Janet Benge > Quotes

“Someone can always take your money or belongings from you, but no one can ever steal your education.”
― Janet Benge, George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

“God will provide,” Ida assured him. “Once you start, I am sure everything will fall into place. It always has.”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“Remember, you must never use your position to lord it over the heathen. Instead you must humble yourself and earn their respect though your own quiet faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. The missionary must seek nothing for himself, no seat of honor or hope of fame. Like the cabhorse in London, each of you must wear blinkers that blind you to every danger and to every snare and conceit. You must be content to suffer, to die, and to be forgotten. -Count Zinzendorf”
― Janet & Geoff Benge

“Only those who can see the invisible can achieve the impossible,”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“One day, for example, Eric explained the origins of the English word sincere. He told the boys that it was made up of two words, “sine,” meaning without, and “cere,” meaning wax. He explained that in the past when a sculptor made a statue, he would sign the bottom of it and add the phrase “Sine cere.” In doing so, he was guaranteeing that the work he did on the sculpture had no mistakes that had been covered over with wax to disguise them. Eric told the boys that living the Christian life meant that they did not cover up their character weaknesses and mistakes but instead lived sincere lives.”
― Janet Benge, Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold

“He never considered himself anything special. He was just a man who tried to honor God and help people in need. In the end, achieving those two simple goals made him a very special person to countless people around the world.”
― Janet Benge, Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold

“Twenty-five years had whisked by with its challenges and triumphs. Ida now had a medical school, a nursing school, and a large hospital, but still there was much more to be done. Ida found herself wondering what her next challenge would be.”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“John [Adams] supposed there were two reasons why the British had gone after John Hancock. First, they wanted to make an example out of him, showing what would happen to anyone, no matter how rich, who dared to defy the new Townshend Act. Second, John Hancock was the biggest financial support of men like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. In fact, John Adams was reasonably sure that Sam Adams had no money whatsoever and that John Hancock was paying all his bills.”
― Janet Benge, John Adams: Independence Forever

“Annie, it is surrender.” Somehow Annie knew what he meant. Eric was about to die. Soon after, he fell into a coma. At half past nine that night, Eric Liddell “surrendered” and died.”
― Janet Benge, Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold

“But, this time I have departed from my usual reticence because I know that there are some who, in their pleasant homes in America without any real knowledge of the facts, declare that the days of missionary hardships are over.”
― Janet Benge, Lottie Moon: Giving Her All for China

“True religion is not a matter of outward observances. Rather it takes place within the heart. It is not rooted in past events in a far-off land but in the true Inner Light that shone then and continues to shine today. Men must follow this Inner Light until it illuminates their heart and they experience a closeness of God there. No other man, no priest or clergyman, can mediate this. Each man, in the quiet of his heart, must come to his own reckoning with God. For the Scriptures tell us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at a man’s heart.”
― Janet Benge, William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

“He pointed to a list of times tables in the back of his notebook. “Mrs. Williamson says we need to know them all, but that’s impossible.” As soon as he finished speaking, Ben knew he’d said the wrong thing. “Impossible!” his mother scolded, putting her hands on her hips. “Impossible is not in our vocabulary, Benjamin Solomon Carson. You know that. Nothing is impossible. Look at me. I didn’t go past third grade, and I know all of my times tables up to twelve. How’s that, Bennie?” Ben knew better than to say another word. His mother was out to prove a point. “Impossible! Impossible! We’ll see. You’re going to learn those times tables, Bennie. Starting tomorrow you’re not going to go outside to play after school until you’ve learned them—all of them.” “But Mama . . .” “No buts about it, Bennie. With God’s help you can wipe that im right off the word impossible and make it possible.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“Ida knew that she was fighting ignorance and superstition every bit as much as she was fighting poor hygiene and disease.”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“To help pass the time, William set to work writing. He called the first tract he wrote in Newgate Prison The Great Case for Liberty of Conscience. In the tract he argued that a person could be free only if he or she had choices to make, and when those choices were made for a person by someone over him or her, everyone loses out. People must be allowed to test the truth of their beliefs for themselves and see if that was what they really believed or merely what they had been made to believe.”
― Janet Benge, William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

“As he rode along William thought about all that he had learned from Moses Amyraut. He saw how pointless it was accumulating so many possessions. A single spark could take them all away. No, he told himself, there were more important things in life than social position and an abundance of possessions for him to strive for.”
― Janet Benge, William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

“Marj was one step ahead of him. Before he sank into depression over the situation, she reminded him he was an army veteran and, as such, he could get treatment at any army hospital free of charge. There was a large military hospital at the United States base in Panama, and Marj had already made arrangements for Nate to be flown there. The U.S. military had a cargo plane stationed in Quito that would ferry Nate to the hospital in Panama for treatment. Because Marj’s pregnancy was too far advanced for her to travel, she would stay in Quito and have the baby. With a cast covering half his body, Nate looked like a mummy as he was carried on a stretcher to the military transport plane. As he crossed the tarmac to the plane, he caught a glimpse of the yellow Stinson, which lay in a crumpled heap in front of a hangar where it had been dragged. The fuselage was broken in half, and the engine and landing gear had been ripped right off the plane. As he looked at the wreckage, Nate knew it was a blessing that he was alive. On the flight to Panama, Nate had to stay lying on his back on the stretcher, since his cast didn’t bend at the waist. He passed the time counting the number of rivets in the bulkhead.”
― Janet Benge, Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer

“Ida finally made up her mind when she visited her father’s grave. She asked herself what he would have advised her to do, and she felt sure that he would have told her to reach for the stars, that Jesus promised that people could move mountains if they only believed.”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“Don’t you think I know what I’m doing here? I’m in rich folks’ houses every single day, and you know what I noticed? They are not wasting their days looking at cartoons on television. No sir, they are busy, busy, busy. And do you know what they are busy doing?” She paused for a moment. “They’re busy reading books—it’s all about books. Rich folks read books. They got whole rooms filled with them—whole libraries in their own homes. Rich folks get where they are going by reading, and you are going to do the same.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“One by one the Essence Awards honorees were called onto the stage. First went civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, then movie director Spike Lee, followed by comedian Eddie Murphy, and then Dr. Benjamin S. Carson. Ben stood and walked forward to the stage. It was one of the most surreal moments of his life. He wondered how he belonged in the same category as those around him on the stage. It was hard for him to imagine that he, a pediatric neurosurgeon, was being publicly honored along with the most recognizable African American men and women in the country. As he stood onstage, staring out at the crowd, Ben thought about the path his life had taken. Who could have guessed that he, a poor black boy from a single-parent home in Detroit, would end up a brain surgeon? Certainly not those who had considered him the class dummy back in elementary school. Here he was, not just a brain surgeon, but a brain surgeon being honored for the work he had undertaken—experimental surgeries that gave children a chance at life.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“She wasn’t going to be kind just because that was the right thing to do. She was going to be kind because God had asked her to be kind to those He loved.”
― Janet Benge, Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems

“For one thing, she would no longer waste time on things that weren’t important in God’s eyes. When all the things she’d done in her life were finally judged by God, she wanted them to be found worthwhile. She wanted them to be seen as gold and silver, not hay and stubble. For another thing, she would never again worry about what people thought of her. If what she was doing was pleasing to God, that would be enough for her. If other people, even other Christians, didn’t want to walk with beggars, that was their business, but Amy would walk with them, and she would walk proudly.”
― Janet Benge, Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems

“God,” Louie prayed as he walked, “You know I don’t want to do that, so if You want me to go to Japan, please make it very clear. I’m a new Christian. You’ll have to give me a swift kick in the pants so that I know it’s really You.”
― Janet Benge, Louis Zamperini: Redemption

“First ponder then dare. Know your facts. Count the cost. Money is not the important thing. What you are building is not a medical school. It is the Kingdom of God. Don’t err on the side of being too small. If this is the will of God that we should find some way to keep the college open. It has to be done.”
― Janet Benge, Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts

“Having voted for independence, they now needed to discuss and vote on the text of a declaration of independence that Thomas Jefferson had drawn up. The text Jefferson had written was read aloud, and throughout the day the delegates made changes. They deleted about twenty-five percent of the text, thinking it not applicable, or too emotive, or beside the point.”
― Janet Benge, John Adams: Independence Forever

“How would you like to come to the science room after school and help feed the fish and the lizard? While you’re there, we could look at obsidian under the microscope.” Ben loved doing after-school chores in the science lab, and he was especially fascinated by the microscope. It wasn’t long before he was collecting water samples from a nearby stream and studying them under the microscope. When he thought about his new interest in science, Ben realized it had everything to do with turning off the television and reading books from the library. In fact, he realized that reading those books was helping in every area of his schooling.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“Placing his hand on the Bible, George began the oath: “I solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Then George added something that wasn’t a required part of the oath. “So help me God!” he exclaimed as he lifted the Bible and kissed it.”
― Janet Benge, George Washington: True Patriot

“While William Penn, in the end, spent only a short period of time in Pennsylvania, in the time he was there he left an indelible mark upon the place. And when a group of men gathered together in his city of Philadelphia in 1787 to draft a constitution for the fledgling United States of America, the ideals of William Penn from nearly a hundred years before about liberty, justice, fairness, and tolerance guided much of their thinking and discussion. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson, one of the men present at that gathering, called William Penn “the greatest lawgiver the world has produced.”
― Janet Benge, William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

“The more William had read the Bible, the more convinced he had become that God expected Christians to share the gospel message with others, even people far across the ocean in newly discovered lands.”
― Janet Benge, William Carey: Obliged to Go

“As news of George’s donation became public, many people wondered how he had come to have so much money. The answer was simple: George spent very little money on himself.”
― Janet Benge, George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

“The soldiers repeated this at the second and then the third Confederate”
― Janet Benge, Harriet Tubman: Freedombound