- At some point, a thinker must face nihilism.
- The preacher who says nothing of peace will damage many souls.
- The wise mother allows her son to play in the dirt.
- Life without sentimentality is death.
- Sentiments will not survive nihilism, but truth will. Christianity is astounding in that it claims to have True Sentiments.
- The young would do well to seek counsel from the old. If only I knew this from the beginning….
- Peace is not the avoidance of pain.
- The preacher who does not know forgiveness will damage many souls.
- The warrior must limit his empathy. We are all warriors.
- Peace is not an emotion, but an assurance.
- There is no fairy tale that is not about real life.
- We all need encouragement from time to time. Therefore, do not be ashamed when you need encouragement, and be on the lookout to provide encouragement.
- Humility is not a synonym for false modesty, nor is it a synonym for self-abasement.
- If I feel guilt but I do not work to change, then I am not repenting. I am soothing myself with an illusion of spirituality. But, perhaps I overstate myself.
- Before working towards improvement, one must first believe that it is valuable and possible to improve.
- It is a goal and blessing to enjoy the quiet periods of unproductivity that fill up much of life. These moments are rests and gifts from God, not meaningless vacancies.
- A boy should not be entirely civilized; Mark Twain knew this well.
- Confession is not an end in itself, but has two purposes: Genuine community and true repentance.
- If I cannot spend a lifetime living by a saying, then I do not feel inclined to live by it for two minutes.
- It is right for us to have some wildness within us. It is wrong for us to lack self-control.
- A house without zeal, enthusiasm, gusto, vigor, life or spirit is not a home. That house is a deadness. But how to gain spirit when one does not begin with it, I do not know.
- Avoiding pride is the hardest when we are pointing out pride in another. I can say with certainty that I have never succeeded here.
- If I am able to comfortably live without something for the rest of my life, then it is not a need. Few things are needs.
- The way out of chronic shame is repetition of truth.
- The restoration of broken trust requires repeated trustworthiness.
- Ritual is intentional repetition.
- It is a long journey from our minds to our hearts.
- A man can convince himself of many ridiculous things through the use of repetition.
- Vigor comes in a variety of forms.
- The first lesson: everyone understands something. The second lesson: no one understands everything.
- A difference in enthusiasm often awakens insecurities.
- What a riddle is perfectionism! It can be described as refusing to accept anything that is not perfect. But it is more perfect to not be a perfectionist than it is to be a perfectionist. What then is true perfectionism? For to embrace perfectionism is to betray it, and to abandon perfectionism is to fulfill it.
Thoughts of a Novice 