8 Quotes by Sharon Garlough Brown

In the midst of disappointment, it's easy for us to punctuate our pain with exclamation points. God, however, is very fond of commas, and our lives are continually unfolding in him, with all the unexpected twists and turns. Courage, dear one. The Lord is with you. May he strengthen you with hope for the next leg of the journey.

...any movement away from the presence of God is movement in the wrong direction. My sorrow, my suffering, my sin - all of it is meant to be an offering to him. All of it belongs at the foot of the cross.

If you set your hopes low, you can be pleasantly surprised if anything good happens. I guess it's a way of hardening your heart. A way of resisting the love of God that has been generously poured out through the Holy Spirit. Poured out. Not measured out by teaspoons. Poured. An image of abundance.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.

We begin our journey to freedom when we go back to the places where we were spiritually, emotionally, and mentally wounded. But this time we go with God’s presence, help, and strength. No matter how frightening and messy it feels, God invites us to trust him. The Lord does some of his most beautiful work in the midst of the messiness and brokenness of our lives.

Remember, Charissa – the things that annoy, irritate, and disappoint us have just as much power to reveal the truth about ourselves as anything else. Learn to linger with what provokes you. You may just find the Spirit of God moving there.

I feel like I’ve got to start over. Like I’m this little kid who doesn’t know anything. ‘Course, given where I’ve been, starting over’s not a bad thing.” She stopped to take a breath. “Is it really possible for a fifty-year-old woman to be born again, again?

Every day is a chance for new beginnings as old things die and new things are born. After all, that’s what being born again is about, right? The old self dies, and the new self in Christ is given. And that doesn’t happen only once, does it? The apostle Paul said he died every day. It’s a lifelong process of dying to sin and self and rising again with Christ.