Grace Notes

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations. ~  Benjamin Disraeli I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation. ~ George Bernard Shaw If you’ve read my blogs, you know that I often include a quote or two that complements the post in some way. I’m [...]

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. — Anne Lamott We are born broken. We live mending. The grace of God is the glue.” —Eugene O’Neill When I started this blog three years ago, I [...]

You have to actually believe in your capacity to change for habits to permanently change. –  Charles Duhigg They say that old habits die hard. Case in point, our power recently shut down after a storm and naturally, my wife and I continued to flick on the light switches to illuminate a darkened room, thinking [...]

Before you get a dog, you can't quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can't imagine living any other way. – Caroline Knapp I’m writing this current post for my dog because for one, he doesn’t know how to type and secondly, because I’m his personal secretary. Having said that, he [...]

There’s a whole lot of people in trouble tonightFrom the disease of conceitWhole lot of people seeing double tonightFrom the disease of conceitGive you delusions of grandeurAnd an evil eyeGive you the idea thatYou’re too good to dieThen they bury you from your head to your feetFrom the disease of conceit    —Bob Dylan . . [...]

Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. —John C. Maxwell Our grandson, who recently turned the magical age of one, has finally decided to try walking out for size. A few months ago, he seemed so [...]

“You know most people live ninety percent in the past, seven percent in the present, and that only leaves them three percent for the future.”  ~ John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent Each period of life has its own purpose. This later one gives me the time to assimilate all the others. The task of this [...]

The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.                                                  [...]

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company. — Booker T. Washington It is inevitable if you enter into relations with people on a regular basis...that you will grow to be like them. Place an extinguished piece of coal next to a live one, and [...]

What I battle hardest to do in a tennis match is to quiet the voices in my head. ~ Rafael Nadal Stop me if you’ve already heard these . . . I wake up every day planning to be productive and then a voice in my head says, “Haha, good one!” and then we laugh [...]