Mandy Steward > Quotes

“I see a huge monster, and his name is Religion, and I am finally brave enough to be angry with him, because he has stolen God away from me, making Him into a tame little puny judge with graying hair who raps his wooden mallet and squeaks out, "You're forever guilty.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything

“I do believe Jesus died so we could feel freed up to go after life to the full, so we would feel equpped to take risks and not beat ourselves up when we fail. He didn't die to make our lives look perfect. He died so we could stop feeling as if our lives have to be perfect for them to mean something.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything

“I don’t have to agree with everything that is being said and done at church in order to be at church, just as I don’t have to agree with everything other people say and do in order to engage with other people.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything

“What I’m left with is this snowball effect of conviction that has gathered so much speed, I can hardly keep up. I’m tired of pushing it, but I know I can’t stop, because that snowball is comprised of really, really important stuff.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything

“every week at church, I felt as though I was being issued another task to work on. The problem is that while these tasks are all fantastic, they must also all be maintained.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything

“I realized that my desire for meaning and love and approval has been attached to achieving and performing and succeeding, and when I feel I’m failing at doing these things, I become depressed.”
― Mandy Steward, Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything