In every library there is a sense of possibility, a potential for wonder. For all our orderliness and organization, for all the stillness and quiet, just below the surface there is the anarchic impulse that keeps us believing that at any moment our lives may be changed.
— Michael Gorman, Our Singular Strengths:Â Meditations for Librarians, p. 181
A rich self has a distinct attitude toward the past, the present, and the future. It surveys the past with gratitude for what it has received, not with annoyance about what it hasn’t achieved or about how little it has been given. A rich self lives in the present with contentment. Rather than never having enough of anything except for the burdens others place on it, it is “always having enough of everything” (2 Corinthians 9:8). It still strives, but it strives out of satisfied fullness, not out of the emptiness of craving. A rich self looks toward the future with trust. It gives rather than holding things back in fear of coming out too short, because it believes God’s promise that God will take care of it. Finite and endangered, a rich self still gives, because its life is “hidden with Christ” in the infinite, unassailable, and utterly generous God, the Lord of the present, the past, and the future (see Colossians 3:3).
— Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, p. 110
Nearly all relationship problems begin when our partners break an unenforceable rule. Your frustrated attempt to enforce such a rule is at the root of your anger toward your loved one. Feelings of anger, helplessness, or depression are all indications that you are trying to enforce something that cannot be enforced. Your anger is telling you that things are not working out the way you want them to. These situations are painful because you are not able to control them, even though you try over and over to do so….
If most of your partner’s actions cause you a good deal of emotional distress, you may be trying to enforce an unenforceable rule. We cling to our unenforceable rules and refuse to accept our partner’s mistakes, flaws, and disagreeable traits, thinking that we should not have to put up with them. This is like clinging to the anchor of a ship you fell off of. As you gasp your last breath, you’re still complaining that the anchor was there to keep your boat safe, and damn it, dragging you to the bottom of the sea isn’t helping. The anchor is wrong. It hasn’t read the anchor rulebook and doesn’t know the right way to do its job….
When you try and fail to enforce one of your unenforceable rules, you become angry, bitter, despondent, and helpless. Trying to force something that you cannot control to go your way is an exercise in frustration. You can’t force your spouse to love you or to stop cheating; nor can you force your kids to treat you respectfully. The more unenforceable rules you have, the more likely you are to feel agitated and disappointed with your marriage. When you cling to unenforceable rules, you leave yourself open to pain every time one of them is broken.
— Dr. Fred Luskin, Forgive for Love, p. 111-112
Another important part of the miracle is Jesus’ concern for the fragments, because he is always concerned about the broken things, the broken people. Only when we realize that we are indeed broken, that we are not independent, that we cannot do it ourselves, can we turn to God and take that which he has given to us, no matter what it is, and create with it.
— Madeleine L’Engle, The Rock That Is Higher, quoted in Glimpses of Grace, compiled by Carole F. Chase, p. 63
There are some who say that sitting at home reading is the equivalent of travel, because the experiences described in the book are more or less the same as the experiences one might have on a voyage, and there are those who say that there is no substitute for venturing out into the world. My own opinion is that it is best to travel extensively but to read the entire time, hardly glancing up to look out of the window of the airplane, train, or hired camel.
— Lemony Snicket, Horseradish, p. 85
If we believe that God has given us everything, then giving will be our way of living. We’ll still work to earn, because the gift of work is the primary means by which God gives what we have. But earning and possessing will become folded into giving. God gives us life, powers, abilities, and so we earn and possess. We’ll earn and possess so we can give, as when we share our food with the hungry; we’ll give even while earning, as when we create goods and offer services with dedication, care, and wisdom; and we’ll give even by possessing, as when we open our home for others to enjoy. Earning and possessing are not just a bridge between our desires and their satisfaction. They are a midpoint in the flow of gifts: from God to us, and through us to others. We give because we have been given to; we don’t let others simply fend for themselves because we haven’t been left to fend for ourselves.
— Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge:Â Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, p. 107-108
Jesus eliminates any gray areas for grudges. In fact He says that our attitude is to be so far removed from avenging ourselves that we are willing to open ourselves to the possibility of being taken advantage of again.
— John Bevere, The Bait of Satan, p. 137
If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf.
— Lemony Snicket, Horseradish, p. 77
You still need to be open with your partner about the things he or she does that are hurtful, offensive, or selfish. You don’t have to be a martyr about it. A strong, healthy relationship needs open communication, and letting your partner know how he or she is hurting the relationship is necessary for things to improve. The important thing is to forgive your lover before you initiate that talk. Then you can talk openly and pleasantly, without anger….
Forgiveness does not solve every problem. But it does reduce the intensity of emotional distress so that our problems can be talked about and solved if possible. Blaming our partners for not being the person we want them to be creates anger in both us and them. This anger causes stress.
— Dr. Fred Luskin, Forgive for Love, p. 105-107
A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.
— Lemony Snicket, Horseradish, p. 76