Soul Food for Friday: 5 Great Lessons My Mother Taught Me

Typically Soul Food for Friday provides inspirational quotes to encourage you in the journey of life and to inspire you to full your purpose in life. This Mother’s Day weekend thought I should refer to the one who built that attitude in my life as she has demonstrated love for me all these years — my mom. She has taught and continues to teach me many great lessons, here’s 5 they stick out this day.

1. Care for Others

My mom has a strong heart for compassion, not just for me, but for all people. She helped/helps friends in need of support. She’s moved to care for the less fortunate and those in need. As I grew up I watched her give of her time, her heart, her prayers to help others. Any care factor I developed in my life is thanks to my mom.

2. Enjoy Good Food.

I did not fully appreciate my mom’s cooking skills until I went to college and discover the difference between great food every night to well not so great food. My mom can cook! She fed us good food and food good for us. Hershey Torte tops the list as one of my favorites as well as her roast beef dinners when I was growing up.

3. Work hard

I don’t ever remember my mom telling me to work hard, but I do remember my mom showing me how to work hard. She still does when she comes to visit. Part of a strong work ethic that helped me in college jobs and in my work today I learned by watching my mom work.

4. Remember to love your family

Like good food, too often I have taken family for granted. Year in, year out, my mom demonstrated loving our family and reminding me to do so as well. She sacrificed and served. She gave and was gracious. She set an example I seek to emulate in raising my own family.

5. Know Jesus

When I was in high school, my parents took the Kennedy Evangelism program. I was one of my mom’s practice partners. She not only taught me the right  answers to the “if you were to die tonight” questions. She taught me the value, even more the joy of knowing Jesus. Who I am today is because her parents passed the faith on to her, and she passed it on to me, and Sharon and I pass it on to our kids. Jesus is not just a great idea, He is a great savior — personal, intimate, caring, loving. My mom taught me that one!

Thanks to my mom and all the other moms who transform lives each day. We take a day to give thanks for what you have done and a lifetime to reveal how much love you have poured into our lives.

What great lessons has your mother taught you that still feed your soul this day?

And if you need some other Mother’s Day quotes to feed your soul, click here.

Soul Food for Friday: Quotes to Care for Your Soul from Replenish by Lance Witt

Wise leaders seek to lead from a healthy soul. Great in theory, way too often becomes challenging in practice. This past week I finished reading the book Replenish by Lance Witt. The book was a great tool to check the care of my soul and was filled with some great quotes that fed my soul. May they feed yours as well.

“A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside of himself or herself … lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.” – Parker Palmer

“To keep a lamp burning, we have to put oil in it.” – Mother Teresa

“The central question is, Are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God’s  presence, to listen to God’s voice, to look at God’s beauty, to touch God’s incarnate Word and to taste fully God’s infinite goodness.” — Henri Nouwen

What is helping you lead from a healthy soul today?

“A healthy soul must do two things for us. First, it must put some fire in our veins, keep us energized, vibrant, living with zest and full of hope as we sense that life is, ultimately beautiful and worth living … Second, a healthy soul has to keep us fixed together. It has to continually give us a sense of who we are, where we came from, where we are going, and what sense there is in all of this.” — Ronald Rolheiser

“O how click and weasel-like is self-pride.” – Thomas Kelly

Humility “is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God. Where God is all, self is nothing.” – Andrew Murray

“We feel honestly the pull of many obligations and try to fulfill them all. And we are unhappy, uneasy, strained, oppressed and fearful we shall be shallow … We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.” – Thomas Kelly

“The history of God’s people is not a record of God searching for courageous men and women who could handle the task,but God transforming the hearts of cowards.” – Erwin McManus

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Am I really trying to discern God’s will, or determine whether I want to do it?’” – Erwin McManus

“Sabbath is God’s gracious ‘five o’clock whistle’ that gives me permission to stop and lay down my tools, ready or not.” – Lynne Baab

“The vessel in which soul-making takes place is an inner container scooped out by reflection and wonder.” – Thomas Moore

“Ministry leaders are usually better quarterbacks than coaches. We like to be out on the field, personally leading the charge, calling the plays and directing the team. Coaches are about developing people and getting the very best of them. While quarterbacks make plays, coaches make players.” – Lance Witt

“Your outward circumstances may not change, but you can change the trajectory of your soul. With God’s help, you really can bring your soul back to life.” — Lance Witt

Soul Food for Friday: 25 Great Quotes from the Catalyst Leader

Great book released this week by Brad Lomenick called The Catalyst Leader. Not only did the book offer great insights about leadership, it also offered some great quotes to feed my soul. Here’s 20 great quotes I discovered throughout this insightful book on change and leadership.

“When you live your life knowing the mission and calling and voice of God in your soul and you know where that compass is driving you forward, you will become a rare commodity in a world searching for direction.” — Erwin McManus

“Our sense of calling should be like an unfolding epic adventure.” — Christine Caine

“Instead of wondering what your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” — Seth Godin

“God’s personal invitation for me to work on His agenda, using the talents I’ve been given in ways that are eternally significant.” — Brad Lomenick and Life@Work Magazine

“Higher calling matters. When you care so deeply about the why—why you’re doing what you’re doing—then and only then are you operating in a way that allows you to overcome the obstacles.” — Dave Ramsey

“Be yourself. Authenticity trumps cool every time.” — Craig Groeschel

“Be strong in grace. Your grace, your gift, your ability, who God’s called you to be, just be yourself. . . . Don’t be anybody else, don’t compare yourself, just be you. If “you” is not everybody’s cup of tea, then don’t worry about it.” — Judah Smith

“The pinnacle of your Christian experience should be when you take everything that you’ve learned on the pew of your church, and it’s mattered on the pavement of your life’s circumstances.” — Priscilla Shirer

“Just keep taking the next step and keep having excellence in the ordinary.” — Dave Ramsey

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln

“A single act of courage is often the tipping point for extraordinary change.” — Andy Stanley

“Humble leaders are willing to pass on the credit but absorb the criticism, push others higher while making themselves lower, and put the desires of the team ahead of their own.” — Brad Lomenick

“Leaders lead from who they are on the inside. And that is why the God who made us is so eager to remake us on the inside.” — Gary Haugen

“Talent doesn’t win. Hard work, determination, and character wins. If you root your talent and ability in those things, then you have a powerful combination.” — Erwin McManus

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” — Colin Powell

“We plant sod where God wants to plant seed. He’s more interested in growing our character than having us look finished.” — Bob Goff

“Leadership functions on the basis of trust, and when the trust is gone, the leader soon will be.” — John Maxwell

“Your heart is the starting place for character, and it’s what gets God’s attention. Character is what turns your giftedness into influence, and unleashes God’s power.” — Andy Stanley

“Vision is the most powerful weapon in the leader’s arsenal.” — Bill Hybels

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams

“To imagine things other than they are is the essence of hope. It is also the stuff of revolution.” — Leonard Sweet

“If your vision doesn’t compel, move or stir people, your vision is too small.” — Craig Groeschel

“Refuse to do anything less than collaborate with people as you lead. Pull other people’s leadership into play.” — Nancy Ortberg

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” — C. S. Lewis

“The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.” — H. L. Mencken

These 25 and so many more make The Catalyst Leader a great book to read to build your leadership soul. What words are feeding your soul and calling you to lead well today?

Soul Food for Friday: Quotes from the April 2013 National Leaders’ Webcast

As a taste of the Global Leadership Summit this August 8-9, Willow Creek had its National Leaders’ Webcast. Besides introducing this year’s Summit Faculty or 13 Reasons Not to Miss the Summit, there were some great quotes I picked up to file away. May they feed your soul this Friday and lead you to become part of the 170,000 people globally who will attend/watch/experience the Summit in the year ahead.

“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.” – Bill Hybels

“Behind every leader attending, there is a story of impact.” – Jim Mellado

“Leadership is a craft, and you need to go where you can hone your skills.” — Bill Hybels

“When angry you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” – Bill Ury

“Best move in negotiation (and conflict) is to go to the balcony (a place of perspective) instead of the stage.” – Bill Ury

“Be soft on people, be hard on the problem.” – Bill Ury

The Summit brings “world class teaching that’s relevant to issues with a high challenge factor.” — Jim Mellado

“Your a leader. It’s your job to keep your passion hot. Go wherever you have to go. Do whatever you have to do to stay fired up as a leader. See you at the Summit.” — Bill Hybels

I’m in, how about you?

Soul Food for Friday: Quotes to LIFT Your Leadership

The Leader’s Soul. Shaping Culture. Leading for Transformation. 3 titles of LIFT online courses I have taken in the last year. 3 courses that have focused my leadership, lifted my spirits, and equipped me to be a better leader.

Since I am starting a new LIFT online course  on April 8th, Leading for Results, it seemed like the perfect time to review some great quotes, questions and ideas from the previous 3 LIFT courses to feed our souls on this week’s Soul Food for Friday.

A journal is “being honest with God about what is current in your life in writing.” – Mindy Caliguire

“Speed of the team, speed of the leader.” – Bill Hybels

4 questions to check to see if I’m living out of simplicity or duplicity:

1. Do I feel overwhelmed by options?

2. Do I feel burdened by impossible demands?

3. Do I buy more then I can afford?

4. Do I frequently desire to be more than I am? – Mindy Caliguire

“Are you a quarterback who makes plays or a coach who makes players?” – Shaping Culture, LIFT

“Leaders often focus on vision, not realizing that the shared values of an organization are what motivates people and drives their behavior. Values that are not shared by the team or demonstrated by the leader will not bring the driving factors behind the culture.” — Mac Lake

“The work of love is a sacred work like prayer and reading the Bible.” – Peter Scazzero

“Leadership is the most difficult place in loving relationships.” – Peter Scazzero

“Our first priority is to build people, not a program.” – Lance Witt

1) Are the people on your team better Christ followers because of your leadership?

2) Are those you lead better Christians because they’ve been hanging around you and your ministry? — Lance Witt

“If you cannot say, ‘Follow me,’ to your followers — and mean it — then you’ve got a problem. A big one.”  – Bill Hybels

Vision fire is “at the center of care for the heart is love for God … The love God, and only the love of God, secures the vision of God: keeps God constantly before our mind.” – Dallas Willard

“As leaders we can’t afford to drift with the current. We have to intentionally direct it, so that we can accomplish the bigger vision to which we are called.”  – Michael Hyatt

Dan Meyer laid out this acronym for Strategy:

Sight for the pathway.

Training for the Spirit

Equipment for life

Partners for the journey.

“You sow what you can do, but watch what God can do, He’ll blow your mind.” — Harvey Carey

“The best thing you bring to the table is a filled bucket.” – Bill Hybels

“The one unique role of leadership is to manage culture. When an organization’s culture is dysfunctional or maladaptive, it is the responsibility of the leader to break that culture and replace it with a new one.” – Edgar Schien

“If we focus on the how, the what has a much better chance of being accomplished.” – Mindy Caliguire

“Build a commuity, not just a team.” – Mindy Caliguire

“We experience God most powerfully when we need Him most desperately.” – Gary Haugen

“What does it mean to be an effective, biblical leader in a local congregation?” — Michael Bonem

“Stay the course. Kingdom of God is a mustard seed. Lives transformed is what matters most.” — Peter Scazzero

And starting April 8th, some great lessons ahead to learn from Leading for Results with Dr. Henry Cloud!

Soul Food for Friday: The 7 Words from the Cross

On Good Friday, I can’t think of greater food for the soul for this day or any day than the 7 words Jesus speaks from the cross. And if you really want to feed your soul, recognize that the death He dies, He dies to not only feed your soul but to save it for now and all eternity.

As a Christ follower, Good Friday is the hinge point of history. Everything turns on Jesus  death. What we do to God is not good, but what God does for us, how Jesus dies for us, that is the Good in Good Friday.

We know that Jesus does this for our good, when you look at the words He says from the cross and what they mean for us today.

Thanks to Hans Baldung [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” This word reveals His heart and His mission. He did not come to condemn, He came to save and He still comes into the hearts of those who will receive Him. I love this word. It’s my favorite of the seven. Forgiveness is the great gift God gives us. We don’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. We never could. And still He gives, and because He gives, we live.

2. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” This word reveals His grace and His gift of salvation for all. A desperate criminal next to Jesus, gets it. He didn’t at first, if you read Matthew or Mark. But at some point, this guy’s heart is changed. Was it the word of forgiveness? Was it the insults Jesus took? Was it the reality death was not far away? He asks for Jesus to throw a crumb of remembrance and Jesus gives him an eternal feast in heaven.

3. “Woman, here is your son,” … “Here is your mother.” This word reveals His love and His care for His family. Jesus in overwhelming pain, doesn’t look for His relief but His mother’s. Simeon had said there would come a day when her soul would be pierced by a sword. That day has arrived. With this word I discovered how important it is when in pain to care for the family around you. Funerals are not for those who die, but to comfort those who are left. Reach out in love with Jesus’ love when you find others in pain. Your love won’t be enough, His love will.

4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This word reveals His pain and His price He paid for us. It’s the only word from the cross recorded by both Matthew and Mark. This word is also the first verse of Psalm 22. One method of Jewish interpretation of Scripture is that to quote one verse is to quote the whole Psalm. Want to go a little deeper in the Word this Good Friday? Read Psalm 22. (Read Isaiah 53, too.) You will think you are reading the Gospel accounts from Good Friday to Easter. The religious leaders gather to mock Jesus at the cross. Psalm 22 reveals Jesus will have the final word, and God’s word will be good.

5. “I am thirsty.” This word reveals His humanity and His hunger for God. If you read the Gospel accounts, Jesus turns down the offer of a drink when the crucifixion beginss. That drink had a narcotic in it, to ease the pain and lengthen the crucifixion, a method of dying by asphyxiation. You fought for every breath, pushing yourself up in pain. Longer crucifixions weren’t for the criminals, but for the crowds. A Roman reminder of this will happen to you if you do not follow Rome. Now near the end, Jesus seeks a drink. His next 2 words will be with a loud voice. Yet John also says this is to fulfill Scripture. Verses are used that point to looking to God for physical thirst and verses for spiritual thirst. So probably both. Jesus is God and Man hanging on the cross. His thirst is for His body and His spirit.

6. “It is finished.” This word reveals His payment and His victory. The Greek word tetelestai can mean accomplished, fulfilled and paid in full. His death will pay for our sins, and the payment will be complete. Tetelestai also refers to a cry of victory. Sin, death and the devil are going down. It is finished, not He is finished. Satan will think he has won this day, but Jesus knows His victory is here.

7. “Father, into Your hand I commit My Spirit.” This word reveals His power and His passion. Jesus life is not taken from Him, He gives it up to His Father. He has the power over death, yours, mine, and His included. He has the passion to complete the mission, even if that means He dies, so that we live (and He too will live again!). This word can be our prayer as well. It is the prayer of wise leaders who commit their spirit, their lives and their leadership into God’s hands.

Jesus puts the Good in Good Friday. By the way, the one guy besides the criminal who gets it is a leader. Mark tells us that the centurion (the Roman soldier over a hundred) says at Jesus death, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

So which word is your favorite of the seven? And more importantly, have you grasped the day like the centurion?

Soul Food for Friday: 20 Great Quotes from Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel

One reason Craig Groeschel is one of my favorite authors is how he uses quotes in his books. Each chapter starts off with a great quote, and Craig is a great wordsmith himself.

Soul Food for Friday is dedicated to sharing great quotes to feed the soul, to transform the heart, to stretch the mind, to impact your life and mine. This week’s collection are 20 of my favorite quotes from Craig Groeschel’s latest book, Altar Ego. Each I have filed way for present growth and future use. May they feed your soul this week:

“When you know who you are, you will know what to do.” – Craig Groeschel

“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” — John Ruskin

“If you don’t know the purpose of something, all you can do is misuse it.” – Craig Groeschel

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” – Saint Augustine

“Life with no purpose is time without meaning.” – Craig Groeschel

“Integrity doesn’t come in degrees: low, medium, or high. You either have integrity or you don’t.” — Tony Dungy

“You don’t have to know what to say or what to do; just listen to the one who sent you.” — Craig Groeschel

“Mine honor is my life;  both grow in one; Take honor from me, and my life is done.” – William Shakespeare

“Practicing integrity means that your behavior matches your beliefs.” — Craig Groeschel

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

“Our ability to honor other people reflects not only how we see them but how we see ourselves — and God.” – Craig Groeschel

“Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost

“Integrity starts from the inside out, not the outside in.” — Craig Groeschel

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“When we place our discontented egos on the altar of gratitude, we develop contented altar egos filled with thanksgiving.” — Craig Groeschel

“There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow.” – Martin Luther

“The body of Christ has bones, not bricks.” — Craig Groeschel

“What you pray for reflects what you believe about God.” — Craig Groeschel

“You want to make a big bold difference in this world? Then pray big, bold prayers.” — Craig Groeschel

“Lord, use me today, use me for your glory, make me bold, stir me up, give me eyes to see the needs of those I work with, give me a heart sensitive to those who are hurting, give me a prompting of the Spirit to minister to those who are around me.” — Craig Groeschel

Great words I have filed away, and even more hope to live out. Even better the other great words, thoughts, ideas and principles for becoming who God says you are in Altar Ego .

What are some of your favorite Craig Groeschel quotes?

Soul Food for Friday: The Lorica of St. Patrick

With St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaching, and being part Irish myself, it seemed like an easy decision for this week’s Soul Food for Friday — a prayer of St. Patrick. Turns out there are numerous ones, those that are edited to brevity and those that are edited to even remove the Trinity. Though not a St. Patrick expert, I know that he was a champion of the Trinity. That’s what led me to the Lorica of St. Patrick. Lorica stands for protection, and may the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit protect you this day not with simply the blessing of St. Patrick but the greater blessing of His power and presence at work in your life.

Thanks to Andreas F. Borchert and WikiCommons for St. Patrick Stained Glass Picture at St. Benin’s Church, Kilbennnan, County Galway, Ireland

 The Lorica of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

This one is from my files from 13 years ago and my thanks to this web site for the wording: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/cheyouth/prayer.htm and today typing that in my web browser led to AOL Life Stream.

St. Patrick reminds me not only of the power of the Trinity, but the power of the presence of Christ in every day life as well as the every day challenge of seeing Christ in all that is at work around me. What part of his “lorica” speaks to you today?

Soul Food for Friday: Quotes on Repentance

A rabbi was walking along with some of his students when one asked, “Rabbi, when should a man repent?”

The rabbi replied, “You should repent on the last day of your life.”

The student continued, “But we can not be sure which day will be our last.”

The rabbi smiled and said, “Then the answer is simple: Repent now.”

This week’s Soul Food for Friday features quotes on repentance and an invitation to repent now and get back on the road to the purpose God has for your life. You may have been headed in the wrong direction. You may think you have gone to far down the road. You may have lost hope. Don’t, simply turn around and discover the joy and new life repentance can bring.

“When we repent, Jesus sets us free.” – Gordon MacDonald

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ He willed that the entire life of believers be one of repentance.” – Martin Luther, the 1st of 95 Theses nailed to the Wittenberg church door

Luther Bible 1534 by By Torsten Schleese [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

“Repentance is not something God arbitrarily demands of us — it is simply a description of what going back is like.” – C. S. Lewis

“It is the saints who have a sense of sin, the sense of sin is the measure of a soul’s awareness of God.” — Father Danielou

“Jesus didn’t come to save us just from the penalty of our sins; he came to save us from our sins — now, today, if we will only respond to the challenge and let him.” – Frederica Mathewes-Green

“When I repent, here is where it starts. I try to name my sin as honestly and as specifically as possible. Here is what repenting is not. It is not excusing my sin, minimizing my sin, it’s not rationalizing my sin … Repentance is getting painfully honest with God.” – John Ortberg

“Repentance is the word that gives us a second chance.” – Fred Hartley

“Confession without repentance is like dumping all the garbage out of the sack; rummaging through it; naming it before God and then picking it all up again.” – Billy D. Strayhorn

“It’s never to late, in fiction or in life, to revise.” – Nancy Thayer

“To repent means to realize that the kind of life we are living is wrong and that we must adopt a completely new set of values. To that end, it involves two things. It involves sorrow for what we have been and it involves the resolve that by the grace of God we will be changed.” — William Barclay

“Repentance is the key that unlocks the door to all that God has for us, but it is not easy.” – James MacDonald

“You change your life by changing your heart.” – Max Lucado

“Repentance is replete with radical implications for a fundamental change of mind not only turns us from the sinful past, but also transforms our life plan, ethics, and actions as we begin to see the world through God’s eyes rather than ours. That kind of transformation requires the ultimate surrender of self.” – Chuck Colson

“What we have ruined, God can restore.” – Steve May

“Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace. Repentance is the most practical of all words and the most practical of all acts. It is a feet-on-the-ground-kind-of-word. It puts a person in touch with the reality that God creates.” – Eugene Peterson

“The true Christian’s nostril is to be continually attentive to the inner cesspool.” – C. S. Lewis

“The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man’s respectable goodness; then the Holy Ghost, who produces these agonies begins the formation of the Son God in the life.” – Oswald Chambers

“Whether we’re children or grown-ups, few of us want to admit our mistakes. And that’s a problem.” – Dean Merrill

“Repentance is essential if we are to grow as disciples, but it is not always easy … Facing our failings is something we want to put off, like a trip to the dentist or bathing the cat. But hiding or ignoring our failings does not make them go away, and we will not progress in our walk with Jesus unless we go through the Repent side of the Circle.” – Mike Breen and Walt Kallestad

“To confess your sins to God is not to tell him anything he doesn’t already know. Until you confess them, however, they are the abyss between you. When you confess them, they become the bridge.” – Frederick Buechner

“As a sunflower turns its face to the sun for light and growth, so we, when we repent, turn from our sinful selves and turn to the face of God enfleshed in Jesus.” – William B. Knippa

“Great is repentance, for on account of an individual who repents, the sins of all the world are forgiven.” – Babylonian Talmud

“Rejoicing and repentance must go together. Repentance without rejoicing will lead to despair. Rejoicing without repentance is shallow and will only provide passing inspiration instead of deep change.” – Tim Keller

“The tears of anguish irritate and excite; but those of repentance are the ones that wash.” – Miguel de Unamuno

What words of repentance draw you back to the God who loves you and comes to us in Jesus Christ?

Soul Food for Friday: Quotes to Leverage and Let Go of Stress

“To remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment. Go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony is more readily seen.” Who is the author of such advice?

Leonardo da Vinci! Turns out stress is not a 20th or 21st century deal, it has been around for a while. Perhaps that’s why Psalm 46 reminds us of God’s wisdom in dealing with stress, “Be still and know that I am God.”

This week’s Soul Food for Friday is dedicated to leveraging the good stress that builds life and letting go of the bad stress that drains life.

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Lena Horne

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepared to be surprised.” – Denis Waitley

“Overload reminds us of the weight of everyday life. We are overwhelmed, overworked, overcommitted, overanxious, overmatched and overextended. Our tanks are on empty and we’re running on fumes.” – Steve and Mary Farrar

“If you can reframe stress, thinking of it as more of a challenge and less of a disaster, you’re already coping.” – Marcia F. Coburn

“So far as is known, no bird ever tried to build more nests than its neighbor; no fox ever fretted because he had only one hole in which to hide; no squirrel ever died of anxiety lest he should not lay by enough nuts for two winters instead of one; and no dog ever lost any sleep over the fact that eh did not have enough bones laid aside for his declining years.” – The Herkimer Citizen

“A difficult crisis can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose — a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve.” — John C. Maxwell

“I know that the purpose of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.” — Corrie ten Boom

“It doesn’t matter how great the pressure is; what really matters is where the pressure lies. Whether it comes between you and God or presses you nearer His heart.” — Hudson Taylor

“The trouble with success is that the formula is the same as the one for a nervous breakdown.” – Lloyd Cory, Executive Digest

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin

“The time to relax is when you have time for it.” – Sydney Harris

“One way to get high blood pressure is to go mountain climbing over mole hills.” – Earl Wilson

“The Lord doesn’t always remove the source of stress in our lives … but He’s always there and cares for us. We can feel His arms around us on the darkest night.” – James Dobson

“Burnout is the process of gradual erosion of one’s energy and spirit as a result of chronic, long-term stress. It refers to the loss of one’s original fire — the commitment and dedication once devoted to a cause, career, sport — to anything perceived as a calling.” — Ruth Luban

“Any sailor will tell you that only as the storm rages do we realize the strength of the anchor.” — Chuck Swindoll

“Rule No. 1 is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule No. 2 is, it’s all small stuff. And if you can’t fight and you can’t flee, flow.” — Dr. Robert Elliot

“I know nothing that will give the energy and creativity that healthy tension and stress will give.” – Fred Smith

“Find your own purpose in life that fits your own personal stress level.” – Dr. Hans Selye

What words help you leverage stress for the good and let go of the stress that is bad?