The Might of a Dandelion Saints are never giants —Calvin Miller in Symphony in Sand |
Down Before Up Growing spiritually can be like a roller coaster ride. Take comfort in the knowledge that the way down is only preparation for the way up. —Rebbe Nachman of Breslow When All Else Fails —Flannery O'Connor, |
We Know Who Holds the Future When was the last time you thanked the Lord for not showing you the future? I'm convinced that one of the best things God does for us is to keep us from knowing what will happen beyond today. Just think of all the stuff you didn't have to worry about just because you never knew it was coming your way! —Charles Swindoll in The Chisel's Pain We must offer ourselves to God like … a piece of stone. Each blow from the sculptor's chisel makes it feel—if it could—as if it were being destroyed. As blow upon blow descends, the stone knows nothing of how the sculptor is shaping it. All it feels is a chisel chopping away at it, cutting it, and mutilating it. … [I]t might [say]: " … I have no idea what he is doing, nor do I know what he will make of me. But I know his work is the best possible. It is perfect and so I welcome each blow of his chisel as the best thing that could happen to me, although, if I'm to be truthful, I feel that every one of these blows is ruining me, destroying me, and disfiguring me." —Jean Pierre de Caussade, Move on Ahead —Andrew Merritt in Use the Right Standard —Ugandan Archibishop Janani |
Beyond Hypocrisy It is not well for a man to pray cream, and live skim milk. —Henry Ward Beecher A Superior Royalty —Archbishop William Temple, Keep on Keeping On —Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Loving God This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God when they love Him for their own advantage. Indeed, I tell you the truth. Any object you have in your mind, however good, will be a barrier between you and the inmost truth. —Meister Eckhart, |
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