Love as a Way of Life Part 1 |

Finally went out an bought Gary Chapman’s latest book, “Love as a Way of Life” and I didn’t know what to expect. Funny thing, I have never read any of his books but I have given a number of his “5 love languages” book as gifts to the bride and groom that I photograph. I am very pleased with the book thus far because of how thought provoking it is. It dives deep into not only how you “act” in public but also your secret thoughts and attitudes about people and your relationships. In short, in pokes the raw essence of you your world view. Keep in mind that I haven’t even finished the first chapter yet but let me give you the chapter headings.

Part One: Why we Want to Love

The Satisfaction of a Loving Life

Part Two: The Seven Secrets to Love

Kindness – Discovering the Joy of Helping Others
Patience – Accepting the Imperfections of Others
Forgiveness – Finding Freedom from the Grip of Anger
Courtesy - Treating Others as Friends
Humility – Stepping Down So someone Else Can Step Up
Generosity – Giving Yourself to Others
Honesty - revealing Who You Really Are

Part Three: Making Love a Way of Life

Making Love a Way of Life in Marriage
Making Love a Way of Life in Parenting
Making Love a Way of Life in the Workplace
The Motivation to Life

Looking at the contents makes me think that I may just have a large helping of “in your face” reality check. I think that it is important to have some personal reflection of our attitudes, our relationships with others and even the relationship we have with ourself. Gary holds no punches when he writes, in short, that Love is sacrificially serving another in such a way that makes that person better.

One way to get a group of people rylied up is to ask them to define “Love” and then defend that definition. Typically people won’t really define but give heart felt examples of what love is. The problem with that, at least in my mind, is that a word defined in examples is too vague for me. So here is the definition of Love that I have come across. So you can let me know what you think.