Melissa
https://www.goodreads.com/melissalcook
“God wants me to love the ones I don’t understand, to get to know their names. To invite them to do things with me. To go and find the ones everyone has shunned and turned away. To see them as my neighbors even if we are in totally different places. You’ll be able to spot people who are becoming love because they want to build kingdoms, not castles. They fill their lives with people who don’t look like them or act like them or even believe the same things as them. They treat them with love and respect and are more eager to learn from them than presume they have something to teach.”
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
“Paulo represented for those of us who are committed to imagine a world, in his own words, that is less ugly, more beautiful, less discriminatory, more democratic, less dehumanizing, and more humane.”
― Pedagogy of the Oppressed
― Pedagogy of the Oppressed
“I used to believe, in the deepest way, that there was something irreparably wrong with me. And love was a lie. Now I’m beginning to see that love is the truth and the darkness is a lie.”
― Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
― Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
“That’s our job. It’s always been our job. We’re supposed to just love the people in front of us. We’re the ones who tell them who they are. We don’t need to spend as much time as we do telling people what we think about what they’re doing. Loving people doesn’t mean we need to control their conduct. There’s a big difference between the two. Loving people means caring without an agenda. As soon as we have an agenda, it’s not love anymore. It’s acting like you care to get someone to do what you want or what you think God wants them to do. Do less of that, and people will see a lot less of you and more of Jesus.”
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
“Do you want to do something amazing for God? Trade the appearance of being close to God for the power of actually being close to God. Quit talking a big game and go live a big faith. One of Jesus’ friends said if we want to get it right, we need to live a life worthy of the calling we’ve received. The call is to love God and the people around us while we live into the most authentic version of ourselves. We weren’t just an idea God hoped would work out someday. We were one of His most creative expressions of love, ever.”
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
― Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
Melissa’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Melissa’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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