Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called “the rejoicing of hope”
~ William Gurnall, 1616-1679, English pastor and author

I like to complain and do nothing to make things better.
~ Kurt Cobain

God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.
~ Augustine of Hippo

James 5:7-11

God takes everyone he loves through a desert. It is his cure for our wandering hearts, restlessly searching for a new Eden… The best gift of the desert is God’s presence… The protective love of the Shepherd gives me courage to face the interior journey.
~ Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World

I can stick artificial flowers on this tree that will not flower; or I can create the conditions in which the tree is likely to flower naturally. I may have to wait longer for my real flowers; but they are the only true ones.
~ John Fowles, 1926-2005, English Novelist

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. . . . A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky.
~ C.S. Lewis, Author, Professor

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.
~ Francis de Sales, 1567-1622, Catholic Bishop

Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

[M]an is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun…
~Clifford Geertz (1926-2006), noted American anthropologist

The world says: “You have needs — satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don’t hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more.” This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.
~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

James 5:1-6

Our mistake is to think that following Jesus consists in loving our enemies, going the “second mile,” turning the other cheek, suffering patiently and hopefully—while living the rest of our lives just as everyone around us does.
~ Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
~ M. Scott Peck, 1936-2005, psychiatrist & author, People of the Lie

We must accept the circumstances we constantly find ourselves in as the place of God’s Kingdom and blessing. God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being ‘right’, we will simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our lives. For those situations are our life.
~ Dallas Willard, 1935-2013, American philosopher

A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that’s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it’s a joke.
~ Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, Part I