Lysa TerKeurst

“People in everyday life can sniff out the neediness of a performer trying to earn love.”

“Grace doesn’t give me a free pass to act out how I feel, with no regard to His commands. Rather, His grace gives me consolation in the moment, with a challenge to learn from this situation and become more mature in the future.”

“Imagine how differently you might approach each day by simply stating: God is good. God is good to me. God is good at being God. And today is yet another page in our great love story. Nothing that happens to you today will change that or even alter it in the slightest way.”

“Nothing will give you emotional laryngitis like living in close proximity to someone who refuses to listen. Having emotions but no voice chokes the life out of relationships.”

“Ask Jesus to help you fully understand the joys of obedience. Also, ask Him how you can be a woman fully committed to obedience without slipping into a legalistic approach to life. We must always remember our goal is pursuing revelations of Him. Our focus can’t be just following rules but following Jesus Himself.”

“I must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.”

“A man journeyed to a place Where the road caused him to ponder, Should he travel the wide, clear road? Or should he venture up the other? The wide road was more often traveled, It was level and easy and clear. The narrow one seemed barely a path, With very few footprints there. His senses said to choose for ease And walk where many have wandered. But the map he held in his hand Showed the narrow going somewhere grander. In life we will all come to a point Where a decision must be made. Will we choose to walk with comfort’s guide? Or journey the narrow path God says?”

“Don’t we get into God’s Word so it can get into us? So that it can interrupt us, change us, satisfy us? How sad to simply settle for learning facts about the Bible when it was meant for so much more”

“Having a set of goals is a good thing for many people. But when a goal takes your focus off God and His daily intentions for you, it can cause trouble. Being driven by my plans can shift the focus of my heart from following God and being open to His unfolding invitations, to following only that which leads me closer to my desires. For me, I started falling into a trap of making plans each day around what I wanted to see happen. Anything that wasn’t part of my plan became a distraction and an unwelcome interruption.”

“...there are natural consequences for not taking care of our bodies.”

“These were all simple acts of obedience I missed. But not missed because I was unaware. They were missed because I was busy—caught in the rush of endless demands. And the rush makes us rebellious. I knew what to do and blatantly ignored it.Ignoring God's leading doesn't seem like such a big deal in these cases. In the grand scheme of the world, how big a thing is it that I didn't pick up that cup? After all, how can I be sure it was really God?I think a better question would be, How can I be sure it wasn't God?”

“Whether we're on the path toward victory or defeat is determined by the very next choice we make. Not the choices from yesterday. Not the choices five minutes ago.”

“Too many of us live with an uncontrolled thought life. It is possible to learn to identify destructive thoughts and make wiser choices. Instead of letting those thoughts rumble freely about in my mind, I make the choice to harness them and direct them toward truth.”

“Evaluation eliminates frustration. We should also evaluate unrealistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations become unmet expectations. And unmet expectations are like kindling wood-it only takes but a spark of frustration to set them ablaze and burn those involved.”

“Which do I care more about - demanding my rights or displaying right choices?”

“Brokenness to redemption, where mercy and grace kiss both sides of our face.Brokenness where we are split open.Redemption where God knits us back together.Mercy when we don't get the punishment we do deserve. Grace when we get the lavish love gifts we don't deserve. So here we are.”

“Just because you…achieve what you always thought would make you feel special does not fix that deep-down internal insecurity. External achievement never equals internal acceptance.”

“Some prisons don't require bars to keep people locked inside. All it takes is their perception that they belong there.”

“God is using all of your experiences, both good and bad, to develop your character to match your calling.”

“Look for Me. Long for Me. Experience unbroken companionship with Me.”