John

“It’s possible to both know and not know something.’ ”
― Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel

“It’s a strange irony that prayer is the strengthening of an inner muscle that does nothing more than boast in weakness.”
― John Starke, The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness with God in a Restless World

“Even small actions of everyday faithfulness will cost us something. Yet the rewards of nearness to Christ are immeasurably more valuable than anything we must remove.”
― Glenna Marshall, Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World

“Consider what Jesus is saying. A yoke is the heavy crossbar laid on oxen to force them to drag farming equipment through the field. Jesus is using a kind of irony, saying that the yoke laid on his disciples is a nonyoke. For it is a yoke of kindness. Who could resist this? It’s like telling a drowning man that he must put on the burden of a life preserver only to hear him shout back, sputtering, “No way! Not me! This is hard enough, drowning here in these stormy waters. The last thing I need is the added burden of a life preserver around my body!”
― Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers