Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Quotes Worth Living By

"More is not always better... sometimes it's just more."

"Drink coffee... do stupid things faster."

"Not all who wander are lost."

"Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick."



I love quotes! They sometimes make me laugh, or reflect, or even pause, squint my eyes and ask, "Is that really true?" So, I've been thinking... how many of these quotes that I see hanging on cute tin plaques in little gift shops or printed inside Halmark cards are actually true. Does it matter?



Quotes make it easy to say pie-in-the-sky statements. Quotes can make us seem so philosophical and deep. The trouble with quotes? They can often be empty. But, not so with God's quotes! His Word(s). I guess as I've been thinking this through, I've decided that I need to make sure that I'm not banking anything important on empty quotes. People can say things that make me laugh or feel understood. Their quotes can even make me ponder something. But, people quotes can be wrong. God's NEVER are. That's pretty important! Sure, I still love my sign that says, "Life is not how many breaths you take, but how many moments take your breath away." I love those breathtaking moments. BUT... I don't believe my life is worthless if it's not full of breathtaking moments every hour. God's Word tells me, Christ in me is to live. That's worth living for! He tells me, Cast all your cares on me, for I care for you, and Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick. At a very difficult point in my life, someone told me the verse about HOPE. Funny thing is, I didn't know it was God's words. When I came across it in the bible, I was so suprised... and encouraged! I understood, my heart was sick and depressed because I'd placed my hope somewhere it shouldn't have been. That same day, I read the words, Why so downcast, oh my soul? Put your hope in God! That was truth worth believing. Not some pie-in-the-sky saying that I tried to apply like, "believe in the power of positive thinking..."



Do I actually do stupid things faster when I've had my coffee? Yup. Is more just MORE sometimes? Yup. Will I still buy cute tin plaques? Sure. But, when life really matters, I've decided that I want to know what God has to say about it instead of some dead philosopher or Halmark poet. Thanks God for being Trustworthy! I'm so thankful that your words are worth banking my whole life on!