Whenever I see an unmarried woman carrying a child, my first response is one of respect. I know she could have taken the quick fix without anyone knowing, but she chose instead to let an innocent child live.

Worry is momentary atheism crying out for correction by trust in a good, sovereign God. Suffering breaks self-reliance.

..tithing isn't something I do to clear my conscience so I can do whatever I want with the 90 percent--it also belongs to God! I must seek his direction and permission for whatever I do with the full amount. I may discover that God has different ideas than I do.

This is one of the great paradoxes of suffering. Those who don't suffer much think suffering should keep people from God, while many who suffer a great deal turn to God, not from him.

You can't take it with you - but you can send it on ahead.

Jesus Himself was criticized. He wasn't a glutton and drunkard, but He was accused of being those things. Why? Because He went to parties where people ate and drank, and some people probably were at those parties who were drunkards and gluttons. But you don't have to be sinning just because you're in in an environment of happiness.

Am I getting braver, or just getting accustomed to being terrified?