The Love-Revolution Network

Unfortunately I have some not so good news to share.  You see, in order for the LRN website to be successful it needs to have someone who can invest time into it and build it up and I’m finding that I don’t have the time that is required.  So, instead of promoting the LRN, getting people involved, and ultimately letting them down because I can’t support the system, I’ve decided to shut it down for a while.

I still firmly believe in the principles that the LRN stand for. Loving God and Loving People is what the gospel is all about.  I will still be striving toward living out these principles in my own life and making them an integral part of my family and I hope you will too.  I’ll even continue to work on the website and make it better because one day, when I have the time to invest in it, I will fire it up again and we’ll go full bore at turning the world upside down by encouraging one another and spreading the word on the LRN website.

In the mean time let me encourage you to make every effort to develop the principles of Loving God and Loving people in your own life.  If there is anything I can do for you feel free to contact me through any of the email addresses on the website.  They are still active and I will respond.

Thank you for your support of the LRN and remember that the shutting down of the LRN is small beans. Jesus started the Love-Revolution and the Love-Revolution goes on.  So, allow me to summarize Christ’s teachings and encourage you by saying “Go and make disciples teaching them to Love”.

Your Brother-in-Christ,

Chris Hawbaker

Do you remember when we were kids we would play games and when someone screwed up they’d call for a “Do Over”?  We’ll that’s how I’m feeling right now.  I want a Do Over.

I was walking out of Lowes parking lot Tuesday night when a man slowly approached me in his car.  I could see through the windshield that he was motioning for me to come talk to him.  So I looked in the passenger side window and he handed me a note that said:

“I’m deaf. I need gas to get home. I live in York.”

I immediately thought two things:  1) Here is an opportunity to show God’s love to someone and  2) He’s lying. (more…)

A few weekends ago my family went to Tennessee with my Mom and Dad and my Sister and her family and spent a few days together. We had a great time hanging out, going to Dollywood, and having fun. We are all believers who share common values and a common worldview and we got along great. But, after spending a few days together it was easy to see that there were stark differences between us as well.

While we were growing up, my Mom taught my Sister and I the importance of having a good attitude. Angie learned her lesson well and approaches every day with a smile and a laugh. I’m a little more melancholy like my Dad and take a more serious approach to life, relatively speaking.

My Sister and I married people of like mind and our families reflect our approaches to life. So, despite our common faith, values, and worldview, our different life philosophies changed the way we all approached a given day. It was easy to see how those differences played out when we shared the same condo together for 3 days. (more…)

Last weekend we took the time to remember the events of Easter and celebrate the resurrection of Christ and his purchase of forgiveness and salvation for us.  It’s a time when we feel a tremendous amount of gratitude for Christ and what he did on our behalf.  Truly his sacrifice was great and the benefit to us can not be measured.  Beautiful Savior indeed!  

Sometimes it’s easy to be grateful for all the benefits Christ purchased for us and give him praise and shower him with thanksgiving but forget about the implications his death has for how we ought to live our lives.  His death not only fulfilled the Father’s will and purchased salvation for us, it was also the culmination of a lesson he was trying to teach his disciples.  His death was his own sermon illustration.  It drove home the point of his message in a way no one would ever forget…unless they forgot the sermon. (more…)

On our good days, when life is going smooth and our troubles seem small, we strive to be available to God and to our neighbors, to do good and to be a blessing.  We hope to be able to help others with their problems and lighten their loads and to reflect the love of Christ to those we meet.  But what do we do when we face problems that are weighing us down? What do we do when the world around us appears to be falling apart and we are consumed with the problems at hand and can’t seem to get them off of our minds?

In view of our own salvation and our great inheritance in heaven, does it even make sense to be concerned with the things of this world?  Is it worth getting stressed out over?  Is it just plain wrong to be sorrowful and troubled about this life?  Didn’t Jesus tell us not to worry about this life, what we eat or drink or wear?  After all, God is sovereign.  His ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts.  He is sovereign over the weather, nations, death, life, poverty, and riches, and even men’s hearts.  People do what God plans and wills them to do beforehand. And, in the end, won’t God work out things for our own good?  So what is the point of worrying? Besides, who by worrying can add a single hour to his life, right?

 But, doesn’t that approach just minimize and marginalize very real problems?  Life isn’t trivial.  Life is real.  The things that are happening today will impact people for years to come.  Our current problems and struggles have real consequences and make a real impact on us and others.  Isn’t there a difference between not worrying and not caring?  Shouldn’t we care? (more…)