{"quotes":[{"text":"The secret to extraordinary faith is fully engaging our MINDS, as well as our hearts, because DYNAMIC FAITH REQUIRES A HEALTHY BALANCE OF BOTH.","author":"Patty Houser","tags":["belief","beliefs","christianity","christianity-and-faith","faith","faith","inspiration","inspirational","spiritual-disciplines","spiritual-formation"],"id":6050,"author_id":"Patty+Houser"},{"text":"By extending love and comfort to the broken places around us, we keep watch with Jesus in his sorrow.","author":"Erin M. Straza","tags":["comfort","faith","helping-others","inspirational","sorrow","spiritual-formation"],"id":23422,"author_id":"Erin+M.+Straza"},{"text":"If a church is good at making disciples it will be good at making leaders because in the end, a good spiritual formation plan will lead to an accelerated spiritual multiplication.","author":"Gary Rohrmayer","tags":["church-leaders","church-planters","discipleship","leadership","leadership-development","mission","missional","missional-church","pastoral-ministry","spiritual-formation"],"id":31126,"author_id":"Gary+Rohrmayer"},{"text":"The Bible is teh means through which we are introduced to Jesus and invited to follow Him in the life of humility and service. Secured by the knowledge that in Christ, our origin... And destination is God, we will yield the fruit of service to God. This is the 'so what' of our Bible reading. Does it shape our spirits in love and humility? Does it lead us more fully into life with God? (Life with God, p. 34-35).","author":"Richard Foster","tags":["bible","devotions","disciplines","life-with-god","spiritual-formation"],"id":40364,"author_id":"Richard+Foster"},{"text":"This is what you do when you journal. You are recording God’s grand, epoch-spanning redemptive story as it unfolds in your limited, temporal sphere of existence here on earth. Your journal has the potential to record the continuation of the Holy Spirit’s work in our world!","author":"Adam L. Feldman","tags":["faith","journaling","spiritual-formation","spiritual-growth"],"id":58274,"author_id":"Adam+L.+Feldman"},{"text":"Knowing what we believe and why we believe it is not an option for the Christian, because as believers, OUR BELIEFS ARE THE VERY HEART OF WHO WE ARE.","author":"Patty Houser","tags":["belief","beliefs","believe","believe-in-god","christian-life","christian-living-inspirational","christianity","inspirational","spiritual-formation","women-s-issues"],"id":100321,"author_id":"Patty+Houser"},{"text":"God gave us His Word so we could know truth. His truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth.","author":"Patty Houser","tags":["absolutism","bible","god-s-word","spiritual-formation","spiritual-growth","truth","truth"],"id":104832,"author_id":"Patty+Houser"},{"text":"The sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to. Truly, we do not have a choice of listening versus not listening. We all obey certain voices, and thus the question is not “Will I listen?” but “Which voices will I listen to?” But it is not only a matter of choosing to listen to good voices over bad ones. If only it were as simple as the proverbial whispering angel and devil on our shoulders. It is also a matter of whether we will choose to listen to different voices, voices that don’t sound the same as our own. Will we listen to the voices of different cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds and beliefs? Will we listen to the voices that unsettle us and might make us feel anxious or guilty? If we choose to listen only to voices that echo our own, we will be limited in our growth and stunted in our spirituality. Choosing to tune in to only one or two stations may be comfortable, but it is not transformative. The voices we want to hear are not always the same as the voices we need to hear.","author":"Adam McHugh","tags":["adam-mchugh","character","influences","listening","spiritual-formation","the-listening-life","transformation","wisdom"],"id":173643,"author_id":"Adam+McHugh"},{"text":"Some of these beginners, too, make little of their faults, and at other times become over-sad when they see themselves fall into them, thinking themselves to have been saints already; and thus they become angry and impatient with themselves, which is another imperfection. Often they beseech God, with great yearnings, that He will take from them their imperfections and faults, but they do this that they may find themselves at peace, and may not be troubled by them, rather than for God's sake; not realizing that, if He should take their imperfections from them, they would probably become prouder and more presumptuous still. They dislike praising others and love to be praised themselves; sometimes they seek out such praise. Herein they are like the foolish virgins, who, when their lamps could not be lit, sought oil from others.","author":"San Juan de la Cruz","tags":["christianity","dark-night-of-the-soul","pride","sin","spiritual-formation","spiritual-maturity"],"id":231524,"author_id":"San+Juan+de+la+Cruz"},{"text":"We need to retrain our brains, our hearts, and our wills to seek a comfort that truly satisfies.","author":"Erin M. Straza","tags":["comfort","faith","inspirational","spiritual-formation"],"id":351833,"author_id":"Erin+M.+Straza"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":15,"pages":2,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}