Another worthy quote inspired by the season! Have you done this yet? If not, there’s no time like now, and the blessings you’ll receive in turn will outshine any gift under the tree.
“You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift.” ~John R. Rice
A little late today, but no less inspiring. I’m continuing on the theme of Christmas this week…
The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation. ~J.I. Packer
Turn the volume up on this one…by the end you really will be ready to fall on your knees in awe of our amazing God!
Christmas is coming! I love this season…not just the tree, decorations, giving, and social aspects, but the real meaning behind it. I write Christian fantasy for a reason–because my deepest, truest love is for Christ. His entrance into this world is miraculous; our perfect, just, all powerful God becoming one of us for a time. Jesus is the ultimate hero, that all our imagined fantasy heroes are but poor reflections of; selfless, valiant, self-sacrificing, and completely sinless. We have every reason to celebrate. This quote from Augustine really says a lot in just a few sentences–I hope it inspires you to reflect. I’m adding in a little Christmas music for good measure.
He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy. He, the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute.
– St. Augustine
This quote spoke to me this week, because I am hearing the whooshing sound myself right now as NaNoWriMo flies by. I won’t make even a fraction of my original goal, but that’s OK. It’s encouraging to know that even writers as famous as Douglas Adams struggle to meet deadlines!
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
– Douglas Adams
“It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.”
– George Macdonald
I’ve been working out some things for the third book in my series this week. And as such, I’ve been thinking about the very different motives and actions of my heroes and villains. Their inner battles extend far beyond themselves, impacting those around them, and in some cases world events with far reaching consequences.
I came upon this quote from Lewis, and as so often happens with his writings, the truth of it touched on some of the thoughts that have already been running through my head. It explains so well why our best heroes seem to be those who have lost the most, but continue to fight on anyway. And why our darkest villains seem beyond hope, with no capacity for compassion. Their hearts have become unbreakable, and therefore, irredeemable.
This is not some literary cliche–it is the inescapable truth of our nature. Most of us are somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, but as we look to the extreme ends of it, we find the pure, sacrificial, love of Christ, which is also the ultimate picture of vulnerability and brokenness through the cross. And at the other we have Satan–absolute selfishness, without love; unbreakable, and irredeemable. When life and love causes us pain, to which end of this spectrum do we run? Do we go there because of who we are, or because of who we aspire to be? Something profound to mull on a Sunday, and also some hope for those with broken hearts. There is some good that comes from it after all, even though it doesn’t always seem that way.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Allison D. Reid 