Greetings blog-world.
I’m not sure about you, but I’m having a hard time paying attention today. With the long weekend ahead, I am getting a bit jittery. Not to mention, Atlanta has been, for the most part, absolutely fabulous this week. Low 70’s. Warm sunshine. A nice cool breeze. Hardly a cloud in the brilliant blue sky. The smell of fresh jasmine permeating the air. With this distractingly beautiful weather and Memorial Day weekend ahead, I’ve been needing a little extra motivation to keep me sitting still in my office throughout the work day.
I came across this quote, printed it out, and it has been really inspiring to me this week. So naturally, I thought I would pass it along in case you were a little bit distracted today like I am. The quote is apparently by Mark Batterson, who I am not personally familiar with so you will have to correct me if I am in the wrong.
“Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion.”
– Mark Batterson
Have you recently come across a quote that you loved? It doesn’t have to be your favorite quote ever. I don’t think I could even narrow down what my all-time favorite quote is. I have a working list of quotes that I add to regularly and I like them all for different reasons and seasons.
Here is one of my Mom’s:
“Faith is not clinging to a shrine, but an endless pilgrimage of the heart, audacious longing, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind- these are all a drive toward serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell.”
– Abraham Joshua Heschel
And finally, here is Amanda’s:
“What’s that smell? Is that a snuck?”
-Jackson Jones
We hope you have a fantastic Holiday weekend. Take life in. You are loved.
The Moore-Jones-Fitzpatrick women.
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to gaurd what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Timothy 1:12
The things that are most important to him are those that are most important to you! Why wouldn’t they be?
The very area where you are most tempted to distrust God is the very place that He has chosen to trust you.
He is telling us “I knew you could do this. I know what is in you, because I AM in you. And I am your all surpassing power in a jar of clay, watch me show off from the inside out.”
Quotes from Beth Moore, Life Today
I am going through some horrible, horrible circumstances. But God is teaching me that I can have Joy and an Asher blessing in those circumstances. The segement from Life Today that Beth taught on is written in a special notebook that I keep and read through many times a week, to remind me that My God is good and he is more than I could ever deserve. Thanks for the blog!
Oops…I forgot to give credit to the one I quoted. “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet.” – Bill Gothard at Basic Life Principles
I know God is in the details, and I’m still ADD…so sorry for my lapse!
Pam H.
The best things in life aren’t things. — Unknown
Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.
Barbara Johnson
I guess this qualifies as aquote but there is a little story along with it:
a storm was heading into Brentwood where we live and my two year-old was very concerned. My four year-old asked him “do you want beautiful flowers to grow” he answered “yeah” and her response was (this is the favorite quote part) “then let the storm come!” Holy cow that came from my 4 year-old daughter…WOW God works through tiny ones too.
“We often turn to God when our foundations are shaking only to see that it is God doing the shaking†– C. Loritts
“If you can talk someone IN to something, then you can talk them OUT of it”
“We can’t get to the milestone if we can’t get through the moment.†–Beth Moore
“Don’t become bitter, become better.â€â€“Sheila Bailey
I love that Amanda’s quote is Jackson! One of my favorite quotes is my son too! He had fallen in the potty and when I asked him about it. He said, “Yes, I fell in but I didn’t go down the drain! This hand was sticking out and this knee was touching my nose.” How he got out by his 2-yr-old self I will never know!
I have had days like that when I feel like I am about to go down the drain, but God is so faithful to grab me by the hand that is sticking out!
This is still on my bulletin board at work. My youngest married his best friend on Sept 27, 2009!
“The only thing harder than watching your first born fly from the nest,
is bracing yourself to watch the youngest do the same.†– Beth Moore
Phyllis
Salisbury, MD
So many quotes…so little time!
Love being reminded of some of these and looking forward to adding so many to my journal.
Here are the quotes (without authors) that my grandmother put in my purse when I left for college in 1978…
Have you every noticed that…
*The harder you work, the luckier you get!
*You must give up the way it is…to have it the way you want it.
*There is no growth without discontent before it starts.
*You get treated in life the way you TRAIN people to treat you.
*if you don’t make a choice, someone will choose for you.
*It’s not enough to aim, you must hit.
*The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.
*It’s easier to say what we believe than to be what we believe.
*You can love someone and still not like the way they act.
*Life is what’s coming, not what was.
*Your success is measured by your ablility to complete things.
And tow that recently got my attention, from an essay by Lisa Belkin written to her son on his 18th birthday…
“…paying a baby-sitter every couple of Saturday nights is cheaper than paying a marriage counselor.”
“… a teenager is like something out of a horror movie — their real self is somewhere within that new and scary shell, and the trick is to keep talking to the person you know is in there. They will hear you. It just might take a few years before they acknowledge that they’ve heard.”
I’m crazy about you Moore-Jones-Fitzpatrick women…
Lauri
Melissa, Thanks for the encouraging word. I always enjoy reading your posts, and this one was no exception, but I couldn’t think of a quote off the top of my head, so I wasn’t going to comment. When I checked my email and read my “Moments Together For Couples” devotional for the day, I came across the best quote, which is probably why I couldn’t think of one before. So here it is: “Faith is believing God’s Word is more true than anything you think, see, or feel.” Ney Bailey (from her book, “Faith Is Not A Feeling”)
Thanks agian, I needed both today -your post and Ney Bailey’s quote.
Blessings to all of you,
Patti Hayes
What lovely quotes! I want to make copies of the Batterson quote and keep it in front of my face at all times…not to mention distribute to everyone I know! Have a wonderful, relaxing Memorial weekend everybody!!
There is nothing — no circumstance, no trouble, no testing — that can ever touch me until, first of all
it has gone past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with
a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky,
as I lift up my eyes to him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose
of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no
circumstance will cause me to fret — for I shall rest in the Lord of what my joy is — That is the
rest of victory.
~A dear friend sent this to me and I do not know who wrote it but I love it!
Hi Melissa,
My quote is ” To enjoy the right here and the right now” embrace the moment you are in, stop wishing to be some where else etc… dwell on where you are and embrace it with the wisdom of GOD.
Enjoy your weekend. 🙂
I’m reading The Message through in a year. It’s rocking my WORLD! Anyway, from yesterday . . . . .
Eph. 5:10 – Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
Not much wiggle room there, is there??
A great quote from Mark Batterson…definately check out his books and blog.
My life quote:
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
~ Jim Elliot (missionary and husband to Elizabeth Elliot).
Angela
Garner, NC
Charles Spurgeon: “God is too good to be unkind; He is too wise to be mistaken, and when you can not trace His hand, you can always trust His heart.
“Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your Keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms.” – Saint Frances of Sales
And for fun…..
“A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.â€
Coco Chanel
Prayer is the key of the day and the bolt of the night. Ghandi
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been” George Eliot
I always heard this was by Nelson Mandela, by just found out that’s incorrect. It’s actually a quote by Marianne Williamson. One of my favorites.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.â€
“The words you speak today, you may have to eat tomorrow.”
“You may not see the sun behind the clouds, but you know that it is there.”
“No storm lasts forever. It just seems like it.”
From my two year old granddaughter upon seeing the utility trailor in our driveway:
“Mommy, Grandpa’s Jeep is broken.”
Kels
1. You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.
2. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
3. (And because I’m not a complete heathen) Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for the LORD. Ps 27:14
Melissa, I am reading Mark Batterson’s book about chasing lions right now, and it is LIFE CHANGING. I’m sure you have a stack of books to read, but I recommend adding this one to it today!
One of my favorite quotes is where I got my blog title:
The thing that is really hard,
and really amazing,
is giving up on being perfect
and beginning the work
of becoming yourself.
~ Anna Quindlen
“I know that GOd is speaking when His voice is so powerful that it comforts, heals, instructs, corrects and gives wisdom in only a few words. THere is a vacuum in my soul that longs for His word in a way that nothing else can satisfy. Hearing Him speak is my spiritual lifeline that keeps my communion with Him fresh. Oh, how I love His voice!” Pat Ashley
“Sometimes in our deepest darkness we tap into God’s greatest grace”
Beth Herring
Mine is actually from Beth, out of Believing God. I wrote it out and it sits on my desk to remind me that I cannot do one thing on my own, and that if I truly want to be successful and see something out of “my” efforts, I must completely fall on Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ offers us the one and only way to wholeness: giving ourselves wholly to Him, inviting His healing, and trusting Him to apportion our energies, gifts, and talents in their most effective ways. Every fish. Every loaf. Withholding nothing. We give Christ our all, and with it He does the impossible. – Beth Moore
my new favorite is one I heard from a preacher on Mother’s day. He prayed this before his sermon
“Lord may anything I say be forgotten as quickly as possible. But may anything YOU say through my be remembered for a lifetime”
such humility of purpose. He got his wish. I don’t even know his name, but I recall the sermon.
oh and I love the one by your mom about driving around the parking lot seven times to get to some promised land.
“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
So Loved, loved that Melissa!
My favorite quote: Simple but profound from my husband stated on Dec. 7, 1985!
I Do!
:)lynda
“It is generally safe to say that noise and turmoil in the interior life are signs of inspirations that proceed from our own emotion or from some spirit that is anything but holy. The inspirations of the Holy Ghost are quiet, for God speaks in the silent depths of the Spirit. His voice brings peace. [He] shows us the emptiness and confusion of projects we thought we had undertaken for his glory . . . He delivers us from ambition. The Holy Spirit is most easily recognized where He inspires obedience and humility.”
–Thomas Merton, Ascent to Truth
“Mom, you’re overdraticated.”
My ten year old son, Micah.
My 3 yr old – “I want to be Darth Vader”
My 4 yr old- “You can’t – I’m already Darth Vader”
My 3 yr old – “Then I’ll be Darth Elevator”
🙂
thanks for all the great quotes!
“The only thing worse than waiting is wishing you had.”
Don’t remember the author…
Melissa,
You are a gifted writer. Thank you for sharing your heart (and quotes!) with us.
God used Mark Batterson’s books In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase to rock my world…when I wasn’t planning on it! Great reads.
Deb
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Two quotes that have changed my life:
1) Beth Moore:
“Measure the size of your God against the size of your obstacles.”
2) John Eldredge’s paraphrase of Jesus’ mission (where Jesus reads Isaiah in Luke 4:17-21)in his book “Waking the Dead”:
“God has sent me on a mission.
I have some great news for you.
God has sent Me to restore and release something.
And that something is YOU.
I am here to give you back your heart and set you free.”
Thank you for that! This is one that I just read today in “Morning by Morning” by C.H. Spurgeon (maybe you’ve heard of him! 😉 )
These trials are for the testing and strengthening of your faith- they are waves that wash you farther upon the rock- they are winds which waft your ship more swiftly toward the desired haven.
Burn sinful bridges.
I love that. Whoever the dude is it is a POWERFUL statement. I needed that slap in the face.
I also love quotes. A couple of my favorites are:
“Instead of telling God how big your problems are, start telling your problems how big your God is.”
(Sorry I don’t know who said it)
Just for fun, I also like this one from Barbara Johnson.”If at first you don’t suceed, see if the loser gets anything.”
Thanks, Melissa, this was fun!
Praying everyone has a safe and happy Memorial weekend!
my favorite quote is by my then 3 year old son in the middle of disney world’s night parade…”Mommy, you are as pretty as cinderella.”
gotta love little boys!! 🙂
mariel
NC
Hmm, definitely a quote person and loved reading these . . . some of them really hit me.
Two quotes I have loved for years:
“When we work, we work; when we pray, God works.”
“Only one life,
’twill soon be passed;
Only what’s done
for Christ will last.”
One more, because I’m seeing this one as I write this comment. As a focused person, I need this reminder at work each day as people come to my office with questions:
“People are not interuptions to my work – people are my work.”
“You can’t get to the next level until you let go of the one you’re on.” – Passed on to me by my sweet friend, Pat Layton.
LOVED yours! Thanks for sharing!
Happy, wonderful, sweet-smelling SPRING to you!
Melinda
I guess this is really more of a poem than a quote, but it is so good!
Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matter beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?
Hold us in quiet through the age-long minute,
While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill:
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?
by Amy Carmichael
Thanks for sharing everyone!
Blessings,
Jan, Ft. Worth
Thank you thank you Moore-Jones-Fitzpatrick women!
I desperately needed those quotes today!
“Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.”-C.S. Lewis.
“I gave in and admitted God was God.”-C.S. Lewis
“Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.”
V. Raymond Edman
Ooooo, I love this topic!
I have MANY, but my favorite is by Martin Luther King, Jr. He spoke these words at the funeral of the four little girls who were killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Brimingham, Alabama in 1963:
“At times, life is hard, as hard as crucible steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. But if you will hold on, you will discover that God walks with you, and that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.”
My favorite quotes come from some my mom made to my 2 brothers and sister when we were young.
Don’t sweat the small stuff and everything except knowing and following God is small stuff.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This has always helped me, however simple this statement is, has helped me over the years to realize I only see 1 tiny glimpse of God’s plan. What may seem negative, may in the long run be something very positive. It’s like your mom said in Living Beyond Yourself: We need to quit thinking because something is hard it is bad! Oh, I needed to hear that again today myself.
Have a great holiday weekend. I have both my teenage sons home for the weekend ( am blessed to say this is a blessing!)
Jan
Hi Melissa…
Thanks for the great post and incredible quote. It really spoke to my heart and felt like a gift from the Lord.
I’ve been thinking about this quote all week since I saw it on Twitter from Max Lucado: “Service is the rent you pay for your space on this planet” (Beyond Hunger- p. 176)
It has made me think about how I’m investing my life in others and the daily need to fight selfishness.
Hey…don’t know if you remember, but I sure did enjoy getting to visit with you for a while right before the Good Friday service at BC. It was a fun conversation 🙂
Thank you Melissa I needed those quotes today life is tough but when i come to the lpm blog, the blog always has some encouragement I need you Moore, Jones, Fitzpatrick women continue to do what you all do, you all rock and some amazing women. Some of the things I can think are from your mom on National Prayer Day was at the end about Gaberial when he spelled out his name GOD. GOD. GOD.
AND FROM LIFE TODAY THE HAPPY BLESSING QUOTES BETH MOORE
Have a happy weekend Love to the Moore, Jones, Fitzpatrick Women
Carol your seista in Albuquerque NM
“that is a lie straight from the debbil” emma age 5