The Lord delights to surprise us with His goodness, if only we will unlock the door of obedience with the key of faith - which He has given - and then push it open and walk through.

There are times we need to tell ourselves, "Good job!" when we know that is true.

The stronger the winds, the deeper the roots, and the longer the winds, the more beautiful the tree.

A "godly" person is one who ceases to be self-centered in order to become God-centered.

Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others.

While I wholeheartedly believe in choosing to approach every challenge with a great attitude, I don't mean that we should abandon authenticity and live in fantasyland.

Fortunately Jesus didn't leave [the disciples]-or any of us-without hope or direction. Where we fail, Jesus succeeded. The only One who as able to recognize and follow His purpose from the beginning was Jesus. He alone was able to obey consistently and please God completely. And His divine mission was to make a way for each of us to do the same.