^{The best lies about me
are the ones I told.
~ Patrick Rothfuss}

Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

^{Which ‘R’ is most important and why?}

How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him.
~ Frank Herbert, 1920-1986, author of Dune

Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there.
~ M. Scott Peck, 1936-2005, psychologist and author of The Road Less Traveled

~~~~~~~~ Matthew 21:28-39 ~~~~~~~~

When I say that evil has to do with killing, I do not mean to restrict myself to corporeal murder. Evil is that which kills spirit. There are various essential attributes of life – particularly human life — such as sentience … awareness, growth … will. It is possible to kill or attempt to kill one of these attributes without actually destroying the body. Thus we may “break” a horse or even a child without harming a hair on its head.
Evil then, for the moment, is the force, residing either inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness. And goodness is its opposite. Goodness is that which promotes life and liveliness.
~ M. Scott Peck, from People of the Lie

There is a big difference between the toxic individual and an unhealthy one. The bottom line is this: Unhealthy people want to get better, toxic people don’t.
~ Cary Nieuhof, author, speaker, podcaster

Something deep within us is unsettled, and we want to appear to the world as better, more dignified, or more desirable—someone more beautiful or clever than the mope we see in the mirror.
~ Mike Cosper, 1980- , author, podcaster

In the end, the hope of transformation is anchored in the presence of a God who is utterly familiar with all the dark and light within us—and is not afraid of it.
~ Chuck DeGroat, professor of pastoral care @ Western Theological Seminary

You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.
~ James Clear, 1986- , American writer, from the book Atomic Habits

^{He who ceases to be better
ceases to be good
~ Oliver Cromwell}

Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

^{Which ‘R’ is most important and why?}

Part of becoming a Christian is coming to see that what you thought you wanted deeply is not what you most wanted. It’s having your wants retrained. So it’s pretty hard to appeal to this old set of desires to get people in the door and then all of a sudden say, “You know, we didn’t quite tell you the whole thing.” Then people feel betrayed.
~ Philip Kenneson, professor & author

~~~~~~~~ John 1:35-39 ~~~~~~~~

The engaged mind, illuminated by truth, awakens awareness; the engaged heart, affected by love, awakens passion. May I say once more – this essential energy of the soul is not an ecstatic trance, high emotion or a sanguine stance toward life: It is a fierce longing for God, an unyielding resolve to live in and out of our belovedness.
~ Brennan Manning, author & public speaker

It is not difficult to identify beauty, goodness, and truth found in objects or experiences outside ourselves (e.g., the Grand Tetons, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5). But we ultimately long to discover and become these things in the context of embodied relationships. Our hearts, minds, and souls most desperately want to love and be loved by real people in real time and space, not the fantasized, virtual people who make up the vast majority of our mental narratives. 
You know the ones—the imagined stories we tell much of every waking hour that either demonize or idealize our friend or enemy, our spouse or child, as well as the story we tell about ourselves that is laden with shame and so distorts our perspective, making it difficult to receive in an equally integrated way the wild, deep love of God. We want all of that in an embodied fashion. Real. It needs to have color and sound and a pulse. If we can’t feel it in our bones and blood, there’s little use pursuing it any further.
~ Curt Thompson, psychologist and author, from The Soul of Desire

There is a big difference between the toxic individual and an unhealthy one. The bottom line is this: Unhealthy people want to get better, toxic people don’t.
~ Cary Nieuhof, author & content provider

Heaven must be an awfully dull place if the poor in spirit live there.
~ Emma Goldman, 1869-1940, founded Mother Earth, a monthly magazine