That's prayer to let God's Word speak deep within you and tell you, "You are my beloved. You don't have to take an eye for an eye. No, no you're too rich for that."

If you want to know anything about community, you have to realize that the contemplative side is essential. Community without retreating and quiet time never survives.

Prayer and action...can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation.

When we give generously, with an abundance mentality, what we give away will multiply.

You don't have to run around world proving you're lovable.

A life without a lonely place, that is, a life without a quiet center, easily becomes destructive. When we cling to the results of our actions as our only way of self-identifiction, then we become possessive and defensive and tend to look at our fellow human beings more as enemies to be kept at a distance than as friends with whom we share the gifts of life.

When we have sold our identity to the judges of this world, we are bound to become restless, because of a growing need for affirmation and praise.