Collin Baartman

“Sometimes I wonder who decided what “flesh color” is. I’ve got about four boxes of Band-Aids sitting in my bathroom, most of them flesh colored. None of them are the color of my flesh. I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone whose skin tone actually matched a Band-Aid that they were wearing; I’ve never been in close conversation with someone and found myself leaning in, trying to figure out whether they were wearing one or if their skin had spontaneously developed a strip of different texture. Why do we think we can somehow make the covering unobtrusive or disguise it by being “close enough” to what’s real? We all pretend, though. Sure, we can see from across the room that there’s a big ol’ beigey strip across your face, but we all agree that we won’t”
― Aaron Mark Reimer, The Art of Being Broken

“Let not that man think he makes any progress in holiness who walks not over the bellies of his lusts. He who doth not kill sin in this way takes no steps towards his journey’s end. He who finds not opposition from it, and who sets not himself in every particular to its mortification, is at peace with it, not dying to it. This,”
― John Owen, The Mortification of Sin

“After decades of people never being taught how to pray, how to talk to the Creator and King of the world, we begin to pray in the language that comes most naturally. But selfishness is our mother tongue. Tell people to “pray what’s in their heart,” and they will pray selfishly. They will ask for stuff, and plead for more, and raise their hands to the sky to pull down an imaginary lever of prosperity, seeking satisfaction for their insatiable souls.”
― Glenn Packiam, Discover the Mystery of Faith: How Worship Shapes Believing

“Were any of us asked seriously, what it is that troubles us, we must refer it to one of these heads:— either we want strength or power, vigour and life, in our obedience, in our walking with God; or we want peace, comfort, and consolation therein. Whatever it is that may befall a believer that doth not belong to one of these two heads, doth not deserve to be mentioned in the days of our complaints. Now,”
― John Owen, The Mortification of Sin