The Ballad of Black Bart, written by Loren D. Estleman
This novel is based on Black Bart, a man who robbed Wells Fargo stagecoaches in California during the 1800s. The story was fine, but what I really loved was Estleman's use of vocabulary. I now have a whole list of words I understood based on context, but had never heard before.
p. 50, (H)e had long ago cut loose his team from the wagon of Regret and hitched it to Action.
p. 175, "A wolf in fleece rarely socializes with shepherds. They don't fool as easily as the flock."
God is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense, written by Jennifer Rothschildp. 50, (H)e had long ago cut loose his team from the wagon of Regret and hitched it to Action.
p. 175, "A wolf in fleece rarely socializes with shepherds. They don't fool as easily as the flock."
Irene gave me this book last fall and I finally got around to finishing it. It's filled with encouragement and admonition to press into Jesus when life is hard, words spoken from a woman who has faced major struggles of her own, including blindness and deep depression.
p. 35, Embracing the mystery of God's just inequality can save you from the bitterness that will wither up your soul and from resentment that will keep you chained to self-centeredness.
p. 41, Our feelings are real, but they don't always reflect absolute reality.
p. 42, Feelings can be incredibly revealing, so don't repress them. But let them serve you rather than govern you.
p. 62, It is not wrong to wrestle with God. If God allows you to wrestle with him, it is not so there will be a winner and a loser. He doesn't need to prove he is stronger and you are weaker. No. The point of wrestling with God is to give you an opportunity to cling to him.
p. 114, Often our prayers are a way to corral our emotions to keep them from crushing our hearts.
p. 137, Our character rarely gets better just because our circumstances do.
p. 139, To embrace the concept of God's compassion and forbearance as it applies to our sins, yet to reject it as it applies to our suffering, is to reject part of the character of God.
p. 178, After several terrifying months, God's grace gently guided me back to the truth that he did not call himself "I FEEL" or "I THINK", but "I AM".
p. 190, (referring to John 3:30) It's a shift of focus. We do not ignore our pain or dismiss our sorrow. We do not neglect or debase ourselves. We just shift our focus. Instead of focusing on me and me alone, I glance at me and gaze at Jesus.
p. 210, She created a perfect past and projected a fantasy future - all with the word if.
p. 233, What you struggle with - whether it's debt, disease, grief, or any other number of difficulties - is not the whole picture. It's just one snapshot in the whole photo album that is your life. It is not forever. Eventually, life's pages will turn. Sure, this hard place will always be a part of you, but eventually, it will not be the biggest part of you. Just like an old photo in an album, the pain will become a faded memory.
The Running Dream, written by Wendelin Van Draanen
I enjoyed this novel about a teenager whose outstanding skill as a runner is cut short when she loses her leg in a car wreck. It's a great story about the sacrifices family members make for each other, loyalty of friends, power of a community, determination, and the importance of thinking past ourselves.
p. 314, It's disturbing how fast weeds take root in my garden of worthiness. They're so hard to pull. And they grow back so easily.
The Running Dream, written by Wendelin Van Draanen
I enjoyed this novel about a teenager whose outstanding skill as a runner is cut short when she loses her leg in a car wreck. It's a great story about the sacrifices family members make for each other, loyalty of friends, power of a community, determination, and the importance of thinking past ourselves.
p. 314, It's disturbing how fast weeds take root in my garden of worthiness. They're so hard to pull. And they grow back so easily.
Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life, written by Larry Winget
Although I disagree with him on some points, and quite strongly on occasion, Winget has a lot of good stuff to say in this book. In a nutshell, we need to stop complaining and making excuses, start taking responsibility for the way our life is going, and be willing to work hard.
p. 12, Few people will turn to themselves to take responsibility for their results until they have exhausted all opportunities to blame someone else.
p. 24, Knowledge is not power. It's the implementation of knowledge that is power.
p. 34, Affirmations are powerful. However, don't think that affirmations alone are going to change things for you. Just saying something won't change your results. Affirmation without implementation is self-delusion.
p. 86, If you don't know any better, then you are ignorant. If you know better and still do it, then you are stupid. Big difference.
p. 118, Unless you are a counterfeiter or the government, you don't make money. You earn money. Interesting how we forget that fact.
p. 119, By the way, the extra mile we have all hear about isn't very crowded - there's hardly anyone there at all.
p. 217, Stress comes from knowing what is right and doing what is wrong.
p. 227, Success isn't about passion. Success is about the combination of hard work and excellence.
p. 119, By the way, the extra mile we have all hear about isn't very crowded - there's hardly anyone there at all.
p. 217, Stress comes from knowing what is right and doing what is wrong.
p. 227, Success isn't about passion. Success is about the combination of hard work and excellence.
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