Love Does by Bob Goff

Whim·sy [hwim-zee, wim-] noun:  capricious humor or disposition; extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression

Throughout his book Love Does, Bob Goff uses the word whimsy to describe the kind of life that love does.  After reading some of his stories and escapades, including running up the hotel bill of his friend by ordering lobster from room service (without his friend’s knowledge), buying a skateboard to ride to work instead of a motor vehicle and pretending to be a part of the Easter Egg Hunt on the White House lawn (on the outside of the fence), Bob Goff lives a life of whimsy.

Love Does is a book full of stories and experiences that draw the reader in and gives a different perspective on how life can be lived.  Goff’s stories of getting into law school through sheer perseverance, traveling to Uganda to help kids caught in a non-functioning judicial system and the memory making trips with his own children give the reader a visual of a life of whimsy and living a life of love might look like.

Love Does also introduces the reader to people from Goff’s life who are living a life of love.  There is John, a young ma who helps build and run a school in Uganda for kids who have no place to go for education.  There is also Randy, a man who showed Goff during his teen years what it looked like to stand alongside another person and to be with him and for him.

Amidst the stories and adventures, Goff also provides some great statements like these:

“(Jesus said we) should think of ourselves more like the ushers rather than the bouncers and it is God who decides who gets in.”

“You become like the people you hang around, and to a great degree, you end up going wherever they’re headed.”

“Bible verses weren’t meant to be thrown like grenades at each other. They were meant to point each other toward love and grace.”

I enjoyed reading Bob Goff’s stories and were drawn into his experiences, especially his involvement in Uganda.  Love Does gives a unique picture of what it means to live a life of love.

(I received a copy of this book through my participation in the Book Sneeze program)