Patricia Holland Quotes

...meekness also means strength--strength to be yourself, your best self, and to resist those people, principles, and places that work to abuse you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

We must have the courage to be imperfect while striving for perfection.

Coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.

We have to pray as the ancients prayed. We are women now, not children, and are expected to pray with maturity. The words most often used to describe urgent, prayerful labor are wrestle, plead, cry, and hunger...In some sense, prayer may be the hardest work we will ever be engaged in, and perhaps it should be.

If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full blown blitz on women. I would keep them so distraught and distracted that they would never find the calming strength and serenity for which their gender has always been known.

...we will have peace to the degree that we are less envious of others' situations, less threatened by others' accomplishments, less concerned with others' progress and more concerned with God's divine will for us.

Remember, women are not to be the caboose, and they are not the engine. They are much, much more than either of these.

Meditation is the language of the soul. It is defined as 'a form of private devotion, or spiritual exercise, consisting in deep, continued reflection on some religious theme

Meeting God in scripture has been like a divine intravenous feeding for me - a celestial I.V. that my son once described as an "angelical cord".

Second only to dedicated temples, our homes are to be sacred edifices of the Lord, places of peace and holiness and sanctity.

Mothering, I believe, requires engaging every muscle, every nerve, every fiber of our being, and through it all we pray.

....though we may not have a completely willing heart every time we serve, such service molds our heart, blesses us, and does enlarge our capacity to give.

(by mother Teresa)....."I was consoling a little girl who was sick and had much pain. I told her, 'You should be happy that God sends you suffering, because your sufferings are a proof that God loves you much. Your sufferings are kisses from Jesus.' 'Then Mother,' answered the little girl, 'please ask Jesus not to kiss me quite so much.

If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full blown blitz on its women. I would keep them so distraught and distracted that they would never find the calming strength and serenity for which their sex has always been known. He has effectively done that, catching us in the crunch of trying to be superhuman instead of realistically striving to reach our indiviual purpose and unique God-given potential within such diversity. He tauntingly teases us that if we don't have it all- fame, fortune, families, and fun- and have it every minute all the time, we have been short changed; we are second class citizens in the race of life. You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to get these messages in today's world, and as a sex we are struggling, and our society struggles. Drugs, teenage pregnancies, divorce, family violence, and suicide are some of the every-increasing side effecs of our collective life in the express lane.

Prayer is the key to prioritizing.

You so prefer things reflected in a glass, don't you? You have your private conception of everything. Like that windmill. It's practically as good as being in Holland to you. I wonder if you'll even like seeing real mountains and real people. How do you ever expect to create anything if you get all your experiences second hand?

I wonder if you’ll really enjoy this trip,” Carol said. “You so prefer things reflected in a glass, don’t you? You have your private conception of everything. Like that windmill. It’s practically as good as being in Holland to you. I wonder if you’ll even like seeing real mountains and real people.” Therese felt as crushed as if Carol had accused her of lying. She felt Carol meant, too, that she had a private conception of her, and that Carol resented it.

I wonder if you’ll really enjoy this trip,” Carol said. “You so prefer things reflected in a glass, don’t you? You have your private conception of everything. Like that windmill. It’s practically as good as being in Holland to you. I wonder if you’ll even like seeing real mountains and real people.” Therese felt as crushed as if Carol had accused her of lying. She felt Carol meant, too, that she had a private conception of her, and that Carol resented it. Real people? She thought suddenly of Mrs. Robichek. And she had fled her because she was hideous. “How do you ever expect to create anything if you get all your experiences second hand?” Carol asked, her voice soft and even, and yet merciless. Carol made her feel she had done nothing, was nothing at all, like a wisp of smoke. Carol had lived like a human being, had married, and had a child.