Abraham Lincoln Quotes

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Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.

To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the 16th President of the United States.

Charles Stanley Quote

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Disturbing times should remind us we are only pilgrims on this earth.  Our citizenship is in a heavenly kingdom that can never be shaken.

From Psalm 46:1-3:  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.”

Charles Stanley (1932-2023) was an American pastor and Christian writer.  He was dedicated to leading a teaching ministry.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quote

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If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I’ll rest from my labor.  But today I have work to do.  I must continue the struggle until it’s finished.

From Galatians 6:9:  “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”

German-born Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident.  Many of his writings express the role of Christianity in mankind’s daily lives.  He paid the ultimate price for his activism against the Nazi regime during World War II.

Randy Pausch Quotes

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We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

When we’re connected to others, we become better people.  [Both quotes come from Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” given on September 18, 2007.]

Randy Pausch (1960-2008) was an American educator and professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.  His life was cut short by pancreatic cancer, but he persevered to share his final lecture a few months before his death.

Mary Higgins Clark

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If you want to be happy for life, love what you do.

Happiness is like mercury.  Hard to hold, and when we drop it, it shatters into a million pieces.  Maybe the bravest of all are those who have the courage to reach for it again.

Mary Higgins Clark (1927-2020) was an American writer of suspense novels.

Oswald Chambers Quote

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There is nothing more difficult than to ask.  We will long and desire and crave and suffer, but not until we are at the extreme limit will we ask.

From Luke 11:10:  “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

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.

Monday Memories: Still on Watch

Deserted, severed tree trunk

Shattered by storms long ago

Splitting this giant in two

Forsaken now in its woes

 

Nature’s hand calling the shots

Drawing dark cards from the deck

Standing alone, slowest death

Trying to salvage this wreck

 

Deformed snag appears lifeless

Yet, God calls this wildlife tree

Standing proudly, still on watch

Nature’s snack bar waits for free

Living nearby, log still lives

Covered with lichens and moss

Home for God’s smallest creatures

Termites, beetles . . . march across

 

Jagged stump remains on guard

Below the ground, roots still thrive

Life holds on, another year

Perseverance to survive

 

Around the dark, scuttled tree

Racing to reach sunlight first

Young saplings growing skyward

Cycle of life, marked to burst

All of the photographs were taken at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park, which is located just outside of Canal Winchester, Ohio.  I frequently walk this park during the fall, spring, and summer months with an occasional hike in the wintertime.

Originally published September, 2020.

William McKinley Quotes

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War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war in almost every contingency.

In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.

William McKinley (1843-1901) was the 25th President of the United States.  

W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

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It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

Only a mediocre person is always at his best.

W. (William) Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was a French-born English writer.  His writings published quite an impressive collection of short stories, novels, and plays.

Joyce Meyer Quote

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Patience is not simply the ability to wait–it’s “how” we behave while we’re waiting.

From Romans 12:12:  “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. “

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