Amanda Friedman > Recent Status Updates

“It was the kindness in her voice that did it. No judgment, no criticism, not even a hint of aversion. Just genuine, loving concern.
It was more than I deserved, especially from her. I began to sob once more.”

..”What friend does she wish she were closer to? What is she hoping for in returning to work? What is broken that we need to fix in our patterns? What is a goal she is hoping out working toward? Where does she feel our family is headed? What can we do about that?”

“One of my favorite things to do with Lauren, whether on a date night out vacation or long car ride, is to ask what she is thinking about for the future and what I’m thinking about.”

“When we practice covenant love, we tach our kids that love is not something you stop practicing just because you stop feeling like it. No love is something you finally feel because you keep practicing it.”

“So i give him a stern no, but also a secret wink to the rest of the family–[not] to remind him that I’m in charge, but to remind all those watching that you don’t have to be angry to be in charge; usually anger is not a sign of authority but a sign of those who fear they are losing authority.”

“For their sake, we need to embrace the reality that we are in charge and that that is exactly what they need. This is so important for protecting them from the consequences of their own self destruction. .. The greatest harm any of us can do to ourselves and others is to seek a world without limits or authority.”

“Worship and spiritual formation are happening in the normal.”

“A keystone habit is one that supports a lot of other good habits.”

“The most important habits will always be the source of questions and complaints.”

“It is always the smallest routines that build the strongest foundations.”

“Neurologists say we are all born looking for someone who is looking for us.”

“At best, the morning rituals of a household support the reality that God loves us and his love is the defining fact of the universe. Here our habits of waking serve as gospel liturgies that push us into the arms of a father who loves us, and then sends us out into the world to love others. But at worst, our habits of waking indulge alternative realities where the universe depends on us and what we do today.”

“Waking is an incredible thing. We have spent hours of our lives unconscious and vulnerable. Then we open our eyes and try to relocate ourselves in reality. Where are we? What time is it? What do we have to do today? What is going on in the world? Who are we today? How do we feel about ourselves? What are we worth?”

“One of the great questions of life is whether we are awake to reality as it actually is or we live in alternate realities that about with lies.”

“When we look up, we see that we have a heavenly father, a divine parent who is parenting us. He is forming us into perfectly loved children of the King. We do not have to invent anything, carry anything, or bear the final burden of parenting. We just get to follow someone.”

“We don’t often think about habits and the heart being so interconnected. But they are.”

One of the most significant things about any household is what is considered normal.

“She couldn't believe [Dante] was alive. She couldn't believe he'd risked his life for a girl he hardly knew. She couldn't believe that in his soaking-wet tunic and trousers, with his hair dripping into his eyes, he looked more like a cazador than he ever had. His shoulders were broad and firm; his eyes flashed with courage; and his smile knew no fear.”

…trail and the merchants followed. The music was in their limbs, their eyes, their lungs.”

“He tuned his strings, closed his eyes, and began. It was a song Ximena had never heard before, driven by a pulsing beat she could feel in her ribs. The crew gave a collective shout of approval and took to the center of the deck, splitting into pairs and dancing, their hips swaying, their boots drumming. Gustavo's fingers flew over the frets of the guitar, picking the notes with elegant precision. He carved a…

“Truly, Ximena didn’t have enough eyes to watch all the fools trying to sabotage her.”

“Sharing your life with someone, getting used to them, depending on them, then losing them is like losing a piece of yourself.”

“Ximena had never been so grateful for disaster in her life.”

Though it could not be found in the tenets of the law, pride was a terrible crime, and the de León family was guilty of it twenty times over.”

“Even worse, pirates captured by the cazadores had begun invoking Gasparilla’s name just before their executions in direct defiance of the Luzan Empire. They declared it boldly, proudly, in the same breath as liberty, as if the sound of it were a threat or a prophecy or a battle cry. As if they knew something the cazadores did not.”

“It pains me that Casey doesn't have God to turn to. I want that for her. Loneliness is too crushing a weight to bear alone.
Jesus never promised to erase his believers' burdens, but he did vow to help carry them.” -Dylan

“As my eyes close, I see [Casey’s] eyes, when we stood face-to-face under a streetlamp. They were miles deep, filled with words that she didn't utter, words I would have loved to hear. I would have liked to tend to her injuries, stare into that pretty face, and bask in the peace that came over me just by being close to her.” -Dylan

“Death is attracted to me. It strikes at me often and misses, hitting those nearby.”