I am reading Love Lives Here by Maria Goff. Normally I finish the entire book before I sit down to write a review, however, I have never read a book quite like this.
Each chapter is a collection of sweet stories about building a solid foundation, growing roots that embed down deep, the kind that hurt when you pull them out. Each chapter doesn’t segue into the next like one would think they should, instead they build upon one another; each chapter celebrates a family unit, the things we live through that make us uniquely knit. How we come together, how we find our first footings as a woman, a mom, as a dad, as parents together – trying to make a life – and within each chapter is a God truth; who He says we are, how He loves us, sees us, wants to watch us grow…
My favorite chapter, is The Lodge, the very first chapter. The opening sentence, “We’ve changed a lot since the night the Lodge burned down.” Transparent, sharing within the pages of the chapter the details of what was such a difficult time for their family. She wrote, “Certainly God uses everything in our lives; nothing is wasted.” Nothing is wasted, God uses everything… A reminder I needed, those specific words. Further along in the chapter, she talks about the remains of the lodge, she says, “Nothing remains of the Lodge. The intensity of the fire even destroyed the foundations. That takes a lot of heat. But you know what? I am kind of glad it did. If there were even one old charred beam still standing after the fire, I’d be tempted to use it to rebuild.” Reading those words, she knows loss and she knows the basic, human desire is to put it all back together again… we all survive our own fires. Sometimes we rebuild, sometimes there’s nothing left to rebuild, so we press on. She concludes that page with this, “…sometimes God wants us to rebuild our lives from scratch.” The chapter ends in a way I couldn’t have seen coming and I won’t spoil it for you – I can promise, it doesn’t disappoint.
Not every chapter is as intense as that one but each one draws closer to Maria’s heart, to love her family well, to love her friends well, to build a life and home founded on love – to love like Jesus.
The subtitle for this book, Finding What You Need In A World Telling You What You Want… This book is meant to be read slow. Taking time to let it sink in and weave into the longing places, it has mine… woven into my longing places, places I didn’t know I had.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review which I have given here.
Each chapter is a collection of sweet stories about building a solid foundation, growing roots that embed down deep, the kind that hurt when you pull them out. Each chapter doesn’t segue into the next like one would think they should, instead they build upon one another; each chapter celebrates a family unit, the things we live through that make us uniquely knit. How we come together, how we find our first footings as a woman, a mom, as a dad, as parents together – trying to make a life – and within each chapter is a God truth; who He says we are, how He loves us, sees us, wants to watch us grow…
My favorite chapter, is The Lodge, the very first chapter. The opening sentence, “We’ve changed a lot since the night the Lodge burned down.” Transparent, sharing within the pages of the chapter the details of what was such a difficult time for their family. She wrote, “Certainly God uses everything in our lives; nothing is wasted.” Nothing is wasted, God uses everything… A reminder I needed, those specific words. Further along in the chapter, she talks about the remains of the lodge, she says, “Nothing remains of the Lodge. The intensity of the fire even destroyed the foundations. That takes a lot of heat. But you know what? I am kind of glad it did. If there were even one old charred beam still standing after the fire, I’d be tempted to use it to rebuild.” Reading those words, she knows loss and she knows the basic, human desire is to put it all back together again… we all survive our own fires. Sometimes we rebuild, sometimes there’s nothing left to rebuild, so we press on. She concludes that page with this, “…sometimes God wants us to rebuild our lives from scratch.” The chapter ends in a way I couldn’t have seen coming and I won’t spoil it for you – I can promise, it doesn’t disappoint.
Not every chapter is as intense as that one but each one draws closer to Maria’s heart, to love her family well, to love her friends well, to build a life and home founded on love – to love like Jesus.
The subtitle for this book, Finding What You Need In A World Telling You What You Want… This book is meant to be read slow. Taking time to let it sink in and weave into the longing places, it has mine… woven into my longing places, places I didn’t know I had.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review which I have given here.
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