Man’s hankering curiosity…
· 31 October 2005
[Man’s] hankering curiosity is so much stronger than his desire to obey the word of God.
Quotes for October 2005
God uses us…
· 30 October 2005
The extraordinary thing is that God uses us, who are so insignificant and unworthy.
Sinful man really hopes when…
· 29 October 2005
Sinful man really hopes when he no longer has anything of his own.
We are the wire, God is the current…
· 28 October 2005
God is the creator of the physical cosmos as well as of the human cosmos. He rules the stars as he rules the church. And if, in his love, he has wished to make men his collaborators in the work of salvation, the limit of their power is very small and clearly defined. It is the limit of the wire compared with the electric current.
We are the wire, God is the current. Our only power is to let the current pass through us. Of course, we have the power to interrupt it and say “no.” But nothing more. …the wire is one thing, the current is another. They are quite different, and there is certainly no reason for the wire to become self-satisfied, even one that transmits at high tension.
All happenings…
· 27 October 2005
All happenings, great and small, are parables whereby God speaks. The art of life is to get the message. To see all that is offered us at the windows of the soul, and to reach out and receive what is offered, this is the art of living.
I think we do not desire heaven…
· 26 October 2005
There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.
True love loves you…
· 24 October 2005
True love loves you right where you are, and also loves you enough not to leave you stuck there.
The stream of thinking…
· 23 October 2005
The stream of thinking has enormous momentum that can easily drag you along with it. Every thought pretends that it matters so much. It wants to draw your attention in completely.
Feelings, positive or negative, have a similar enormous momentum too.
The soul should always stand ajar…
· 22 October 2005
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
Faith is the strength by…
· 21 October 2005
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
Only by love…
· 20 October 2005
Love, I thought, is stronger than death or the fear of death. Only by it, by love, life holds together and advances.
Friendship often ends in…
· 19 October 2005
Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship—never!
« πλ | Friendship »
In order to be…
· 18 October 2005
The notion of looking on at life has always been hateful to me. What am I if I am not a participant? In order to be, I must participate.
Acquiring or possessing…
· 17 October 2005
How could there be any question of acquiring or possessing, when the one thing needful for a man is to become—to be at last, and to die in the fullness of his being.
Three basic choices…
· 16 October 2005
Many of life’s circumstances are created by three basic choices: the disciplines you choose to keep, the people you choose to be with; and, the laws you choose to obey.
Life without love…
· 15 October 2005
Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit.
The best things in life…
· 13 October 2005
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
Some madness in love…
· 12 October 2005
True, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness.
Words do not express…
· 11 October 2005
Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another.
Wisdom is not communicable…
· 10 October 2005
Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish. …Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, be fortified by it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.
Love can…
· 9 October 2005
Love can wait to give;
lust can’t wait to get.
— Author unknown
If family is the locus of trust…
· 8 October 2005
If family is the locus of trust then it’s crucial to think of Christ as our brother and Mary our mother, for the alternative—to think of God as an employer or contractor—reduces trust to ashes.
Stupidity is also a gift…
· 7 October 2005
Stupidity is also a gift from God, but one mustn’t misuse it.
« πλ | Observation »
We go to scripture…
· 6 October 2005
We go to scripture, not primarily for wise ethical instruction, valuable as this may be, but to encounter God in the person of Jesus Christ.
« πλ | Friendship, Scripture »
The courage of the soul…
· 5 October 2005
The courage of the soul truly open to the Lord is never marked by angry self-righteousness or restless intolerance.
To write straight with our crooked lines…
· 4 October 2005
The goodness of this God of ours is perhaps most strikingly evident in his willingness to write straight with our crooked lines.
« πλ | Forgiveness, God »
No one has ever accused…
· 3 October 2005
No one has ever accused the devil of being stupid!
The tail of the snake…
· 2 October 2005
The tail of the snake will always appear when the devil is in the picture.
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")