I love quotes. When Bryan Hutchinson encouraged fellow writers to blog about 7 quotes we have found helpful in our lives. Well, I took the challenge. My problem was knowing which ones to choose.

As I said, I love quotes. I refer to them often. Perhaps not often enough. And when I find a good quote I love sharing it.

I am a wounded person. Everyone has stories of humiliation we wish we could forget. Consequently when something negative is said within a 10 mile radius of where I am, my mind attracts it like a powerful magnet.

The negative filaments plant themselves firmly in my brain as if to say, “See, you are stupid, stingy, or…”

Thinking about good quotes of value is a good thing for anyone to do. I suggest you start collecting your own list. You never know when you need a good quote to highlight a point you’re trying to make.

About Failure

Charles Swindoll said, A failure isn’t someone who has failed, it’s someone who has quit trying.

Too often when I’ve made a mistake I start sliding down a negative slope. It’s nice to stop and talk myself out of it. Sometimes I use the words of others. I’ve always found the Bible to be a good source of quotes. I know the author well.


Being Present

Jim Elliot, a missionary whose life was taken by the very ones he ministered to is one of my favorite authors. Shadow of the Almighty, is a great book.

Jim Elliot said, Wherever you are, be all there.

I’m learning how to do that with my grandchildren. One day I noticed Charlie who is 4 was missing his smile.

“Charlie, your smile is gone,” I gently pointed out.

His brother, Jude, almost 6 replied, “Grandma, your smile is gone too.”

And I realized I had slipped from their presence to another place. One without smiles. It’s so much easier being where you are. Jim Elliot was right.


About Perseverance

Thomas Edison said, Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Having experienced many difficult things in my life, I have learned how to work through problems. Going through hard times can help you to develop perseverance. Staying power. Because you never know what is around the corner.

Challenges

Life is full of challenges.

Charles Swindoll also said, We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. The bigger the obstacle, the bigger the challenge.

I am a problem solver. If you look at a problem long enough I’m convinced you will find a solution.

Longing for More

People are always wanting more than what they have. They feel there has to be more.

C.S. Lewis said, If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

I wholeheartedly agree. That longing we have will one day be satisfied, but we’re not home yet.

Writing

I love quotes about writing since I am a writer. I have to write. When I came across this quote I immediately felt a kinship with this writer.

Sir Issac Asinov said, I write for the same reason I breathe, because if I didn’t, I would die.

Happiness

We can all relate to happiness. Some people are happy; some are not. Some people pursue happiness their whole lives, never finding it. They forever think it must be around the next corner. Searching for happiness, coming up empty. The truth is, happiness is up to us.

Abraham Lincoln said, 

People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Everything is not perfect in this world, far from it.

Things don’t always work out the way we’d like them to. We then have a decision to make. How will we respond?

While we cannot control many of the circumstances in our lives, we can control how we will respond.

As we age, little lines start forming on our faces. Year by year, they become more prominent. I’ve decided I want my lines to be laugh lines.

Words matter.

What you say to others. What others say to you. Who knows, some day you may be quoted. And if you are, what do you think they’ll say? What would you want them to say?