Here's what I want to say tonight: If love is a verb (and it is)... don't be afraid to act in love. And to back this up I want to quote 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." And I think the biggest torment that we put ourselves through is when we're trying to decide if we should love someone. I think there's a fear that people don't love us, certainly. But if I've learned one thing in my life its that you can't control other people. You can't control how people feel about you. Even if you do all of the "right" things, and try as hard as you can, it might not matter. You can't make people love you. And I've always said, if you're loving someone in order to make them love you... you're not really loving them at all. Because love is never about getting. Because love is giving. And you don't give expecting to get. Remember my personal definition of love? Gladly giving everything you have and everything you are EVEN THOUGH it seems like the more you love the less you are loved. And that part after the "even though" is where I think a lot of the torment comes from. Because we have that mindset of, "If I give what I've got, and don't get anything in return... well then I won't have anything left!" And I can tell you, from experience, that I've felt that way. I've felt like I was pouring myself into a black hole. Just giving and giving and giving and then finding myself empty. But the truth of the matter is that we are connected to the unlimited source of love. The God who IS love. And when I say "connected" I mean, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). And I mean, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:20). We are connected to love because we are loved. Because we are LOVE. We don't have to be afraid of losing what we've got. In fact, there's a song lyric that says, "What you got if you ain't got love? The kind that you just want to give away..." That's what love is all about. That's what love IS. Love is giving. Giving yourself. Laying your life down for your friends. Giving all you have and all you are without worrying about--certainly without fearing--what happens next. Guys--love never fails. And that doesn't mean things always turn our the way you think they should. But it does mean that you don't have to be afraid to love people. Don't be afraid to give away what you've got. Because that's how you experience what you've got. Things are better when they are shared. No man is an island. Its not good that man should be alone. But we think we need to guard our hearts by walling them up. Shutting them down. When in truth we guard our hearts by keeping them open. Keeping them open to love. Letting love in, and letting love out. With every breath we take and every move we make. Without fear. So stop tormenting yourself. Nobody can do a better job of running you down than you can. Stop it! Believe what your heavenly Father says about you--that you are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. And let that love equip and empower you to live. Equip and empower you to LOVE. Because living IS loving. And loving is living. You don't have to be afraid to reach out, even if you're hand get slapped away. You can't run out of love. And love will never run out on you!

Charity is love in action. Love is an action word. True, sacrificial, agape love is where the rubber meets the road. Where you lay your life down for your friends. Give everything you have and everything you are. Love is giving, and giving is an action. What I'm trying to say is: You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. Telling someone "I love you," but seeing a need and refusing to fill it, means you either don't understand love, or you don't love them. Harsh? Maybe. But faith without works is dead. Look at John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We preach "Jesus" but we don't its really just work-based, man-centered, performance. Religion. Earn your bread by the sweat of your brow. That's not Jesus. God is love. You want to preach the gospel, you preach love. And you "preach" love... by loving people. What's that old quote? "Preach the gospel at all times, and if you must, use words." Something like that. But the point is, some of the best conversations I've ever had about God didn't even include the Word "God." Because we were talking about love. Almost like preaching on the sly. Here's what people should say about Christians: They are the most loving people I know. But here's what people seem to say about Christians: Judgmental. Hypocritical. Mean. Not a good look when you're representing the God who--again--IS love. We are the visible expression of the invisible God. When God sees us, He see Jesus. And when God sees Jesus He sees us. And when people see us they see God. Because He lives in us. LOVE lives in us. Every breath we take and every move we make is love. Because of love. For love. By love. God so loved the world that He GAVE His only Son. So that we might know ourselves AS His beloved Son. So that we might stop doing actions in order to GET love, but so that we might do actions because we HAVE love. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. People will know we are disciples because of the love we give. People will know who God is because of the love we give. I like it when people don't know that I'm a pastor, but they think I'm nice. I think that's a good reflection on my upbringing. On my (heavenly) Father. When people compliment Logan on what a good boy he is, I usually just thank them. But in my head I always think, "That's on purpose." I'm trying to raise him right. Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. So what I do is I love him as hard as I can at all times. Not a day in his life has ever gone by that I haven't told him I love him. And, more importantly, SHOWN him. I tell him all the time, "What's mine is yours." I have literally given him everything I have and everything I am. And I'm not bragging. Just trying to explain a Father's love for His Son. Giving. Action. Not just words. Not just doing the bare minimum. Maximum effort. That's what love takes... because that's what love IS. Love is the most you can do for someone. Because love is everything. The most important thing. Perhaps the ONLY important thing. And its not just an idea. Its a verb.

Faith without works is dead, right? Because what you do flows from what you believe. Love as an idea doesn't really help anybody, but when the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) is made flesh... that's when it becomes charity--love in action. And that's what love truly is: The act of laying your life down for your friends. Giving everything you have and everything you are without trying to get anything. Love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Look at John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God loved... so He gave. And look at Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus proved His love for us by giving His life for us, and giving His life to us. Love is giving. Giving is an action. Love is a verb; an action word. Yesterday we talked a little bit about how you can't just say, "God bless," to someone who is hungry and expect it to mean anything. You need to see a need... and meet it. And I always try to temper this by saying you SHOULD give everything you have and everything you are... but don't try to give what you don't have. Don't over-extend yourself. "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:10-11). If you have two coats... give one away. Live out of your abundance. Don't freeze to death. Its one thing to lay down your life... its another thing to kill yourself. And, as always, my bottom line (or top line, as Logan says, because the important stuff goes on top line) is... once you give something everything you've got it's either enough, or it isn't. And either way you've done what you can do. So when we're talking about doing... just do what you can do. Stay in your lane, if I can say it that way. Walk according to your calling. Don't try to be someone you're not. Don't try to do something you can't do. Sometimes you do more harm by trying too hard. Sometimes you hurt your hand by hanging on instead of just letting go. Let go and let God. Right? Love FLOWS from your innermost being when you fill yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. When you let God love you. And, again, not in just some abstract idea of "love." But actual rubber meets the road "no other explanation for how this could have happened but love" love. Agape love. Sacrificial love. "Why'd you do that?" Because it was in my heart to do it. And I think this is powerful: I think the kindest people in the world are people that have been through some of the worst stuff. Because they know what its like to not have it. So they find it very important to give it. Because they don't want people to have to go through what they've been through. So don't let a lack of charity in your life make you bitter. Know and believe the love of God and let what's inside come out! Walk by faith. Live by faith. Faith in God. Faith in love. Love never fails. So if we act in love WE can never fail. That's how we experience the gift of eternal life that we've been given: By loving each other with the love that we are loved with!

Love is a verb. That's what I want to say. And I'll say it for the next few days, at the very least. Because if love isn't a verb, or an action word, then it isn't really anything. Look at James 2:15-16 (NLT), "Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?" Love as an idea isn't really much of anything at all. But charity... love in action... that's when things get real. When the rubber meets the raod. And we see this best in Jesus and the cross. Jesus said, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13 NLT). And then He went to the cross and literally did just that. He didn't just TELL us what love is. He SHOWED us. By loving us. By laying His life down for us. Laying it down so that He could pick up back up. Giving it for us, and giving it to us. So that we could have it. So that we could experience it as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us. I used to like a song called, "What's This Life For?" Because I, like most of us at one time or another, was trying to figure it out. But then I figured it out. This life is for living. Once upon a time I did everything I thought I was "supposed to do." Go to college. Get a job. Get married. Have a kid. And, yes, I still have my degree. And, yes, I still have my kid. But if that was the blueprint for a "normal life," well... there's no such thing as normal. And the only life worth living is a life of love. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. You can't have one without the other, and you can't do one without the other. A life without love is no life at all. Let me say it another way. God is love, right? The Word of God is Jesus... love. And God is light, right? Jesus is the light of the world. LOVE is the light of the world. Well, John 1:4 says, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." The life is the light is the love! But John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Because before the cross it was Emmanuel, God WITH us. But through the cross it became God WITHIN us! And I'm telling you, every time you act in love the Word (again, Jesus... love) is made flesh in you. The Word--the love--within you comes out of you! And that's the whole point of the whole thing--receiving and releasing the love of God. Letting God love us, and filling ourselves to overflowing with that love by knowing and believing it. By being... and by doing what we be! Being loved, being love, and then doing love. Giving love. Jesus literally laid His life down for His friends--for all of humanity. We do the same, in a sense, when we give everything we have and everything we are to each other. That's how we truly live: We love. And love is a verb. An action word. You can't just say, "I love you." You have to put your money where your mouth is. You have to SHOW people that you love them. But we'll get deeper into this in the next few days.

An ending doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Even when its a good thing that's ending. Because there's always something else around the corner. Nothing lasts forever except love. So if you walk by faith (in love) and not by sight, you can roll with the seasons. For everything there is a season, right? Where you're at right now is not where you always have to be. Its not where you'll always be. So enjoy it if its good, and endure it if its not. Learn from it. Grow because of it. Look at Psalm 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." And notice the word "through." In this life we go through stuff. So don't get stuck. Keep moving forward. Upward and God-ward. Don't let the past define you, and don't let it keep you from enjoying what's happening right now. Every cloud has a silver lining. You don't need to fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Live a life of love--which is what it means to truly live--and you'll be ok. I remember Ranting a while ago about living forever. And how its your Legacy of Love that continues on after you're gone. What I remember most about my dearly departed grandpa is watching the Red Wings with him. Because that's what we both loved to do. And we loved each other. We loved doing it together. That love... that relationship... is what lasts. So even when we're talking about Jesus as Alpha and Omega... when we're talking about love as beginning and ending... its not love that ever ends. But sometimes things end OUT OF love. Because of love. Loving someone doesn't mean enabling them. It doesn't mean staying in a bad situation or an abusive relationship. Loving someone means giving everything you have and everything you are, and knowing that its either enough, or its not. Shrugging your shoulders and moving on down the road if its not. Knowing that you may have a planted a seed that someone else will water. I've had it happen to me more times than I care to remember where I'll try SO hard to "fix" something (or someone) and then after I've moved on down the road they'll tell me that they finally figured it out. Finally heard what I had been trying to say for so long. And that can be hard. Believe me. But you don't love people because of what you think they can, or will, do for you. You don't love because of what you think you can get. You love because of what you have to give. You love because you want people to have what you have. So if they figure it out, even though you're not around anymore, that's still a win. An ending of one thing that resulted in the beginning of another. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. So don't cry because its over. Smile because it happened. Do your best to enjoy the ride. Don't let an ending wreck you. And don't hold off on a necessary ending because you're afraid of what might happen next. This life is learning and growing. Learning how to love as we learn how we are loved. Growing in grace and in the knoweldge of Christ. Who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. He is the beginning and the end. He is the Alpha and Omega. He knows what He's doing. Carrying us through. So if it has ended, let it go. If it needs to end, so be it. Its not necessarily a bad thing. Just keep moving upward and God-ward!

There are lots of endings that are good. I've been trying to hit that pretty hard. But today I want to take some time to address when its something good that ends. Because that happens. We refer to those times as the "good old days," right? And we look back fondly on them. As we should. But the key, as always, is to learn and grow from the past and keep moving forward. If you're always pining for days gone by you can't enjoy where you are right now. And just because its different now doesn't mean its necessarily worse. Let me link two verses together. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end," and Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." And here's my point: We went through a good time. And it came to an end. And we think things will never get better than they were back then. People who peak in high school. Or that one magic summer. Whatever. Well, the truth of the matter is, God KNOWS the end. Because He IS the end. And He knows the end from the beginning. He knows that there's a power working in you--a power called love, the only true power there is--that can do more than we think it can. Whatever we think is the best (and it usually is an experience, because we don't seem to be able to really believe that good things can happen to us very often)... it doesn't even come close to what God has in store for us. But, unfortunately, we sometimes rob ourselves of what God wants for us. We rob ourselves of the gift we've been given by trying to earn something that can't be earned. Or we spend all of our time wishing we still had what we used to have. I've noticed something about us humans: We have a really hard time letting go of things. And whenever people tell me, "Nevermind," I always reply with, "That's what I do best." But its really not. Sometimes I get stuck on things. Stuck in a rut. Which is just a grave with the ends kicked out. Stuck in the past. Unable to move forward. Because something good... ended. But here's what I'm trying to say today. Here's what you do: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" (Dr. Seuss). Life is all about choices. And its all about moments. Nothing lasts forever (except love). For everything there is a season. Buttons come and buttons go, to quote Pete the Cat. So we can either let the past define us, or keep us stuck pining over it, or we can learn and grow from it. We can look back fondly on it. I'm a little bit self aware of this, to be honest. I know there's a time when my son is going to grow up and stop wanting to spend every minute with me. (I'm hoping against hope that this doesn't happen, but I'm realistic.) So I try to make this time we have together "the good old days." I try to make our time special. Making a photo album out of our Halloween costumes. Matching t-shirts just about every day. So that when it IS over I can look back on it fondly. And I can still be ready to accept what my heavenly Father has for me next. So enjoy it while it lasts. And when its over... don't cry. Smile. There's something new right around the corner. Another adventure. And it may be different, but that doesn't necessarily mean its worse.

The first time the word "end" is used in the King James Bible is in Genesis 6:13, "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Sounds pretty doom and gloomy, eh? But not when you consider that God wasn't wiping out all of the human race. Because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God wasn't throwing a fit and destroying His creation. He was ending one thing so that He could begin a new thing. We see this over and over throughout the Old Testament, and we see this in its fulness in the cross. Now look at the second time the word "end" is used in the KJV, "And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated" (Genesis 8:3). The end of the flood. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. That's what I'm trying to say in this Rant series more than anything else: Endings aren't necessarily bad. If you're IN a bad situation, and it ends, that's a really GOOD thing. Let me try to say it another way: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). We get so used to the way things are, and so afraid to upset that status quo, that we miss out on a lot of what's available to us. We think, "Death! No way! That's horrible!" But sometimes its just another step in the journey. Like the caterpillar who, in a sense, dies in its cocoon. It emerges, reborn, as a butterfly. Something new comes from the end of something old. The seed can't do anything until it is dead and buried. Until its life as a seed ends. But then it brings forth much fruit. It fulfills its purpose. Because the purpose of a seed is not to be a seed. The purpose of a seed is to change. To learn and grow. To bring forth fruit. There's a season for everything. A season to BE a seed, and then a season to be planted. A season to grow. And a seson to bring forth fruit. I heard somewhere that everything that is alive is constantly changing. You aren't who you were five years ago. Or even one year ago. Isn't it true that all of our cells regenerate every seven years? Taste buds change. Everything. The old passes away and the new comes forth. That's life. The key is to enjoy the journey. Don't mourn because its over... rejoice because it happened. Nothing (except love) lasts forever. So take it as it comes. The harder you hold onto things, the more you end up hurting your hand. And, listen, some things ARE worth fighting for. I'm not saying you should be passive to the point where you're a victim of life. I'm saying you should fully participate in your life. But don't expect it to be something its not. Don't let your idea of what it should be mess up your enjoyment of what it actually is. I'm convinced that the picture in our head of how things are "supposed to be" is what messes us up more than anything else. Things begin. Things end. That's the cycle of life. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. And that's ok. In some cases that's good. You can't stay where you are forever. So enjoy it while it lasts and then embrace the next thing. Love is the only thing that lasts forever. And that's what life is: To live is to love and to love is to live. Live your life. Don't let endings--or the fear of endings--cripple you. Keep moving. Onward and upward. Onward and God-ward!

Something has to end for something new to begin. That, in the ultimate sense, is what happened 2,000 years ago on the cross. Look at Hebrews 10:9, "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." The first (Old) covenant had to end so that the second (New) covenant could be established. And even though we're using words like "first" and "second," "new" and "old," the simple truth of the matter is that God gave the Old Covenant to the people of Israel for the same reason He gave them a human king--because THEY wanted it. God deals with people where they're at. And before the cross--before the Holy Spirit began to dwell in us--the thing that made sense to a carnal mind was a set of rules. Do good and be rewarded. Do evil and be punished. That's what came from the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil). But that's not what God wanted. In fact, He set up a whole system of animal sacrifice--forshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God--in order to keep us from being punished all the time. And yet we still got to the point where we couldn't see God as anything but an angry taskmaster who wanted to punish us. Look at 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT), "The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." God doesn't want to get anyone in a negative sense. He's not out to get you. He's not sitting on a cloud somewhere, holding a lightning bolt and waiting for you to screw up. Because, in reality, God already got you on the cross. In a positive sense. When Jesus was lifted up from the earth He drew us all into Himself. When He died and was buried He was the seed that was planted in all of us. So that one thing could end and another could begin. Jesus nailed the Law of Moses--the Ten Commandments--to the cross because they were contrary to us. Against us. All the Law could do was point out what we did wrong. It demanded perfection without being able to produce perfection. And that was no good. Especially when, in God's eyes--the eyes of grace--we were already perfect. Made in His image. All we needed, from His point of view--was to be conformed into the image of His Son. So that we could know who we really are. Who we are in Christ, which is who Christ is in us. So that we could know ourselves as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, and so that we could know Him as our loving heavenly Father. That's the shift that took place on the cross--from slave to Son. That's what ended... a life of trying to earn our bread from the sweat of our brows... and that's what began... being redeemed by Jesus sweating His blood into a cursed earth. Reversing the curse. Ending it. And bringing forth blessings. Bringing forth rest. Bringing forth a life of love. Because that's what Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life is... it is a life of love. We thought we had to earn it, because we thought we didn't deserve it. But that's over. That ended. Now we know that God IS love, and He loves us! That's the ultimate truth of the universe. Always has been true, always will be true, and has finally been brought to light!

You had to know this was coming. But I want to be clear right off the bat... its like the song says, "Every new beginning is some other beginning's end." Because we're talking about eternal life, right? And if its eternal there IS no end. But in order for there to be a New there had to be an end of the Old. So we're going to hit on that--probably tomorrow. The end of the Old Covenant as Jesus died both for us and as on the cross. That's important. Its important to know where we came from. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, right? So, like I said, we'll get there. But I want to come out strong. And I want to kind of tie a bow on the last Rant series. Because you really can't have a new beginning without an ending. And the memory verse I want to quote tonight is Revelation 1:8, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." And for quite a while I wondered about that "the beginning and the ending" part. Because, as I said, eternal life doesn't HAVE an end. But then I started to see Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." My favorite Pete the Cat book says, "Buttons come and buttons go." There are all kinds of beginnings and endings in life. All kinds of seasons in our lives. I'm not where I was a year ago. Or ten years. Or thirty years ago. I've gone through things. Started things and ended them. Sometimes when Logan and I are driving around I point out different places I've worked at. And he says, "You've had a lot of jobs." Different jobs at different times. I lived in California for about six months (but don't mention it to my mom because she's still sore about it). There was a beginning and an ending to that season in my life. I preached every Sunday morning at a traditional church. Now I Rant and do Guerrilla Gospel YouTube videos. There's a time and a place for everything. A season for everything. Nothing lasts forever. Except love. And that's the point I'm trying to make tonight, and will try to make for the next few days. Love is the beginning. We hit that hard. But love is also the ending. You don't have to burn bridges and blow stuff up on the way out. You can, and I'm going to quote the verse again right here, "...Shrug your shoulders and be on your way..." (Matthew 10:13 MSG). Sometimes hanging on does more damage than letting go. Sometimes... have you ever heard of a happy ending? It doesn't have to be a negative thing. Sometimes an ending can be a beautiful thing. The ending of a bad situation. The ending of pain and suffering. Giving something everything you've got and knowing that its either enough... or its not. And if its not... shrug your shoulders and be on your way. Know that you did what you could do, and know that what God has planned for you is better than anything you could ever even plan for yourself. Abundantly above all that we could ask or even think, right? So don't despise endings either. Because the old has to end before the new can begin. And God has made all things new. The old HAS passed away. The ending ended 2,000 years ago. But, again, that's for tomorrow. Probably.

The idea behind this Rant series was to not despise small beginnings. To understand that where you're at isn't where you will be at. You're not stuck. Your story isn't written. But it kind of morphed--as they often do... I don't write because I think I know everything. I write in order to try to understand--into the truth that in the beginning... there was love. That's where we start. That's why God allows U-turns; because He loves you. That's why God does everything He has ever done or will ever do; because He is love and He loves you. So lets begin our new beginning (even if its small) with love. Look at 1 John 2:7, "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning." Remember the Word? Jesus. Love. Even when Jesus speaks of the "New" Commandment its really a return to the way things were in the beginning. The way things were always meant to be. And, listen, Adam eating from the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil) didn't surprise God. He didn't need to whip up a plan B to fix things. It was all part of the plan. So that, at the appointed time, He could reconcile us to Himself. Psalm 90:3 says, "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." The choice was never, "Stay in the garden of Eden or leave." The choice was what to do AFTER leaving (or being cast out... which sounds harsh, but was really in our best interests, because God didn't want man to eat from the tree of life in the "fallen" state of spiritual death. He was, as always, looking out for us and protecting us. But I digress). The choice was (and is) keep going ahead, trying do the best we can on our own... or return to Him. And since He has sworn to never leave us nor forsake us, that's a short trip. Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, right? And I've always thought that was more of a "break glass in case of emergency" type of deal. When you need a Savior... who you gonna call? When you're in over your head, remember who can help you walk on water. When you feel like you're at the end of your rope and you can't hold on... realize that HE is holding on to YOU and will NEVER let go. Because its all about love. God IS love. Your story started with love. You were created because of love. Because the God who is love wanted to express Himself. To you, and in you, and through you, and as you. So if you don't like where you're at... do something about it. Life is all about choices. What you believe flowing out of you through what you choose to do. The Word becoming flesh every time you act in love. The love inside you coming out as you know and believe that its in there. My mom has a coffee mug that says, "My love story begins now." And that's all I've been trying to say. If you guard your heart--by keeping it open to love instead of closing it down because you've been hurt--you can experience Jesus' everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life of love as He lives it (one more time for this Rant series) in you... and through you... and as you. So take that baby step. Don't despise a small change. Because a tiny snowball rolling downhill just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Follow your heart. Trust your gut. You're not stuck. God allows U-turns. Go for it!