LOVE COSTS

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.

John 3:16

 

This verse is known the world over. It is the message that God loves everyone universally and unconditonally. It is understood that God was willing to give his only Son to the cause of humanity's redemption. God made the ultimate sacrifice for us and in turn as we live our lives for Him, He challenges us to give the same self-sacrificing love that we have recieved. And therein lies the challenge.

 

Love is not just butterflies, candy, flowers, and sunny days. Love is also earth-quaking, shattering, breath-stopping pain. Love isn't simply warm fuzzies. Love can require of us lettting go, knowing that another person's happiness may not bring you a desired outcome. Love can require us to speak up when we would rather remain silent because we don't want the confrontation that love can bring. Love is messy, but love is worth all that it brings.

Love costs. Romantic Love? Costs even more.  It costs you to open up and be vulnerable with another human being, to allow them into your spiritual space, your soul. When you engage in the act of intimacy (sexual intercourse) you intertwine your soul with the soul of another. It's a part of you that you cannot get back. This is why the Word of God says that a man sins agasint his own self when committing fornication (sex outside the marriage covenant).

When you repeatedly commit this crime against your self, in the process you lose soul. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?  A love-emptied soul is a dangerous one. It stops counting the cost because it has become bankrupt. We live in a day where the love of many has waxed cold. How did they get there? The deposits stopped.

Don't stop depositing and filling your heart with the love of God and the compassion of God. This world will present you with many opportunities to say, "Love isn't worth it." Don't buy into it. Remember, age after age, mankind has continually given God pause, to say "I repent that I made man," and He is the Creator of the Universe! Yet, God in His mercy made a way for our sins not to separate us from His Love. And it cost HIM. People will give you cause to pause, cause to throw in the towel, but keep going. Keep loving. Keep praying, Father: show me how to love like YOU have loved Me.

I am reminded of how much GOD loved and continues to Love Me. The price was beyond value. The beautiful thing about God is that He has not asked of us, what he has not done himself. He looked past our faults and saw our need to be loved. We love Him because He first loved us.

Love costs. Spend it well. Spend it often. Spend it generously.

Church Love: A Divine Romance

Church Love, The Seasons In Savannah Series is centered around a community of multicultural Believers who are connected by their love for God, family, and community. Unlike many Christian series, this novel series does not focus on one particular culture (African-American, Hispanic, etc.) or type of Believer (Baptist, Amish, Pentecostal, etc.) but rather focuses on the shared Faith that the community holds: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

Church Love is set in Savannah, Georgia, and deals with issues beyond romantic relationships. I tackle, Courtship Principles, Breast Cancer, Fibroid Tumors, Single Motherhood, Entrepreneurship, Restoring Families,Syndicated Crime, Rape, and up next, in the final installment of the series, Human Trafficking. Though lengthy, the series reads like a fast paced movie, drawing the reader in and making them feel apart of the Church Love community. The characters are real. The issues are real. But there's a real God that they serve who speaks audibly and through His Word to help the characters navigate through the mundane and the unexpected turns and twists that life takes us in .

The underlying principle of the Church Love Series is how very much God wants to engage us in all aspects of our lives, from what profession we pursue to who we marry, God invites us to include Him in the journey. And many of us, like the elegant Savannah, or the straight-laced Augusta, hesitate to really let people in to love us, are sometimes similar in our attitude towards God. But, like the characters in the story, God doesn't give up on us, but He pursues us, woos us, and loves us with an UNstoppable love.

So, if you've never read the series, pick up your copies today if you are new to the series. If you're emailing the author frantic with impatience, wondering when the last installment is coming, then introduce someone else to the series. Plan a trip to the beautiful city of Savannah, make it a Girl's Retreat and check out the sites from the novel.

Some readers have selected Church Love as their reading group book of the month, some Pastors have used the principles as counseling for engaged and married couples, some have discovered a love for reading late in life, and some are planning that Single's Getaway (you'll have to read Book 3 to understand :)

I would love to hear how the series has impacted your life, what character you found yourself relating to, and how you are using the principles laid out in fiction. Until we meet again in Savannah, remember the greatest thing you can give in this life is LOVE!

Writing in Progress,

Shantae A. Charles

Love From God's Eye View

Love requires you to unwrap the package and accept the gift, flaws and all.

HGQ

As I currently work on my last novel in the Church Love series, I am struck by how many quotes I can find on love, or rather someone's spin on it. Underneath the cute phrases, there's some envy, and some selfish motive involved. So, I set out to find what the scriptures say about love from God's perspective and what kind of light it sheds on the kind of love we say we are offering our significant others and our friends. Here's 5 verses and what I've found in them:

Love Lesson 1

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 Love doesn't wait on anyone else to respond. Love is always the first to act, and the last to leave you.

Love Lesson 2

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
No matter how many rules you keep, you've broken them all if you don't love

Love Lesson 3

John 15:9-10 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
Love is a place and a person. People don't go to the place, if they don't feel it from the person.

Love Lesson 4

John 14:21-24 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Love has proof.You can't say you love and then offer no evidence.

Love Lesson 5

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Love doesn't back out during difficult times. Lust and selfish ambition does.

I encourage you to meditate on these verses and ask God to reveal to you more principles about this emotion called love. You'll be surprised at what He will speak as you meditate on His Word!

Believe Love Is Sacred & Special

In a world where it is all to easy to treat love casually, here are some

CHRISTIAN COURTSHIP PRINCIPLES

For those who believe love is sacred and special

God has written us on the palm of his hand. We are his love note.

v  See yourself the way God sees you: Unique, Chosen, and Special

v  Align your values with the Word of God and don’t substitute His standards

v  Don’t place God in a box. He knows you better than you know yourself

v  Pray, Fast, and Seek God before entering or committing to any relationship

v  Do not court the unsaved; you will begin your relationship at odds

v  Make sure the person you are courting is growing in the Lord

v  Make sure the person you are courting in submitted to a local body and the leadership

v  Ask a lot of questions and don’t be intimidated when others ask you the hard questions

v  Fellowship in a group instead of one-to-one settings

v  Introduce them to your pastor; abide by your leaders rules set in your house of worship

v  Ask to be introduced formally to their leader if you don’t share the same one

v  Do not become engaged without Christian counsel

v  Do not plan a wedding during courtship or engagement; these are separate processes

v  Do not mislead anyone about your intentions. Friends should be treated as friends

v  Do not place commitment before compatibility

v  Do not get ahead of God; if He says wait, wait. If He says no, believe He has better

v  Avoid the marriage is the answer to everything syndrome; it is ministry to a dying world

v  Don’t create soul ties (opening yourself up spiritually, physically, emotionally before God’s timing)

v  Don’t ignore warning signs of potential problems (abuse, addictions, possessiveness) they will only magnify later

v  Know when to stop the bleeding; don’t remain in a relationship because of obligation or guilt. Call it off if necessary and the person refuses to get counseling

v  Give yourself time between relationships (at least 6 months )

v  Courtship should have a goal in mind. It is not casual dating. You should be able to see yourself growing with the person and making a lifelong commitment to them and potential family. This is not for the person simply looking for “a good time”

v  You are more than a good time. You are a person who is worth the value and quality God invested in you. You are treasure, and the wise person will search for and seek you out

v  Allow others to hold you accountable in your relationship, those who care more about your spiritual health than saying what you want to hear

 Taken from the B.L.I.S.S. conference hosted by God Ideas LLC. For more information, email churchlove333@yahoo.com

Real People. Real Issues. God Answers.

Heartache. Blind Dates. Emotions blading on ice skates?

Sly glances. Second chances.

Turning Cynics into Romantics?

Chest constricting? Stomach in knots?

Butterflies fluttering? Having second thoughts?

God understands every feeling under the sun.

God knows the feeling of giving your heart to that special someone.

Risking everything you are,

and everything...you're not.

But loving passionately with all you've got.

Real people. Real issues. To God who sees everything.

He's got an answer for heartbrokeness, unrequited love,

and love in full swing.

So if you want to journey to love bird lane,

find yourself holding your breath, or releasing your pain.

Come laugh, cry, pray, and get to know the God above.

I dare you to be changed by an encounter with Church Love.

**snaps** and Church Love 2 ya!

Press Without Stress

It's only 13 days into 2012 and you're already feeling the press. Well, I invite you join me at the True Deliverance 11th Annual Women's Conference. The theme, "Press Without Stress" invite you to come out and learn with your fellow sisters in Christ how to do so on Saturday January 14, 2012 at 10 am. The conference is free and open to the public. I will  also be signing and taking orders for Church Love Novels. So, if you are in the VA,DC,MD area, I invite you to come out and prepare to be equipped to press forward in your purpose and leave the stress behind! Visit www.truedeliverance.org for more information and directions.

Something To Talk About

The Church Love Novel Series, set in Savannah, GA is the food for the Spiritual Soul. The Novels address everything from broken family relationships, to date rape, to women's health issues like breast cancer. The underlying theme is that in the midst of our brokeness, God Himself is there to heal us, and in the midst of our dysfunctions in relationships, He is there to speak to us, and guide us into healthy, God-honoring relationships. All Novels are available through www.createspace.com. www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, www.booksamillion.com and wherever books are sold. They also available as e-books through Nook & Kindle. For bookings, you can email shantaecharles333@gmail.com.

10 Reasons 2 Read Church Love Novels

I love a challenge! I was asked the other day to give some reasons why my book series stands out among the MANY summer reads available. In talk-show fashion here are what I believe are the top ten reasons you should get off your couch, get to a bookstore, computer, or phone and purchase, order, or download my novels and get to reading!

TOP 10 Reasons To Read Church Love Novels

10. You have absolutely ZERO understanding of the opposite sex.
(think CLUELESS)

9. You have no understanding of dating and courtship.

8. You want to laugh out loud repeatedly. Over and Over again.

7. You want a good, clean, read.

6. You like to support ($$$) writers you know.

5. You want to put a Christian on the. Bestsellers lists.

4. You want to experience the presence of God through fiction.

3. You want to read a novel that makes you put away Zane,Harris,Tyree

2. You HATE reading and want to accept a challenge that Church Love
can change that.

1. You want to say you discovered a great writer BEFORE
she became outrageously famous! (hindsight is 20/20, LOL!)

If you have READ Church Love Novels, I'd love to hear from you! Share your comments below!

Blessings and Church <3