Asking the Questions – Quotes of the Week

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I have felt surrounded by questions - deep, soul churning questions lately. Thought a few quotes about living with these stirring unknowns may help me. Maybe they will help you too.Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions.Earl Gray Stevens“The one who asks questions doesn't lose his way.”African Proverb“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.And the point is to live everything.Live the questions.”Rainer Marie RilkeSometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.Dr. Seuss … [Read more...]

Let Our Light Shine, Not our Fear – Quote of the Week

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"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 … It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."-  Marianne Williamson … [Read more...]

Robert Bruce’s Lesson from a Spider

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Ever hear the story of Robert Bruce and the spider? My pastor shared his story during the sermon this past Sunday and its message lingered in my heart. The devil knows his best tool to trip me up is discouragement. Perseverance is not a natural strength for me and I bet not for most of us. Yet that “try one more time attitude” fills me with optimist hope that maybe, just maybe the next time... When the world says, "Give up,"
 Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
 ~Author Unknown People in Scotland like to tell the legend of Robert Bruce and the spider. In 1306 he was crowned King of Scotland and began the quest to free Scotland from the English. Battle after battle he had fought with England. Six times Robert Bruce had led his brave little army against his foes. Six times his men had been beaten, until finally they were driven into flight. At last the army of Scotland was entirely scattered, and the king was forced to hide in the woods and in lonely places among the mountains. He … [Read more...]

Learning Deep In Unknown Territory – Quote of the Week

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"It is the basic principle of spiritual life that we learn the deepest things in unknown territory. Often it is when we feel most confused inwardly and are in the midst of our greatest difficulties that something new will open. We awaken most easily to the mystery of life through our weakest side. The areas of our greatest strength, where we are the most competent and clearest, tend to keep us away from the mystery."- Jack Kornfield … [Read more...]

Pondering Prayer – Five Interesting Quotes about Prayer

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I love quotes. Quotes make me think. They summarize and clarify. They help me see things in new perspective. Though I may not always agree with everything that is written, it is mind stretching to muse over the words. I like quotes that feed my spirit and bring new language to my conversations with God.Here are five quotes I have read recently about prayer:“Prayer is what you do to bring yourself to attend to God and to pay attention to others.” Leonard Sweet.Attending to God is a different way to think about prayer, don’t you think?  “May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.”― Mother TeresaSaying this prayer takes lots of courage.  “Prayer is to be in God’s presence with open hands and an open heart. There are many things in my life to which I cling as with a clinched fist – my possessions for sure but the immaterial things as well­­–the work I do, the position I hold, the friends I have, my ideas, my principles, my image. If I should open my fist, they … [Read more...]

Am I a Rock or a Dancer? – Quote – Henri Nouwen

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“I once saw a stonecutter remove great pieces from a huge rock on which he was working. In my imagination I thought, That rock must be hurting terribly. Why does this man wound the rock so much? But as I looked longer, I saw the figure of a graceful dancer emerge gradually from the stone.“I have spent a good deal of my life building a stone wall of protection around my heart. Now when I actually hear the truth about my hardness of heart, it seems as though one of the stones is being taken out of my protective wall. This wounds me and makes me frightened and angry. It’s a big struggle. But I’m trying to be more aware of and less fearful in the process...“In spiritual formation, you may think about your life as a strong rock wall, resisting anyone and anything that tries to change it. Resentment makes us blind to God’s carving hand, but gratitude helps us recognize the process - that slowly but surely we are being formed into a beautiful work of art; that we are being prepared to be a … [Read more...]