"A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in, A minute to smile and an hour to weep in, A pint of joy to a peck of trouble, And never a laugh but the moans come double, And that is life. A crust and a corner that love makes precious, With a smile to warm and tears to refresh us, And joy seems sweeter when cares come after, And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter. And that is life." Dunbar, William (c.1456– c.1513), Scottish poet
"A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water." Lachlan McLachlan, (1810-1885), civil servant, philosopher was born in Argyllshire, Scotland. This quote is as recorded by an admirer, Jimmy Boswell (Shared by Brett Hurliman who humorously attributed it to Mad Magazine)
"Across the globe, even in the world's "worst places," people found ways to turn pain into wisdom and suffering into strength. They made their own actions, their very lives, into a memorial that honored the people they had lost." Eric Greitens, author of The Heart and the Fist
"All that happens to us, including our humiliations our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art." Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish-language literature.
"All your circumstances are in the hand of God, so never think it strange concerning the circumstances you're in." Oswald Chambers (24 July 1874 – 15 November 1917) was an early twentieth-century Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest. This quote was found in Out to Canaan, a book in The Mitford Series by Jan Karon
"Anybody who doesn't make mistakes can't be very busy." John Wyskup (More information about John Wyskup is needed.)
"At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. 'What I tell you in darkness' – watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light." Oswald Chambers (24 July 1874 – 15 November 1917) was an early twentieth-century Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest.
"Be not concerned about me. I feel my shoulders relieved from the burden." John Adams, (1735–1826), 2nd president of the US 1797–1801
"But he was determined to look for the deeper truth hidden in the midst of an otherwise bleak situation." Eric Metaxas in Bonhoeffer Pastor Martyr, Prophet, Spy writing about Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again." Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.
"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." Joshua J. Marine (More information about Joshua J. Marine is needed.)
"Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." Abraham Lincoln, (1809–65), 16th president of the US 1861–65
"Dig a well from
which another may draw." Unknown
"Do I see that these people despise me, or do I see that they dread me? Can I bear contempt to know that I am despised? It is my duty to bear everything that I cannot help."John Adams, (1735–1826), 2nd president of the US 1797–1801
"Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it." Francis de Sales (21 August 1567 – 28 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Catholic Church.
"Don't fight the problem. Solve it!" General George C. Marshall, (1880-1959), one of the most decorated military leaders in American history
"Don't go back and rake over the ashes, but see what we can do better in the future." Dwight D. Eisenhower, (1890–1969), US general and 34th president of the US 1953–61; nicknamed Ike.
"Don't hog your journey. It's not just for you. Think of how many people you could help." Ken Duane as told in the article The Man Next to Me by Hoda Kotb
"Don't over-react to the trouble maker." Warren Bennis
"Don’t you want to be alive before you die? "Madame Manec, a character in All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
"Every path has its puddle." English proverb
"Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward." Oscar Wilde, (1854–1900), Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and wit; full name Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
"Friends don't count in fair weather. It is when troubles come that friends count." Harry Truman, May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States
"From every cut springs new growth." Unknown
"He felt a provoking urge to flee to Lord's Chapel and kneel at the railing." 3rd person referring to Timothy Kavanagh in Somewhere Safe with Someone Good by Jan Karon
"He knew that whatever befell him or the faithful brethren would open new opportunities in which God would operate, in which His provision would become clear." Author Eric Metaxas discussing Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Bonhoeffer Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
" . . . human beings create meaning in three ways: through their work, through their relationships, and by how they choose to meet unavoidable suffering. Every life brings hardship and trial, and every life also offers deep possibilities for meaningful work and love." Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor
"Human energies - love, art, perseverance, wisdom - are born of difficulty." Conrad Richter, (October 13, 1890 – October 30, 1968) was an American novelist whose lyrical work is concerned largely with life on the American frontier in various periods
"I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity." John D. Rockefeller, John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry, and along with other key contemporary industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, defined the structure of modern philanthropy.
"I believe that nothing that happens to me is meaningless . . ." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. This quote is from Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas"
"I could crawl under a snake’s belly wearing a top hat." Absalom Greer, a character in Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon
"I expect all officers in this department to take care of their own morale. No one is taking care of my morale."General George C. Marshall, (1880-1959), one of the most decorated military leaders in American history
"I hardly think FaceTube - whatever that is - would improve my quality of life." said by Vivian, a 90+ year old character; Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
"I have sometimes thought that we cannot know any man thoroughly well while he is in perfect health. As the ebb-tide discloses the real lines of the shore and the bed of the sea, so feebleness, sickness, and pain bring out the real character of a man." 20th USA President James A. Garfield
"If you removed the rocks, the creek would lose its song.". Unknown
"If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Dolly Parton, (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music.
"If you are already walking on thin ice, you might as well dance." Unknown
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito." Democratic Republic of the Congo/African Proverb
"If you're going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill, (1874–1965), British statesman; prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55
"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and blookdshed but they produced Michelangelo, Lenoardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Orson Welles, in the film, The Third Man, 1949
"In a dark time, the eye begins to see." Theodore Huebner Roethke (May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation. Roethke's work is characterized by its introspection, rhythm and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book The Waking, and he won the annual National Book Award for Poetry twice, in 1959 for Words for the Wind and posthumously in 1965 for The Far Field.
"It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life." Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) - Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American television personality, musician, puppeteer, writer, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was known as the creator, composer, producer, head writer, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001). The program was marked by its slow pace and its host's calm manner.
"It is difficulties that show what men are." Epicetus, Greek Stoic Philosopher
"It is said that famous men are usually the product of unhappy childhood. The stern compression of circumstances, the twinges of adversity, the spur of slights and taunts in early years, are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious motherwit without which great actions are seldom accomplished." —Winston Churchill, describing the childhood of his great ancestor, John, Duke of Marlborough
"It's okay to lose; just don't lose the lesson." George Lucas (Shared by ODS Yogi, Bruce)
"It's what we learn after we know it all that counts." Anton Julius Carlson (January 29, 1875 – September 2, 1956) was a Swedish American physiologist.
"Jennings’s (Paul Jennings) progress through life showcases the oppression at the heart of the American slave system. Jennings was an intelligent man forced to live in the service of others. He developed his talents and character in spite of the society into which he was born. It is proper to highlight his achievements, but it is also important to consider how much further he could have gone if slavery and white supremacy had not blighted his existence. His is a life to marvel at, but one that invites deep and clear-eyed consideration of America’s past." Annette Gordon-Reed (born November 19, 1958, in Livingston, Texas) is an American historian and law professor.
"Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it." Winston Churchill, (1874–1965), British statesman; prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." Helen Keller (Shared by Kaili) (1880–1968), US writer, social reformer, and academic; full name Helen Adams Keller. Blind and deaf from an early age, she learned how to read, type, and speak with the help of her tutor, Anne Sullivan(1866–1936). She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.
"Life is
like playing a violin in public and learning the intrument as one goes on."
Samuel Butler, (1835–1902), English novelist
"Life is not easy for any for us." Marie Curie, (November 1867 – 4 July 1934), born Maria Salomea Sklodowska was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, the only person to win twice in multiple sciences, and was part of the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes.
"Life is not made by the dreams that you dream but by the choices that you make." Anonymous (Note that this quote applies only in a general sense inspiring people to make wise choices. That there are many things that happen to people both good and bad that are not up to the choice of the person involved such as child abuse to a child, diseases people don't choose to have etc. Moses)
"Look the world straight in the eye." Helen Keller, (1880–1968), US writer, social reformer, and academic
"Look, you have a choice in life. You can either put your stuff deep in your pockets and take it to your grave, or you can help someone." Ken Duane as told in the article The Man Next to Me by Hoda Kotb
"Men do not stumble over mountains, but over molehills." Confucius, (551–479 bc), Chinese philosopher; Latinized name of Kongfuzi (K'ung Fu-tzu) “Kong the master.”
"Most of our obstacles would melt away if instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." Orison Swett Marden, (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded Success magazine in 1897.
"Mrs. Tufts once styled my situation 'splendid misery.' " Abigail Adams, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams
"My daddy made _______ a bad name. I’m going to make _______ a good name." Spoken by Sammy Barlowe, a character in Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon - (By inserting your last name in place of each of the lines you can make this quote work for you. You can Romans 8:28 any past bad history to turn around anything into a great thing in your life as you raise your family, mix with friends etc.).
"My illness gave me strength - because it gave me the ability to lighten someone else's load." Hoda Kotb as told in the article The Man Next to Me by Hoda Kotb
"My little bark has been overset in a squall of thunder and lightning and hail attended by a strong smell of sulfur." John Adams,(1735–1826), 2nd president of the US 1797–1801 (John Adams wrote this to his son after he learned he had lost the election for a 2nd term as president. This information and quote taken from John Adams by David McCullough.)
"Never be quick to judge whether something is a blessing or a curse." Unknown
"Nobody is prefect." Julie Ingram
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." James Arthur Baldwin, (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an African American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, 'I'm possible!' " Audrey Hepburn, (1929–93), US actress; born in Belgium; born Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston
"Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God has bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou canst not break; and therefore lie thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do what He pleases." Jeremy Taylor, English clergyman
"Often Jesus' way is a way through, not a way around."Unknown
"Our fears must never hold us back from pursuing our hopes." John F. Kennedy, (1917–63), 35th president of the US 1961–63; known as JFK
"Pain is a holy angel, who shows treasures to men which otherwise remain forever hidden. Through him men have become greater than through all joys of the world." Adalbert Stifter; (23 October 1805 – 28 January 1868) was an Austrian writer, poet, painter, and pedagogue
" . . . setbacks have an upside; they fuel new dreams." Dara Torres, American swimmer
"Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong; and a boy deprived of a father's care often develops, if he escapes the perils of youth, an independence and vigor of thought which may restore in after life the heavy loss of early days." Winston Churchill, (1874–1965), British statesman; prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55
(While imprisoned in a 7 X 10 feet cell Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his fiancé with his positive attitude.) "Spring is really coming now. You will have plenty to do in the garden. I hope that Renate's wedding preparations are going well. Here in the prison yard there is a thrush which sings beautifully in the morning, and now in the evening too. One is grateful for little things, and that is surely a gain. Good-bye for now." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. This quote is from Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas and Bonhoeffer wrote this while imprisoned in a 7 X 10 feet cell Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his fiancé with his positive attitude.)
"Thanks for showing me that even on the darkest, rainiest days the sun is still there, just behind the clouds, waiting to shine again." Lisa Harlow
"The best way out is always through." Robert Frost, (1874–1963), US poet, noted for his ironic tone and simple language
"The defining moments of our lives are not determined by the evil done to us, but by our response through the grace and power of God." David McCasland, writer and contributor to Our Daily Bread
"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." Tom Clancy, (1947–), US novelist
"The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating." Cesar Chavez (born César Estrada Chávez, ( March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers union, UFW) in 1962.
"The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well." H. T. Leslie
"The life you are leading is due to the choices you have made." Unknown
"The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, (1807–82), US poet.
The roots grow deep when the winds blow strong. Unknown
"The smallest things get to her. It's as if she assumes everything will go right, and when it doesn't - which, of course, is pretty often- she is surprised and affronted." Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
"There are moments when everything goes well; don't be frightened, it won't last." Jules Renard, (February 22, 1864 – May 22, 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt
"There is nothing we can't live down, rise above or overcome." Ella Wheeler Wilcox, (November 5, 1850 – October 30, 1919) was an American author and poet
"These are the times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman." Abigail Adams, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams.
"They say the best men are born out of their faults and that they often improve later on, more than if they'd never done anything wrong." Sonia, wife of the main character, Ove, in A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sonia said this to her husband after he told her he'd lied about something."
"Those who are born on top of the anthill take a short time to grow tall." Ghanaian Proverb
"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." Charles R. Swindoll (Shared by ODS Oops, Dee.)
"We are all fixing what is broken. It is the task of a lifetime." Abraham Verghese (born 1955) is an Indian American physician-author, Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. This quote was found in Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, a book in The Mitford Series by Jan Karon
"We can choose to throw stones, to stumble on them, to climb over them, or to build with them." William Arthur Ward, 1921–March 30, 1994), is one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims.
"We can never be like lilies in the garden unless we have spent time as bulbs in the dark, totally ignored." Oswald Chambers, (24 July 1874 – 15 November 1917) was an early twentieth-century Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest. (Shared by ODS Zippy, Laurie)
"We define ourselves by the best that is in us, not the worst that has been done to us." Edward T. Lewis, publisher and founder of Essence magazine targeted to black women and founder of Latina magazine
"What was the darkest time of your life?" "When I had everything." Joe Beene, Odessa, Texas (Look him up! Joe Beene Artist. He's a wonderful artist who became paralyzed in a football accident.)
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." Henry Ford, (1863–1947), US automobile manufacturer
"When faced with adversity, people with solid values and strong character do not abandon their integrity, sensitivity, and perspective on life." Simon Chester, survivor of the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz and Gleiwitz camps
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." Helen Keller, (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.
"When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees." President Kaunda of Zambia, Kenneth David Kaunda (born 28 April 1924), also known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991
(A prayer to God) "You told the farmer Joel that you would restore unto him the days the locusts had eaten. For the Barlowes and for all such families, Lord, we thank you for restoring those days to each and every one." Father Tim Kavanagh, a character in Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon
"You were not made free merely to be allowed to vote, but in order to enjoy an equality of opportunity in the race of life." 20th USA President James A. Garfield
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