Author Archive: Julia
You have to be a child
“You have to be a child to know how wonderful is a store window filled with dolls and sleds and other toys. And this wonder came free to Francie. It was nearly as good as actually having the toys to be permitted to look at them through the glass window.” — Betty Smith, in A …
Not a has-been
“I am not a has-been. I am a will-be.” — Lauren Bacall Everybody you know is a work in progress, no matter their age. No exceptions. “…and what we will be has not yet been made known.” (1 John 3:2, NIV)
The books themselves
“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them–with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.” — Eudora Welty I can think of few sorrows for which …
Always springtime
“It is always springtime in the heart that loves God.” — Jean Vianney, the Curé d’Ars Spring brings growth, renewal and rebirth. Yet it also brings rain, mud and labor. Keeping springtime in our hearts does not mean denying or ignoring the difficult and painful. Rather, it means looking ahead with hope and expectation, even when …
Curiosity conquers fear
“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.” — James Stephens I’m not a particularly brave person, but my curiosity about almost everything knows no bounds, and I can vouch for the truth of Stephens’ observation about its power to overcome fear. Through the years, my curiosity has often met with disdain: “Why should you want to know that?” …
Live faithfully a hidden life
“…for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” —George Eliot, from the closing lines of Middlemarch Look …
Sit quietly in a room
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” ― Blaise Pascal For decades, every year until this one, I have spent much time meticulously decorating our Christmas tree, a sort of yearly scrapbook with an ever-growing collection of ornaments, each representing a memory. I often question whether this …
Something truly sacred
“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something truly sacred.” — Fred Rogers Those who know me best know that Fred …
Doing something worthwhile
“Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.” — Sir Wilfred Grenfell It fascinates me to watch people who are engaged in tasks at which they are not only talented, but obviously enjoying themselves. From the scene-stealing gymnasts or rock musicians, to the less flashy but no less interesting craftsmen or cooks, their absorbed focus …
Until things are brighter
“Ah, I’d like to wear a rainbow every day and tell the world that everything’s ok But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back ‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man in Black.” — Johnny Cash “Every man knows he’s a sissy compared to Johnny Cash.” — Bono Optimism untempered by reality …
A real and active virtue
“True contentment is a real, even an active, virtue – not only affirmative but creative. It is the power of getting out of any situation all there is in it.” — G. K. Chesterton Although my habit of taking photographs wherever I go sometimes annoys my companions, a few friends share this passion and understand. Photographs …
A cathedral in mind
“A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock pile when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery Not everyone is capable of seeing past present realities to grasp what is possible in difficult or unappealing situations. Yet the alchemy of a transformative idea can render the most …
No pessimist
“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” — Helen Keller Few sights are more breathtaking to me than the Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding lands and sea. Such a vivid reminder of the creativity of people, and especially of the God in …
To lead a simple life
“To lead a simple life in reasonable comfort, with a minimum of possessions, ranks high among the arts of living. It leaves us the time, resources and freedom of mind we need for the things that give life value: loving, helping, serving and giving.” — Eknath Easwaran
Cheerfulness breaking in
“Where Christ is, cheerfulness will keep breaking in.” — Dorothy Sayers The Bible says “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” For most of us, this is an ever-repeating cycle. Even in years of great happiness, there are intervals of grief. And even in the darkest night, there come glimmers of …
A great revolution
“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” —William James Despite the controversies that linger over who deserves the credit for the birth of aviation, the Wright Brothers exhibited a persistence and dedication that changed …
Bounty enough
“We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” — …
Two things stand
“Life is mostly froth and bubble Two things stand like stone KINDNESS in another’s trouble COURAGE in your own.” — Adam Lindsay Gordon
Vibrantly alive
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées as seen from l’Arc de Triomphe, Paris 2005 “You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.” — Indira Gandhi I love the city; I find its nonstop life energizing and stimulating. Even in the midst of the rush, we can pause long …
Absolutely, positively, certainly
“In our rush for newer, quicker, better, we seem to be missing out on what we fundamentally crave, a calmer, gentler, sweeter and more gracious life. Is it easy to achieve such a life? Definitely not. Is it possible? Absolutely, positively, certainly, yes. (Don’t look for impossible from me; I’ve never found a solution in …
Open to the day
That more and more a Providence Of love is understood, Making the springs of time and sense Sweet with eternal good; That death seems but a covered way Which opens into light, Wherein no blinded child can stray Beyond the Father’s sight… That all the jarring notes of life Seem blending in a psalm, And …
Nothing so easy
There is nothing so easy but it becomes difficult when you do it reluctantly. — Publius Terentius Afer While we lived in Hawaii, it amazed me when one of my sons complained, “Do we HAVE to go to the beach AGAIN?” It didn’t matter how often I told him we were lucky to live near the …
It’s the heart
“It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons.” -Friedrich von Schiller No matter what cares may be weighing on you today, make time to enjoy the people you love. Life is short. Spend it well.
The true measure of our thanksgiving
“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” —W.T. Purkiser Black Friday has become almost as much an American tradition as Thanksgiving itself. Yet our shopping on this day is not always a selfish pursuit. Many of us are seeking gifts for people we love, …
Unlock the fullness of life
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and …
Defeat Despair 