“Forgiveness does not come easily to us, especially when someone we have trusted betrays our trust. And yet if we do not learn to forgive, we will discover that we can never really rebuild trust.”

“We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.”

“La obediencia libera el poder de Dios. Dios espera que actúes primero. No esperes hasta que te sientas poderoso o seguro. Sigue adelante pese a tu debilidad, haciendo lo correcto a pesar de tus temores y sentimientos. Así es como cooperas con el Espíritu Santo, y es como se desarrolla tu carácter. La Biblia compara el crecimiento espiritual con una semilla, un edificio o un niño en crecimiento. Cada metáfora requiere una participación activa: las semillas deben ser plantadas y cultivadas, los edificios deben ser construidos —no surgen de la nada— y los niños deben comer y hacer ejercicio para crecer. Aunque el esfuerzo no tiene nada que ver con nuestra salvación, tiene mucho que ver con nuestro crecimiento espiritual. Por lo menos ocho veces en el Nuevo Testamento se nos dice que «hagamos todo esfuerzo»17 en nuestro crecimiento para llegar a ser como Jesús. Uno no se sienta simplemente a esperar que suceda.”

“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.” 

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

“Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example.”

“The fruit of Silence is Prayer The fruit of Prayer is Faith The fruit of Faith is Love The fruit of Love is Service The fruit of Service is Peace”

“In order to control myself I must first accept myself by going with and not against my nature.”

“Give and receive; give big and receive big; give freely and receive freely; give poorly and receive poorly.”

“We constantly pass up the rich and beautiful and ennobling experiences and seek out the tawdry, the cheap, and the degrading. These are the works of the devil, and they flourish on every side!”

“Do you have some kind of dream or vision for your future? Are there things that you would love to see happen in the days, months, and years ahead of you? I sincerely hope so, because without goals, we are directionless and very unmotivated. You might say, “Yes, I do have a big dream.” My question is, Have your words been in line with what you say you want?”

“You die and you die and then you are beyond death.”

“How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!” 

“One of Henry Ford’s most outstanding qualities is his habit of reaching decisions quickly and definitely, and changing them slowly.”

“Please remember that you don’t have to be like someone else to be acceptable. The world’s standards are not God’s. The world may say you need to be like this person or that person, but God’s will is that you be yourself.