Ten years ago I was sitting alone in my basement.  My favorite football team, the Denver Broncos, had just lost a game.  I felt God speak to me.

“Do you love Me?”

“Yes!  Of course I love You?”

“Do you love Me more than you love your wife?”

I paused. And as I thought about it, I knew I loved my wife, deeply. We woke up together. We had coffee together. She knew every single thing about me and I knew every single thing about her. I kissed her at night and we were always there for each other. Not so deep down, I knew the answer.

“I love my wife more.”

“Do you love Me more than you love your kids?”

I would DIE for my kids. If they needed my heart or my eyes or my blood, I would gladly give it to them.

“Lord. I love my kids more.”

And then.

“Do you love Me more than you love the Denver Broncos?”

At first I kind of laughed to myself, “OF COURSE I love you…”

Wait.

I had just watched my team for 3 hours, as I always did on Sundays during football season.  And as I thought about it, I’d never spent 3 hours alone with God.  EVER.  I’d never prayed for 3 straight hours.  I’d never read my Bible for 3 straight hours.

I wondered, DO I EVEN LOVE GOD?

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I think it’s easy to SAY we love God. But what does that mean? Jesus said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.”

I made a commitment that night to stop praying.  Sort of.  I stopped praying for my businesses. I stopped praying for my health. I stopped praying for safety. I traded all my personal prayers for one, four word prayer.

For an entire year I prayed, “God. I Love You.”

The following November, 2011 I found myself in Guatemala on my first missions trip. On one of the last days we helped at a feeding center in zone 6 of Guatemala City.

I remember walking in the back door and seeing 200+ kids packed into a very full cafeteria. They were waiting and getting settled into their seats. The church worship team started playing music and singing and the kids all stood up to sing with them.

These kids were poor poor.  As in, “this might be the only meal they eat today, poor.”

I stood at the back of the room, and watched them raise their hands and worship our mighty God. They LOVED Him. You could see it. YOU COULD FEEL IT.

And it was on that day, on December 1st 2011, watching those kids, that I realized, I loved God too.

“I don’t want you on Sundays.  I don’t want you when you have time.  I want ALL of you.  Follow me.”

Seven months later my family and I sold our house, our two successful businesses and landed in Guatemala City to serve our one true Love with our whole lives.