John

“The question isn't whether you're going to believe, but who; it's not merely about what to believe, but who to entrust yourself to. Do we really think humanity is our best bet? Do we really think we are the the answer to our problems, we who've generated all of them? The problem with everything from Enlightenment scientism to mushy Eat-Pray-Love-ism is us. If anything looks irrational, it's the notion that we are our own best hope.”
― James K.A. Smith, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts

“Everyday faithfulness requires patience and fortitude that's desperately dependent upon God's own faithfulness.”
― Glenna Marshall, Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World

“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

“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