Amy Kannel

“If we’re all a mix of good and bad, then there’s always a chance good might emerge victorious in the end, if we give God enough time to do His work. Patience with broken people and broken things is a manifestation of trust in God.”
― Esau McCaulley, How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South

“Every time you're tempted to say 'I'm too busy' say instead, 'That's not a priority for me, therefore it's not a promise I've made and I'll have to decline.' If you're brave enough to make the switch, one of two things is going to happen when you do:

Either you're going to feel really bad when you realize that something that deeply matters to you (your kids, your health, your marriage, your commitment to justice, cultivating lifelong friendships) isn't actually the priority you want to believe it is. This will compel you to go back to your Very Important Promises and see what you can cut in order to create space for the things that really matter to you.
OR
Saying that statement may initially sting because we've been conditioned to feel bad about 'Nos,' but as the words settle, it will feel true to you. Instead of allowing this thing you're 'too busy for' to perpetually hang over your head, your NO (because it is not a priority or a promise) will free you up to unapologetically and confidently spend your limited moments and resources on the things that matter most to you.”
― Liz Forkin Bohannon, Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now

“Ours is like any marriage that lasts. We had to give up enough of ourselves to make room for the other person, but we had to retain a sufficient amount of who we were to avoid bitterness. All marriages become a third thing—neither one partner’s dream, nor the other’s, but a different glory, an ordinary one we made together.”
― Esau McCaulley, How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South

“I started asking a question that, after years and years of practice, has become almost instinct to me in times of disappointment and frustration: What tiny miracle is there buried beneath this disappointment? ...Miracle Hunters are relentless. And they understand the difference between expectations and being expectant. They look for tiny miracles everywhere but they stay open to being surprised by what exactly that miracle will look and feel like. They have cultivated what I call "Positive Paranoia" and believe that hidden within the disappointment, the failure, the unexpected change of plans, there is a nugget of a miracle just waiting to be discovered. ...The minute you start hunting for miracles, the entire way you see the world changes.”
― Liz Forkin Bohannon, Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now