friend if she knew anyone who’s relationship/marriage was something she wanted. she could name 1. i can think of 4. but that is precious few. precious few. anyways, you can find all this in the book “Sex God.”
