The Love Project E-Book

Chris Dupre

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Life is about loving...to know love, and then just as freely as you have received it, to give it away to a world that is in desperate need of real and authentic affection and encouragement.  What if you could see yourself in a whole new way? What freedom could you walk in if you could see yourself as God sees you?  The Love Project will inspire you to see and enjoy God's great affection for you, and in so doing, allow you to be a catalyst to help others transform their own perspective of who they are and how they see themselves.  It is not just the journey of a lifetime; it is the journey for a lifetime. Watch your life, and those around you, turn from ordinary to extraordinary as day after day you live out The Love Project. 

Leseprobe

Being able to communicate the complexities of love is a gift, and few are as gifted at this as Chris DuPré. His ability to unfold and unpack the many layers and meanings of love is amazing. In The Love Project, Chris offers insight and understanding that is new, profound, and will impact the way you look at and communicate love.

MICHAEL W. SMITHSinger/Songwriter

Too often we stop at I love you. Far too often we don’t have the right words to convey the unique qualities we see and love in someone. This heartfelt book by Chris DuPré gives you examples of how to express your love in genuine, life-giving ways that are practical, simple, and honest. The Love Project will not only inspire you, it will change you as well as those around you. I absolutely love this book!

MELODY GREENMelody Green MinistriesCofounder of Last Days Ministries

A physician once said, “The best medicine for humans is love.” Someone asked, “What if it doesn’t work?” The physician smiled and said, “Increase the dose.” In The Love Project, Chris DuPré gives you practical advice on how to increase the dose. This is your guide to living loved and changing the world around you.

GORDON ROBERTSONCEO, The Christian Broadcasting Network

Chris DuPré has written about a subject that he knows very well…love. If you want to know what’s in a man, don’t just listen to him; listen to those around him. I’ve known Chris for almost twenty-five years and he is one of the most loved men I know. That just doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s because Chris knows something about how to love others well. The Love Project is the fruit of his many years of giving time and attention to all who come across his path. His reputation as a “father” to those around him is legendary. You would be well served to take hold of this book and glean all you can from it. It has within its pages the potential to change your life and to also change the world around you.

MIKE BICKLEFounder and Director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City

When talking about the ways of God, love reigns supreme. Chris not only knows the ways of God, but he personifies them. In The Love Project, through his characteristic lens of humor and a father’s heart, Chris shows us who we are in God and how we can become more of who we are meant to be. He makes the accurate observation that we tend to live out of the things we have experienced, but then he invites us to experience life in the atmosphere of God and to live out of the identity of the child who is perfectly and fully loved.

BROWN BANNISTERGrammy and Dove Award–winning Producer and Songwriter

The Love Project. What a title! And what an amazing theme! Chris hits the central issue in all of life. His writing is poetic, articulate, and philosophical, yet reaches deeply into the heart of human need and desire. You must read this book! It will help you understand life, yourself, and your purpose for being here. Chris rightly points out that “The Love Project” started in heaven.

JOHN ARNOTTCatch the Fire/Partners in Harvest, Toronto

This world is desperately awaiting the one convincing proof that is needed—the simple power of love unleashed. The Love Project is a trumpet call awakening us to that very thing.

BRAD CUMMINGSCoauthor, Publisher, and Film Producer of The Shack

We’ve known Chris DuPré for nearly a quarter century and have been pleasantly jarred by his unique ability to affirm us and clearly voice his love for us in very specific ways. It’s not how we commonly speak to one another in this busy world. After reading The Love Project, we now see the why behind the what of Chris’ practical expressions of love. Whether it’s friendship, workplace, ministry, marriage, or family, Chris challenges each of us to give voice to our love for others in practical, meaningful ways that can change lives. Thank you, Chris, for your friendship and thank you for challenging us to love others more extravagantly as we initiate our own love project.

STEVE AND JANE LAMBERTCreators and Publishers of Five in a Row

I’ve been blessed to be Chris’s friend since elementary school. If there ever was a modern-day David-and-Jonathan relationship, it is ours! Thanks for writing and living The Love Project, and for encouraging us all to be more intentional in our love for one another.

TOM SPITTALSenior Director, Global Compliance, AstraZeneca

As you read The Love Project, you will discover that it is the gift that keeps on giving. As I was scanning it for a quick overview by myself, I got caught up and started reading every word to my wife Barbara, blurting out at intervals, “That’s really great.” Chris clarifies often-heard, familiar Scriptures with passion. There were also intervals of crying, laughing, and healing of my own heart. I told my wife, “This book is like an emotional GPS, the Lord pointing us in the right direction.” I’ve had the privilege to know Chris for over twenty years and I can say that he is the real deal. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

MICKEY ROBINSONAuthor, International Speaker

There is a lot of God (i.e., Love) in Chris DuPré. I first met him when he was the worship leader at Catch the Fire Toronto. The positive impact of his worship leading and his heart so full of God are still being felt here. Chris’s first book, The Wild Love of God, was a revelation of our Father’s love for us and impacted my life significantly. The Love Project carries that story on, not just for us, but for all those around us. Our church’s motto is this: To Receive God’s Love and Give It Away to Toronto and the World. Chris got a download of the manual on how to do that and he wrote it down for all of us. I can’t see how you won’t be blessed by this book.

MICHAEL MANFORDChairman, Strategic Market Research Inc.Toronto, Canada

In The Love Project, Chris DuPré has generated a culturally relevant and kingdom-minded message. In a time when the definitions of love are mixed up, and in many cases love is almost totally lacking, this is a most profound and timely book. Chris is one who lives the message of intentional affection. Therefore, as he lives it, he can give it. Now we need to get it, read it, and live it!

SCOTT MACLEODAuthor, Producer, Musician, International Speaker President and Founder of Provision International

I have had the honor of knowing Chris DuPré and his amazing family since 1997. I personally know that the first four words Chris writes in this book are a true statement! He loves ice cream; however, he loves people most. He loves people well. I have witnessed firsthand as Chris lived each of the chapters in this book. I have heard him speak these very paragraphs. Every word on every page is merely an overflow of his life as a husband, son, father, friend, and lover of God. I can think of no better person than Chris DuPré to write The Love Project, because he did not simply write about it; he has lived this way for years, and we get to glean gold nuggets from someone who makes it of great importance to love people well. In the age of social media where people rarely look each other in the eye as meetings, conversations, and conflict are more and more handled through e-mail, it is a crucial word straight from the heart of God for these days.

JULIE MEYERJulie Meyer Ministries International House Of Prayer–KC

BroadStreet Publishing GroupRacine, Wisconsin, USAwww.broadstreetpublishing.com

© 2015 Chris DuPré

ISBN-13: 9781424549153 (hard cover)ISBN-13: 9781424550067 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture marked NIV is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Cover design by Chris Garborg at www.garborgdesign.comTypesetting by Katherine Lloyd at www.TheDESKonline.com

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Printed in China

Dedication

Writing a book about love doesn’t come along every day. So when it comes to doing a dedication for a book on this subject, there is only one person at the top of my list: my wife, Laura DuPré.

She is the most amazing woman I have ever known. Her love for me, our children, and our grandchildren is fierce, unyielding, and boundless. I have become better as a person and a man as a result of being married to her. May every reader understand that the subject of love within these pages has been enhanced and magnified because of my wife. She is my coauthor. So, to you, Laura, I dedicate this book. Thank you for loving me so well all these years.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

  1.

THE LOOK OF LOVE

  2.

WHERE’S THE LOVE?

  3.

THE BOOK OF LOVE

  4.

THE GREATEST OF THESE

  5.

LOVE STORIES

  6.

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW

  7.

CHEMICAL ROMANCE (THE SCIENCE OF LOVE)

  8.

LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE MARRIED TO

  9.

TURN THE HEARTS, TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

10.

TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT

11.

LIVING LOVED

12.

LOVE PROJECT CHALLENGE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ENDNOTES

INTRODUCTION

I love ice cream. I’m not a coffee drinker, so that flavor doesn’t thrill me, but bring on the chocolate, vanilla (with chocolate syrup), or strawberry (also with chocolate syrup). Don’t forget the sherbet and gelato, too, and please, please don’t forget the frozen custard—Abbott’s Frozen Custard from Rochester, New York. Oh, yeah!

I love a good movie. I’ve loved movies since I was a kid, and even today a good movie will transport me to a place of laughter, peace, suspense, or even to a place of greater understanding.

I love music. From the moment I could walk I’ve been embarrassing everyone around me (especially my kids) as I “move” to the music. When the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan in February of 1964, it cemented my love for music. When I was growing up, our home was filled with everything from Mario Lanza to old Broadway tunes to the latest rock-and-roll songs.

I love spring. When winter drops its icy hold on the cold and darkness, it’s such a joy to feel the increased warmth and light and to know that more days like that are on the way.

I love… I love… I love…

I could go on all day about the things I love. My wife, my kids, my grandchildren, my friends, even the places I’ve been and the many experiences I’ve gone through.

Life is about loving. It’s why we’re here. We were created to be loved so that we can, in turn, love others. Did you hear that? Just to make sure, let me say it again. We were created for the purpose of being loved so that, in turn, we may love others.

I went for years without losing a loved one. Then, within a short period of time, I suffered the loss of three of the dearest people in my life. In 1990 I lost my grandmother (the only grandparent I ever knew, who was like a second mother), in 1991 my father suddenly passed away, and in 1992 my mother passed away after a very short illness. My grandmother’s passing was expected—she was ninety-nine. But my parents were in their mid-sixties, and their deaths were both sudden and unexpected.

In the months after their deaths, I occasionally found myself about to give one of them a call to tell them about something that was happening with me or with one of my kids. Then I would realize that they were no longer there. I couldn’t call them, nor would I see them soon at some family function. Time had continued to move ahead, and during its journey, time ushered people—people I loved—into their eternal home.

Though I realize that I can no longer tell them the things I want to say, I am mindful that I am surrounded by people I know and love, still on this side of death’s door, which reminds me that it’s not too late to say the things that need to be said. It’s not too late for them.

A few years ago a young man walked by me in church and said, “Love ya, man. Call me.” It would have been innocent enough, but I was a father figure to him and I hadn’t seen him in over a year. I realized that he was in a hurry, and getting anything from him that day was great, so I smiled and waved back.

My antenna went up after that moment and I have become very aware of how shallow we are with our words of praise, encouragement, and affirmation. Even the phrase “I love you” lacks the power it is meant to have. “I love ice cream, I love the NFL, and I love you.” Well, thanks.

“I love you” is good, but “I love you because…” is better. The ability to express our love and appreciation for one another, with specifics, is crucial.

We live in a world of comparison and competition, yet God made us all different. So often we can’t see the beauty within us, yet others see it clearly. We need to call out those things we see in each other and to share, bless, and help transform their perspectives so that they are not just seeing what others see, but they begin to see themselves as God sees them.

So I think it’s time for a revolution. It’s time for a love movement! From books to songs to TV and movies, it’s time we awakened the world to life’s most important subject: love. The Love Boat may have sailed away a long time ago, but to God, because His very nature is love, it’s time to once again get on board and sail into His ocean of affection. I know, that last sentence was a bit flowery, maybe even corny, but I like it.

As we begin this journey together, I want to say that I am not the expert on what it means to love. Jesus is. I am, like you, on my own journey to discover what it means to love as He loves. Looking at the state our world is in, I believe it’s time to fill the airways with the reality of the power of love. It’s time for a national conversation on the benefits of loving one another in real and practical ways—at home, at work, with family, friends, and even strangers. It’s time for a movement based on living lives of intentional affection. It’s time for The Love Project.