Prayer...

"Prayer opens the heart to God, and it is the means by which the soul, though empty, is filled by God." ~ John Buchan (Scottish novelist and historian)

...Playground...Battleground...

“The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground, and we must be on our guard at all times.” ~ Warren Wiersbe (The Bumps Are What You Climb On)

Have Patience

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.” ~ Saint Francis de Sales

Chorus of Praise and Prayer

"The Psalms offer us a way of joining in a chorus of praise and prayer that has been going on for millennia and across all cultures. " ~ N.T. Wright (The Case for the Psalms: Why They Are Essential)

Believing Prayer

"Every single believing prayer has its influence. It is stored up toward an answer which comes in due time to whomever perseveres to the end. " ~ Andrew Murray (South African pastor and author)

Good Can Be an Obstacle to Better

"Even when a need exists and we are well qualified to meet it, we are not necessarily called to respond to it. Something may seem logical for us to do, but that does not mean that God calls us to do it…Similarly, simply because a task or undertaking is good to do does not mean that we are called to do it or that we should continue doing it. To be doing what is good can be the greatest obstacle to doing something even better." ~ Suzanne Farnham et al (Listening Hearts)

Love Is...

“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.” ~ Mother Teresa

Listening, Responding, Acting...

"God is not only a listening God but a responding God who acts." ~ Robert McAfee Brown

Real Hospitality

"A good host not only has to be poor in mind but also poor in heart. When our heart is filled with prejudices, worries, jealousies, there is little room for a stranger. In a fearful environment it is not easy to keep our hearts open to the wide range of human experiences. Real hospitality, however, is not exclusive but inclusive and creates space for a large variety of human experiences." ~ Henri J. M. Nouwen 

Don't Keep a Chip on Your Shoulder

"In the pure, strong hours of the morning, when the soul of day is at its best, lean upon the windowsill of the Lord and look into His face, and get orders for the day. Then go out into the world with a sense of a Hand upon your shoulder and not a chip." ~ E. Stanley Jones

Your Thoughts

"The fingers of your thoughts are molding your face ceaselessly." ~ Charles Reznikoff

Possibilities & Challenges

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope." ~ Thomas Merton

To Love Means...

"To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless." ~ G. K. Chesterton       

Giving Up

"It must be an act of grace, or of something beyond the individual will, which enables certain people to give up at certain times. Whether the giving up occurs gradually or swiftly, with great fanfare or absolute stillness, giving up is not something that can willfully be done. It can be allowed or it can be resisted, but it cannot be done. And that is where hope lies. Not hope in continuing effort, but hope for some kind of mercy. Hope that today or next month, or five years from now there will come a time when the struggle will be sacrificed." ~ Gerald May (Simply Sane)