Kay Warren Quotes

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.

Joy begins with our convictions about spiritual truths we're willing to bet our lives on, and truths that are lodged so deeply within us that they produce a settled assurance about God.

I would rather walk every day in the darkness with a God who remains a mystery to me than in the light with a God I completely understand.

Fallen man is both terrified of vulnerability and committed to maintaining independence.

one of the ways to decrease stress and increase joy is to find the “bless in the mess.

Depth, not speed, is the truest measure of a balanced life.

Joy is rooted in gratitude. You cannot have a joyful heart without having a grateful heart.

Loving a moment doesn't remove the pain, but it does make room for joy.

In it she told me, "Thanks a lot! I'm ruined - gloriously ruined." I nodded with sudden understanding. "that's it - that describes what has happened to me." I was ruined for life as I had known it before, but gloriously ruined!

we are going to experience joy in this lifetime, there’s only one possible way: We will have to choose it. We will have to choose it in spite of unbelievable circumstances. We will have to choose it in the middle of a situation that seems too hard to bear. We will have to choose it even if our worst nightmare comes true. This isn’t what we want to hear. We keep trying to line up all the little ducks in a row, to smooth out the rough spots, and to shore up all the wobbly places, still convinced that if we get our act together, we finish the huge project, our health clears up, we get a raise, or we can just get things right, we can finally be joyful.

People are dying to be listened to. People are dying to be able to pour out their hearts and not be judged, not be told they're crazy, not be told their feelings don't matter.

Spiritual growth doesn’t happen automatically and is rarely pretty; we will all be “under construction” until the day we die and we finally take hold of the “life that is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:19).

When trials expose our faith-life, will others see us embracing both the joy and the pain of our life? We do not need to live out one and deny the other. Those around us need to recognize that both of these elements are part of life, and both give us hope for heaven.

You and I were made for connection, to be emotionally attached to others. It’s a well-known fact that physical touch is crucial for us as human beings, not just for emotional health but for our very survival. Studies show that the elderly die sooner if they don’t have physical touch. Babies are more likely to be diagnosed with “failure to thrive” if they’re not touched. One

To experience joy on a daily basis, learn what it means to live in the moment. Notice I said in, not for. To live for the moment is irresponsible and leads to decisions you may regret. You may already have a testimony of what it meant for you to live for the moment. Living in the moment helps us recognize that God can be found in this moment, whether it contains joy or sorrow. As a perfectionist, I’m always waiting for a perfect moment before I enjoy it. But nothing is ever perfect! That’s why the Bible encourages us to “make the most of every opportunity” for doing good (Eph. 5:16

tender, thoughtful and affectionate. Men are more helped by sympathy, than by service; love is more than money, and a kind word will give more pleasure than a present.”[23] If you live by yourself, you may have to get creative in finding ways to express love extravagantly. While the people at your work may look askance at you if you suddenly start handing out hugs, it’s almost always appropriate to shake hands or touch a shoulder or an elbow lightly. Certainly there are people at your church who will be receptive to a hug. If not, find a different church! Those who love lavishly, extravagantly, find their souls flooded with joy.

...don't simplify your life so you can do more. Simplify your life so you can focus on what matters—and you are what matters. Simplifying your life means focusing on who you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If you want to choose joy daily, that's the place to start.

Our goal, then, is not to figure out how to live only on the joy side of the tracks and avoid the sorrow side, but it’s how to live on the parallel tracks where joy and sorrow run side by side. I don’t know if you’ve realized it or not, but when you look into the brightness of the horizon, the tracks become one, no longer distinguishable as two separate tracks.

All our great words and statements of faith are worthless when it all falls apart; what matters in those times is what we do.

If we are going to experience joy in this lifetime, there’s only one possible way: We will have to choose it. We will have to choose it in spite of unbelievable circumstances. We will have to choose it in the middle of a situation that seems too hard to bear. We will have to choose it even if our worst nightmare comes true.

Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish for spiritual things then it is sin for you, however innocent it may be in itself. Susannah Wesley, wife of John Wesley

When trust in God grows, joy has the freedom to grow as ell. We cannot have joy and worry at the same time ... when you're worrying, you're not trusting. And when you're trusting, you're not worrying.

A fundamental part of expressing trust in God is learning how to gaze at him and only glance at our problems.

We were made to live for ever. Something deep inside us calls out for what was lost, so we keep reaching for it, keep trying to find that perfection our souls long for. So it's not wrong to long for perfection; it's just wrong to expect it on earth. It isn't found here.

The antidote to perfectionism is acceptance - acceptance of our earthly imperfections because we are focused on the day when imperfection will be no more.

Control the controllables and leave the uncontrollables to God.

Any man who thinks he can pastor a church and not have his wife as a part of the team is a man … who will find his ministry limited and even crippled because God intends for us to serve together – like a body in which each part is valued and needed.

Unfolding according to the contemplative logic of their lyrical orbits, Astral Weeks’s songs unhooked themselves from pop’s dependence on verse/chorus structure, coasting on idling rhythms, raging and subsiding with the ebb and flow of Morrison’s soulful scat. The soundworld – a loose-limbed acoustic tapestry of guitar, double bass, flute, vibraphone and dampened percussion – was unmistakably attributable to the calibre of the musicians convened for the session: Richard Davis, whose formidable bass talents had shadowed Eric Dolphy on the mercurial Blue Note classic Out to Lunch; guitarist Jay Berliner had previous form with Charles Mingus; Connie Kay was drummer with The Modern Jazz Quartet; percussionist/vibesman Warren Smith’s sessionography included Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, Sam Rivers and American folk mystics Pearls Before Swine. Morrison reputedly barely exchanged a word with the personnel, retreating to a sealed sound booth to record his parts and leaving it to their seasoned expertise to fill out the space. It is a music quite literally snatched out of the air.

assurance

A few years ago I read a quote by Paul Sailhamer, who said that joy comes from knowing God is in control of our lives.[4] I liked that a lot, but I wanted more words around it to adequately express what I believe Scripture teaches about how to live a joyful life. I’ve written a definition of joy and memorized it so I can remind myself of the powerful truths when I’m feeling shaky: Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things. Did you catch that? Joy is a settled