Grace A. Johnson > Quotes

“Maybe it took the ugly things--the ashes, the scraps, the dirt--to grow the beautiful things.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Prisoner at Heart

“I could not deny the existence of God. I had seen His hand, felt His hand so prominently in my life. How else could this beautiful world have come to be? By some random bang? Nay, but by the breath of the Almighty, so Mary Lynde had called Him.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Held Captive

“Faith is not just a thing or an idea or a feeling. It’s an action, a step you take and a leap you
make into God’s purpose and destiny for you.”
― Grace A. Johnson, With Fear and Trembling

“He knew I was unworthy. He knew I was
the worst of sinners.
And yet I dared to come before Him.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Father, I thank You for Your hedge of protection over me, for Your mighty presence, and for You incomparable peace. Help me to turn to You before anything else in my time of need, to rely upon You and to seek refuge in You, no matter what storms come. In Christ’s name, amen.”
― Grace A. Johnson, With Fear and Trembling

“What happened yesterday…that’s not a story lost amid newer headlines. A few news clips that’ll be buried under more news clips. An event that’ll be forgotten come 2002.
What happened yesterday will never fade. We will never forget. For the sake of the soldier, the first responder, the dead, the dying, and the grieving...for the sake of America and every person who ever lived or ever will live in our great country...we will never forget.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Daylight: A 9/11 Short Story

“I want to be able to look at the sunrise and think about the new day ahead of us—to rebuild our broken lives, fallen towers, and kneeling country. To start over and make something bright and beautiful out of the smoke and ashes.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Daylight: A 9/11 Short Story

“Maybe something better, something stronger could come out of the ashes and the debris.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Daylight: A 9/11 Short Story

“And what did I, a sweet little innocent lady, ever do wrong?' I set my hands on his shoulders, arching my back, and grinned.
Xavier smirked, his eyes sparkling in that dangerous way. 'You stole my heart.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Held Captive

“And even in the midst of all this mess, He's workin' things out. He's makin' something bright, something beautiful, outta what the devil meant for evil.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Daylight: A 9/11 Short Story

“Grace is not merited. Forgiveness is not earned. Love is not bought. Each are given freely by the only One who can.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Prisoner at Heart

“I was a boy once myself, you know. I can tell when a lad carries a torch for a lass.”

“Now I know you’re joking with me, Keaton. Not only does that adolescent child not ‘carry a torch’ for me, but you wouldn’t know love from hate if it slapped you in the face.”

“Probably because love wouldn’t slap a person.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Losing something hurts more than never having it, lad.”

“But what if you lost what you had refused to gain?”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Fear was both an advantage and a hindrance. If the enemy caught a whiff of it, I could very well consider myself dead now.

But if I harnessed that fear, channeling it into a well of courage, confidence, and stupidity? I could conquer the world!

Granted, I would most likely need a lot of fear to go that far.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Now was different than every day of my past. And I hoped my future could be just as sweet.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Held Captive

“Billy, I ask you, what is holding you back? What inhibition have you? What restrains you from Christ and His love? You have been with me for nigh unto three years and in those years you have seen Jesus’ power raise a man from death, cure a woman from sickness, mend the broken, redeem the sinner, and bless the unloved. Tell me, why do you keep running?”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Grace for tomorrow, mercy for yesterday, and strength for today.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“I know I’m right. I wouldn’t be sayin’ anything if I was wrong.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“You stopped looking, like Peter out on the waves. The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, doubted His power, His love, and His grace, he began to sink. Cease looking at the storm around you, the water beneath you, the sky above you. Stay your course and focus solely upon the foundation of your faith, the path upon which you step, the hand that you know will always catch you, the eyes which will forever be brimming with love.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“In the end, He was Lord over all the if onlys and all the endless possibilities, and He knew which path was the best to take. Even if it were the most painful.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“Sometimes you must acknowledge what you are before you can change who you are.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Bound and Determined

“There is always calm in Christ. No matter where it is that you go or what it is that you do. He will be glorified. He will watch over you. His will shall be done. In Him, there is peace.”
― Grace A. Johnson

“She was more than just a name. She was a face with eyes as deep as the ocean. She was wrists that had been scarred. She was a mother without her child. She was a heart that had been broken.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Prisoner at Heart

“Xavier would compare the land to his God, I knew, and His faithfulness and steadfast love. He would say how no matter what, God was always there. God had no mountains and valleys or storms and quakes. He could not erode or wash away. Eventually land would do that, I knew. But while I roamed the earth for my short life, I could rely on land to remain as it was. I could rely on God for all eternity. He never changed. He was the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And His faith never faltered, His trust never faded, and His love never failed.
But what I was unsure of was whether I believed in such amazing love and faith. If I believed that Someone so great could actually forgive someone so wretched. Xavier would tell me He would, if only I let Him. Yet how I would reply to that, I knew not either.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Held Captive

“Who am I, who are we, to questions the works of our Lord? For we are but mere mortals, created by Him and for Him. What life we call ours does not belong to us. And it is grace that we be taken from this dark earth.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Prisoner at Heart

“The Lord's will would be done. All I had to do was follow His voice.”
― Grace A. Johnson, Prisoner at Heart

“Paris,”
― Grace A. Johnson, Held Captive