Tonia

“Life is deep and simple, and what our society gives us is shallow and complicated.”
― Fred Rogers

“We live in a fallen world with free will. We know that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives, but we conveniently forget the flip side: the enemy hates us and has a horrible plan for our lives. His agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy.6 That doesn’t mean we should live in fear, because as John reminds us, He that is in us is greater than He that is in the world.7 And “if God is for us, who can be against us?”8 But we best not forget that each of us is born on the cosmic battlefield between good and evil. And we must choose sides. In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.”
― Mark Batterson, The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible

“Disciples of Jesus do not mimic Jesus; we manifest him. We are personators of Christ, not impersonators. Christ’s presence in our lives is more “thereness” than “likeness,” more “withness” than “whatness.” Jesus made our creation in the imago Dei more “spit” than “image” (as in “spit ‘n’ image”).”
― Leonard Sweet, The Well-Played Life: Why Pleasing God Doesn't Have to Be Such Hard Work

“Don’t seek miracles. Follow Jesus. And if you follow Jesus long enough and far enough, you’ll eventually find yourself in the middle of some miracles.”
― Mark Batterson, The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible