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“Shame wants us to live divided, dishonest, disembodied lives, to treat our bodies and stories like failures to conceal, to let our lips say we believe God is good while our hearts stay discouraged in the dark. The most harrowing power of shame might be its stealth in convincing us that silencing our pain behind statements of God’s goodness is spiritual, when really it’s just a churchy form of self-sufficiency.”
― K.J. Ramsey, This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers

“Children are not meant to work for love. They are meant to rest in someone’s care so that they can play and grow; this is why relationships matter.”
― Deborah MacNamara, Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One

“Our children need a self to share, a heart that feels, a mouth that tells, and a belief that the richness in life comes from experiencing it in a vulnerable way.”
― Deborah MacNamara, Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One

“It moves a child from depending upon adults and unlocks the desire to venture forth, discover, or make sense of their experiences. Play is where the spirit that underlies growth is revealed and vitality is expressed. In short, play is the act of self-creation. The type of play young children need is characterized by freedom, enjoyment, and a leap into settings to explore. They need bounded spaces in which to freely move, with perimeters formed by the adults who care for them. Play is a spontaneous act that arises from a particular state of mind—you can’t teach or command a child to play. There are three essential characteristics to play: it is (1) not work, (2) not for real, and (3) expressive and exploratory. This definition can be used to evaluate what activities truly foster ideal conditions for play.”
― Deborah MacNamara, Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One