Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.
~ Bessel van der Kolk, 1943- , The Body Keeps the Score

The experience of being in between—between the time we leave home and arrive at our destination; between the time we leave adolescence and arrive at adulthood; between the time we leave doubt and arrive at faith. It is like the time when a trapeze artist lets go the bars and hangs in midair, ready to catch another support: it is a time of danger, of expectation, of uncertainty, of excitement, or extraordinary aliveness.
~ Paul Tournier, 1898-1986, Swiss Physician and Author

Psalm 120

We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present. Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think.
~ Bessel van der Kolk, 1943- , Trauma Research Author

Jesus today has many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who carry his cross; many who yearn for comfort, few who long for distress. Plenty of people he finds to share his banquet, few to share his fast. Everyone desires to take part in his rejoicing, but few are willing to suffer anything for his sake. There are many that follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread, few as far as drinking the cup of suffering; many that revere his miracles, few that follow him in the indignity of his cross.
~ Thomas à Kempis, 1380– 1471, Christian Theologian, wrote Imitating Jesus

The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

Every choice is a renunciation. Indeed. Every choice is a thousand renunciations. To choose one thing is to turn one’s back on many others.
~ Ronald Rolheiser, 1947- , Theologian, The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality

Reflect, Resonate, Reevaluate, Respond

Prayer is not designed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need, but it is designed as a confession to him of our sense of need.
~ Arthur W. Pink, 1886-1952, English Bible teacher, Author

It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession.
~ Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892, “Prince of Preachers”

James 5:16-20

Know, at the end of the day, following Jesus is not necessarily designed to be safe. Safety is a natural desire but it can keep us from being like Jesus in the midst of an unsafe world.
~ The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak (Pastor) and Dave Runyon (Consultant)

Not every story has a happy ending, … but the discoveries of science, the teachings of the heart, and the revelations of the soul all assure us that no human being is ever beyond redemption. The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists. How to support that possibility in others and in ourselves is the ultimate question.
~ Gabor Maté, 1944- , Addiction Expert, Physician

Renewing the mind is a little like refinishing furniture. It is a two-stage process. It involves taking off the old and replacing it with the new. The old is the lies you have learned to tell or were taught by those around you; it is the attitudes and ideas that have become a part of your thinking but do not reflect reality. The new is the truth. To renew your mind is to involve yourself in the process of allowing God to bring to the surface the lies you have mistakenly accepted and replace them with truth. To the degree that you do this, your behavior will be transformed.
~ Charles F. Stanley, 1932-2023, Pastor & Writer

My therapist says I’m afraid of success. I guess I could understand that, because after all, fulfilling my potential would really cut into my sitting-around time.
~ Maria Bamford, 1970- , Comedian noted for dark topics