“
Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.
”
”
Fulton J. Sheen
“
Love means never having to be apart
”
”
James Patterson (Sundays at Tiffany's)
“
Your religion is not what you do on Sunday. It is how you live Monday through Saturday.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Just because life is hard, and always ends in a bad way, doesn't mean that all stories have to
”
”
James Patterson (Sundays at Tiffany's)
“
The secret to finding your passion is to bring it to everything you do. --Marie Forleo (Yes, even doing the laundry!)
”
”
Marie Forleo
“
Some of the most unkind,judgmental people I've ever known go to church every Sunday and read the Bible.
I don't know how some people are able to
disassociate their own cruelty and shortcomings from their religious obligations and convictions, but many are able to do that.
”
”
Judith McNaught (Someone to Watch Over Me (Paradise, #5))
“
Other letters simply relate the small events that punctuate the passage of time: roses picked at dusk, the laziness of a rainy Sunday, a child crying himself to sleep. Capturing the moment, these small slices of life, these small gusts of happiness, move me more deeply than all the rest. A couple of lines or eight pages, a Middle Eastern stamp or a suburban postmark . . . I hoard all these letters like treasure. One day I hope to fasten them end to end in a half-mile streamer, to float in the wind like a banner raised to the glory of friendship.
It will keep the vultures at bay.
”
”
Jean-Dominique Bauby (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death)
“
Any time I see a person fleeing from reason and into religion, I think to myself, There goes a person who simply cannot stand being so goddamn lonely anymore.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage)
“
The morning opens, a mist of innocence appears across the countryside that tells each one of us the day is new. That feeling of hope, love and the humble awareness of our duty becomes clear if even for a moment. It is that experience of inspiration that follows us into a small town woken by a cool frost on this Sunday morning and the laughter of children playing.
”
”
Kris Courtney (Norma Jean's Sun: True Story)
“
If you don’t walk according to the Word of God, then you are on the way that leads to self-destruction
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
Happiness is a hot bath on a Sunday afternoon.
”
”
A.D. Posey
“
I chose and my world was shaken. So what. The choice might have been mistaken, but choosing was not.
”
”
Stephen Sondheim "Sunday in the Park with George"
“
THE CURSE
May they never
Return home at night...
May you have no part of eventide,
May you have no room of your own,
Nor road, nor return.
May your days be all exactly the same,
Five Fridays in a row,
Always an unlucky Tuesday,
No Sunday,
May you have no more little worries,
Tears or inspiration,
For you yourself are the greatest worry on earth:
Prisoner!
”
”
Visar Zhiti (The Condemned Apple: Selected Poetry (Green Integer))
“
So what do you do when you are stuck?
The first thing I do when I am stuck is pray. But I’m not talking about a quick, Help me Lord, Sunday’s a comin’ prayer. When I get stuck I get up from my desk to head for my closet. Literally. If I‘m at the office I go over to a corner that I have deemed my closet away from home. I get on my knees and remind God that this was not my idea, it was His…
None of this is new information to God…
Then I ask God to show me if there is something He wants to say to prepare me for what He wants me to communicate to our congregation. I surrender my ideas, my outline and my topic. Then I just stay in that quiet place until God quiets my heart…
Many times I will have a breakthrough thought or idea that brings clarity to my message. . .
Like you, I am simply a mouthpiece. Getting stuck is one way God keeps me ever conscious of that fact.
”
”
Andy Stanley (Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication)
“
Let the Good vibe Sunday well spent to bring us a week of content.
”
”
Napz Cherub Pellazo
“
Maybe God doesn't care if we get all dressed up and sit in the pew every Sunday, as Diana believes. Instead, maybe God comes to us through men like Sloth, watching over us as we make our own decisions. Maybe God has always been with me. Opening doors, leading me to opportunities, letting me choose my own path, and loving me even when I chose the wrong one. Never giving up on me. Knowing all along that I am on a journey. That I must find my own way to Him. Maybe River was rights. Maybe God does still believe in me.
”
”
Julie Cantrell (Into the Free (Into the Free, #1))
“
So, time heals. Mostly. Sometimes carelessly. And in unsuspecting moments, the pain catches and reminds one of all that's been missing. The fulcrum of what might have been. But then it passes. Winter moves into spring and swallows return. The proximity of new skin returns to the sheets. Beauty does what is required. Jobs fulfil and conversations inspire. Loneliness becomes a mere Sunday. Scattered clothes. Empty bowls. Rotting fruit. Passing time. But still life in all its beauty and complexity.
”
”
Sarah Winman (Still Life)
“
Bible stories don’t have to mean just one thing. Despite what you may have heard from a pastor or Sunday school teacher along the way, faithful engagement with Scripture isn’t about uncovering a singular, moralistic point to every text and then sticking to it. Rather, the very nature of the biblical text invites us to consider the possibilities.
”
”
Rachel Held Evans (Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again)
“
Better days are coming! They're called Saturday and Sunday.
”
”
Karen Salmansohn
“
And kid, you’ve got to love yourself. You’ve got wake up at four in the morning, brew black coffee, and stare at the birds drowning in the darkness of the dawn. You’ve got to sit next to the man at the train station who’s reading your favorite book and start a conversation. You’ve got to come home after a bad day and burn your skin from a shower. Then you’ve got to wash all your sheets until they smell of lemon detergent you bought for four dollars at the local grocery store. You’ve got to stop taking everything so goddam personally. You are not the moon kissing the black sky. You’ve got to compliment someones crooked brows at an art fair and tell them that their eyes remind you of green swimming pools in mid July. You’ve got to stop letting yourself get upset about things that won’t matter in two years. Sleep in on Saturday mornings and wake yourself up early on Sunday. You’ve got to stop worrying about what you’re going to tell her when she finds out. You’ve got to stop over thinking why he stopped caring about you over six months ago. You’ve got to stop asking everyone for their opinions. Fuck it. Love yourself, kiddo. You’ve got to love yourself.
”
”
Anonymous
“
We preach and practice brotherhood — not only of man but of all living beings — not on Sundays only but on all the days of the week. We believe in the law of universal justice — that our present condition is the result of our past actions and that we are not subjected to the freaks of an irresponsible governor, who is prosecutor and judge at the same time; we depend for our salvation on our own acts and deeds and not on the sacrificial death of an attorney.
”
”
Virchand Gandhi (The Monist)
“
friendship in marriage is its own thing: friendship in a cup of tea, or a glass of wine, or a cappuccino every Sunday morning. Friendship in buying undershirts and underpants. Friendship in picking up a prescription or rescuing the towed car. Friendship in waiting for the phone call after the mammogram. Friendship in toast buttered just so. Friendship in shoveling the snow. I am the one you want to tell. You are the one I want to tell.
”
”
Elizabeth Alexander
“
Breakfast! My favorite meal- and you can be so creative. I think of bowls of sparkling berries and fresh cream, baskets of Popovers and freshly squeezed orange juice, thick country bacon, hot maple syrup, panckes and French toast - even the nutty flavor of Irish oatmeal with brown sugar and cream. Breaksfast is the place I splurge with calories, then I spend the rest of the day getting them off! I love to use my prettiest table settings - crocheted placemats with lace-edged napkins and old hammered silver. And whether you are inside in front of a fire, candles burning brightly on a wintery day - or outside on a patio enjoying the morning sun - whether you are having a group of friends and family, a quiet little brunch for two, or an even quieter little brunch just for yourself, breakfast can set the mood and pace of the whole day.
And Sunday is my day. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the hectic happenings of the weeks and months and we forget to take time out to relax. So one Sunday morning I decided to do things differently - now it's gotten to be a sort of ritual! This is what I do: at around 8:30 am I pull myself from my warm cocoon, fluff up the pillows and blankets and put some classical music on the stereo. Then I'm off to the kitchen, where I very calmly (so as not to wake myself up too much!) prepare my breakfast, seomthing extra nice - last week I had fresh pineapple slices wrapped in bacon and broiled, a warm croissant, hot chocolate with marshmallows and orange juice. I put it all on a tray with a cloth napkin, my book-of-the-moment and the "Travel" section of the Boston Globe and take it back to bed with me. There I spend the next two hours reading, eating and dreaming while the snowflakes swirl through the treetops outside my bedroom window. The inspiring music of Back or Vivaldi adds an exquisite elegance to the otherwise unruly scene, and I am in heaven. I found time to get in touch with myself and my life and i think this just might be a necessity! Please try it for yourself, and someone you love.
”
”
Susan Branch (Days from the Heart of the Home)
“
Miracles aren't always a grand happening like the kind I learned about in Sunday school. Sometimes they're as small as giving someone a break.
”
”
B.R. Spangler (An Order of Coffee and Tears)
“
what cannot be cured, must be endured
”
”
Bella Mackie (Jog On: How Running Saved My Life)
“
Be in a close association with your creator, for love will do its best
”
”
Napz Cherub Pellazo
“
There’s a huge difference between the writers, the musicians, the composers, the chefs, the dance choreographers and to a certain extent the tradesmen and the rest of society in that no one understands us.
It’s a wretched dream to hope that our creativity gets recognised while our family thinks we’re wasting our time when the lawn needs mowing, the deck needs painting and the bedroom needs decorating.
It’s acceptable to go into the garage to tinker about with a motorbike, but it’s a waste of a good Sunday afternoon if you go into the garage and practice your guitar, or sit in your study attempting to capture words that have been floating around your brain forever.
No one understands us
”
”
Karl Wiggins (Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe)
“
...we think being a Christian means to go to church on Sunday and trying to be good through the week. Now I see it means suffering, being willing to let the hard things happen to you, so that God can use us to do His work on this earth!
”
”
Kimberly L. Smith (Passport through Darkness: A True Story of Danger and Second Chances)
“
It's what you do every day that counts. Eating seven apples on Sunday won't keep the doctor away!
”
”
Thibaut Meurisse
“
Haters will unwittingly give you the inspiration you need to conquer your great obstacle of destiny if you did not give up
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
The principles you know determines what you get
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
The easiest way to remember your future wife’s birthday is to marry her on Super Bowl Sunday.
”
”
Matshona Dhliwayo
“
As a spirit dwelling in the ever-evolving human experience, I know that I am no better or worse than any other being. I simply am. You simply are. We are connected.
”
”
Oprah Winfrey (The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations)
“
More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent.
”
”
Billy Sunday (Best of Billy Sunday)
“
In my journey through the ever-changing seasons of life, I have learnt that winter is inevitably followed by a gorgeous spring and every spell of rain gives way to brilliant sunshine. What’s more, I have learnt that winter snow and drenching showers can be beautiful too. We just need the right eyes to look at them.
”
”
Mona Soorma (Rainy Days and Sundays)
“
It wasn’t northern agitators who pushed Negroes to question their country, as so many southern whites wanted to believe. It was their own pride, their patriotism, their deep and abiding belief in the possibility of democracy that inspired the Negro people. And why not? Who knew American democracy more intimately than the Negro people? They knew democracy’s every virtue, vice, and shortcoming, its voice and contour, by its profound and persistent absence in their lives. The failure to secure the blessings of democracy was the feature that most defined their existence in America. Every Sunday they made their way to their sanctuaries and fervently prayed to the Lord to send them a sign that democracy would come to them.
”
”
Margot Lee Shetterly (Hidden Figures)
“
Think about it: If you have saved just enough to have your own house, your own car, a modicum of income to pay for food, clothes, and a few conveniences, and your everyday responsibilities start and end only with yourself… You can afford not to do anything outside of breathing, eating, and sleeping.
Time would be an endless, white blanket. Without folds and pleats or sudden rips. Monday would look like Sunday, going sans adrenaline, slow, so slow and so unnoticed. Flowing, flowing, time is flowing in phrases, in sentences, in talk exchanges of people that come as pictures and videos, appearing, disappearing, in the safe, distant walls of Facebook.
Dial fast food for a pizza, pasta, a burger or a salad. Cooking is for those with entire families to feed. The sala is well appointed. A day-maid comes to clean. Quietly, quietly she dusts a glass figurine here, the flat TV there. No words, just a ho-hum and then she leaves as silently as she came. Press the shower knob and water comes as rain. A TV remote conjures news and movies and soaps. And always, always, there’s the internet for uncomplaining company.
Outside, little boys and girls trudge along barefoot. Their tinny, whiny voices climb up your windowsill asking for food. You see them. They don’t see you. The same way the vote-hungry politicians, the power-mad rich, the hey-did-you-know people from newsrooms, and the perpetually angry activists don’t see you. Safely ensconced in your tower of concrete, you retreat. Uncaring and old./HOW EASY IT IS NOT TO CARE
”
”
Psyche Roxas-Mendoza
“
Running is not magic beans and I now know that I can’t expect it to inure me to the genuine sadness of life. But throughout tough periods in my life, and without realising it, I had finally acquired a coping skill, one that has helped me every day since I found myself on that floor, wondering how I’d ever get up. It’s something that has taken me out of my self-made cage, propelled me towards new jobs, new experiences, real love and a sense of optimism and confidence that I can be more than just a woman with crippling anxiety. It has given me a new identity, one which no longer sees danger and fear first. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I ran myself out of misery. It has transformed my life.
”
”
Bella Mackie (Jog On: How Running Saved My Life)
“
It’s easy to behave like nothing is wrong, even when you have a mental illness and feel like you’re going to be consumed by it. Even at my most miserable, I was good at holding down my job, cracking jokes, going out just enough so I wasn’t seen as a hermit. Many people become experts at this, even tricking themselves. I could probably have gone on like this forever, living half a life, pretending that I was OK with it. But something had broken, and I couldn’t do it anymore. I’d done it for so long, and it had become exhausting.
”
”
Bella Mackie (Jog On: How Running Saved My Life)
“
Determination today leads to success tomorrow.
”
”
Aremu Sunday
“
truth recognizes truth
”
”
Oprah Winfrey (The Wisdom of Sundays)
“
Yet both Langlais and ‘Bruno’ were better suited to enduring a crucifixion than inspiring a resurrection.
”
”
Max Hastings (Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy: 1945-1975)
“
Your life should be of benefit to others and you should always inspire them
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
Locate things that motivate you and surround yourself with people that inspire you
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
A person who knows spiritual principles will walk confidently in God’s path, to fulfil what God has already planned to do
”
”
Pastor Adelaja Sunday
“
A good shepherd encourages and inspires each one that works alongside him.
”
”
Pastor Adelaja Sunday
“
When you hear the Word of God at Sunday Mass, expect healing, expect that you will experience God's love, expect that God will move in your life to meet all your needs.
”
”
Robert Degrandis
“
Miracle centered gospel has reduced humans to the level of animals.
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
Be the light and source of inspiration that others see
”
”
Sunday Adelaja
“
Does Christianity merely mean we must forfeit our Sunday mornings to church attendance, or does being a Christian noticeably improve our lives?
”
”
Richard Blackaby (The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence)
“
Begin to notice what you have in your life that you are grateful for and when you look at life through the lens of gratitude, you don’t see as many obstacles or hindrances. You see potential, you see possibilities. Then you become an open vehicle for more inspiration, more wisdom, more guidance, coming from the spiritual part of your being.
—Michael Bernard Beckwith
”
”
Oprah Winfrey (The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations)
“
Happy Mother's day ....
Its mothering Sunday in England and I just wanted to take a min to honor all the mothers out there, Well done. It doesn't matter if you doing it alone, or you have some one the fact is you still there still trying so hats off to you ..
Happy mothers day also to the dads who play both the role of mom and dad to their children. You too are just as amazing.
”
”
miss Gath
“
Training was all I could think about. One Sunday when I found the stadium locked, I broke in and worked out in the freezing cold. Every painful set, every extra rep, was a step toward my goal of winning.
”
”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“
We were the church. As the New Testament instructed. When it was time for Sunday morning meeting, we convened in private homes. To raise a structure and call it a church was the worldly way. A church made of hands was soon cluttered with altars and crucifixes, and was thereupon idolatrous. These false churches, they were not walking in Truth. They were whistling off to Hades. This was a shame, because I knew some real nice Lutherans.
”
”
Michael Perry (Coop: A Family, a Farm, and the Pursuit of One Good Egg)
“
A Muslim who prays five times a day and yet beats his wife at home, is no religious person. A Christian who goes to Church every Sunday, and yet never talks to his or her neighbor with a smile on the face, is no religious person. On the other hand, an outspoken atheist who most lovingly talks and listens to people of all religions without any bigotry or prejudice is a hundred times more religious than all the theoretical preachers of all religions combined.
”
”
Abhijit Naskar
“
The minister whose sermons are made up merely of flowers of rhetoric, sprigs of quotation, sweet fancy, and perfumed commonplaces, is—consciously or unconsciously—posing in the pulpit. His literary charlotte-russes, sweet froth on a spongy, pulpy base, never helped a human soul,—they give neither strength nor inspiration. If the mind and heart of the preacher were really thrilled with the greatness and simplicity of religion, he would, week by week, apply the ringing truths of his faith to the vital problems of daily living. The test of a strong, simple sermon is results,—not the Sunday praise of his auditors, but their bettered lives during the week. People who pray on their knees on Sunday and prey on their neighbors on Monday, need simplicity in their faith.
”
”
William George Jordan (Self-Control Its Kingship and Majesty)
“
His eyes are cold and restless
His wounds have almost healed
And she'd give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
She knows his love's in Tulsa
And she knows he's gonna go
Well it ain't no woman flesh and blood
It's that damned old rodeo
Well it's bulls and blood
It's dust and mud
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd
It's the white in his knuckles
The gold in the buckle
He'll win the next go 'round
It's boots and chaps
It's cowboy hats
It's spurs and latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
And the joy and the pain
And they call the thing rodeo
She does her best to hold him
When his love comes to call
But his need for it controls him
And her back's against the wall
And it's So long girl I'll see you
When it's time for him to go
You know the woman wants her cowboy
Like he wants his rodeo
”
”
Garth Brooks
“
(I)t was Lady who saved my mother's life. Lady, who made it possible for her not only to walk away from my father, but also to keep going. Horses were my mother's religion. It was them she wanted to be with all those Sundays as a child, when she'd been made to put on dresses to go to mass.
”
”
Cheryl Strayed (Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail)
“
I never allowed my Autism/Asperger's to have the prerogative to neither tear nor slow me down. I earned a degree in chemistry, juggle for elementary schools, play piano for seniors on Sunday mornings, and been mentoring children/teens from K-12 at Royal Rangers almost every week for six years and counting.
”
”
Matthew Kenslow (Juggling the Issues: Living With Asperger's Syndrome)
“
Can you tell us about Ama: Playing the Glass Bead Game with Pythagoras? Sunday Times Interview
"Both Hesse and Tolstoy were my first spiritual gurus. Through their deep insights and soulful messages, for the first time I experienced the world of spiritual growth and deep contemplation. Many artists have inspired my writings, the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Lao Tzu and Giordano Bruno. Pythagoras lived on the crossroads of civilisations, as I see us, and he has given us his fascinating research into music and numbers. With my deep respect towards ancient worlds, Pythagoras with his ancient Egyptian mystical knowledge had to be my protagonist.
”
”
Nataša Pantović (A-Ma Alchemy of Love (AoL Mindfulness, #1))
“
A Christian has no right to separate his life into two realms... to say the Bible is good for Sunday, but this is a week-day question, or the Scriptures are right in matters of religion, but this is a matter of business or politics. God reigns over all, everywhere. His will is the supreme law. His inspired Word, loyally read will inform us of His will in every relation and act of life, secular as well as religious; and the man is a traitor who refuses to walk therein with scrupulous care. The kingdom of God includes all sides of human life, and it is a kingdom of absolute righteousness. You are wither a loyal subject, or a traitor. When the King comes, how will He find you doing?
”
”
Archibald Alexander Hodge
“
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.
”
”
Crystal Boyd
“
You are supposed to stand before a congregation, brimming over with a great message. Here I am trying to find a new little message each Sunday. If I really had great convictions I suppose they would struggle for birth each week. As the matter stands, I struggle to find an idea worth presenting and I almost dread the approach of a new sabbath. I don’t know whether I can ever accustom myself to the task of bringing light and inspiration in regular weekly installments. How in the world can you reconcile the inevitability of Sunday and its task with the moods and caprices of the soul? The prophet speaks only when he is inspired. The parish preacher must speak whether he is inspired or not. I wonder whether it is possible to live on a high enough plane to do that without sinning against the Holy Spirit.
”
”
Reinhold Niebuhr (Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic: A Library of America eBook Classic)
“
THE MANY FACES OF SURVIVAL
Sunday, August 10th at 2:00 PST
Dachau Liberator, medical whistle-blower, award winning writer, college professor and world renowned garlic farmer, Chester Aaron, talks about the hard choices he’s had to make, why he made them, and how it’s changed his life.
Mr. Aaron was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, and received the Huntington Hartford Foundation fellowship which was chaired by Aldous Huxley and Tomas Mann. He also inspired Ralph Nader to expose the over-radiation of blacks in American hospitals.
Now Mr. Aaron is a world-renowned garlic farmer who spends his days writing about the liberation of Dachau. He is 86 years old and he has a thousand stories to tell. Although he has published over 17 books, he is still writing more and looks forward to publishing again soon.
”
”
Judy Gregerson
“
Christ did not go through the sublime drama of his life merely to provide sermon material for generations of preachers and their Sunday audiences. He lived, died, and was gloriously resurrected as an inspiration to others to live a divine life and attain in themselves his experiences of God and the afterlife. Jesus Christ was crucified once; but his teachings are crucified daily at the hands of superstition, dogmatism, and pedantic theological misinterpretations.
”
”
Paramahansa Yogananda
“
Now for some hope. It's Easter Sunday. The day that is usually spent with family and friends. This year is more chill. That's all. Just hanging out by staying in. ON the other side of this we will all talk about this time. It will be like where you were for the great quake of 1989 or 9-11 or where you were when JFK was shot. It's going to be one of those kinds of moments. BUT the we made it through those times. We will make it through this. We are stronger together. Plus we will have a big Easter together next year! This year let's all just chill in place.
”
”
Johnny Corn
“
Though this life promised him nothing that the people of this great town called good and struggled to acquire: neither apartment, property, social success nor money, there were other joys, sufficient in themselves, which he had not forgotten how to value: the right to move about without waiting for an order; the right to be alone; the right to gaze at stars that were not blinded by prison-camp searchlights; the right to put the light out at night and sleep in the dark; the right to put letters in a letterbox; the right to rest on Sunday; the right to bathe in the river. Yes, there were many, many more rights like these.
”
”
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Cancer Ward)
“
When you shed the light, be sure to have a genuine heart, a truthful mind, and an honest soul.
On 11th November 2018, I had a very inspired heart as I remember the "Sunday Express" from the airport to the City of Peace and Justice.
Three years later, I look back with a grateful heart, vigilant mind, and wisdom filled soul as I had always chosen and prefer the paths toward the truth, and not the manipulations, deceptions, lies, libel and slander, calumny, calculated financial opportunism of political harridans, and targeted toxic, repetitive abusive ways of Signora Imbrogliona and her associate accomplice of Machiavellian manipulators.
~ Angelica Hopes, an excerpt from Onestopia, Book 3 of Stronzata Trilogy
”
”
Angelica Hopes
“
They think it's what we need to hear, but it's the opposite. Inviting glamorous people to school, asking them to parade their glamorous lives onstage, getting them to inspire us with their message that anything is possible if only we believe. Dream. Reach for the stars. Well, no thanks. That's not for me. I'm not going to get there, and neither are most people that I know, and that's fine by me. It is. It really is. When did it stop being fine for everyone else? The normal stuff. Sunday dinners and, I don't know , taking a walk in the park and listening to music and working in an ordinary job for an ordinary wage that will allow you to maybe go on holiday once a year, and really look forward to it too because you're are not a greedy bastard wanting more, more, more all the time. That's who should be doing a talk at school. Seriously. Show me someone happy with a life like that, because it's enough. It should be enough. All that other stuff is meaningless.
”
”
Annabel Pitcher (Silence is Goldfish)
“
Prayer is one of the few spiritual practices that is pointless unless God is real. Meditation calms the body whether or not there's a spiritual being receiving our deliberate breathing and clear mind. Reading sacred texts aligns us with the wisdom of our ancestors whether or not it was divinely inspired. Church attendance connects us to the needs of our community. Fasting cleanses the body of toxic substances. Resting on Sundays allows us to let go of stress and worry. But prayer? Taking time to pour out our needs and our anxieties, demanding change, confessing sin, crying out for help - all of these things depend upon the existence of God, and specifically the existence of a God who hears and responds to our cries. Prayer in the face of insurmountable problems is an admission of weakness and need. Prayer is a commitment to a better future, a sign of faith that the world will one day be made right. Prayer is an act that emerges out of helplessness. Prayer is an act of hope.
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Amy Julia Becker (White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege)
“
Why do people go to church on Sundays? A question that is very complicated because I know what the answer is supposed to be but I do not really know the answer.
. I think people go because it is a kind of tradition
. I think some goes because someone told them if tgey do not they might go to hell
. Maybe some go to look for a wife or husband ☺
. Maybe some go to church to display their latest designer shoes or handbags
. Some goes just to please their Pastor
. Some people go to church because they love the music or the preaching
. Some goes because of some social reasons and friendship
. Some have it in their mind that they will experience the presence of God in the church
. Some goes to church because of miracle
. Some goes to church when they are expecting something maybe child, comfort, marriage, work etc.
. Some felt it is an obligation to give God a day out of the seven days he created
Let me tell you that church is not there to entertain you, Ephesians 3:20... there are things going on in the church that some people barely know about.
Ask yourself today why do I go to church. I am sure a sincere answer will help you.
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Patience Johnson (Why Does an Orderly God Allow Disorder)
“
If you will study the history of Christ's ministry from Baptism to Ascension, you will discover that it is mostly made up of little words, little deeds, little prayers, little sympathies, adding themselves together in unwearied succession. The Gospel is full of divine attempts to help and heal, in the body, mind and heart, individual men. The completed beauty of Christ's life is only the added beauty of little inconspicuous acts of beauty -- talking with the woman at the well; going far up into the North country to talk with the Syrophenician woman; showing the young ruler the stealthy ambition laid away in his heart, that kept him out of the kingdom of Heaven; shedding a tear at the grave of Lazarus; teaching a little knot of followers how to pray; preaching the Gospel one Sunday afternoon to two disciples going out to Emmaus; kindling a fire and broiling fish, that His disciples might have a breakfast waiting for them when they came ashore after a night of fishing, cold, tired, discouraged. All of these things, you see, let us in so easily into the real quality and tone of God's interests, so specific, so narrowed down, so enlisted in what is small, so engrossed in what is minute.
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Charles Henry Parkhurst
“
Many people today acquiesce in the widespread myth, devised in the late 19th century, of an epic battle between ‘scientists’ and ‘religionists’. Despite de unfortunate fact that some members of both parties perpetuate the myth by their actions today, this ‘conflict’ model has been rejected by every modern historian of science; it does not portray the historical situation. During the 16th and 17th centuries and during the Middle Ages, there was not a camp of ‘scientists’ struggling to break free of the repression of ‘religionists’; such separate camps simply did not exist as such. Popular tales of repression and conflict are at best oversimplified or exaggerated, and at worst folkloristic fabrications. Rather, the investigators of nature were themselves religious people, and many ecclesiastics were themselves investigators of nature. The connection between theological and scientific study rested in part upon the idea of the Two Books. Enunciated by St. Augustine and other early Christian writers, the concept states that God reveals Himself to human beings in two different ways – by inspiring the sacred writers to pen the Book of Scripture, and by creating the world, the Book of Nature. The world around us, no less than the Bible, is a divine message intended to be read; the perceptive reader can learn much about the Creator by studying the creation. This idea, deeply ingrained in orthodox Christianity, means that the study of the world can itself be a religious act. Robert Boyle, for example, considered his scientific inquiries to be a type of religious devotion (and thus particularly appropriate to do on Sundays) that heightens the natural philosopher’s knowledge and awareness of God through the contemplation of His creation. He described the natural philosopher as a ‘priest of nature’ whose duty it was to expound and interpret the messages written in the Book of Nature, and to gather together and give voice to all creation’s silent praise of its Creator.
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Lawrence M. Principe (Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction)
“
Are you an influencer? Are you in media? Do you run a conference? A business? A podcast? Are you a mom in the PTA? Are you a teller at the local bank? Are you a volunteer for Sunday school at church? Are you a high school student? Are you a grandma of seven? Great! I need you. We need you! We need you to live into your purpose. We need you to create and inspire and build and dream. We need you to blaze a trail and then turn around and light the way with your magic so other women can follow behind you. We need you to believe in the idea that every kind of woman deserves a chance to be who she was meant to be, and she may never realize it if you—yes, you—don’t speak that truth into her life. You’ll be able to do that if you first practice the idea of being made for more in your own life. After all, if you don’t see it, how do you know you can be it? If women in your community or your network marketing group or your Zumba class don’t ever see an example of a confident woman, how will they find the courage to be confident? If our daughters don’t see a daily practice of us feeling not only comfortable but truly fulfilled by the choice to be utterly ourselves, how will they learn that behavior? Pursuing your goals for yourself is so important, and I’d argue that it’s an essential factor in living a happy and fulfilled existence—but it’s not enough simply to give you permission to make your dream manifest. I want to challenge you to love the pursuit and openly celebrate who you become along the journey. When your light shines brighter, others won’t be harmed by the glare; they’ll be encouraged to become a more luminescent version of themselves. That’s what leadership looks like. Leaders are encouraging. Leaders share information. Leaders hold up a light to show you the way. Leaders hold your hand when it gets hard. True leaders are just as excited for your success as they are for their own, because they know that when one of us does well, all of us come up. When one of us succeeds, all of us succeed. You’ll be able to lead other women to that place if you truly believe that every woman is worthy and called to something sacred.
”
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Rachel Hollis (Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals (Girl, Wash Your Face))
“
A fierce battle was taking place at Tobruk, and nothing thrilled him more than spirited warfare and the prospect of military glory. He stayed up until three-thirty, in high spirits, “laughing, chaffing and alternating business with conversation,” wrote Colville. One by one his official guests, including Anthony Eden, gave up and went to bed. Churchill, however, continued to hold forth, his audience reduced to only Colville and Mary’s potential suitor, Eric Duncannon. Mary by this point had retired to the Prison Room, aware that the next day held the potential to change her life forever. — IN BERLIN, MEANWHILE, HITLER and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels joked about a newly published English biography of Churchill that revealed many of his idiosyncrasies, including his penchant for wearing pink silk underwear, working in the bathtub, and drinking throughout the day. “He dictates messages in the bath or in his underpants; a startling image which the Führer finds hugely amusing,” Goebbels wrote in his diary on Saturday. “He sees the English Empire as slowly disintegrating. Not much will be salvageable.” — ON SUNDAY MORNING, a low-grade anxiety colored the Cromwellian reaches of Chequers. Today, it seemed, would be the day Eric Duncannon proposed to Mary, and no one other than Mary was happy about it. Even she, however, was not wholly at ease with the idea. She was eighteen years old and had never had a romantic relationship, let alone been seriously courted. The prospect of betrothal left her feeling emotionally roiled, though it did add a certain piquancy to the day. New guests arrived: Sarah Churchill, the Prof, and Churchill’s twenty-year-old niece, Clarissa Spencer-Churchill—“looking quite beautiful,” Colville noted. She was accompanied by Captain Alan Hillgarth, a raffishly handsome novelist and self-styled adventurer now serving as naval attaché in Madrid, where he ran intelligence operations; some of these were engineered with the help of a lieutenant on his staff, Ian Fleming, who later credited Captain Hillgarth as being one of the inspirations for James Bond. “It was obvious,” Colville wrote, “that Eric was expected to make advances to Mary and that the prospect was viewed with nervous pleasure by Mary, with approbation by Moyra, with dislike by Mrs. C. and with amusement by Clarissa.” Churchill expressed little interest. After lunch, Mary and the others walked into the rose garden, while Colville showed Churchill telegrams about the situation in Iraq. The day was sunny and warm, a nice change from the recent stretch of cold. Soon, to Colville’s mystification, Eric and Clarissa set off on a long walk over the grounds by themselves, leaving Mary behind. “His motives,” Colville wrote, “were either Clarissa’s attraction, which she did not attempt to keep in the background, or else the belief that it was good policy to arouse Mary’s jealousy.” After the walk, and after Clarissa and Captain Hillgarth had left, Eric took a nap, with the apparent intention (as Colville
”
”
Erik Larson (The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz)
“
In Healing the Masculine Soul, Dalbey introduced themes that would animate what soon became a cottage industry of books on Christian masculinity. First and foremost, Dalbey looked to the Vietnam War as the source of masculine identity. The son of a naval officer, Dalbey described how the image of the war hero served as his blueprint for manhood. He’d grown up playing “sandlot soldier” in his white suburban neighborhood, and he’d learned to march in military drills and fire a rifle in his Boy Scout “patrol.” Fascinated with John Wayne’s WWII movies, he imagined war “only as a glorious adventure in manhood.” As he got older, he “passed beyond simply admiring the war hero to desiring a war” in which to demonstrate his manhood. 20 By the time he came of age, however, he’d become sidetracked. Instead of demonstrating his manhood on the battlefields of Vietnam, he became “part of a generation of men who actively rejected our childhood macho image of manhood—which seemed to us the cornerstone of racism, sexism, and militarism.” Exhorted to make love, not war, he became “an enthusiastic supporter of civil rights, women’s liberation, and the antiwar movement,” and he joined the Peace Corps in Africa. But in opting out of the military he would discover that “something required of manhood seemed to have been bypassed, overlooked, even dodged.” Left “confused and frustrated,” Dalbey eventually conceded that “manhood requires the warrior.” 21 Dalbey agreed with Bly that an unbalanced masculinity had led to the nation’s “unbalanced pursuit” of the Vietnam War, but an over-correction had resulted in a different problem: Having rejected war making as a model of masculine strength, men had essentially abdicated that strength to women. As far as Dalbey was concerned, the 1970s offered no viable model of manhood to supplant “the boyhood image in our hearts,” and his generation had ended up rejecting manhood itself. If the warrior spirit was indeed intrinsic to males, then attempts to eliminate the warrior image were “intrinsically emasculating.” Women were “crying out” for men to recover their manly strength, Dalbey insisted. They were begging men to toughen up and take charge, longing for a prince who was strong and bold enough to restore their “authentic femininity.” 22 Unfortunately, the church was part of the problem. Failing to present the true Jesus, it instead depicted him “as a meek and gentle milk-toast character”—a man who never could have inspired “brawny fishermen like Peter to follow him.” It was time to replace this “Sunday school Jesus” with a warrior Jesus. Citing “significant parallels” between serving Christ and serving in the military, Dalbey suggested that a “redeemed image of the warrior” could reinvigorate the church’s ministry to men: “What if we told men up front that to join the church of Jesus Christ is . . . to enlist in God’s army and to place their lives on the line? This approach would be based on the warrior spirit in every man, and so would offer the greatest hope for restoring authentic Christian manhood to the Body of Christ.” Writing before the Gulf War had restored faith in American power and the strength of the military, Dalbey’s preoccupation with Vietnam is understandable, yet the pattern he established would endure long after an easy victory in the latter conflict supposedly brought an end to “Vietnam syndrome.” American evangelicals would continue to be haunted by Vietnam. 23
”
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Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation)
“
how does ego play in this situation?
”
”
Oprah Winfrey (The Wisdom of Sundays)
“
Daily Living Practice Your practice this week is to deepen your awareness of what happens in your mind and your body when you are anxious, and to work on quieting your patterns of worry. As you go through each day this week, remind yourself to: Notice your worry patterns and begin to change them by challenging the fear with facts. Practice Powering Down to Transform Anxiety to experience the state of having a quiet mind and a quiet body. Comfort yourself, and challenge yourself to be victorious as you face small and large stresses throughout the week. Read the inspirational quote you have written on the index card. Daily Practice Log Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Time of Day B A B A B A B A B A B A B A Yoga/Meditation I Used Y-CBT Techniques I Used B = Before, A = After 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Low Anxiety Moderate Anxiety High Anxiety
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Julie Greiner-Ferris (The Yoga-CBT Workbook for Anxiety: Total Relief for Mind and Body (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook))
“
She was always cheerful—until she turned eighty and started going blind. She had a great deal of religious faith, and everyone assumed that she would adjust and find meaning in her loss—meaning and then acceptance and then joy—and we all wanted this because, let’s face it, it’s so inspiring and such a relief when people find a way to bear the unbearable, when you can organize things in such a way that a tiny miracle appears to have taken place and that love has once again turned out to be bigger than fear and death and blindness. But this woman would have none of it. She went into a deep depression and eventually left the church. The elders took communion to her in the afternoon on the first Sunday of the month—homemade bread and grape juice for the sacrament, and some bread to toast later—but she wouldn’t be a part of our community anymore. It must have been too annoying for everyone to be trying to manipulate her into being a better sport than she was capable of being. I always thought that was heroic of her, that it spoke of such integrity to refuse to pretend that you’re doing well just to help other people deal with the fact that sometimes we face an impossible loss.
”
”
Anne Lamott (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith)
“
You’re not done growing. I see you sometimes thinking about shit, and I think you want more than to settle with life. You want to do more, but you’re stuck. That’s not age. That’s a choice. Your life was stale because you settled.
”
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Bijou Hunter (Sunday Morning (Damaged #7.5))
“
You know how I know I’m brilliant? I picked a man willing to suffer to protect me. I picked a man willing to go without so I can be safe. Too bad that man’s too stupid to realize the only way I’ll ever be safe is with him. My heart can’t belong to anyone else. You’ve claimed it, and you have no right to close the door on me now.
”
”
Bijou Hunter (Sunday Morning (Damaged #7.5))
“
Every Sunday, the Weavers drove their Oldsmobile east toward Waterloo and pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Cedarloo Baptist Church, on a hill between Waterloo and Cedar Falls, took their place in the pews, and listened to the minister. But there seemed to be no fire or passion, no sense of what was really happening in the world. They’d tried other churches and found congregations interested in what God had done 2,000 years ago, but no one paying attention to what God was doing right then. Certainly, churches weren’t addressing the crime in Cedar Falls, the drugs, or the sorry state of schools and government, not to mention the kind of danger that Hal Lindsey described. They would have to find the truth themselves. They began doing their own research, especially Vicki. She had quit work to raise Sara, and later Samuel, who was born in April 1978. When Sara started school, Randy and Vicki couldn’t believe the pagan things she was being taught. They refused to allow her to dress up for Halloween—Satan’s holiday—and decided they had to teach Sara at home. But that was illegal in Iowa. A booster shot of religion came with cable television and The PTL Club, the 700 Club, and Jerry Falwell. The small television in the kitchen was on all the time for a while, but most of Vicki’s free time was spent reading. She’s lose herself in the Cedar Falls public library, reading the science fiction her dad had introduced her to as a kid, the novels and self-help books friends recommended, biblical histories, political tracts, and obscure books that she discovered on her own. Like a painter, she pulled out colors and hues that fit with the philosophy she and Randy were discovering, and everywhere she looked there seemed to be something guiding them toward “the truth,” and, at the same time, pulling them closer together. She spent hours in the library, and when she found something that fit, she passed it along first to Randy, who might read the book himself and then spread it to everyone—the people at work, in the neighborhood, at the coffee shop where he hung out. They read books from fringe organizations and groups, picking through the philosophies, taking what they agreed with and discarding the rest. Yet some of the books that influenced them came from the mainstream, such as Ayn Rand’s classic libertarian novel Atlas Shrugged. Vicki found its struggle between the individual and the state prophetic and its action inspiring. The book shows a government so overbearing and immoral that creative people, led by a self-reliant protagonist, go on strike and move to the mountains. “‘You will win,’” the book’s protagonist cries from his mountain hideout, “‘when you are ready to pronounce the oath I have taken at the start of my battle—and for those who wish to know the day of my return, I shall now repeat it to the hearing of the world: “‘I swear—by my life and my love of it—that I will never live my life for the sake of another man, nor ask another to live for mine.
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Jess Walter (Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family)
“
Be a source of motivation wherever you are as a believer
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Sunday Adelaja
“
Walk and learn from the people that inspire you to do great things
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”
Sunday Adelaja
“
Off and on, for several years, I’d been reading Zen, I’d flirted with Tantric Hinduism, I’d surfed the smaller swells of Sufism, and tried to get down with the Tao. It was all very eye-opening and inspirational, and while Asian mysticism is an easy target for the sneers of secular cynics and sectarian dogmatists alike, it’s far more compatible with modern science than the misinterpreted Levantine myths, ecclesiastical fairy tales, pious platitudes, and near-desperate wishful thinking I’d been fed in Southern Baptist Sunday School. The wisdom in those spiritual texts was obvious, yet I’d integrated it into my daily life with but minimal success. From a practical point of view, it was like trying to teach a monkey to play chess.
”
”
Tom Robbins (Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life)
“
These outcasts, or osu, seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations, thought that it was possible that they would also be received. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church. There was an immediate stir, but so great was the work the new religion had done among the converts that they did not immediately leave the church when the outcasts came in. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat. It was a miracle. But it only lasted till the end of the service. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out, when Mr. Kiaga stopped them and began to explain. "Before God," he said, "there is no slave or free. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers."
"You do not understand," said one of the converts. "What will the heathen say of us when they hear that we receive osu into our midst? They will laugh." "Let them laugh," said Mr. Kiaga. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision." "You do not understand," the convert maintained. "You are our teacher, and you can teach us the things of the new faith. But this is a matter which we know." And he told him what an osu was. He was a person dedicated to a god, a thing set apart--a taboo for ever, and his children after him. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. He was in fact an outcast, living in a special area of the village, close to the Great Shrine. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste
-long, tangled and dirty hair. A razor was taboo to him. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born, and they, in turn, could not shelter under his roof. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan, and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. How could such a man be a follower of Christ? "He needs Christ more than you and I," said Mr. Kiaga. "Then I shall go back to the clan," said the convert. And he went. Mr. Kiaga stood firm, and it was his firmness that saved the young church. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. He ordered the outcasts to shave off their long, tangled hair. At first they were afraid they might die. "Unless you shave off the mark of your heathen belief I will not admit you into the church," said Mr. Kiaga. "You fear that you will die. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. But they have cast you out like lepers. It is against the will of God, who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that, and you are afraid. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground. Am I dead? They said I would die if I took care of twins. I am still alive. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. Only the word of our God is true." The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. And what was more, nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example.
”
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Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart)
“
Writing down what you’re grateful for is a scientifically proven way (who knew?) to feel amazing about all that you’re blessed with in your life. So snag a cute notebook from the dollar store or decorate a plain old one with a collage of words that inspire you. Keep it on your nightstand, and every couple of nights before you go to bed pen three things that you were grateful for that day. It’s tempting to do it nightly, but the uplifting effect actually wears off if you go overboard. On Sunday evening, look back at everything you wrote down in the previous week and feel the good vibes wash over you.
”
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Faithgirlz (101 Things Every Girl Should Know: Expert Advice on Stuff Big and Small)
“
All of this provocative history has turned Paris into the ideal backdrop for romance and desire. People who visit the city can easily fall in lust or in love, whether for the first time or all over again. How can you not feel sexy in a city where everyone looks like he or she has just had sex? As Caroline de Maigret, Audrey Diwan, Sophie Mas, and Anne Berest emphasize in their book, How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits, Always be fuckable: when standing in line at the bakery on a Sunday morning, buying champagne in the middle of the night, or even picking the kids up from school. You never know.
”
”
Jordan Phillips (Inspired by Paris: Why Borrowing from the French Is Better Than Being French)
“
The priest and his desires
Not alone, but a lonely monastery priest,
Resisting hard not to venture out and pursue the need for love and passion driven heist,
Bound by his sanctum and religion,
He tries not to give in to any seduction,
Adam and Eve blamed the devil,
The priest is baffled to decide who shall he blame for this evil,
He rolls and turns restlessly in the bed of his desires,
And every night after the Church service he deals with these raging fires,
He is dressed in his black robe on the much anticipated Sunday mass,
But he is distracted and sees passions and desires cast on peoples faces and even on mosaic glass,
At the end of the service he serves all some fine and red wine,
And when he stands face to face with a beautiful woman his inner self says “I wish you were mine!’”
His Sunday night is spent in her curled hair locks,
He is shackled to her beautiful face and desires that fasten around him like unbreakable locks,
He often touches his cross that he wears always,
Still his nights are restless and now it is so even during the sunny Spring days,
He bows before the Altar and makes a solemn confession,
“My Lord! her face and her overpowering beauty have become my obsession,
Am I still worthy of worshipping you my God?
For I have silently started worshiping this feeling of loving her and I do not feel odd,
It is her thoughts that possess me even during my sermons,
In her absence, not yours My Lord, everything presents itself like bad omens,
To tame my wandering thoughts I refer to the Holy Book,
But through it too peeps her face and her mesmerising look,
I wonder if I shall quit clergy,
And adopt this new synergy,
I am drowning farther and farther in this mental eclipse,
And I only want to think of her beautiful face, her warm skin and her red lips,
Shall I forsake my black robe, My Lord, and not Thee?
Or Forsake her and thereby my black robe and Thee?
Because without her I do not feel anything that is a part of me,
And without being me, how can I anything else be,
Perhaps I am supposed to be a man of God but not a man,
Never to fulfillmy own desires for I am busy fulfilling Your plan,
So let me live with my state and the social taboo,
While every night I place my desires in the coffin along with the happy morning cuckoo.”
The Lord smiles at him,
“It is your personal battle and it is grim,
You desire her, her face, her charming ways,
You think of her during nights and during the bountiful days,
But you think of me too and that is enough for me to know,
So seek her and kiss her grace, for then you shall better baptise in my glow,
And before you fall too low,
Rise to your calling and you shall reap as you shall sow,
Whether you wear a black robe or her kisses,
I shall judge you on how you made others feel with or without your kisses.”
Said the Lord in His emphatic voice,
And the priest stood up and made the right choice!
To love the woman he loved and missed,
And he felt something divine within him, whenever her deep beauty he kissed!
Source of inspiration : The Thorn Birds 1983 Drama
”
”
Javid Ahmad Tak
“
The priest and his desires
Not alone, but a lonely monastery priest,
Resisting hard not to venture out and pursue the need for love and passion driven heist,
Bound by his sanctum and religion,
He tries hard not to give in to any form of seduction,
Adam and Eve blamed the devil,
The priest is baffled to decide who shall he blame for this evil?
He rolls and turns restlessly in the bed of his desires,
And every night after the Church service he deals with these raging fires,
He is dressed in his black robe on the much anticipated Sunday mass,
But he is distracted when he sees passions and desires cast on peoples faces and even on mosaic glass,
At the end of the service he serves all some fine and red wine,
And when he comes face to face with a beautiful woman, his inner self says “I wish you were mine!’”
His Sunday night is spent in her curled hair locks,
He is shackled to her beautiful face and desires that fasten around him like unbreakable locks,
He often touches his cross that he wears always,
Still his nights are restless and now it is so even during the sunny Spring days,
He bows before the Altar and makes a solemn confession,
“My Lord! her face and her overpowering beauty have become my obsession,
Am I still worthy of worshipping you my God?
For I have silently started worshiping this feeling of loving her and I do not feel odd,
It is her thoughts that possess me even during my sermons,
In her absence, not yours My Lord, everything presents itself like bad omens,
To tame my wandering thoughts I refer to the Holy Book,
But through it too peeps her face and her mesmerising look,
I wonder if I shall quit clergy,
And adopt this new synergy?
I am drowning farther and farther in this mental eclipse,
And I only want to think of her beautiful face, her warm skin and her red lips,
Shall I forsake my black robe, My Lord, and not Thee?
Or Forsake her and thereby my black robe and as well Thee?
Because without her I do not feel anything that is a part of me,
And without being me, how can I anything else be,
Perhaps I am supposed to be a man of God but not a man,
Never to fulfil my own desires for I am busy fulfilling Your plan,
So let me live with my state and the social taboo,
While every night I place my desires in the coffin along with the happy morning cuckoo.”
The Lord smiles at him,
“It is your personal battle and it is grim,
You desire her, her face, her charming ways,
You think of her during nights and during the bountiful days,
But you think of me too and that is enough for me to know,
So seek her and kiss her grace, for then you shall better baptise in my glow,
And before you fall too low,
Rise to your calling and you shall reap as you shall sow,
Whether you wear a black robe or her kisses,
I shall judge you on how you made others feel with or without your kisses.”
Said the Lord in His emphatic voice,
And the priest stood up and made the right choice!
To love the woman he loved and missed,
And he felt something divine within him, whenever her deep beauty he kissed!
Source of inspiration : The Thorn Birds . 1983 Drama
”
”
Javid Ahmad Tak (They Loved in 2075!)
“
A GOOD STORIES CAN TEACH MANY LESSON TO THE YOUNG GENERATION DEEPLY !
READ MY BOOK = ANDY :A LONELY BOY
ALSO READ MY BOOK WHICH IS COMING IN THIS SUNDAY 2JULY 2023 THE MYSTERY BEHIND DEATH BOOK BY AREEB AHMAD
”
”
Areeb Ahmad
“
only sport known to have inspired an indignant left-wing poem. It was written by one Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn in 1915. The golf links lie so near the mill That almost every day The laboring children can look out And see the men at play. Just show me an indignant left-wing poem about softball or bungee jumping. And our local mill has been converted to a shopping mall, so the kids are still there. Golf is also the only sport God is known to play. God and Saint Peter are out on Sunday morning. On the first hole God drives into a water hazard. The waters part and God chips onto the green. On the second hole God takes a tremendous whack and the ball lands ten feet from the pin. There’s an earthquake, one side of the green rises up, and the ball rolls into the cup. On the third hole God lands in a sand trap. He creates life. Single-cell organisms develop into fish and then amphibians. Amphibians crawl out of the ocean and evolve into reptiles, birds, and furry little mammals. One of those furry little mammals runs into the sand trap, grabs God’s ball in its mouth, scurries over, and drops it in the hole. Saint Peter looks at God and says, “You wanna play golf or you wanna fuck around?” And golf courses are beautiful. Many people think mature men have no appreciation for beauty except in immature women. This isn’t true, and, anyway, we’d rather be playing golf. A golf course is a perfect example of Republican male aesthetics—no fussy little flowers, no stupid ornamental shrubs, no exorbitant demands for alimony, just acre upon acre of lush green grass that somebody else has to mow. Truth, beauty, and even poetry are to be found in golf. Every man, when he steps up to the tee, feels, as Keats has it … Like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men Look’d at each other with a wild surmise— Silent, upon a peak in Darien. That is, the men were silent. Cortez was saying, “I can get on in two, easy. A three-wood drive, a five-iron from the fairway, then a two-putt max. But if I hook it, shit, I’m in the drink.” EAT THE RICH
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P.J. O'Rourke (Thrown Under the Omnibus: A Reader)
“
Practical, concise, and rooted in Scripture. These are the words that come
to my mind as I read Tony’s book, Beyond Sunday Morning. Tony has a
way of packing a punch within these brief chapters while, at the same
time, driving you to truly contemplate the point he is making within each
one. This is a book that will challenge the average congregant within the
church to truly consider the difference Christ is making within their lives
and within the workplace God has them in. Everyone can benefit from
Beyond Sunday Morning.
”
”
Daniel Garnett: U.S. Army Chaplain
“
As a Christian university administrator, it has been my life’s work to integrate faith and learning to equip students to be Christian servant leaders in their respective callings. In this book a dear friend of mine, Tony Carvalho, does not just integrate faith and learning, but rather he aids Christians in going beyond that into our central calling of integrating faith and living. Beyond Sunday Morning is a wonderful guide from a gifted business
leader who has implemented these practices into his own life and work.
This book is insightful, challenging, and inspiring.
”
”
Dr. Gary Cook: Chancellor of Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas
“
Busy street of emotions
On a languid Sunday afternoon on the busy street,
Everything everywhere appeared to be missing a beat,
Few of their desires, of their hopes, many of their own dreams,
And in midst of all this I could hear strange screams,
There was rush, there was movement, there was life in its busiest state,
Many loved to be a part of it whereas a few showed all signs of hate,
They were the ones who were not chasing life, they were after something different,
That the busy street did not offer, and to the most people caught in its glamour it nothing meant,
To me all appeared to be seeking the same illusive something,
A thing that is born of nothing, and to a few it means everything,
That something, about which I had no clue, but the busy street certainly knew about it,
It knew everything about it,
But it had concealed it from all, happy and sad alike,
For now it had kept everyone busy pursuing what he/she liked, and what next he/she would like,
It was then she appeared in the busiest corner of the street,
Where people crossed each other; but noone nobody did ever meet,
They all saw other people's eyes but not what their eyes could see,
All were in this maze of fascinations where they had been before, but there they again and again wished to be,
And then she got up and left this busy corner,
And whispered in my ear, “let me show you a life that is real and livelier!”
I followed her wherever she went,
And that is how my Sunday was spent,
Finally as the evening set in and people began to feel weary,
And life too seemed dreary,
I looked at the once busy street that was now empty and desolate,
“This is the fact of life, and this is what you shall be able to isolate!”
With these last words she disappeared,
And now on the street, only I and my infinite avatars appeared,
Everywhere, in everything, and the street got busy again,
Because now I was dealing with life in its reality: joy, sorrow, love, faith, defection, everything and even pain,
So whenever you visit this busy street, walk towards everything with every feeling,
Because in our lives we all are either with retreating joy or with an advancing pain dealing!
”
”
Javid Ahmad Tak (They Loved in 2075!)
“
To say that you have given enough love cheque to your wife on Friday morning, she will confirm that at the counter bank on Sunday morning.
”
”
JOEL NYARANGI AKOYA
“
SCHEDULING. Now you can look at the week ahead with your goals in mind and schedule time to achieve them. For example, if your goal is to produce the first draft of your personal mission statement, you may want to set aside a two-hour block of time on Sunday to work on it. Sunday (or some other day of the week that is special to you, your faith, or your circumstances) is often the ideal time to plan your more personally uplifting activities, including weekly organizing. It’s a good time to draw back, to seek inspiration, to look at your life in the context of principles and values. If you set a goal to become physically fit through exercise, you may want to set aside an hour three or four days during the week, or possibly every day during the week, to accomplish that goal. There are some goals that you may only be able to accomplish
”
”
Stephen R. Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change)
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Intelligent people speaks based on facts. Intelligent people speaks based on knowledge. Intelligent people don't make a fool of themselves by assuming. Intelligent people seeks Truth. Intelligent people always seek hard facts when they are not sure. INTELLIGENT people don't ridicule other people based on assumption. Intelligent people don't generalise, the world is fill with over 7 billion people which is controlled by only 20% intellectual minded people (Pareto's Law of 80/20) Only Shallow people speaks based on their narrow minds even when the TRUTH and facts are there for them to see, cos their small and narrow mind can't connect to their brain since there is no link. Proverbs 4 vs 7 says Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding. Happy Sunday Folks
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Lanre Folami
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If your small work does not experience increase and growth, you will be starving yourself inspiration
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Sunday Adelaja
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The hour on Sunday can be a time of wonder, a time of transformation, maybe even a time of awe.
”
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Nancy Beach (An Hour on Sunday: Creating Moments of Transformation and Wonder)