Angie Smith > Quotes

“But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.”
― Angie Smith, Letting Go of Perfect: Women, Expectations, and Authenticity

“Sometimes the fear of failure steals the beauty we were meant to create.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“Be in constant communication with Him so that when times get hard, you will have relationship instead of requests.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“...what I mean is that we simply may not have the same meaning as God for the word 'failure.' To me, failure means it doesn't turn out the way I wanted it to. To God, it means I didn't pick up the brush.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“What He has chosen not to reveal to me is inconsequential when compared to what He has promised me.”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“Churches should be places where people come to hear the story of God and to tell their own. That’s how we find out how the two relate. Tell your story with all of its shadows and fog, so people can understand their own. They want a leader who’s authentic, someone trying to figure out how to follow the Lord Jesus in the joy and wreckage of life. They need you, not Moses,”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“Grief is a winding, nasty road that has no predictable course, and the best thing you can do as a friend is to show up for the ride. You cannot rush grief. Read that again, and let it soak in as you either walk through it or alongside someone who is in the midst of it. One of the best things you can do for friends who are suffering through loss is to remind them of this over and over. Don’t mention how other people have “coped so well” with their losses or how “it seems like so-and-so has come out of this better than you have.” I have heard from people who have heard these exact sentences, and while I have a feeling their friends wanted to encourage them into a place of recovery, they weren’t helped by such remarks. It stings to feel like your grief isn’t normal or that you aren’t recovering the way you should be. There is no normal. There is the loss, and there is the Lord. That balance dictates the season, not the changing leaves or the anniversaries of death. I love the way Gregory Floyd explains the delicate balance of hope and pain, “Our faith gives us the sure hope of seeing him again, but the hope does not take away the pain.”1”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“In a world overrun with choices, He is our choice. Give in to grief or trust Him? Doubt or obey? Escape into the choices or cling to only God?”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“The true understanding of our own depravity isn’t a punishment—it’s an opportunity to understand the value of the gift.”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“There will be the IV poles, the divorce papers, the sound of dirt hitting a casket. We will have moments where we can't catch our breath and all the world seems wrong, and we can't help but wonder if He even cares.”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“Salvation isn’t about sets of words. It’s an attitude of the heart. The words have no power in and of themselves; it’s not a formula we have to perfect in order to be accepted.”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“Sorrow is one of the things that are lent, not given. A thing that is lent may be taken away; a thing that is given is not taken away. Joy is given; sorrow is lent. We are not our own, we are bought with a price . . . [Our sorrow] is lent us for just a little while that we may use it for eternal purposes. Then it will be taken away and everlasting joy will be our Father’s gift to us, and the Lord God will wipe away all the tears from off all faces. —Amy Carmichael”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“We listen, we praise, we walk in the direction of God’s voice, and we obey. It’s that simple. Sometimes that means we get to unbind and celebrate. Sometimes it means we don’t.”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“We have a very real enemy who thrives on our silence. He doesn’t want us to be in fellowship, sharing our hearts and seeking wisdom on how to live lives that glorify God in spite of the darkness we feel.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“Don’t waste your struggle.6 You serve a glorious God, and even in the broken shards of life, He is worth everything we can offer to Him.”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“This Bible of Mine? It is the breath of God spoken into my weary bones. It is the armor I need to walk the roads He has chosen for me, and it's the confirmation of promises that withstand the test of hours and adversity.
It's a love letter, and it has my name on it.
It has your name on it.”
― Angie Smith

“The one thing that is specifically forbidden is vengeance, the very human longing to get back at someone. Perhaps you know the expression, “I want him to pay for what he did.” How much passion there can be in those words! But getting even, paying back—vengeance—is territory that God expressly reserves for himself. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” he says. To try to get even is a dangerous business. We are playing God—stepping into a place that he claims as his own.”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“Hagar sat in full anticipation of her son’s death, and instead of looking to what God had given her, she surrendered to the fear. Is it possible that the well is right beside you but you haven’t seen it because your head is hung in grief? Are you so focused on what you think is missing that you don’t see what is present? Maybe you need to ask the Lord to illuminate what it is He wants you to see. It’s possible that what you have seen as the end of the road is actually an opportunity to open your eyes and see something you haven’t.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him. ~ C. S. Lewis”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“all the while He is just waiting for the time that is right. He hasn’t forgotten, nor has He abandoned us.”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“If you can just trust Him enough to bring it to Him, He will rejoice in your masterpiece. And if you need to scream a little, know that you have a God who can take that too, as long as your face is tilted (even slightly) toward Him”
― Angie Smith

“It was just one of those times in life when you know that God is speaking.”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“(Note: If you don’t appreciate a little humor in the midst of critically important theological issues, you may not have come to the same conclusion I have, which is this: I don’t have to take myself too seriously in order to take God seriously.)”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:5)”
― Angie Smith, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

“Have you ever read the Bible and chuckled to yourself? I assure you, there is humor there if you allow yourself to imagine it. God is the author of humor, and I believe He snuck in a few good one-liners for all of us who appreciate wit and timing (hand raised; Gold star, Angie).”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“Our actions should always come from what we know is true, not what we are struggling to fully embrace in that truth.”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God

“When you are doing what I've asked you to do, you don't have to worry about getting to the farm. I'll bring you the farmer instead. And when you think you have lost sight of all your sketches, just know that it's okay. I know where the sketches are, what they need to be, and I will never leave you.

Let go of the grief and the sorrow. Release the anger and the plans set in stone. Because I hold your sketch in My hand the way Mr. Gentry did in his. I watch and I draw - even when you don't know. I am concerned with all things that concern you.”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“because the words were breathtaking. Here is an excerpt from The Jesus Storybook Bible: They nailed Jesus to the cross. “Father, forgive them,” Jesus gasped. “They don’t understand what they are doing.” “You say you have come to rescue us!” people shouted. “But you can’t even rescue yourself!” But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued himself. A legion of angels would have flown to his side—if he’d called. “If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!” they said. And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said a word and made it all stop. Like when he healed the little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed 5000 people. But Jesus stayed. You see, they didn’t understand. It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.1 For some reason, I hadn’t quite thought it through in those terms, and I was rendered speechless by the infinite power that was denied for the sake of love. This is, for me, one of the simplest and most powerful ways to present the gospel, even stretching into our lives today.”
― Angie Smith, Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

“Take heart, friend. Drink deep of the faithfulness of God in the hopes that the next time you face insurmountable odds you won’t cower in fear. You will learn to keep your eyes open to what God is doing, always confident that the Lord of Hagar loves you just as He loved her.”
― Angie Smith, What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms

“I’m afraid. And I know that from experience. We tend to”
― Angie Smith, Chasing God