Quotes ..2017..

                                                  MORE QUOTES

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.@@@But the greatest of these is love.@@@”
    
    
    “God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars....@@@”
    
    
    “And still, after all this time,
    The sun never says to the earth,
    "You owe Me...@@@
    
    Look what happens with
    A love like that,
    It lights the Whole Sky...@@@
    
    
    “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God...@@@
    
    
    “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God....$$$ That is the one thing we must not say....$$$ A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher....$$$ He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell....$$$ You must make your choice....$$$ Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse....$$$ You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher....$$$ He has not left that open to us....$$$ He did not intend to....@@@
    
    
    “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays@@@
    
    
    “I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going....$$$ And I have trained myself to love it....$$$ Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight....$$$ And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to....$$$ But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings....$$$ You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you@@@
    
    “Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere....$$$ We can't always understand them, but we have to trust in them....$$$ I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith....@@@
    
    
    “Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want....$$$ It is the belief that God will do what is right....$$$”
    
    
    “You must not lose faith in humanity....$$$ Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty....$$$”
    
    
    “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen....$$$”
    
    
    “Therefore, dear Sir, love your solitude and try to sing out with the pain it causes you....$$$ For those who are near you are far away....$$$....$$$....$$$ and this shows that the space around you is beginning to grow vast....$$$....$$$....$$$....$$$ be happy about your growth, in which of course you can't take anyone with you, and be gentle with those who stay behind; be confident and calm in front of them and don't torment them with your doubts and don't frighten them with your faith or joy, which they wouldn't be able to comprehend....$$$ Seek out some simple and true feeling of what you have in common with them, which doesn't necessarily have to alter when you yourself change again and again; when you see them, love life in a form that is not your own and be indulgent toward those who are growing old, who are afraid of the aloneness that you trust....$$$....$$$....$$$....$$$ and don't expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it....$$$”
    
    
    “I'm about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes....$$$ The word "busy" is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction....$$$ It seems like a good excuse, but in fact in every silo you uncover, all you're going to find is a man who didn't care enough to call....$$$ Remember men are never to busy to get what they want....$$$”
    
    
    “Do not be afraid; our fate
    Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift....$$$”
    
    
    “None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward....$$$ Because we trust....$$$ Because we have Faith....$$$”
    
    
    “I talk to God but the sky is empty....$$$”
    
    
    “Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves....$$$”
    
    
    “A star falls from the sky and into your hands....$$$ Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood and becomes every part of you....$$$ And then you have to put it back into the sky....$$$ And it's the most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done....$$$ But what's yours is yours....$$$ Whether it’s up in the sky or here in your hands....$$$ And one day, it'll fall from the sky and hit you in the head real hard and that time, you won't have to put it back in the sky again....$$$”
    
    
    “The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings....$$$”
    
    
    “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer....$$$ You are yourself the answer....$$$ Before your face questions die away....$$$ What other answer would suffice?”
    
    
    “Death is no more than passing from one room into another....$$$ But there's a difference for me, you know....$$$ Because in that other room I shall be able to see....$$$”
    
    
    “I am fundamentally an optimist....$$$ Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say....$$$ Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward....$$$ There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair....$$$ That way lays defeat and death....$$$”
    
    “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water....@@@ When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown....@@@ Instead you relax, and float...@@@
    
    
    “There's a reason we refer to "leaps of faith" - because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't....$$$ If faith were rational, it wouldn't be - by definition - faith....@@@ Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch....$$$ Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark@@@ If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be....$$$....$$$....$$$ a prudent insurance policy...@@@
    
    
    “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything....$$$ Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him....$$$
    Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God....$$$ For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience....$$$ And that is what makes all the difference....$$$”
    
    
    “Dance....$$$ Smile....$$$ Giggle....$$$ Marvel....$$$ TRUST....$$$ HOPE....$$$ LOVE....$$$ WISH....$$$ BELIEVE....$$$ Most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, and appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go....$$$”
    
    
    “About once or twice every month I engage in public debates with those whose pressing need it is to woo and to win the approval of supernatural beings....$$$ Very often, when I give my view that there is no supernatural dimension, and certainly not one that is only or especially available to the faithful, and that the natural world is wonderful enough—and even miraculous enough if you insist—I attract pitying looks and anxious questions....$$$ How, in that case, I am asked, do I find meaning and purpose in life? How does a mere and gross materialist, with no expectation of a life to come, decide what, if anything, is worth caring about?
    
    Depending on my mood, I sometimes but not always refrain from pointing out what a breathtakingly insulting and patronizing question this is....$$$ (It is on a par with the equally subtle inquiry: Since you don't believe in our god, what stops you from stealing and lying and raping and killing to your heart's content?) Just as the answer to the latter question is: self-respect and the desire for the respect of others—while in the meantime it is precisely those who think they have divine permission who are truly capable of any atrocity—so the answer to the first question falls into two parts....$$$ A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so....$$$ It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so....$$$ Whereas if one sought to define meaninglessness and futility, the idea that a human life should be expended in the guilty, fearful, self-obsessed propitiation of supernatural nonentities… but there, there....$$$ Enough....$$$”
    
    
    “Yes, I understand why things had to happen this way....$$$ I understand his reason for causing me pain....$$$ But mere understanding does not chase away the hurt....$$$ It does not call upon the sun when dark clouds have loomed over me....$$$ Let the rain come then if it must come! And let it wash away the dust that hurt my eyes!”
    
    
    “When you are in troubled and worried and sick at heart
    And your plans are upset and your world falls apart,
    Remember God's ready and waiting to share
    
    The burden you find much to heavy to bear--
    
    So with faith, "Let Go and Let GOD" lead your way
    
    Into a brighter and less troubled day”
    
    
    “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God....$$$ This is the true self....$$$ Every other identity is illusion....$$$”
    
    
    “God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one”
    
    
    “Sometimes when you lose your way, you find YOURSELF....$$$”
    
    
    “The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie....$$$”
    
    
    “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire....$$$”
    
    
    “I know of no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too desirous of evidence in support of their core beliefs....$$$”
    
    
    “Rejection is an opportunity for your selection....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith does not eliminate questions....$$$ But faith knows where to take them....$$$”
    
    
    “Because you believed I was capable of behaving decently, I did....$$$”
    
    
    “The chief beauty about time
    is that you cannot waste it in advance....$$$
    The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,
    as perfect, as unspoiled,
    as if you had never wasted or misapplied
    a single moment in all your life....$$$
    You can turn over a new leaf every hour
    if you choose....$$$”
    
    
    “Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends....$$$”
    
    
    “Never lose faith in yourself, and never lose hope; remember, even when this world throws its worst and then turns its back, there is still always hope....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into....$$$”
    
    
    “Persistence....$$$ Perfection....$$$ Patience....$$$ Power....$$$ Prioritize your passion....$$$ It keeps you sane....$$$”
    
    
    “Realize that if a door closed, it’s because what was behind it wasn’t meant for you....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith can be very very dangerous, and deliberately to implant it into the vulnerable mind of an innocent child is a grievous wrong....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods....$$$”
    
    
    “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh....$$$”
    
    
    “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can....$$$ He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their soals, and pour out peace....$$$”
    
    
    “God will never give you anything you can't handle, so don't stress....$$$”
    
    
    “Good works is giving to the poor and the helpless, but divine works is showing them their worth to the One who matters....$$$”
    
    
    “when we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of Jesus”
    
    
    “If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full....$$$”
    
    “The Lord works from the inside out....$$$ The world works from the outside in....$$$ The world would take people out of the slums....$$$ Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums....$$$
    The world would mold men by changing their environment....$$$ Christ changes men, who then change their environment....$$$ The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature....$$$”
    
    
    “[God] will not be used as a convenience....$$$ Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of heaven as a shortcut to the nearest chemist's shop....$$$”
    
    
    “When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with an impossibility....$$$ ”
    
    
    “This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek....$$$”
    
    
    “We have a choice....$$$ We have two options as human beings....$$$ We have a choice between conversation and war....$$$ That's it....$$$ Conversation and violence....$$$ And faith is a conversation stopper....$$$”
    
    
    “Radical obedience to Christ is not easy....$$$....$$$....$$$ It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world....$$$ Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things....$$$ But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ....$$$ And he is more than enough for us....$$$”
    
    
    “Head up, heart open....$$$ To better days!”
    
    
    “For in grief nothing "stays put....$$$" One keeps on emerging from a phase, but it always recurs....$$$ Round and round....$$$ Everything repeats....$$$ Am I going in circles, or dare I hope I am on a spiral?
    
    But if a spiral, am I going up or down it?
    
    How often -- will it be for always? -- how often will the vast emptiness astonish me like a complete novelty and make me say, "I never realized my loss till this moment"? The same leg is cut off time after time....$$$”
    
    
    أحمد خيري العمري
    “من قال لك أن درب الجنة معبد بالورود؟”
    
    
    “Having faith in God did not mean sitting back and doing nothing....$$$ It meant believing you would find success if you did your best honestly and energetically....$$$”
    
    
    “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch....$$$ Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark....$$$”
    
    
    “When every hope is gone, 'when helpers fail and comforts flee,' I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where....$$$ Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking....$$$ It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal....$$$”
    
    
    “You have as much laughter as you have faith....$$$”
    
    
    “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me....$$$”
    
    
    “When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes....$$$”
    
    
    “You were born a child of light’s wonderful secret— you return to the beauty you have always been....$$$”
    
    
    “It’s OKAY to be scared....$$$ Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave....$$$”
    
    
    “True love is taking the risk that it won't be a happily-ever-after....$$$ True love is joining hands with the man who loves you for who you are, and saying, "I'm not afraid to believe in you....$$$”
    
    
    “Regardless of what I think about Islam or Wicca or any other religion, the fact is that it's a group of people....@@@Every faith has its ceremonies....@@@And since it's made up of people, every faith also has its assholes....@@@”
    
    
    “There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds....@@@
    
    
    “In order to have faith in his own path, he does not need to prove that someone else's path is wrong....$$$”
    
    
    “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing....v@@@
    
    
    “You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into....$$$”
    
    
    “When someone you love says goodbye you can stare long and hard at the door they closed and forget to see all the doors God has open in front of you....$$$”
    
    
    “I had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith....$$$”
    
    
    “Love is happiness, but only when you believe it will last forever....$$$ Even though every time it turns out to be a lie, it’s only faith that gives love its strength and its joy....$$$”
    
    
    “Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death?
    No, I reply....$$$ No, no, no, no, and again no....$$$
    One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?"
    Yes", I said....$$$ "I believe in evidence....$$$ I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers....$$$ I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it....$$$ The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be....$$$”
    
    
    “Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God....$$$”
    
    
    “When everything gets answered, it's fake....$$$”

    “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else....$$$”
    
    
    “Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said....$$$
    
    "Right, of course....$$$ But you keep the promise anyway....$$$ That's what love is....$$$ Love is keeping the promise anyway....$$$”
    
    
    “All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust....$$$”
    
    
    “I believe in everything until it's disproved....$$$ So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons....$$$ It all exists, even if it's in your mind....$$$ Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
    
    
    “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens....$$$”
    
    
    “I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you....$$$ Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted....$$$ Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together....$$$ Powerful stuff....$$$”
    
    
    “I have great faith in fools - self-confidence my friends will call it.@@@
    
    
    “If he’s not calling you, it’s because you are not on his mind....$$$ If he creates expectations for you, and then doesn’t follow through on little things, he will do same for big things....$$$ Be aware of this and realize that he’s okay with disappointing you....$$$ Don’t be with someone who doesn’t do what they say they’re going to do....$$$ If he’s choosing not to make a simple effort that would put you at ease and bring harmony to a recurring fight, then he doesn’t respect your feelings and needs....$$$ “Busy” is another word for “asshole....$$$” “Asshole” is another word for the guy you’re dating....$$$ You