There will always be bad times. . . It's the getting back up again that counts. " - Gallen in "Intrigues
Holding a grudge against someone means you think you know what they deserve and you take it upon yourself to give it to them.
God sees us as we are, loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are. But by His grace, He does not leave us as we are.
The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.
God looks at the anxious and says, I tore my Son to shreds for you, and you're afraid I will not give you what you need?
The basic purpose of prayer is not to bend God's will to mine, but to mold my will into His.
You don't fall in love. You commit to it.
In this noisy, restless, bewildering age, there is a great need for quietness of spirit. Even in our communion with God we are so busy presenting our problems, asking for help, seeking relief that we leave no moments of silence to listen for God's answers. By practice we can learn to submerge our spirits beneath the turbulent surface waves of life and reach that depth of our being where all is still, where no storms can reach us. Here only can we forget the material world and its demands on us.
We both know that, my friend, but a man's perception soon becomes his reality.
I must admit to a personal lack of sympathy with women who have themselves photographed in black stockings, garter belts and boots, with bare breasts, bananas, and coy, come-hither glances. . . . A woman using her own face and body has a right to do what she will with them, but it is a subtle abyss that separates men's use of women for sexual titillation from women's use of women to expose that insult.
My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me.