Leo Tolstoy Quote

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

If you want to be happy, try only to please God, not people.

Proverbs 16:7:  “When the ways of people please the Lord, He causes even their enemies to be at peace with them.”

Leo (Count Lev Nikolayevich) Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer.  Many consider him to be one the world’s greatest authors of all-time.

John Newton Quote

Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.  (taken from lyrics of “Amazing Grace.”)

From Hebrews 4:16:  “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John Newton (1725-1807) was an English pastor who also was a writer of several hymns, including the beloved “Amazing Grace.”  His early life is filled with contrasts, when compared to his later life.  He served as a ship’s captain during the slave trade, but later renounced his work after his conversion to Christianity.  He became an outspoken opponent of the slave trade later in his life.

Martina Boone Quotes

Photo by K O R A Y B O Z K U R T on Pexels.com

Family is always a mirror.  You can hide from other people, you can hide from yourself, but your family is going to reflect what you’re doing right back at you.

It doesn’t matter how great your shoes are if you don’t accomplish anything in them.

Martina Boone is a Czech Republic born author who has lived in the United States since turning seven years of age.

Oswald Chambers Quote

Photo by Adrian Cogua on Pexels.com

We must build our faith, not on the fading light, but on the light that never fails.

From 2 Corinthians 3:18:  “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher.  Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons.  Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST.  I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.

Ben Okri Quotes

Photo by Allan Mas on Pexels.com

Don’t neglect the gold in your own back yard.

A dream can be the highest point of a life.

Ben Okri (born 1959) is a Nigerian-born poet and novelist.  Much of his writing focuses on African post-modern and post-colonial traditions.

Joyce Meyer Quote

Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

Don’t be addicted to approval.  Follow your heart.  Do what you believe God is telling you to do, and stand firm in Him and Him alone.  

From 2 Corinthians 5:9:  “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.”

Joyce Meyer (born 1943) is an American Christian author and speaker.  

Allyson Dinneen Quotes

Photo by Emma Bauso on Pexels.com

You’re not here to be perfect or to set a good example or to please anyone.  You were born to love and enjoy your ordinary, peculiar, inconsistent, good-enough self.

PERFECTIONISM:  You have to do everything right to be loved.  LOVE:  You don’t have to do anything right to be loved.

Allyson Dinneen is an American marriage and family therapist as well as a writer.  As the above words attest to, much of her work reaches out to dispel the connection between perfectionism and being loved.

Barbara Johnson Quote

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench when there is plenty of room at both ends.

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.

Barbara Johnson (1927-2007) was an American author.  Much of her writing reflected a strong Christian faith.

Charles Stanley Quote

Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com

When we view life from God’s perspective, every hardship becomes an opportunity to trust His good purpose, fully depend on Him, and respond in a manner that glorifies and exalts Christ.

From Philippians 1:27-28:  “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and in no way frightened by those opposing you.  For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation.  And this is God’s doing.”

Baseball Greats Quotes

Lou Gehrig (1903-1941)

There is no room in baseball for discrimination.  It is our national pastime and a game for all.

Warren Spahn (1921-2003)

What is life, after all, but a challenge?  And what better challenge can there be than the one between the pitcher and the hitter.

Lou Gehrig played his entire career with the New York Yankees.  Nicknamed the “Iron Horse” because he played in a then-record 2,130 consecutive games, Gehrig was the Yankees first baseman for 17 seasons.  He was also a player who displayed outstanding character and integrity.  He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

Pitcher Warren Spahn played 22 seasons, with all but one being with the Boston/Milwaukee Braves.  A hallmark of his career was his longevity, especially for a pitcher to play in so many seasons.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.  During World War II, he served his country in the United States Army.