“I call [God’s] specific calling a holy ambition. Sometimes it takes some time to figure out what it is, but we all have one within us — a dream of serving God in a particular way that fulfills our God-given purpose. . . . A holy ambition takes us . . . to the intersections […]
“In his wounds, Jesus shows himself to be one who identifies — even in a resurrected state — with humanity. Additionally, the wounds Jesus carries speak powerfully to his followers. We are called to be wounded healers, but the first part of our calling requires us to be present to the wounds we have carried.”- […]
“We are called to begin our weeks at rest by receiving the gift of the Sabbath. When we honor this invitation, we work from a place of rest, rather than desperately need to rest from our work.”- Ken Shigematsu (emphasis author’s) “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat […]
“We are called to be manna makers. Just as Jesus has come to give us life by his presence, we can be an extension of him to others. Since God has come to dwell among us, we get the benefit of letting his love and light flow out of us in hopes that others might […]
“God’s blessing is like the oxygen surrounding us — the essential thing we need each moment of each day to keep our souls pumping. . . . God’s blessing is something to bathe in, not something to possess, to display. God’s blessing is a cosmos, a calling, a cross, a reason for being, a way […]
“A lot of people. .. step into the will of the flesh only to find that fear and striving beget more fear and striving. Flesh gives birth to flesh, which means that instead of relieving the pressure in their lives, they exponentially increase it.”- Banning Liebscher “How did your new life begin? Was it by […]
“God feels no pressure to rush or force His plan for our growth. He is calm, steady, and collected even when we want to speed things up. Our frustration will not make God speed up, because He knows we won’t get the results we prayed for.”- Banning Liebscher As Banning Liebscher continues Chapter 2 of Rooted, […]
“When we have a life of constantly reaching for the next big thing, we miss the greatness God is calling us to right here, right now. In the small, the ordinary, the hidden moments. The white space.”- Sara Hagerty As Sara Hagerty concludes Chapter 4 of Unseen, she reminds us “the chief end of every […]
“View affects vision.”- Mark Batterson “He [the Lord] took him [Abram] outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars- if indeed you can count them.”- Genesis 15:5 In Chapter 8 (“Field of Dreams”) of Chase the Lion, Mark Batterson informs us he lives by the following formula adopted for Summit Leaders […]
“But with God and three pennies, I can do anything.”- Mother Teresa Shortly after Mother Teresa took her vows, she shared her vision, her what if, with her mother superiors. She told them she had three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage. Displaying narrow framing, Mother Teresa’s superiors told her three […]
“We don’t follow clarity. We follow God.”- John Ortberg “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there.”- Revelation 21:24-25 (NRSV) John Ortberg concludes Chapter 10 of All the Places […]
“[Teddy Roosevelt] danced, just as you’d expect him to dance if you knew him. He hopped.”- Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit As John Ortberg continues Chapter 6 of All the Places to Go, he writes that hopping is something we do with our whole selves. Even adults hop in moments of great joy. Pastor […]