Too often we try to use God to change our circumstance, when God is trying to use our circumstance to change us.

Life is so short. Grudges are a waste of time. Laugh when you can, apologise when you should, and trust God with what you cannot change.

You can't change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it.

Until God opens the next door, praise Him in the hallway.

I have found on Alpha that those from an essentially enlightened background feel at home with the parts of the course which appeal to the mind, but often have difficulty in experiencing the Holy Spirit. Others coming from the New Age movement find that rational and historical explanations leave them cold, but at the weekend away they are on more familiar territory in experiencing the Holy Spirit

I had a battle going on in my head: shall I just enjoy my life and then convert on my deathbed? But I felt I couldn't do that - it was now or never - so I took a step of faith and became a Christian.

I think that the gifts of the spirit are always subject to the control of the person who's exercising them. You're not forced in to doing it. Love never forces. And therefore 'the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet' is another way it is put. You don't suddenly find yourself taken over by a spirit and find yourself speaking tongues. You're in control, but it's a gift. You can stop and start as you please, but it's a way of communicating with God.