A Million Little Ways Quotes

“I don't believe there is one great thing I was made to do in this world. I believe there is one great God I was made to glorify. And there will be many ways, even a million little ways, I will declare his glory with my life.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“God is not a technician. God is an Artist. This is the God who made you. The same God who lives inside of you. He comes into us, then comes out of us, in a million little ways. That's why there's freedom, even in the blah. Hope, even in the dark. Love, even in the fear. Trust, even as we face our critics. And believe in the midst of all that? It feels like strength and depth and wildflower spinning; it feels risky and brave and underdog winning. It feels like redemption. It feels like art.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“You may not be the first to say it, write it, create it, or believe it—but you saying it may be the first time someone finally hears. Yes, someone else can say it better, but that doesn’t mean you can’t say it too. Throw out your inhibitions and spin around in this crazy world of recycled ideas. There is nothing new to say. Say it anyway.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Being his workmanship doesn’t mean we are all poets. It means we are all poems, individual created works of a creative God. And this poetry comes out uniquely through us as we worship, think, love, pray, rest, work, and exist.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Your childhood dream delights God. I don’t say that because every secret dream will come true. But having a dream is evidence of a person who is fully alive. Having a dream is a reflection of the image of God.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“And so the meaning of our lives is not dependent upon what we make of it but of what he is making of us.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“I can’t imagine anything more dangerous to the enemy of our hearts than people who know who they are.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Maybe those things bringing you joy do so because they are one of the many ways in which God wants to declare his glory through you.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“You may not be the first to say it, write it, create it, or believe it—but you saying it may be the first time someone finally hears.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“I can't imagine anything more dangerous to the enemy of our hearts than people who know who they are.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“The miracle, upside-down work of God is that our failure isn’t an obstacle, it’s an opportunity to remember to sink into God. Not having what it takes is not a liability, it’s a prerequisite. Maybe there is hope for us after all.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Could it be possible that the thing you most long for, the thing you notice and think about and wish you could do, is the thing you were actually made and are being equipped to do?”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Art is too important a term to be used just for painters. And sculptors. And playwrights. And actors. And architects of a certain type. No, I think we need to broaden it to graphic designers and salespeople and bosses. To lay preachers, to gifted politicians and occasionally, to the guy who sweeps the floor. Art is a human act, something that’s done with the right sort of intent. Art is when we do work that matters, in a creative way, in a way that touches them and changes them for the better.[1] Seth Godin, Graceful”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“God is not a technician. God is an Artist. This is the God who made you. The same God who lives inside of you. He comes into us, then comes out of us, in a million little ways. That's why there's freedom, even in the blah. Hope, even in the dark. Love, even in the fear. Trust, even as we face our critics. And believing in the midst of all that? It feels like strength and depth and wildflower spinning; it feels risky and brave and underdog winning. It feels like redemption. It feels like art.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Grief does deep, important, sacred work. We have to pay attention to what makes us come alive and in what has the capacity to shut us down. What breaks our hearts reminds us what is deeply important to us. It is often from this place that our most beautiful, honest, generous art comes. As we move into the world as who we most deeply, fully are, our art has the capacity to be a gift for others, and in this we see hints of the resurrection life.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Without looking up to God, sinking leads to drowning. But when my eyes are locked on his, sinking tells a different story.
Drop the hands and let the knees be weak. Loosen the grip and let the arms open wide. Bow the head and let the eyes close tight. We cannot do this life. We cannot parent these children. We cannot lead this company. We cannot change this world. We cannot make this art.
Not alone. Not on our own. Not without sinking first.
In the act of sinking into God, of looking up at him from the depths of our own inadequacy, we begin to know who he is. In turn, we know who we are as well.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Our gifts are not from God to us, but from God through us to the world. —Janice Elsheimer, The Creative Call”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Remember—the root word of humble and human is the same: humus: earth. We are dust. We are created; it is God who made us and not we ourselves. But we were made to be co-creators with our maker.[1] —Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“I don’t believe there is one great thing I was made to do in this world. I believe there is one great God I was made to glorify. And there will be many ways, even a million little ways, I will declare his glory with my life.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Art is when we do work that matters in a creative way, in a way that touches [people] and changes them for the better.[1] —Seth Godin, author and entrepreneur”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“The waiting can drive us mad if we let it. It can become a merciless dictator, shoving us into shapes we aren't made for, shapes of worry and doubt and short tempers.

But the waiting can also grow us, shape us from the inside out for sacred work. This is a kind of work that happens only in the secret place of abiding in the presence of Christ even in the midst of broken dreams and tired circumstance.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“What if you began to see your art as something other than your idea? What if it was less lofty and more necessary to your daily rhythm? What if your art is part of a bigger picture, part of a daily grace God has in mind for someone else?”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“You are designed to reflect the glory of God, and when you release the fullness of who you most deeply are, we will see God because we're finally seeing you.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“What if I began to believe that the critique isn’t just an unwelcome part of the art-making process but might actually make the art better?”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Move toward God. In all things, see Jesus. In all circumstances, whether success or failure, questions or answer, beauty or ashes, acceptance or rejection, look for Jesus. When the girls are struggling through homework, when the dishwasher rack falls broken to the floor, when you sit in the midst of grief over losing a dad you love, look for Jesus. Stop trying so hard to read the Scriptures to look for answers but instead let the Scriptures read you. Move toward God.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“My life is the city but my soul is the sea and I can’t figure out how to make them get along. I am aware of the to-do list I made on the plane. It takes a full day to shake it. And even then, it’s a fight. I have a disease, I think to myself. I am addicted to measurable productivity.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“If mediocre art is your goal, here are fourteen ways to achieve it: Make love to fear Apologize a lot Try to measure your impact Wait to feel qualified Compare yourself Fear the success of others Stay comfortable Have imaginary conversations with your critics Hold on to regret Keep impossible standards for perfection Demand appreciation Be easily offended Think there is only one right way to do it And by all means, don’t take a risk”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“Art is what happens when you dare to be who you really are. You have the power to influence, to move, to make, to become. You have the capacity to perform the human act of making art, of doing work that comes from deep within you and touches something deep within me. We make art with our lives.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“She offered herself honestly and beautifully, sharing something from within her laced with courage and hope. She showed me beauty and woke up a longing in me to take part in it. The beauty she shared was, quite simply, herself. And in sharing herself, she showed me a glimpse of the glory of God.”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live

“You want to know the meaning of life? This is your highest calling: You are called into the dynamic co-creation of the cosmos. This breath is your canvas and your brush. These are the raw materials for your art, for the life you are making. Nothing is off limits. Your backyard, your piano, your paintbrush, your conversation, Rwanda, New Orleans, Iraq, your marriage, your soul. You’re making a living with every step you take.—Jon Foreman”
― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live