Don't give away to others what you have not first given away at home.

Expectations destroy our peace of mind. They are future disappointments, planned out in advance.

As we come to know God better, we will also find it easier to know, follow, and accept His will for our life.

He had never thought of himself as much of a praying man, but as he sat in the car in the growing darkness and the minutes passed, he knew what it was to pray. It was to will goodness out of evil, hope out of despair, life out of death. It was to will dreams into existence and spectres into reality. It was to will an end to anguish and a beginning to joy.

If your home is a ministry, shouldn't that ministry become a passion? Shouldn't your feelings and emotions be involved when it comes to the people and place you love? And shouldn't your work be done passionately? Your labors should be labors of love!

She thought about how it was so simple with animals. They gave their hearts without question or fear. They had no expectations. They were so easy to love. If people could only be like that, no one would ever be hurt, she thought. No one would ever need to learn how to forgive.

The Pacific Northwest, and particularly Whidbey Island, is extremely suited to be a location in a novel.