Jeremy Stephens

“So next time somebody is upsetting you, frustrating you, annoying you, or ignoring you, take a deep breath and remember that she is fighting her own hard battle. Allow the greatness of your humanity to rise up within you, and act with gentle compassion.”
― Matthew Kelly, Life is Messy

“We must own our own thoughts. Many people have not taken ownership of their own thinking processes. They are mechanically thinking the thoughts of others without ever examining them. They swallow others’ opinions and reasonings, never questioning and “thinking about their thinking.” Certainly we should listen to the thoughts of others and weigh them; but we should never “give our minds” over to anyone. We are to weigh things for ourselves in the context of relationship, “sharpening” each other as iron, but remaining separate thinkers.”
― Henry Cloud, Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No

“Our days are few (cf. Job 14:1), and consequently our labor cannot be overlong. By means of a little patience, we will get through it with honor and contentment, for we have no greater consolation at the end of the day than to have worked hard and shouldered its pains.”
― Francis de Sales, Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

“The beautiful and the good are never forgotten, they live always in story or in song.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen