Thursdays, I am the faculty sponsor for the Christian club at the high school where I work.  “First Priority” starts at 7:15am, which means I have to leave my house by 6:15am to arrive on time.  As I was backing out of my parking space, I noticed the tire pressure sensor was on, so I stopped at the gas station, which just happened to be half a block from the fire station where my Dad works.

I hurriedly pulled in to check the tire pressure and found a nail in the sidewall of the tire.  I’m no mechanic, so I called my Dad, hoping he’d be at work…and he was!

“Hey Dad, I’ve got a nail stuck in the sidewall of my tire, can you patch it real quick?  I’m at the gas station right by the fire station!”  And the former mechanic replied, “Sorry buddy, you can’t patch something in the sidewall.  You’ll need a new tire.  But come on over and I’ll help ya get the spare put on so you don’t miss work.”

So I drove on over, a bit discouraged and more than frustrated (tires are about $100 apiece).

We swapped the tires out and my Dad said, “Let me take the old one and I’ll replace it for you today while you’re at work.  I know you won’t be back before the store closes this afternoon.”

You can’t patch it, you need a new one.

And you can’t do it yourself.

Let your Father handle it.

That’s what Love Does.

Love doesn’t just patch your holes and hurts.

Love replaces.

Love doesn’t just mend.

Love gives you something brand-new.

Love goes out of his way to meet your needs.

Love does the impossible.

Love is a Grease Monkey with dirt under his nails.

Love fights fires.

Love coaches little league or takes you fishing.

Love sits through a choir concert or a school play.

Love works three jobs and shops at the thrift store.

Love does whatever it takes.

Love Does.

ATTIC,

Steve

There’s still time to win your two free copies of “Love Does” by my friend Bob Goff!

So how do you win a copy?

Here’s how the contest works:

• Submit one true story (up to 500 words) of someone else that you’ve recently observed putting love into action. Someone living with whimsy and just GOING FOR IT! It could be a teacher, a friend, a co-worker, family member, pastor, or anyone else you’ve seen living their life proactively, living with the belief that LOVE DOES.
• Follow @graceismessy on Twitter
• Tweet this: Win a free copy of “Love Does” by @bobgoff! Go to http://messygrace.com today for details! #graceismessy #lovedoes
• Win! A winner will be chosen and announced on Friday May 11. The winner will receive two copies of Love Does by Bob Goff- one to keep and one to share.
  

Here’s the fine print (please read in your best hurried announcer voice):

The timeline to submit is between now (12:05am Wednesday 5/2/12) and 11:59pm Tuesday 5/8/12.

Submit your story here (just hit “reply” and leave a comment) or email the story to messygrace@me.com

One winner will receive a brand-new copy of “Love Does” plus a second copy of the book to give as a gift to the person you wrote about.

Winner will be notified by email on Friday, May 11, 2012. Winner will also be announced here at http://messygrace.com.

Stories submitted may be posted as a blog entry on this website in the future.

Deadline for submission is 11:59pm Tuesday 5/8/12.

Looking forward to reading your stories!