The Practice of Saying No Quotes

“Effective people are busy people. Religious people are busy people. For millions and millions of people, busy-ness is The Way of Life. “How are you?” “Busy like crazy, but what else is new? And you?” Some busy people cannot even tell the difference between relaxation and narcolepsy, because the minute they sit down in a quiet place alone, they nod off.”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, The Practice of Saying No: A HarperOne Select – A Spiritual Reflection on Sabbath-Keeping and Finding the Sacred in Everyday Life

“If Bible lovers paid as much attention to Leviticus 25 as to Leviticus 18, then we might discover that God is at least as interested in economics as in sex.”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, The Practice of Saying No: A HarperOne Select – A Spiritual Reflection on Sabbath-Keeping and Finding the Sacred in Everyday Life

“Maybe you have to be really, really tired before you can answer questions like those. Maybe you have to be deeply discouraged by never having time for all the things that need doing in this world—not just the important things, like spending time with the people you love, taking care of your health, and engaging in purposeful work (paid or unpaid) that gives you a chance to participate in the repairing of the world, but also the minor but nonnegotiable things, like keeping up with the laundry, getting your oil changed, stocking the refrigerator with something other than fat-free yogurt and frozen pizza,”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, The Practice of Saying No: A HarperOne Select – A Spiritual Reflection on Sabbath-Keeping and Finding the Sacred in Everyday Life