David Atkins

“He knew that he was the stuff of which fanatics and madmen are made and that he had turned his destiny as if with his bare will. He kept himself upright on a very narrow line between madness and emptiness and when the time came for him to lose his balance he intended to lurch toward emptiness and fall on the side of his choice.”
― Flannery O'Connor, The Violent Bear It Away

“She had power over him now, the way he'd had it over her for so many years.”
― Serena Valentino, Fairest of All

“But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It's a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright.”
― Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

“Actually, the real game of Bigger and Better that Jesus is playing with us usually isn’t about money or possessions or even our hopes. It’s about our pride. He asks if we’ll give up that thing we’re so proud of, that thing we believe causes us to matter in the eyes of the world, and give it up to follow Him. He’s asking us, “Will you take what you think defines you, leave it behind, and let Me define who you are instead?”
― Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World