Love well: living life unrehearsed and unstuck

306 Pages·2014·8.967 MB·English

by  George, Jamie

“I’ve always said that the best teachers are storytellers, and Jamie George is one
of the best storytellers I know. I’ve been blessed by hearing him tell his stories in
person for years. Now it’s your turn!”
Dave Ramsey New York Times bestselling author
and nationally syndicated radio show host
Do you feel like you’re stuck? Do you feel alone? Do you live in fear
that your struggles might push others away? Do you wonder if your
faith is a fraud because of the emptiness in your soul? Are you weary
of trying to play by the rules and pretend that everything is okay?
In Love Well, Jamie George confronts the popular heresy that
God’s children are meant to live a life absent of pain, sorrow, or
conflict. On the contrary, Jamie passionately describes brokenness
as a divine gift and a necessary God-ordained path to experiencing
true joy and genuine redemption.
With surprising transparency, Jamie shares his personal journey
of getting unstuck and provides reassuring comfort for those looking
to move beyond their pain toward a life of connection and grace.
“Jamie’s book arrived at a time in my life when I’m learning the difference
between loving others and loving myself. What’s selfish? What’s self-care? What’s
unconditional? Help! Let’s be honest, when are any of us not absolutely dying to
love and be loved well?”
hayley williams
of the band Paramore
“In Love Well, George offers us a spiritual harvest of
connection—with God, ourselves, and others—so we can
wade through our stuck places and start moving again.”
maRk batteRson
New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
Jamie GeoRGe founded The Journey Church, birthplace of
acclaimed worship duo All Sons & Daughters, near Nashville,
Tennessee, in 2006. In addition to writing Love Well, he has
collaborated with New York Times bestselling novelist Karen
Photo by Zach Gray JTwKeaiwnnmgwnisee.bj,sa ushmerisyei e .wognief eTo,hr Age enF.gacimoem,i layn odf Jtheesuirs f (oHuera alcsrhot i oaldvfa rtielhaneb l rSee tasosi drayne eC ibnoo olFlkercatnikolnin).,
US $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4347-0728-4
Religion 1
Christian life 29
5
Spiritual growth 0
7
CLGN
Printed in USA
Love Well cover.indd 1 6/5/14 4:34 PM
“I’ve always said that the best teachers are storytellers, and Jamie George is one
of the best storytellers I know. I’ve been blessed by hearing him tell his stories in
person for years. Now it’s your turn!”
Dave Ramsey New York Times bestselling author
and nationally syndicated radio show host
Do you feel like you’re stuck? Do you feel alone? Do you live in fear
that your struggles might push others away? Do you wonder if your
faith is a fraud because of the emptiness in your soul? Are you weary
of trying to play by the rules and pretend that everything is okay?
In Love Well, Jamie George confronts the popular heresy that
God’s children are meant to live a life absent of pain, sorrow, or
conflict. On the contrary, Jamie passionately describes brokenness
as a divine gift and a necessary God-ordained path to experiencing
true joy and genuine redemption.
With surprising transparency, Jamie shares his personal journey
of getting unstuck and provides reassuring comfort for those looking
to move beyond their pain toward a life of connection and grace.
“Jamie’s book arrived at a time in my life when I’m learning the difference
between loving others and loving myself. What’s selfish? What’s self-care? What’s
unconditional? Help! Let’s be honest, when are any of us not absolutely dying to
love and be loved well?”
hayley williams
of the band Paramore
“In Love Well, George offers us a spiritual harvest of
connection—with God, ourselves, and others—so we can
wade through our stuck places and start moving again.”
maRk batteRson
New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
Jamie GeoRGe founded The Journey Church, birthplace of
acclaimed worship duo All Sons & Daughters, near Nashville,
Tennessee, in 2006. In addition to writing Love Well, he has
collaborated with New York Times bestselling novelist Karen
Photo by Zach Gray JTwKeaiwnnmgwnisee.bj,sa ushmerisyei e .wognief eTo,hr Age enF.gacimoem,i layn odf Jtheesuirs f (oHuera alcsrhot i oaldvfa rtielhaneb l rSee tasosi drayne eC ibnoo olFlkercatnikolnin).,
Love Well cover.indd 1 6/5/14 4:34 PM
What people are saying about …
Love WeLL
“I’ve always said that the best teachers are storytellers, and
Jamie George is one of the best storytellers I know. I’ve been
blessed by hearing him tell his stories in person for years.
Now it’s your turn!”
Dave Ramsey, New York Times
bestselling author and nationally
syndicated radio show host
“Jamie cuts through the religious stereotypes. His laid-back,
transparent style of storytelling is extremely refreshing and
encouraging for a guy like me, who was raised in the church
and feels like he has seen it all. Jamie is a new friend that we
all truly need to hear from.”
Jeremy Cowart, photographer
and founder of Help-Portrait
“Jamie has invited us into his life through this book. Love Well
is a peek into a preferred future. You will be drawn in and
challenged to live life in a way that glorifies God and brings
you deep joy.”
Darrin Patrick, lead pastor of The Journey,
vice president of Acts 29, and author
of The Dude’s Guide to Manhood
“Jamie George is the most authentic communicator I have ever
met. It is a privilege to have him not only as my pastor and
spiritual teacher but also as my friend. Working under Jamie’s
leadership for the last seven years, I know that his story and his
willingness to share from a place of brokenness will lead others
to redemption and a deeper relationship with Jesus. It did for
me. Love Well is a book about relationships and brokenness, of
community and of the wholeness we are all stumbling toward.
Once you immerse yourself in this breathtaking narrative, I
believe you will be overcome with the beauty of a God who
has designed us to love and be loved.”
Leslie Jordan, All Sons & Daughters,
and worship leader at Journey Church
“When I heard Jamie was writing this book, my first thought
was, at last! He’s been one of my favorite storytellers for years,
and as soon as you read Love Well, he’ll be one of yours too.”
Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling
author of Start and Stuff Christians Like
“I need real. Don’t you? When it comes to love and faith
and all the parts of life bubbling below the surface, I can’t
waste time on something that doesn’t cut me to the core.
It’s this desire for authenticity that first drew me to Jamie’s
storytelling. No frills, no pretense ... messy human characters
that are REAL people. Jamie’s book arrived at a time in my
life when I’m learning the difference between loving others
and loving myself. What’s selfish? What’s self-care? What’s
unconditional? Help! Let’s be honest, when are any of us not
absolutely dying to love and be loved well?”
Hayley Williams, of the band Paramore
“Truth is something we don’t hear much anymore. Everything
is hype, marketing, or just packaged lies to get us to believe in
something. Love Well is filled with real truth that will challenge
what you think about religion, forgiveness, and your own
personal story.”
Randy Brewer, executive producer
at Revolution Pictures
“In Love Well, George offers us a spiritual harvest of connection—
with God, ourselves, and others—so we can wade through our
stuck places and start moving again. The poignant story of his
marriage will move you. His superb writing will inspire you. His
insights will challenge you.”
Mark Batterson, New York Times best-
selling author of The Circle Maker
“Love Well is a hard book to put down. Jamie George’s
transparency lends a much-needed, fresh voice to issues
of love, particularly within the urban context. This book is
a timely, relevant, and effective tool that will undoubtedly
liberate many to live and love richly.”
Dimas Salaberrios, pastor of Infinity
Bible Church and president of Concerts
of Prayer of Greater New York
“Jamie George has been my pastor, mentor, and friend for
many years. His willingness to be both open and honest, as
well as his genuine love for people sets him apart. To Love
Well should be our daily mission as followers of Jesus. God
so beautifully paints a picture of what that looks like through
Jamie’s story.”
Brandi Cyrus, model, host, and actress
“A consummate narrative weaver, Jamie has moved that gift
into the pages of Love Well. Many readers will be unfamil-
iar with the resources he skillfully weaves with biblical and
personal story, making this an unexpected but beautifully
textured tapestry. There will be threads you want to pursue
on their own and others that simply look gorgeous as they sit
in these pages. I hope his first foray of loom-work will create
better lovers—and lots of them. He deserves to be heard and
read.”
Dr. Ron Martoia, author and speaker for Velocity Culture
“Jamie George doesn’t stand idly by and point you in the
direction your life should go, but rather he vulnerably walks
beside you and creatively, clearly, and concisely inspires you
toward what it means to Love Well.”
Joel Smallbone, of the band
for KING & COUNTRY
“As childhood friends that reconnected as adults, both in min-
istry, it has been a joy to see the way God has used Jamie to
bring hope to others. His writing and his life reflect his passion
to Love Well!”
Robert Stearns, executive director of Eagles Wings
“Masterful storyteller Jamie George takes a bold, vulner-
able, and worthwhile approach in exposing the kinks and
cracks of his marriage to offer insight in getting unstuck.
This book doesn’t give generic or cliché answers (thank-
fully). Through artful illustrations, George does provoke
the reader to self-reflection. Sometimes the response
will be painful, sometimes ugly, sometimes breathtakingly
beautiful.”
A. J. Gregory, New York Times bestselling coauthor
of Nowhere But Up, Messy Faith, and Silent Savior
“Love Well offers you a map and tools to negotiate a jour-
ney into a foreign land most American Christians have never
visited. This journey is dangerous, painful, and demands dis-
cipline. To enter its gates means you will have to leave behind
hiding, arrogance, pride, self-righteousness, and legalism for-
ever. For many of you it will ask you to do something you have
avoided your entire life: be vulnerable and exposed to the
world. For the few who have the courage to venture through
the trail Jamie and his wife have blazed for you, you might
just find that your story in Christ is more magnificent than you
have ever experienced before.”
Brad Stine, actor, comedian, and
“God’s Comic” for the New Yorker
“Jamie’s honesty and vulnerability in Love Well continue to
inspire me. Every time I pick it up, I find more. My life is being
shaped by the powerful insight in this book.”
David Leonard, All Sons & Daughters,
and worship leader at Journey Church
“Jamie George is a masterful storyteller with a penchant for
real-life situational significance. I’ve never felt comfortable
with church or its confines, but I am proud to call Jamie my
pastor, friend, and fellow artist.”
Kevin Max, artist and author, formally
with DC Talk & Audio Adrenaline
“Jamie George has a heart that beats for believers in Jesus to
live an authentic faith. I am a regular listener to his podcast,
have had the privilege to be a part of his services in Nashville,
and believe him to be one of the men God is raising up in our
generation to bring loving truth and clarity. He’s also simply a
cool guy. You’d want to hang out with him. The subject “love
well” strikes a nerve inside me, because after a lifetime of
being in the faith, I need to be reminded of just what it’s all
about in the first place.”
Cliff Graham, bestselling author and
creator of the Lion of War franchise
“In Love Well, we are invited into a story that is raw, candid,
and redemptive. Not only did I resonate with Jamie’s struggle,
but I found his reflections fresh, buoyant, and full of hope.
Jamie has been my friend for more than a decade. I’ve been
telling him to write a book all that time. When you read it, you’ll
find out why.”
Darren Whitehead, author (with Jon
Tyson) of Rumors of God and lead
pastor of Church of the City
“Jamie and I live on opposite sides of the earth, yet our
stories have connected—connection, as he puts it, “watered
in truth” that “blooms in the soil of vulnerability.” Australians
value truth (we call it being “fair dinkum”). We value
compassion, too. We don’t care what you know until we
know that you care. Love Well has truth and grace, disclosure
and sensitivity, prophetic edge and pastoral heart. If you’re
unsure of the spiritual realm, if you’ve been wounded by
insensitive zeal or worn out on the religious treadmill, here
are prompts to relationship with the One who weaves the
broken and discordant elements of our stories together into
vibrant harmony.”
Graham Mabury, radio
personality and pastor
“Love Well is one of those books that grips you from the
beginning. Jamie and Angie show us that the abundant life is
an honest life. Love Well will give any reader a road map to
that honesty and as a result, a fuller, more satisfying life.”
David Whitehead, author and founder
of TheDailyBibleVerse.org
“I warn you, if you read this spiritual autobiography, the
needle on the compass of your motivations will be spinning
in directions you never dreamed of! Some of your favorite
ways of relating will be flipped upside down. After reading
Love Well, I believe you will find renewal in every one of
the chapters. They build underneath you like pavers on a
mountain road. You climb methodically and strongly with
Jamie to find a breath of fresh grace.”
Al Andrews, director of Porter’s Call