William P. Smith > Quotes

“When I realize that God makes his gifts fit each person, there's no way I can covet what you got because it just wouldn't fit me.”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“We can be present in the sorrows of our loved ones...You only need to practice being aware that people who are struggling need your physical presence.”
― William P.Smith

“Living "happily ever after" is not the goal. Living well with broken people is.”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“Your involvement in the lives of your closest relationships was never mean to be built on a mutual like or dislike… favourite hobbies, restaurants, department stores, or stage of life. Instead, the nature of your vertical alliance with Jesus is the single most important determining factor for all your relationships”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“Even Jesus needed his human friends(Mark 14:32) And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."

Many people believe that all you need is the Bible and Jesus to get through with life. And so we discount the need to be in each other's lives as we go through hard times.”
― William P. Smith

“Impatience blossoms when something becomes more important than someone. In those moments, you need to offer to take the focus off the thing that caused the problem and remind both of you that your relationship is more important.”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“I'm glad that my willingness to be vulnerable about my life encourages other people to be more open and honest about their own.”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“That's what loving well is all about:giving people the time and space they need as they grow.”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“Those moments when you sin against him become opportunities for you to taste once again his great love for you in the form of forgiveness”
― William P. Smith, Loving Well

“secondly, you tell them of the Redeemer. Tell your story in such a way that Jesus is the hero and not you; otherwise, you’ll teach your kids that they’re supposed to be the future heroes of their own stories. That means you don’t tell them stories to “scare them straight” based on the things that happened to you. Nor do you spin modern parables and cautionary tales that end with a moralistic lesson: “Don’t be like me when I was your age.” The only reason you’re willing to delve into your past is to show how you’ve needed a God who rescues sinners from the false worship to which they’ve enslaved themselves. That’s the real story of Scripture. It’s not about human paragons of virtue who triumph or case studies of villains that meet bad ends. It’s about a righteous, redeeming God who breaks into his people’s lives, against all odds, in order to rescue them and restore what they’ve broken.”
― William P. Smith, Parenting with Words of Grace: Building Relationships with Your Children One Conversation at a Time

“the author of Joshua is directing you to see that Achan has more in common with Jericho than he does with the covenant community. Therefore, this is not intended to be a passage about God’s people dealing with personal hidden sins. It is about how some people live in the middle of the covenant community yet aren’t really members of it.”
― William P. Smith, Caught Off Guard: Encounters with the Unexpected God