Quotes from Karen Ehman

Start dreaming. Pray hard. And if God is calling you, don't be afraid to take a step of faith.

We might have to choose to let go of the need to prove our point, choosing instead to do the right thing: to impart grace and deal with the other person in love and with utmost patience.

Seeking a balance between doing and being is complex. But as my friend Lisa Whelchel reminds me, we're human beings, not human doings. Perhaps it's best, then, to err on the side of less doing and more being, to spend time in thankful quiet each day before racing and chasing in this hurried and harried culture of ours.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

We must find the fulcrum — the pivot point that balances gentle honesty with hard truth enveloped in love.

May you speak the truth from a loving heart. May your tongue utter no slander. May you do no wrong to a neighbor and cast no slurs. May you weigh your words carefully and keep your oaths. And may you never be shaken.

He is longing for us to take our eyes off of our situation and fix them solely upon him. When we adopt this attitude, we live aloud the truth I once heard Elisabeth Elliot declare: "The difference is Christ in me. Not me in a different set of circumstances.

When a family member's behavior threatens to knock the nice right out of us, we can pause. Recalculate. Punch in a different destination for the words now downloading from our brains onto our tongues. We can program them to first stop at gentleness, swing by to pick up respect, and finally — arrive with grace.

Learn to be thankful in the midst of your unique "whatever" rather than trying to control something you were never meant to control in the first place. You see, God is more concerned with your attitude and your obedience in the role in which he has presently cast you than he is about giving you a starring role in life.

There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly becomes any of us, to talk about the rest of us.

We must cease making odious and odorous comparisons and instead embrace our current lot in life—our past, present, and future—welcoming all that God will teach us through it. Only then we will discover the secret Paul knew—that true contentment isn't merely having what we want; it's wanting nothing more than what we already have.

Why do we assume our time alone with God will just happen spontaneously or in the cracks? Treat it with intentionality.

Maybe if we focused less on what we do and more on who — and whose — we are, we can find that super mom status we are really longing for.

How might the Holy Spirit be tapping on your heart today, prompting you to praise God, do good, and share life? Your very presence and prayerful attitude can be a magnet that draws other souls to you and points them straight toward him.

Just Because You Have a Reason to Retaliate Does Not Mean You're Justified in Doing So

Instead, learn to seek and embrace the unique life God has for you at this age and stage of motherhood. Take a deep breath. Pause. Stop stressing. Quit running. Just relax.

When we live generously, joy is ours because we invest more in people than possessions.

God knows we are limited by time and space; Jesus himself was. He didn't preach to everyone, heal everyone, comfort everyone, or even convert everyone. He simply showed up where God told him to go and did what God told him to do.

If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!" (30:32). Here it is, translated for social media: "If you are tempted to slam someone online or brag on Facebook or send off a nasty tweet, turn off the screen and walk away!

Read the psalms out loud to God, allowing the words to become your own. Then write out your own specific prayers to him as well. It will amaze you when you go back later and see the ways that God answered your prayers.

good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Luke 6:45).

each word takes from my mind to my heart to my lips be guided by your hand. May what comes out be life-giving rather than causing death. May my words make you proud and bring you glory. In Jesus' name, Amen. * Louann Brizendine, The Female Brain (New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006), 4.

God is patient. He doesn't fly off the handle in anger.

Long before our words go wrong, our hearts are the place in which they fester and brew. We must take very careful care of our hearts and their condition so that the words that come forth will be pleasant and sweet instead of hurtful and bitter. But just how do we do this?