Love is a Verb - as in action and decision making!

Love is a Verb
By Garry Chapman
Published at Bethany House

The book - Be Inspired by Lives Changed by Love
Gary Chapman, bestselling author of The Five Love Languages, shares forty uplifting true stories from everyday people like
- Doris, who chose to love her husband when what she really wanted to do was run away
- Loretta, whose family was mended by love in action
- Faith, who learned how to love a mother who had become a strange
- Laquita, who finally fell in love with her husband after forty years
- Jackie, who found the courage to love someone who seemed truly unlovable
Because love isn't just a feeling.
Love is a choice, and love is something we all need to do.
Love is a verb.
"To last for the long haul and through the stresses and complexities of life, love has to be more than something we feel. It has to be something we do. We have to demonstrate it concretely in our marriages and families, among our friends and acquaintances, and, yes, even among our enemies.
And that's what this book is about. In the following pages, you'll see examples of people just like you--like all of us--who learned to take the obstacles, the lemons they face in life, and turn them into satisfying, emotional thirst-quenching nectar. These are the success stories that make you want to go out and try harder." --Gary Chapman

Hear what Gary Chapman has to say about the book.



Who is Gary Chapman?
Since 1979, Gary Chapman has written more than 20 books. His book The Five Love Languages has sold four million copies in English alone and has been translated into thirty-six languages, including Arabic and Hindi. He has his own daily radio program called A Love Language Minute that can be heard on more than 100 radio stations across the United States.
In addition to his busy writing and seminar schedule, Gary Chapman is a senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he has served for thirty-six years. Gary and his wife, Karolyn, have been married for forty-five years and have two adult children and two grandchildren.
Gary Chapman is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and holds BA and MA degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively. He received MRE and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Duke University.
My thoughts on the book
I half expected a teaching book from Gary Chapman. But I was surprised to see testimonies of decision to love throughout the book. Yes, Gary still gives a little bit of teaching at the end of each story but honestly I think the stories speak from themselves.
Some of them touched me more than others because I went or are going through similar situations. I’ve learned to reach out more to some people with love instead of being sorry with myself. It’s not always easy to love when you are hurt but this book demonstrates that it can be done. Taking the focus out of ourselves and putting it on others is far more rewarding that it seems. Giving more, expecting less. I know it’s not easy and that sometimes we might feel like we do it for nothing. But time will tell if our love has softened the others.
I thank everyone who shared their story in this book. Some were a breath of fresh air while other brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books in a way. It is the kind of book that you can leave on your side table and pick up once I a while to read one or two stories.
I enjoyed reading the testimonies of love found in this book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see how love can be chosen in various situations instead of self-pity and being self-centered.
Love is a Verb can be found at any bookstore. In Canada, it is available at amazon.ca or indigo.ca.