Chapter 7 Guest: Sara Frankl

Today's guest blogger is Sara Frankl, also known as "Gitzen Girl." Angie and I LOVE Sara. Though she lives with a debilitating disease and experiences more pain on a daily basis than most of us will ever experience, her positive outlook and genuine love for the Lord never wavers.

You are going to love her thoughts on Chapter 7 - and if you don't read her blog, now is the time to start.

So go check out what she has to say on Your Best Life... Later.

Thank you Sara for your words. They are encouraging and challenging. We are so thankful to call you friend.

xo
Angie and Jess

Chapter 7

We're back!!

After a few week hiatus, Angie and I are back together for this week's discussion of chapter 7. Wasn't it a rich chapter? We loved it.

Crazy Love Chapter 7 from angie smith on Vimeo.

Some thoughts worth discussing:

• Do you play it safe?
• Can you answer yes to Chan's questions: Are you ready and willing to make yourself nothing? To take the very nature of a servant? To be obedient unto death?
• How do you give of your time?
• Share an example of a time when you gave radically and liberally and you saw God bless that action? How did that help you to grow in your relationship with him?
  
• What are you doing right now that requires faith?
• How are you using the gifts God has blessed you with?
  

Join us on the ning site to discuss these questions and any thoughts you have, as well.

Love,
Angie and Jessica

Chapter 6 Guest: Ann Voskamp

Today we are pleased that Ann Voskamp is joining us with beautiful thoughts and words, as only she can write. Angie and I are blessed to have gotten to know her through (in)courage. If you do not read her blog, you must start. Her passion for the Lord is rich and unlike anything I have ever encountered. Her words make me hungry to know the Lord more. She challenges in such a beautiful way. My words cannot do her justice. Below is the beginning of her post, but I would just go right to the whole thing. It will do your soul good today.

Much love and peace to you today,
Jessica

______________________________________

Girl, if you say that boy's name one more time, I'm opening this door up and flinging myself out into the deserts of Utah," Grandma slaps her knee and I shrink down, seat belt digging into ribs.
Utah with her rouge painted wrinkles, her blush-brushed crags, blurs by at 60 miles an hour. Another mile marker flashes and I bite my tongue. I won't say it out loud, how many more miles home to that boy and those eyes, but there's no stopping a heart from keeping tally.
"You want me to slow down before you jump or you just leaping without warning?" Dad chuckles, one hand wheeling that wheel.

"I think I'm just leaping, Son." Grandma shakes her head. "Did you ever in your life know a girl so love sick, Lloyd?" Grandma swats Grandpa's shoulder, gets his attention.
"Ten days, thousands of miles criss-crossing the States, hitting every photo op you can imagine, and all she goes on about is The Boy this, and The Boy that. He's all she can think of! I've heard so much of that Boy, I wished we had just packed him!" My cheeks burn redder than Utah's cliffs and Grandpa winks, elbows my snickering kid brother in the ribs and they howl, coyotes on a ridge.

Mile 368. If Grandma but knew how that grin of his could wind a girl in and spin her out, let her go all a dizzy swirl. I'm counting miles back to that smile.

"You sure are in love, girl." She pats my knee.

First love's an immersion and passion shapes all vowels into the kiss of that name.

To continue reading 7 Ways to Do Crazy Love and Fall for God

To discuss Ann's post, visit our Bloom Community

Chapter Six

Let me start by saying I love Clara. Seriously.

Did you all love that story about her bed? Incredible!!! I have to say I was completely humbled by the idea of her in tears over sharing time with the Lord. I can't honestly say I have this emotion, but boy do I want to. Do you know people like this? I would love to hear some of your stories if you do, because I am inspired by such deep affection for God.

Let's jump to page 101, where Francis says, "Personal experience has taught me that actions driven by fear and guilt are not an antidote to lukewarm, selfish, comfortable living. I hope you realize instead that the answer is love."

(Gulp)

God doesn't want us to do things because they make us feel better about ourselves. He wants us to be completely motivated by love. And do you think you can love others well without loving Him? I don't. Not the way He desires us to. I bet Clara was great at loving others out of the overflow of love that came from the Lord.

Let's hop to 102, where this question comes up: "Do you feel free in your Christian life?" I think this is an important place to camp out for a bit, because so many of us feel like we need to do, do, do, do in order to be in the grace of God, and that feeling of being chained is not from the Lord. If we love Him, our actions will flow freely from that love. It's a good barometer of our faith, isn't it?

I think it's natural to get caught up in what we need to be doing to be right with God, and it seems too easy to just "love" Him. Anyone who has a great relationship with the Lord will tell you that it makes sense when you're in it. He didn't mean for it to be as complicated as we have made it!!! I really believe that we are commanded to help others and to live lives that edify Jesus, but the only way we can do this genuinely is out of true, deep love for the Father we serve.

He alludes to this on page 108, and I thought it was one of the most powerful paragraphs so far. When we look at our relationship with the Lord as a chore, we are getting the glory, not God! Wow. So true. If I am constantly walking around dropping stories about the soup kitchen I volunteer at, how much I have tithed to overseas missions, all the amazing things I have done, do you really think people are going to be convinced that I love God? Or maybe, that I need some credit for all my good deeds. I love when he talked about David Livingston giving the speech at Cambridge and explaining that he had never made a sacrifice.

Un. Real.

Also, if you haven't done the exercise on page 111, you should...it's good.

Okay, over to you all now...thoughts?!?!?!?!

Love,

Clara Angie

SOOOO tired....

I am in charge of Chapter Six, and I am sad to say I don't have it finished :( Our flights home from Washington were majorly delayed and I am just now getting settled in. I will have it up by tomorrow, so just check back in...it's a great chapter and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.

And if you don't usually comment, I hope you will. We want to hear from you!!!

See you tomorrow,

Ang