Rachel Oldaker > Recent Status Updates

"Whether the day brings defeat or victory, failure or success—he should confide all to her in the evening. If the day has been prosperous, she has a right to share the gratification; if it has been adverse, she will want to help her husband bear his burden and to whisper a new word of courage in his heart." ❤️

The divine intention, therefore, is that marriage shall yield happiness, and that it shall add to the fullness of the life of both husband and wife; that neither shall lose—but that both shall gain. If in any case it fails to be a blessing and to yield joy, and a richer, fuller life—the fault cannot be with the institution itself—but with those who under its shadow fail to fulfill its conditions.

Quoted from Robert Capon, The Supper of the Lamb, "...boredom is not neutral-- it is the fertilizing principle of unloveliness."

"It's good to have ideals, but we have to know what they're for. An ideal isn't a goalpost you can see ahead of you, one you will reach with just a little more effort. Instead, it's an image in your mind that functions like a compass, pointing your efforts one way or another toward a visionary goal."

"A story helps folks face the world, even when it frightens 'em. And a lie does the opposite. It helps you hide."

"It is thus with all work: simplicity in the means employed is a sign of excellence. To simplify is to have knowledge; to complicate is to be ignorant."

"There are people who take up a lot of space, not in the body- they are no bigger than we- but in their pretensions and their ambitious maneuvers. Do they live in peace, are they preparing for themselves of venerable old age? It is very doubtful. Let us remain small; that is to say, let us content ourselves with the little that God has given us; let us beware of the temptations of envy, the foolish councils of pride;

"I lay in bed a second longer, wondering why beds were always the most comfortable right when you had to get out of them...."

Rigghhhhttt????

"Auntie Granny and Grandpa's parents did a lot of illegal things during the war, because when there's an invasion, everything is turned inside out: illegal things actually become the most right thing to do."

Such cruelty was too much to grasp, too much to bear. Heavenly Father, carry it for me!

"if God has shown us bad times ahead, it's enough for me that He knows about them. That's why He sometimes shows us things, you know- to tell us that this too is in His hands."
-Betsie

"Living in fear was not an abundant life, but how was she supposed to move torward that promise? Fear was a shield. She wasn't living abundantly; she was safe."

Safety is not the be-all-end-all. It's nice, but abundance does not spring forth from safety... And Jesus came that we may have life abundantly. This is a lesson for the world.

"The way I figure it, we are His children. You ever think of that? The maker of the sunset each night loves us as his kids. I think he'd rather dump a heap of blessings on us, but soon is here, too, and working its consequences throughout everything. He knows we hurt. But he also knows how many hairs are on your head and how the sunlight shines through your eyes when you smile." (Zeke)

"The Word is living and active. It will conform you by dividing you. And in the dividing, miracle of miracles, it will render you whole. We become what we behold."

The very words were like a blanket wrapped around Anna's heart as they stepped out into the night.

THIS BOOK IS SO STINKING SAD!

"Mary Poppins is mean!" (Nathan)

"...keep asking for wisdom, trusting that the Lord will give it, and remembering that your efforts are for the long term. Steadfastness in a student is a truly wonderful thing."

Give the Lord what you can and trust that he will honor your faithfulness in the small things. Trust that the Lord knows your circumstances better than you do and that he sees your desire to learn and grow.

"Calling the Bible literature is simply acknowledging that it communicates a message through a human author to a human audience in the form of words. According to the dictionary, literature is any written work 'having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.' The Bible is at least that, and much more."

"Bloom has found that pleasure results from gaining knowledge about the object of our pleasure, not, as we might assume, from merely experiencing it over and over. Specifically, our pleasure increases in something when we learn its history, origin, and deeper nature... We are called to be a people who delight ourselves in the Lord, who can say with conviction that 'at your right hand are pleasures forever more.'"

"if you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won't have the time. For there's always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing, and if it weren't for that dreadful magical staff, you'd never know how much time you are wasting."

I could barely pause the book long enough to run to the bathroom! I'm hooked!

"we live as slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in chaos and envy, hassled by others and hassling one another. We are all very busy, but not with what matters most.
....
If God expected us to do nothing but sit cross-legged on the floor and journal, the Bible could have been much smaller... But it's a pretty strong reminder that we had better keep first things first."

"if you are among those who become nasty, cynical, or even full of doubt when you are missing your sleep, you are morally obligated to try to get the sleep you need."