Unfulfilled dreams, ongoing relational tension, the loss of friendships, a hard marriage, rebellious teenagers, the death of loved ones, remaining sinful patterns - whatever it is for you - live long enough, lose enough, suffer enough, and the idealism of youth fades, leaving behind the reality of life in a broken world as a broken person.

Sanctification consists of the daily realization that in Christ we have died, and in Christ we have been raised.

I was always in places where I was widely accepted, approved and loved and I was finally in a place where people did not approve of me, did not accept me and did not love me. It was killing me.

The lifeblood of Christianity is not our persistence in moving toward God but God's persistence in moving toward us.

The smaller you get-the smaller life makes you-the easier it is to see the grandeur of grace. While I am far more incapable than I may have initially thought, God is infinitely more capable than I ever hoped.

God's ability to clean things up is infinitely greater than our ability to mess things up.

Nothing makes me want to obey more than knowing that God unconditionally loves me and forgives me even when I disobey.