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“And yet I decide, every day, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily--open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride.”
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
“Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions. It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying.
And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it his way and in his time. It is the opposite of making plans that we demand that God put into effect, telling him both how and when to do it. That is not hoping in God but bullying God. "I pray to GOD-my life a prayer-and wait for what he'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning.”
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it his way and in his time. It is the opposite of making plans that we demand that God put into effect, telling him both how and when to do it. That is not hoping in God but bullying God. "I pray to GOD-my life a prayer-and wait for what he'll say and do. My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning.”
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
“Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourslef or to gossip about others. Use your power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”
― The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
― The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
“Imagine living your life without judging others. You can easily forgive others and let go of any judgments that you have. You don’t have the need to be right, and you don’t need to make anyone else wrong. You respect yourself and everyone else, and they respect you in return.”
― The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
― The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
“We care more for our possessions with which we hope to make our way in the world than with our thoughts and dreams which tell us who we are in the world.”
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
― A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
Bailey’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Bailey’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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