I wanted to love this book, but could not. It is not the author, the plot, or even his perspective of the story of Hosea and Gomer.
That being said, I still found positives to take away.
- Be true to yourself. Do not let the opinions of others change the trajectory that God has laid out for you.
- Change is possible as long as you believe and work toward that change. Change only happens while moving forward and you can't be walking backwards while doing so and expect to change. Change will not happen if you are looking to your past for present answers.
- Love is the answer...isn't that what "they" say? As far as God is concerned, love is the answer. It is about challenging yourself to do better than yesterday, last week, or last year.
- We have to admit our weaknesses. Your weakness (shame, guilt, anger, jealousy, etc) will have no hold on you if you exterminate it. Your past can teach you what not to do and where to never go again.
- As Christians, we are called to be the feet of Jesus. Feet are meant for walking, not sitting in pews looking down your nose at those that don't meet YOUR criteria. You are not God! We are called to love. Period.
- Boundaries are healthy. Boundaries make us aware of God's convictions. You can not control people or circumstances, but you can control your response.
- Walking with God is about being devoted to Him at all times and fills every aspect of your life and decisions. Do not become distracted by the world. Be patient.
- Love is a choice. Change is a choice that has to be made before you feel like doing it. Feelings become emotions. We begin to believe our emotions are our truth. When we listen to our emotions we can not hear God speaking to us.
- Learn to be at peace during every season, storm, or set back. We need to eliminate all our distractions that keep us from focusing on God. Because many of us were never shown "true love", we don't understand what it is, so love is more of a concept than a reality.
- Loneliness is not the result of being alone, but of not letting God fill the void.
- Quit letting that one bad decision overshadow all decisions moving forward. It was one chapter in your existance, not your life story.
If you are new in your walk with Jesus, then this is a great book to give you direction on where you may want to dig in deeper. I am not a new Christian i was searching for something to help me dig deeper to face the storm and change my trajectory - this is not the book for me.