Forty Days on Being a Nine Quotes

“I think about the gap between what I say I believe and how I live. And I pray to God to close that gap because I want to be like Christ.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“Maybe being faithful in the little, everyday things for you means exercising, intentionally keeping in touch with family members or friends, or something like taking out the trash. Whatever it is, it’s the little things that matter and drive most of us crazy. Can we show some love to God and others by being intentionally faithful in the little things?”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“Consider this: a relationship with God is abundance.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“If I could only have one thing,” Nanny concluded, “it’d be unity with God, to abide in God, as Jesus talks about in John 17:20-26.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“Abundance has to do with our deepest desires. God is not stingy. God is love. And God’s love is the most important thing, I think.” Her voice trailed off. Amid all of the loss and grief, Nanny told me that she asked herself about her deepest desires. Yes, she wanted her own space, a house, a home. A dog. A community. For Carl to have a job. But what she really wanted, she confessed, was to be held and loved by God, to have a deep relationship with him. And that, she said, was “abundantly available” whether or not she possessed anything else. Abundance for the Christian, then, is having God as our treasure and love. God offers himself abundantly to us. This was the word from someone who had a series of unrelenting Job-like experiences.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“We want relief, but when God doesn’t come through on our schedule, when God doesn’t act in a way we deem necessary and acceptable, we are tempted to go our own way to get what we want. That’s true whether we are seeking relief from stress and pain or we’re pursuing our own answer to unanswered prayer. We doubt that God is for us and instead believe God is against us. Otherwise, why isn’t God giving us what we want?”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“When we don’t get what we want, we might give God an ultimatum. In the words of Lyon, “If you’re not going to do it, God, I am going to do it instead.” That is, I’ll find my own way of handling it.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“God already has in mind what God is going to do for us even if I, like Philip, have no idea. I believe this, though in this moment, I cannot tell you how it is going to work out. God will provide creatively, and probably not in a way I can foresee.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine

“In this season, think about how you can live well to the best of your ability. How can you serve God and others within your limits instead of giving up or giving into resignation? He knows what we can and can’t do. There’s no need to beat ourselves up over what we cannot do and be. He only asks that we offer up our life as it is. If all we can offer is a widow’s mite, then so be it. God accepts our smallest offerings as holy.”
― Marlena Graves, Forty Days on Being a Nine