A New Year

2010

"A new year – a book of blank pages waiting to be filled. It is easy to fall prey to doubts and questions about unknown days before me. But maybe God’s will for my life is far greater than knowing what path my life will take, what career choice I will make or what job change will occur. Maybe God’s will is simply for me to serve Him and love Him and share His love with others. So simple, yet so complete. There is no need for lofty resolutions, no need for fear – I will begin my days with prayer; I will listen, and God and I will walk together. He will help me through the rest, one day at a time."

Curiosity Is...

"Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect." ~ Samuel Johnson

...the call to abandon...

"The cross is laid on every Christian. It begins with the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death -- we give over our lives to death. Since this happens at the beginning of the Christian life, the cross can never be merely a tragic ending to an otherwise happy religious life. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time -- death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call. That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

...this crazy world...

"In this crazy world, there's an enormous distinction between good times and bad, between sorrow and joy. But in the eyes of God, they're never separated. Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom." Henri J. M. Nouwen

Strength of a Family

‎"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other." ~ Mario Puzo

Expend What...

If... a doubt should at any time arise in your mind concerning what you are going to expend, either on yourself or any part of your family, you have an easy way to remove it. Calmly and seriously inquire, 1. In expending this, am I acting according to my character? Am I acting herein, not as a proprietor, but as a steward of my Lord's goods? 2. Am I doing this in obedience to his Word? In what Scripture does he require me so to do? 3. Can I offer up this action, this expense, as a sacrifice to God through Jesus Christ?... You will seldom need anything more to remove any doubt which arises on this head; but by this consideration you will receive clear light as to the way wherein you should go. John Wesley

Love Hunger

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread ~ Mother Teresa

Father's Consent

"If a child is in its father's arms, nothing can touch it without that father's consent, unless he is too weak to prevent it. And even if this should be the case, he suffers the harm first in his own person before he allows it to reach his child. If an earthly parent would thus care for his little helpless one, how much more will our heavenly Father, whose love is infinitely greater and whose strength and wisdom can never be baffled, care for us! He, who counts the very hairs of our heads and suffers not a sparrow to fall without him, takes note of the minutest matters that can affect the lives of his children, and regulates them all according to his perfect will, let their origin be what they may." ~ Hannah Whitall Smith

Unwillingness = Difficulty

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.” ~ A. W. Tozer

Love of Money...

"Many Christians and Christian leaders have been neutralized by the love of money and materialism. The homage paid to affluence becomes a burden that saps our energy as well as our love for God and other people. Though repentance and the cleansing of forgiveness, we can rid ourselves of this burden and begin to let God transform our value system. Like Jesus and Paul, we can learn to be content with what we have, living modestly in order that we may give liberally to the work of the kingdom and to meet the needs of others." ~ John Wimber

A Habit

"Character is a long habit continued."

~ Plutarch

Two Hands

"God has given us two hands -- one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for giving." ~ Billy Graham

Sovereignty of...

“Most Christians salute the sovereignty of God but believe in the sovereignty of man.” ~ R.C. Sproul

Easier to be Critical than...

‎"It is so much easier to be critical than to be correct." ~ Benjamin Disraeli