I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little—if only out of politeness. And...maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.
You are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth….You are here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world….Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.
—Marianne, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others….One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Well behaved women seldom make history.
The most successful people won't take no for an answer if a yes is what they need to succeed.
My dear child, I have not learned my Christianity from them [slave owners]. I have learned it at the foot of the cross, and from this book," she said, placing a New Testament in Iola's hands. "Some of the most beautiful lessons of faith and trust I have ever learned were from among our lowly people in their humble cabins.
—From IOLA LEROY, the first African American Christian novel by Frances Harper (1892)
Somewhere, right now, someone is training while you are not. When you race him, he will win.
All the 'objective' facts were against us...but my confidence was not in the present circumstances but in the laws of God’s universe. This is a moral universe, which means that, despite all the evidence that seems to be to the contrary, there is no way that evil and injustice and oppression and lies can have the last word. God is a God who cares about right and wrong.
—Desmond Tutu, from his book God Has a Dream, speaking about how he knew Apartheid was over before it was over
Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.
—Tim Noakes, from Lore of Running
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
FORGIVE THEM ANYWAY.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
BE KIND ANYWAY.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
SUCCEED ANYWAY.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.
BE HONEST AND SINCERE ANYWAY.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
CREATE ANYWAY.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
BE HAPPY ANYWAY.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
GIVE YOUR BEST ANYWAY.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
IT WAS NEVER BETWEEN YOU AND THEM ANYWAY.
When you discover things that seem to contribute to the glory, do those things more; and when you find things that seem to diminish the glory, stop doing them. It’s as simple as that.
—From Revival Glory by Ruth Ward Heflin
Others may; I may not. Others can; I cannot.
—Kevin Leal, #chayil #templeofelchayi (1 Cor. 6:19; 1 Cor. 10:23)
Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God.