It is my hope that despite the gravity of the trials, we will never forget that the privilege to live life always offsets the difficulties involved in the living of it. This is the essence of thanksgiving.

At the point that Jesus shows up in the storm, He and I become the storm.

If the story of my life is about the storms that I have weathered, I will tell you that it is not the force of the storm that matters. What matters is that I had the privilege of the storm so that I might understand the power of the calm.

When surrounded by the ashes of all that I once cherished, despite my best efforts I can find no room to be thankful. But standing there amidst endless ash I must remember that although the ashes surround me, God surrounds the ashes. And once that realization settles upon me, I am what I thought I could never be ... I am thankful for ashes.

It is the storm that I watch so that it will not catch me unawares, when I should be watching God in the storm so that He can catch me in the waves.

If I presume the flood that engulfs me to be bigger than the God who surrounds me, the real flood is the absence of my faith.

It is likely that you remain incessantly troubled and fitfully anxious because you have sought out refuge in some person or institution that is at the very same time attempting to find refuge for themselves. For the only Person Who is His own refuge in order to be ours is God.

Pain believes itself to be the force that pushes everyone away. But God says that pain is the invitation that He could never throw away.

With God, the setbacks of today are the precise ingredients that He needs to craft the victories of tomorrow.