(from xlibber on flikr)

This past month, I have enjoyed reading books from the library but not really the pressure of getting them read by a certain date.  Now I am back reading mostly from my kindle as we travel, and I am trying to read more non-fiction or fiction that has been on my kindle for a long time.  I also enjoyed some conversations about books with friends and what they are reading this month.   Now my to-read list is even longer.  Here are a few quotes from my reading this month.

From Fil Anderson. “Expectations are our subtle attempts to control God and manipulate mystery.”

For those days when I am feeling judgemental from Ann Voscamp at A Holy Experience in her post How the Hidden Dangers of Comparison are Killing Us.  

“Walk through life with a measuring stick- and your eyes get so small you never see God.”

On determining in my heart to seek God from II Chronicles 12:14 “Rehoboam did what was evil because he did not determine in his heart to seek God.”   

Some words I want to share with my students from Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

“We sometimes think of being good at mathematics as an innate ability.  You either have “it” or you don’t.  But to Schoenfeld, it’s not so much ability as attitude.  You master mathematics if you are willing to try.”(246)

“Outliers are those who have been given opportunities-and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”(267)

An ouch that I relate to from Graceful by Emily P. Freeman

“Character is about who you are.  Reputation is about who people think you are.   I have cared more about who people think I am than who I really am.”(50)

From No Other gods by Kelly Minter

“Our choices, behaviour, and actions are an outflow of our status as children of God.  When we get it the other way around-doing in order to gain status-we become fatigued and frustrated.”

A quote from Ronald Reagan in the Man in the Middle by Timothy S. Goeglein

 “Freedom is not something to be secured in any one moment of time.  We must struggle to preserve it every day.  And freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

Also from the Man in the Middle referring to Michael B. Mukasey.

“He said that courage should be remembered as “the highest public virtue because…courage is the one virtue that guarantees all the others; without it, all the others are useless.”

What I want my life to be like from James chapter 3:

“Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterised by getting along with others.  It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two faced.  You can develop a healthy robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour.”

What are some quotes from your reading this month?

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