“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good it's also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata -of creatures that worked like machines- would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they've got to be free. Of course God knew what would happen if they used their freedom the wrong way: apparently, He thought it worth the risk. (...) If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will -that is, for making a real world in which creatures can do real good or harm and something of real importance can happen, instead of a toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings- then we may take it it is worth paying.”

“You are your own cannoe and you are your own paddle, so paddle your own cannoe. Society had taught us to give away our power and abilities by making us to believe that other people are responsible for our success and failure. That is not fair!”

“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free.”

“Tis better people think you a fool, then open your mouth and erase all doubt.”

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” 

“Life is a gift... Life is a test... Life is temporary assignment....”

“Nothing is impossible for pure love.”

“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand.”

“You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”

“I’m afraid most Bibles remain unopened and unread. Don’t let this be true of yours!”

“THE "depression" was a blessing in disguise. It reduced the whole world to a new starting point that gives everyone a new opportunity.”

“The human conscience is reliable only when it is guided by the Holy Spirit.”

“DAY 6 Thinking about My Purpose POINT TO PONDER: This world is not my home. VERSE TO REMEMBER: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 (NIV) QUESTION TO CONSIDER: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?”

“There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

“Many times we’re cheated out of the blessings God wants us to have in this life because we’re not cooperating with Him. Instead of praying again for Sister Gray’s healing, the congregation should have raised their hands and thanked God that she had been healed.”