“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.”

“Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness.”

“This action step should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it).”

“Learning to love yourself is the essence of receiving God’s love. It is the ointment that brings healing to your wounded soul. Until we receive God’s love and learn to love ourselves because of it, we will remain sick in our souls and live dysfunctional lives.”

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

“We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.”

“Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself — your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.”

“The words 'bad timing' came to be ghosts haunting our every move in Birmingham. Yet people who used this argument were ignorant of the background of our planning...they did not realize that it was ridiculous to speak of timing when the clock of history showed that the Negro had already suffered one hundred years of delay.”

“Sometimes we encourage someone without even being aware of it. Even the example we set by attending church may encourage someone who is searching for God.”

“They decreed that the American government always be controlled by the will of the people, not the people by the will of the government.”

“Stop and say something good about yourself! Believe what you have just said! Pray for what you have just believed! Have faith for what you just prayed for! Work out that faith! ...and surely goodness and mercy shall follow you!”

“Your happiness is meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of people around you! You matter; others also matter! Live life so well!”

“And he who would be friends with God must remain alone, or make the whole world his friend”

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at”

“We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”