John > John's Quotes

“Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again. (Psalm 71:20) God makes you “see troubles.” Sometimes, as part of your education being carried out, you must “go down to the depths of the earth” (Ps. 63:9), travel subterranean passages, and lie buried among the dead. But not for even one moment is the bond of fellowship and oneness between God and you strained to the point of breaking. And ultimately, from the depths, He “will restore [your] life again.”
― Jim Reimann, Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings

“But the more familiar one becomes with any religious system, while yet the conscience and will are unawakened and obedience has not begun, the harder is it to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Such familiarity is a soul-killing experience, and great will be the excuse for some of those sons of religious parents who have gone further toward hell than many born and bred thieves and sinners.”
― George MacDonald, The Complete Works of George MacDonald

“I doubt if wickedness does half as much harm as sectarianism, whether it be the sectarianism of the church or of dissent, the sectarianism whose virtue is condescension, or the sectarianism whose vice is pride. Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of men, than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken. It is the half-Christian clergy of every denomination that are the main cause of the so-called failure of the Church of Christ.”
― George MacDonald, The Complete Works of George MacDonald

“That God only whom Christ reveals to the humble seeker, can ever satisfy human soul.”
― George MacDonald, The Complete Works of George MacDonald

“The saints gather to tell stories like yours in hushed tones."
"Our story? Our story? But Rachel and I ... we ... we didn't do anything except just try to hang on."
"And that is the great miracle, isn't it? You hung on. You didn't give up.”
― James Bryan Smith, Room of Marvels: A Novel

“But surely it was not God's will to give us a child with handicaps. God didn't do this, right?"
"It's a mystery, Daddy. You won't be able to understand it all till you get here and see all of the rooms and one-inch pictures. But this you can trust: God is always good.”
― James Bryan Smith, Room of Marvels: A Novel

“And now you know it, don't you, Daddy? The only things worth seeking are treasures in heaven. And those treasures are our acts of love. People loved me, cared for me, and prayed for me not because of what I looked like or how important I was. My weakness brought out the best in people. I asked God why so many people loved me so much, and God said, `The most beautiful stones are the ones that have been tossed by the wind and washed by the water and
polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms.' That is why, Daddy. That is why I was born.”
― James Bryan Smith, Room of Marvels: A Novel

“caring for someone with a progressively debilitating disease is like trying to hold your balance on a high wire while juggling explosives. It’s possible, of course, if you set your mind to it and devote your life to the task, but you certainly can’t sustain the nonstop pace of the routine year after year after year. Because eventually, unless you’re some sort of superhero, you’ll fall down from sheer exhaustion, or something will blow up when you least expect it. And neither outcome is particularly desirable.”
― Sophie Hudson, A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet: Southern Stories of Faith, Family, and Fifteen Pounds of Bacon

“Folks who thrive in God’s grace give grace easily, but the self-critical person becomes others-critical. We “love” people the way we “love” ourselves, and if we are not good enough, then no one is. We keep ourselves brutally on the hook, plus our husbands, our kids, our friends, our churches, our leaders, anyone “other.” When we impose unrealistic expectations on ourselves, it’s natural to force them on everyone else. If we’re going to fail, at least we can expect others to fail; and misery loves company, right?”
― Jen Hatmaker, For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards

“We need each other, so we probably ought to practice radical grace, because our well-flaunted opinions are cold companions when real life hits.”
― Jen Hatmaker, For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards

“Glory is already down everywhere, waiting to be invited into our nothing. We cannot escape the encompassing presence of God because it fills the final bit of everything right down to the last atom in a shaft of sunlight receding below the edge of the globe.”
― Erika Morrison, Bandersnatch: An Invitation to Explore Your Unconventional Soul

“It’s your decision how you use the sacred gifts that are already yours. But know this: ordinary days are the very stage on which alchemy desires to appear. You can sink into the celestial right in the midst of everything else—with that baby at your chapped breast and the mud tracks on the carpet and the stranger on the corner holding out a McDonald’s cup for coins.”
― Erika Morrison, Bandersnatch: An Invitation to Explore Your Unconventional Soul

“A worthy life involves loving as loved folks do, sharing the ridiculous mercy God spoiled us with first. (It really is ridiculous.) It means restoring people, in ordinary conversations and regular encounters. A worthy life means showing up when showing up is the only thing to do. Goodness bears itself out in millions of ordinary ways across the globe, for the rich and poor, the famous and unknown, in enormous measures and tiny, holy moments. It may involve a career and it may not. It may include traditional components and it may not.”
― Jen Hatmaker, For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards