13 - Favorite Quote

Day 13 - favorite quote

This one is really hard for me as I dearly love pithy quotations. I have a list of quotes that I am trying to teach my grandchildren. Even though at times they may not understand exactly what the words mean, I am hoping they will seep into their DNA. I hope they will remember them when they find themselves in situations where the quote will serve as a reminder of a better way.

Apparently, I am incapable of sticking with the rules, so I will share these quotes followed by what I believe to be my favorite quote. Oh, and many lines from the famous St. Francis prayer are favorites, and very convicting. It is a bit harder to first seek to understand rather than to be understood.

Favorites: (some paraphrased so three year olds can more easily understand them).

1. "You would not worry so much about what people think about you if you knew how seldom they did."  Amen, and amen!

2. "Fun has no joy unless we share it."  Some days, the boys need to hear this one often.

3. "Be kind whenever possible; it is always possible."  Mr. L lives this. It is on all his emails.

4. "Comparison is the thief of joy."  I think Betsy Piper has this on the wall in her 8th grade classroom. Betsy Piper lives this. I will never forget her saying many years ago when she and Dennis were struggling financially, "if I lived anywhere else, I would be very rich."  She is very rich in too many ways for me to describe.

5. "Give more than you take."  Obviously, this means so much more than material goods.

6. "This day will never happen again."  This is an admonition to enjoy this day, but it is also a comfort when a day goes off the rails - tomorrow is a new day with a fresh blank page.

7. "Everything you learn is yours to keep."  My mom drilled this into our heads. While she did not have the opportunity to go to college, she is a lifelong learner. This is one reason why at age 91, she is loved and sought after by people of all ages.

8. "If serving is beneath you, leading is beyond you."  I am married to a lovely servant leader. When I first read this quote, he is the first person that came to mind.

9. "Give without remembering; receive without forgetting."  The first time I heard this quote was at my daughter's graduation from nursing school.  It stated very succinctly, a lesson I learned years ago from the loveliest man, Charlie Armstrong, a.k.a. The Candyman. He was just sharing some of his
life's philosophy, and if his lesson could be written in one sentence, this would be it. Lessons learned at the feet of such people are one of the main reasons I choose to be part of a church family.

10. "Heart matters, but so do actions."  Sometimes when people do or say hurtful things, often people will respond with, "well, her heart was in the right place."  Sometimes, that just is not enough. Also, a broken heart that does not go into action is a heart not truly broken.

My favorite quote:

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does The Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6:8

So simple, yet so hard. I feel that it sums up what I most want to be as a believer. I don't have to say the right thing, believe the right thing, follow some contrived 5 steps, do worship a certain way, vote a certain way, act a certain way....I just need to be - just and merciful and humble.  Lord help me; it is
what I strive to be.

Day 13 - favorite quote -check, check.............check