But the work for which we are fitted — which we feel we are sent into the world to do — what a blessing it is and what fulness of joy it holds.
— L. M. Montgomery, Emily’s Quest, p. 102
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, May 22, 2020
To read the Bible’s hardest passages is like wrestling with God, much like Jacob who wrestled through the night at the river Jabbok. You grapple to make sense of the words, you hold on, you struggle for clarity, you seek to wrest answers for all your questions. What God gives you instead of a system of answers is a blessing, a new name — a living relationship. You are forever changed by the encounter. You have seen the face of God.
— Barbara R. Rossing, The Rapture Exposed, p. 186
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, May 9, 2020
To those who believe, the call from the depths of their relationship with God is to bend every effort to stand with God in solidarity with those who suffer; to right the wrongs, counter injustice, relieve the pain, and create situations where life can flourish. Then a resurrecting word can gain a foothold in this fractured world.
— Elizabeth A. Johnson, Creation and the Cross, p. 108
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, May 3, 2020
Make interesting, amazing, glorious, fantastic mistakes.
Break rules.
Leave the world more interesting for your being here.
Make good art.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, March 19, 2020
Life is sometimes hard.
Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong.
And when things get tough, this is what you should do…
Make good art.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, November 11, 2019
We always seem to be faced with this choice: to save the world or savor it. I want to propose that savoring is better, and that when we seek to “save” and “contribute” and “give back” and “rescue” folks and EVEN “make a difference,” then it is all about you . . . and the world stays stuck. The homies are not waiting to be saved. They already are. The same is true for service providers and those in any ministry. The good news, of course, is that when we choose to “savor” the world, it gets saved. Don’t set out to change the world. Set out to wonder how people are doing.
— Gregory Boyle, Barking to the Choir, p. 174-175
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, September 1, 2019
And remember that whatever discipline you are in, whether you are a musician or a photographer, a fine artist or a cartoonist, a writer, a dancer, a designer, whatever you do, you have one thing that’s unique.
You have the ability to make art.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: Burg Lahneck, Germany, August 22, 2004
So perhaps a better question than “Do I believe in miracles?” is “Am I acting like I do?” Am I including the people who are typically excluded? Am I feeding the hungry and caring for the sick? Am I holding the hands of the homeless and offering help to addicts? Am I working to break down religious and political barriers that marginalize ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities and people with disabilities? Am I behaving as though life is more than a meaningless, chaotic mess, that there is some order in the storm?
— Rachel Held Evans, Inspired, p. 186
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, August 3, 2019
If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do.
And because nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.
— Neil Gaiman, Art Matters, “Make Good Art”
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, July 31, 2019
If you have a deep aspiration, a goal for your life, then your loving of others is part of this aspiration and not a distraction from it. If you and your partner both want to do things to relieve the suffering in this world, then your love for each other is connected to your love for others, and it expands exponentially to cover the whole world.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Love, p. 74
Photo: South Riding, Virginia, July 31, 2019