Quotes

Anger

Anger (a strong passion or emotion excited by injury; rage; to excite to wrath; to enrage. SYN: enrage, vex, kindle, fret, ruffle, chafe, infuriate, exasperate, provoke, irritate, incense, wound, inflame, embitter. -Webster)

"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."
-Ephesians 4:26-27

When we do not try to resolve our anger with someone, walls are built; bitterness overtakes us, leading to resentment. In the interest of peace of mind and well-being, it is necessary to not get defensive, but rather calmly attempt to communicate with one another.

"When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry."
-Haliburton

Pride gets in the way of peace. If I don't admit my anger, I become defensive. If I get defensive, I get even angrier - it's a continuous cycle. End it!

"If anger is not restrained, it is frequently more hurtful to us, than the injury that provokes it."
-Seneca

Walls are built up... things are said that aren't meant... anger cycles and escalates the hurt... John hurts Jane... Jane gets defensive and hurts John... John gets defensive and hurts Jane again... where will it end?

Character

Character (any distinctive mark; an essential feature; nature; the total of qualities making up an individuality; moral excellence. SYN: nature, disposition, genius, temperament, cast, estimation, repute, reputation, part, capacity, class, order, sort, kind, quality. -Webster)

"A man's errors are what make him amiable."
-Goethe

Our mistakes shape who we become, whether for better or for worse.

"From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own."
-Syrus

We learn from history. We observe those around us. It is to our benefit to recognize mistakes when we see them and make note of what to do in the future.

"If we had no defects ourselves, we should not take so much pleasure in noting those of others"
-La Rochefoucauld

If we all have defects; if we are all human... why would you expect someone else to be perfect when you yourself cannot be perfect.

"Those who quit their proper character to assume what does not belong to them, are for the greater part ignorant of both the character they leave and of the character they assume."
-Burke

Who are you? What is your passion? What do you care about? Youth model those around them as they search for who they are, for that is what one must do in youth. But if you already know who you are, why deny it running after vanity.

"Best men are often moulded out of faults."
-Shakespeare

The hard times in life help us to build character and learn who we should be. We are not born with strength, but rather must develop it over time - physical, mental, and strength of character.

Courage

Courage (bravery; fearlessness; daring. SYN: bravery, boldness, valor, pluck, fortitude, resolution, gallantry, fearlessness, intrepidity. -Webster)

"A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble."
-Mahatma Gandhi

The question is - do you think for yourself or do you allow others to tell you what to think. Do you stand up for your beliefs or do you merely agree with others in order to remain "peaceful?" What peace is there in a diminished soul? What peace is there in a man who is lost, who stands for nothing? He is never stable, but rather is tossed around, continually trying to please any and all.

"Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it."
-Richter

Blindly overlooking something is like running away from it. Face reality and be courageous.

"Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win."
-Bernadette Devlin

How can we achieve tomorrow that for which we do not strive today.

"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."
-Charles Dubois

Don't be afraid to face up to change, for with change comes greater life.

Discipline

Discipline (instruction; training of the mind, or body, or the moral faculties; subjection to authority; self-control; to improve behavior by judicious penal methods. SYN: order, strictness, training, government, instruction, drilling, control, coercion, punishment, organization. -Webster)

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
-Proverbs 22:6 (MKJV)

Children model those they trust. So prepare them in how to live appropriately, trusting in God for all things. Even if they turn from what you've taught, they will one day come to remember.

"Discipline, like the bridle in the hand of a good rider, should exercise its influence without appearing to do so; should be ever active, both as a support and as a restraint, yet seem to lie easily in hand. It must always be ready to check or to pull up, as occasion may require; and only when the horse is a runaway should the action of the curb be perceptible."
-Unknown

Choose your battles wisely. For what good is it if you cause a person to retreat, never to return.

Faith

Faith (belief, especially in a revealed religion; trust or reliance; a system of religious doctrines believed in; loyalty; pledged word. -Webster's)

"The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat oneself. All sin is easy after that."
-Baily

Don't give into temptation. But rather focus on that which is good and righteous. Aim high and don't look back.

"A christian is the highest style of man."
-Young

Our faith in Jesus Christ strengthens our character, our morals, our outlook.

"Atheism is the result of ignorance and pride; of strong sense and feeble reasons; of good eating and ill-living. It is the plague of society, the corrupter of manners, and the underminer of property."
-Jeremy Collier

One thinks that his own thoughts must be true; arrogance flairs and the thoughts of all others are dismissed. It is so focused on self that no other possibility could even be considered for fear of having to face one's own imperfections.

"The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying."
-Flavel

God's instructions for a making it through life, of how to be happier, of how to find purpose and how to get along with others.

"It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter;–it is all pure, all sincere; nothing too much, nothing wanting."
-Locke

God's instructions for a making it through life, of how to be happier, of how to find purpose and how to get along with others.

Humility

Humility (free from pride... lowly; meek; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest. SYN: low, lowly, obscure, meek, modest, unassuming, unpretending, submissive. -Webster)

"The sin, the error, is not our hunger for knowledge - and the way back to Paradise is not via intentional ignorance (despite some latter-day Christian claims). Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden because of the kind of knowledge they reached for - a knowledge that distrusted and excluded God. Their drive to know arose not from love but from curiosity and control, from the desire to possess powers belonging to God alone."
-Parker Palmer (To Know As We Are Known)

Can you handle giving up control to God? Can you give up your pride and trust that God knows best?

"A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."
-Pope

Often times, after we choose to do or say something, we later learn something new... and had we known before we had to choose, we would have chosen differently. For it is in fact often by our mistakes that we learn what is right and true. In one of the simplest examples, a young child plays with the family cat at home... one day, the family goes to the home of a family friend. And at this home, there is a dog. Seeing the dog, the young child says, "cat!" Well, in the child's mind, the animal has four legs and a tail; it must be a cat, for that is what the child knows. Then the child learns that this in fact is a dog... the child learns from his mistakes.

Relationships

Relationships (connection, behavior or feelings toward somebody else, friendship, connection by family, shared property of association. -Encarta SYN: connection, affinity, association, harmony, relative, kinsman, kindred. -Webster)

"Our hearts have been deformed by our lust for power, by our fear of mutually accountable relationships, by our self-destructive tendency toward an alienated life. If we are to reform our teaching and our way of knowing the world, we must allow our hearts to be known by the love and truth in which they were first formed. We must practice disciplines that permit love and truth to re-form our hearts, disciplines that empower us to do the sort of teaching that can help re-form our students, our schools, and our world as well."
-Parker Palmer (To Know As We Are Known)

To be in relationship with anyone, whether it be friendship or more than, we must first be willing to see our own faults and then change to healthier habits. Would you like to change the world? Then start by changing yourself.

Youth

Youth (life from childhood to manhood... not far advcanced in growth, life, or existence; not yet old; vigorous. SYN: youngster, young, person, minority, adolescence, juvenility. -Webster)

"Fragile beginnings of a mighty end."
-Mrs. Norton

Through much time, many mistakes and blind exploration we become the great men and women of tomorrow.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."
-Proverbs 22:6

Don't worry about the end results... just do what you know is the right thing to do.