wyhr.orgWendy’s World

“Someone once told me that the power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less, and he was right.

But power isn’t happiness…”
~Connor Mead, Ghost of Girlfriends Past

I know, I know. I finished this study up months ago. The thing is – there’s an epilogue. Since it was such a great study I felt compelled to complete the whole book (this is not a common occurence). I’m glad I did because I found this:

Were there but some deep, holy spell, whereby
Always I should remember thee…
Lord, see thou to it, take thou remembrance’s load:
Only when I bethink me can I cry;
Remember thou, and prick me with love’s goad.
When I can no more stir my soul to move,
And life is but the ashes of the fire;
When I can but remember that my heart
Once used to live and love, long and aspire–
Oh, be thou then the first, the one thou art;
Be thou the calling, before all answering love,
And in me wake hope, fear, and boundless desire.
~George MacDonald, Diary of an Old Soul

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Another tidbit from Uncommon:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Mark Twain

I’m reading Tony Dungy’s new book, Uncommon. Basically, it’s his perspective on how to live a life of significance…and it’s not about how he coached the winners of Superbowl XLI. This quote should sum it up for you:

“Both (Reverend Billy Graham & Coach Landry) began as ordinary men–submitted and available to God–whom God then used to touch the lives of others. Interestingly, that is often  how God works: through ordinary, available people who have submitted their lives to Him. He transforms the common work that we do into something majestic and eternal. Something uncommon.”

It’s so true. God has given each one of us a unique set of experiences and talents that only we can use right now where we’re at. We all have the opportunity to make an ordinary life uncommon.

P.S. – This book is jammed full of good stuff so stay tuned for more quotes.

”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that every has.”
~Margaret Mead

Would we know that the major chords were sweet,
     If there were no minor key?
Would the painter's work be fair to our eyes,
     Without shade on land or sea?
Would we know the meaning of happiness,
     Would we feel that the day was bright,
If we'd never known what it was to grieve,
     Nor gazed on the dark of night?
~Charles Spurgeon

“You know, I think as children we are taught that courage is John Wayne courage. It is loud and it is brash and it wears boots.

But that’s not courage.

Courage is being diagnosed with Parkinson’s and writing chainsaw-juggling jokes about it.

And Richard’s discussion of his diagnosis is, at least to me, a reminder that while life may be unpredictable and unfair, its greatest beauty is in the capacity of the individual to stare into the face of that difficulty and smile.

And make chainsaw jokes.”

~Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine creator

“Waste is a natural resource in the wrong place. Change the place or the context and you have usable objects.”
-Daniel Freitag

This quote was taken from a favorite blog of mine, Replayground.

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones.”
~Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs