Sometimes the greatest thoughts are captured in the poverty of a few simple words. Sometimes a single thought can change the whole of one’s life for all of one’s life. And sometimes, that single thought gives us more than what we need to face all that stands in front of us.
Over the years I’ve discovered that a single quote aptly spoken can impact a life as much or more than an entire book or collection of books. Despite our assumptions to the contrary, it is the simple things that change the big things. And out of that understanding, I have assembled a collection of my most popular quotes. It’s my hope that you’ll find something in this collection that will meet a need in your life or bring a bit of healing to your circumstances:
“Without the ‘dark’ I would never understand how light the ‘light’ really is. And while I don’t care for the dark, I do appreciate what it does for the light.”
“I might find myself standing in front of a wall, but without a wall there wouldn’t be a door.”
“You have a God. You have a mind. You have a will. And somewhere you have a passion. And if you have enough faith to believe in the first and exercise the rest, you can achieve the impossible.””Too often we mistake silence for the absence of something when in reality it is the preparation for something.”
“If the dream is not bigger than me, I have mistaken an idea for a dream.”
“The greatest threat that I need to be rescued from is myself. Everything comes a lot easier after that.”
“How do I begin to evaluate my worth? By realizing that some things can’t be assigned a value, and that my life is one of them.”
“What pensive people define as ‘lost’ is what bolder people define as ‘adventure’. The former remains huddled in their constricted boxes, while the latter tread the crest of horizons.”
“Of course I want a pay-off. However, the pay-off that I want is to be rid of the desire to want a pay-off.”
“If I am not a servant to others, by process of elimination I am then a servant to myself. And that serves no one.”
“Life is much like a river. I can’t determine where the river comes from or where it’s flowing to. But I can immerse myself in it as it’s flowing by me.”
“If God has called you to something, the most ignorant question you can ask is ‘Do I have the ability to do this?’ Conversely, the wisest question you can ask is, ‘When can we get started?'”
“A real journey will demand that I put my shoes on, but then I’ve got to stand up and walk. And I forget the second part, the first part doesn’t matter.”
“Here’s the way to destroy your life in sixty seconds or less; convince yourself that something is ‘right’ simply because you want it to be, and then go act on it.”
“I can readily see the tyrants that stand all around me. But what I have a hard time seeing is the hero that resides within me. And I have effectively determined whether I will succeed or fail simply by choosing which of these two I will focus on.”
“There is a point to which we alone can take ourselves. And while we think that to be the pinnacle of our existence, with God it is the point of departure for our existence.”
“Too often, my vision stops at what I’ve become rather than what I was created to be.”
And one more…
“The idea is to always be attempting things that are greater than who I am. Otherwise I will never be more than who I am. That is why I prefer the call of God over the plans of men, for the former is a call to the impossible and the latter is a summons to what I did yesterday.”
Craig Lounsbrough
M. Div., LPC