Give Him your ashes, and He’ll give you a crown of beauty.

That the Lord would make him a whole lot more like Cheyenne. Not afraid of anything. Even falling in love again.

Hold fast to your faith. Temptation is a given; look for the way out! It is possible to fall!

We don’t have time to hold a grudge against someone. They could be gone before sundown.

With Ashley it had never been her poor choices as a young adult that made things hardest for all of them. It had been the way she cut herself off from the family, believing herself to be the black sheep.

What will the coming years look like, Lord? What brilliant moments of joy, what moments of growth, what times of heartache are ahead? For a moment, just thinking about the possibility of unknown sorrows seized her heart and brought a rush of fear.

I’ve asked God to make it clear. He can either shut the door or open it. I don’t want it unless He wants it for me.

What most people didn’t realize about that verse was that it came in the midst of other promises – promises from God telling His people that they would also suffer great difficulties. It was what made the Christian life so dynamic. Ultimate hope and peace and joy and redemption, even in a life that would certainly have trials and temptations, tragedies and tough times.

Suddenly everything the Lord had laid on her heart made perfect sense. What had she felt before when she prayed about taking the part? That God would give her a sign, right? And now it was the same thing all over again. God wanted her to hear His voice, to know Him. And how better to know Him than by knowing what He wasn’t, where He wasn’t?

The circle shifted around them, and by the time they were done praying, Katy had the strangest sense: not that everything would be fine any time soon but that God would use the tragic loss of Ben Hanover and Sarah Jo Stryker to build something stronger and better out of CKT.