This post is part of our "Purpose Driven Life" book study, the first official Christian Boylove Forum book study. If you would like to join in, do not be discouraged by the thought that it's too late. The book is designed to be read one chapter per day but we only study one chapter every Monday and Thursday in this forum, so if you read it at the book's recommended pace, you will catch up with us very quickly. If you do not own the book, you can read the first few chapters for free here: http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/AboutUs/AboutTheBook/FirstSevenChapters.htm while you look for the book in your local bookstores or wait for it to arrive from online.

Planned for God's Pleasure

I am reminded in this chapter about YFs I have had in the past and boys who have brought me joy even though they were not my YF and my love for them remained at some distance. When I have been in love in the past, whether with a boy who loves me back or one whom I admire mostly from a distance, there is always that feeling that everything they do can make me smile and feel joy inside. It makes me happy to see him show off his latest karate move or tell me about his latest baseball game. It brings me joy to see him smile or hear him laugh. My heart skips a beat when he looks at me and smiles. If he were to give me something, I would treasure it. So, maybe I'm a bit of a sappy fool, but I really believe God feels very similar about us. I think of the boys I've cared about and how happy it makes me to see them willingly come to me, to see that they care enough to say hi, to see that they enjoy my company. I believe that's the kind of joy God gets from us. When he sees us worship, when we show up at his house Sunday morning, when we bring gifts, when we talk with him, when we make him a part of our lives, when we do the things he taught us and follow in his footsteps. Just like we get so happy when we see a YF succeed, when we see the difference we have made in his life, I think God feels the same way when we succeed, when we lead the life he made us to live. Perhaps those who have been blessed enough to be parents have an even greater appreciation for this kind of love; I don't believe it is something I will ever experience, but I think God has given me a glimpse, I think he has given all of us a glimpse into the way he feels about us.

I already touched on it above, the book barely touches on this (at least in this chapter), but Rick Warren says "He wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it". I believe that is a true statement. If you are still living a life of sadness and emptiness, I think it's important to realize that is not the life God wants you to lead. There is hardship in this world for sure, but God didn't create you to be sad, it makes him happy to see you enjoy the things he gave you.

I think this was a great chapter since it gives so much practical advice. To live a life of constant worship, to maintain constant communication with God, to make worship the beginning and the end of your day, to worship him in all we do...it's all very powerful and yet very practical advice. I hope that each of us can take at least one of those pieces of advice. For me, it's the one about maintaining a constant line of communication with God; I used to be so good at that, but at some point I stopped. I felt far closer to God when that line of communication was constantly open, and that's something I hope to reconnect with.

to participate actively in the book study, feel free to respond to this post or to any of the discussion questions Cat or anyone else posts below. You don't necessarily need to respond to what is written on this post, you may prefer instead to talk about the parts of the chapter that spoke to you even if it wasn't something mentioned on this post. You may also pose your own discussion questions.