Thoughtful Quotes to Get Me Through a Tired, Rainy, Monday Morning

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it.  You must "work out your own salvation" which God has worked in you already (Phil. 2:12).  Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it "out"?  If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified  you.     ~Oswald Chambers

Many prayers of believers are hindered by Satan.  Yet you do not need to fear when your unanswered prayers are piling up, for soon they will break through like a flood.  When that happens, not only will your answers flow though but they will also be accompanied by new blessings. ~Streams in the Desert

Hell works the hardest on God's saints.  The most worthy souls will be tested with the most pressure and the highest heat, but heaven will not desert them.  ~William L. Watkinson

Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience is the early blossom on the tree of faith.  ~Christina Rossetti

Happy are they who give themselves to God!  They are delivered from their passions, from the judgments of others, from their malice, from the tyranny of their sayings, from their cold and wretched mocking, from the misfortunes which the world distributes to wealth, from the unfaithfulness and inconstancy of friends, from the wiles and snares of the enemy, from our own weakness, from the misery and brevity of life, from the horrors of a profane death, from the cruel remorse attached to wicked pleasures, and in the end from the eternal condemnation of God.  We are delievered from this countless mass of evils, because placing our will entirely in the hands of God, we want only what God wants, and thus we find his consolation in faith, and consequently hope in the midst of all sufferings.  What weakness it would be then to fear to give ourselves to God and to undertake too soon so desirable a state!  ~Francois Fenelon

Some really great quotes...

Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins but are sometimes the trials resulting from God's extraordinary gifts.  God uses many sharp-cutting instruments, and polishes His jewels with files that are rough.  And those saints He especially loves, and desires to make shine the most brilliantly, will often feel His tools upon them.  ~R. Leighton

I willingly bear witness to the fact that I owe more to my Lord's fire, hammer, and file than to anything else in His workshop.  Sometimes I wonder if I have ever learned anything except at the end of God's rod.  When my classroom is darkest, I see best.  ~Charles H. Spurgeon

Interesting Facts From Our Nation's Heritage

This year we are studying American history. We have been enjoying it immensely! Here are some quotes and stories about/from George Washington that I wanted to pass along:

** Once, when aproached by the Chief of the Delaware Indians regarding instructing their Native children in the American schools, Washington assured him that the children would be as cared for as their own, saying "You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."

** Not long after the Battle of the Monongahela in the French and Indian War, Washington wrote to his brother, Jack, "By the all-powerful dispensation of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, and escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me."

It would be fifteen years after this battle, that Washington would meet the Native chief that comanded the shooting upon him at the battle. While exploring in the wilderness with a friend, he came across a group of Indians, an interpreter, and their chief, who were purposefully in search of Washington that the chief might have words with him. A council fire was kindled, and the chief spoke: "I am a chief and ruler over my tribes. My influence extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path, that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It was on the day when the white man's blood mixed with the streams of our forest, that I first beheld this chief. I called to my young men and said, "Mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is not of the red-coat tribe--he hath an Indian's wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do--himself alone is exposed. Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies." Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss...'Twas all in vain; a power mightier far than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. I am old, and soon shall be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of shades, but ere I go, there is something that bids me speak in the voice of prophecy: Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies--he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as founder of a mighty empire."

** "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." ~George Washington

Quotes this week that have got me thinking....

• "Under conviction of worldliness, many well meaning persons have simply transferred their huge egos from the world to the church. BEWARE OF SPIRITUAL AMBITION. We are most useful to God when poured free of self and full of Christ." --Beth Moore
• "The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If i wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord....in the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to thave the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus." "Blesses are the poor in Spirit..." Matthew 5:3 (prior quote--Oswald Chambers)
• "Must life be considered a failure for someone compelled to stand still, forced into inaction and required to watch the great, roaring tides of life from shore? No--victory is then to be won by standing still and quietly waiting. Yet this is a thousand times harder to do than in the past, when you rushed headlong into the busyness of life. It requires much more courage to stand and wait and still not lose heart or lose hope, to submit to the will of God, to give up opportunities for work and leave honors to others, and to be quiet, confident and rejoicing while the busy multitiude goes happily along their way. The greatest life is: "after you have done everything, to stand" " (Eph. 6:13) --J.R. Miller
• "I am learning that if I am having trouble submitting to my husband, it actually comes down to the fact that I am having trouble submitting to my Lord." --my friend, Kathy Franklin
• "For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved." --Richard E. Stearns version of Matthew 25:42-43

Some Great Quotes

This quote was on LPM (Living Proof Ministries) blog and I wanted to share it:

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."
- Mark Batterson

This was also one:
Feelings are attached to your beliefs. If you want to change the way you feel about something, first change what you believe about it. --Pastor Tony Evans