Quotes from Charles Martin

If you're riding a dead horse… dismount.

And God? He's in these hills because we are. No matter how far you run, you can't shake Him. Maybe Davis and I know that best, but Emma knew it first, and Saint Augustine said it best: You stir man to take pleasure in praising You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.

Hatred is a commodity I couldn't afford in prison. Too expensive then. Too expensive now... I couldn't live every day with that stuff bubbling up inside me.... Gage taught me that. He found me in a bad place. Picked me up. Showed me I had a choice. I couldn't change my circumstances, but I had a lot to say about who I was in the midst of them. And who I became. Gage helped me, showed me, how to lay it down.

He said he gave up what he couldn't keep to gain what he couldn't lose.

Their love did what her hatred could not. And never will.

I love them without trying to change them. I look at their suffering, their hopelessness, and while I'd like to wave a hand and fix it, I can't, so I do what I can... Climb down in their misery and love them where they are... People would much rather die holding someone's hand than live alone.

world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.

There's something special about a kid's smile. I see in their faces what we all used to be before the world got hold of us.

We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We

What about all that 'turn the other cheek' stuff?" Dad's eyes narrowed. "When someone's trying to control you, you come out swinging. And keep swinging. Bible never said be a doormat.

I'm not leaving something for you. I'm leaving something in you." I didn't like the way that sounded.

They'd lost the most important thing and he gave it back to them. He loved this country, he loved these people, and he loved my mom and he loved me, but that didn't earn him his legacy. He is still talked about today because he gave these people something no one had ever offered before. No government. No military. No warlord. No rebellion... He gave them hope - the currency of love - and they loved him for it.

when I looked up, the world got a lot bigger. That's one thing Unc did from the start—he made the world a lot bigger.

you know how sometimes you walk outside, like out of a cold room, and the sun is coming up and it feels warm on your face? And all you want to do is stand there and soak it up? Well, that's kind of how I feel. I want to stand here and soak in this a while.

I do know this: most people, myself included, are at their most vulnerable in a journal. They pour it all out. Sometimes a journal is the only ear that will listen, or at least the only one that you want to talk to.

Belonging comes before identity. Ownership births purpose. Someone speaks whose we are, and out of that we become who we are. It's just the way the heart works.

He found identity and status in the possession of things. Liam was quiet, thoughtful, slow to speak, and always gave away more than he took in.

To some, a guitar is just wood and string. To others, it's a shoulder, a jealous mistress, danger, sabbath, a voice in the wilderness, a suit of armor, a curtain to hide behind, a rock to stand on, a flying carpet, a hammer. But sometimes, in moments where light meets the dark, it's a stake we drive in the ground and the darkness rolls back as a scroll.

we wrestle and search. But regardless of where we search and how we try to answer the question or what we ingest, inject, or swallow to numb the nagging, only the Father gets to tell us who we are. Period.

otherwise. "Agua de mi corazón." I

don't pretend to understand all of what happened. But I do know this—this right here is just prelude. Dress rehearsal. The intro. One of these days each one of us is going to get called up and given the chance to join our voices in a song we've never heard, yet one we've known our whole lives. "My dad

Above all else, guard your heart . . . And on the back . . . for it is the wellspring of life.

Here's the truth: No matter what happened on the stage tonight, no matter where you went when you drove out of here, no matter where you end up, no matter what happens, what you become, what you gain, what you lose, whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no matter what you dip your hands into . . . no gone is too far gone. You can always come home. And when you do, you'll find me standing right here, arms wide, eyes searching for your return. I love you. Dad

It also produced a painful longing to hear his voice just one more time.