Finding a little more love in a lot more ways - a review of Love Lives Here by Maria Goff

As I was thinking about what to review for the continuation of self care month, I glanced at my book shelf and saw Love Lives Here by Maria Goff. I bought this book quite a while ago. I really connected with Everybody, Always by Bob Goff. This, as you may recall from an earlier post, is one of the books I've given many times as gifts. So, my logic is that if Bob Goff wrote amazing books, then his wife, Maria Goff, likely wrote amazing books. But somehow, this book got tucked away on my book shelf and it's about time I gave it a read. (Spoiler alert, she does write an amazing book).

Goff shares stories about her life, from childhood to adulthood. She shares how she was thinking and feeling in the moment, and how, as she looks back, she sees something completely different. She applies her lens of love and faith to each of these stories and provides encouragement for us to do the same in our own lives. She tackles some pretty tough concepts, like overcoming tragedy, competition/comparison, self esteem/self worth, relationships, and trauma/abuse.

Goff's husband writes the forward to the book. He mentions, as she does later, about enneagrams. I wasn't familiar with this but it peaked my curiosity. You can click here and here for some links to books about enneagrams. Basically, its a method of describing personality types. According to Truity, are 9 personality types: the heart types (the giver, the achiever, the individualist), the head types (the investigator, the skeptic, the enthusiast), and the body types (the challenger, the peacemaker, the perfectionist). I took Truity's free test and found I'm a peacemaker, at a 98% match followed by a perfectionist, at an 84% match. This was so cool and would recommend you try the enneagram test. If I only glean one thing from this book, I'd be happy with this.

But the enneagram is not the purpose of Goff's book. That was just a small snippet in the beginning of her book. Goff's book is inspiration shared through storytelling. Let me share a quote from Love Lives Here. Goff says,

What I think God does is to allow each of us to go through difficult times to show us His presence through it. It's as if He reminds each of us in our most difficult circumstances that the most beautiful waterfalls only happen in the steepest places in our lives."

Quote from Love Lives Here by Maria Goff, pg 19

This book is copyright 2017. Fast forward 3 years to 2020 and these words are even more true, and even more needed, than ever. This has been a difficult year for all of us. We have faced social isolation, financial worries, threats to our health, and what feels like constant change. Have you had moments where you've felt a sense of peace, calm within you when everything else seems like a never ending storm.

I took this picture on a hike when covid shutdowns had started. I was fearful of what was happening in the world and anxious because of all the unknowns. This moment, though, changed things for me. This moment was my peace. This moment was a chance to reset myself and notice the beauty around me. What a masterpiece I got to see this day. When hiking, we missed the turn we intended to take. So, our path was a few miles longer than anticipated (and there were a few more grumbles uttered), BUT without missing the turn, we would never have made it to this spot. We would never have seen this beautiful unending sea of bluebells. Maybe the missed turn wasn't actually an error, maybe it was needed to happen that day to lead me to some calm. I realize this is a pretty small example. I'm learning to appreciate the small things in life and I think this story of the bluebell field is perfect.

As I think about the past 6 months and all we've gone through and sacrificed to keep keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and healthy, I certainly long for "normal." I long for hugs, meals with my extended family, vacations to explore new places. There are, though, many things that I hope stick around. I hope that I continue to appreciate the outdoors as much as I have the past 6 months - without the opportunity to be in nature, I very may well have gone crazy. I hope that I continue to spend time with my family and continue to be grateful for every moment we get to be together. People are talking about kindness more and I hope this sticks around too. What are some good changes you think will come out of all of this?

I think I selected the cover photo because it makes me think of the title. Everything in the photo looks a little worn - the table, the door behind it and even the book. I worry way too much about what my house looks like. It's lived in, but it's also loved in. That's all that matters, right? And this right here is why this photo makes me think of Goff's title Love Lives Here.

Invite, include, welcome, and celebrate the people around you, and you'll be doing exactly what Jesus was talking about.

Quote from Love Lives Here by Maria Goff, pg 118

This makes me think of a shirt I loved. The shirt said "You can sit with us." Such a simple statement but oh so powerful. Maybe we need more love, more kindness, more compassion, more nice. To others and to ourselves. Maybe we all need to think like Goff does and explore how love lives in every moment of every day, we just have to look for it. Goff is a wonderful storyteller leaving behind feelings of hope, acceptance and love. She provides encouragement that I have what I need and I am enough.

You can find your own copy of Maria's book, along with her husband Bob's books, by clicking the links below. I am an Amazon associate and may earn a small amount from any purchase. Thank you.