Quotes from Janette Oke

Father led in prayer, asking that the Lord would make my home, wherever it might be, a place of love. "Might there always be harmony and commitment, love and happiness. Might there be strength for the hard times, humor to ease the tense times, and shoulders always available for the times of tears," he prayed.

Wynn laughed. "Well, there's a saying," he mused, "that a moose is a horse made by a committee." We chuckled together at Wynn's joke.

be willing to back away and let Jenny establish the desired relationship with Jamison. Virginia had battled long and hard with her feelings and even now found it difficult to choke out the words. Jenny

she prayed. Not merely for wisdom, but for submission. Would she ever be ready—and willing—to let God work out the details of her future?

The absence of an inner conflict is one of life's richest blessings," the pastor also had said. "And it comes only from the hand of God.

The service was delightful. We sensed again the awe of the first Christmas so long ago when God sent His most precious gift, His Son Jesus, into the world to be born of a woman so that someday, as a sacrifice, He could provide salvation for the whole human race.

It's not hiding us, Leah. The shawl, this head covering, is a declaration before man and God. His divine Law proclaims women to be of great worth and orders that they be protected. First through their father, then their husband. If the husband dies, then women are protected through next of kin. And if there are no next of kin, the community. If this is not fulfilled, Leah, it is not the fault of God's Law, it is the fault of those to whom his Law was given." Leah

He can calm any storm if you'll let Him in your boat.

Hospitality in the North is as much a part of life as eating and sleeping. They might not have much, but whatever they have is yours.

A marriage was of far more importance than a wedding

It is true we all have fears attack us," he was saying. "We do not speak of it—but it is there. In those times we realize more than ever that we need God. That is when we pray with the most sincerity. That is when he answers with the most fatherly compassion. His presence is most intimate, most precious, and most reassuring, in those times of fear.

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed. . . .

could I have envisaged the woman to be their mother, she would be exactly like you. Strong, devoted to God. And beautiful. Only now, since you have become my wife, do I begin to understand what love is. What our Lord desires for his bride. His followers. Now I know why he was willing to die.

I loved seeing your world. It truly was fascinating. But as the days and weeks went by, I was so homesick for the rivers, the forests, I could hardly wait to come home.

He did this to show that even in the darkest hour, when there is no reason to go forward, no possibility of a better tomorrow, he is there to comfort, to guide, to heal. He brings with him the gift of hope. Impossible, glorious, joyful hope.

I wiped the drips from my face and shook my hands free of the coldness and told Wynn how good it tasted. Wynn drank, too, as a reminder to himself that he had been right. No other water on earth tastes quite like that of a mountain stream.

We did not go right to sleep but talked until late into the night. There was so much to tell one another, so many questions on my mind.

How each of us comes for our own reasons." "Comes where?" "To be with them and listen to their message. What Stephen meant was that our motives are wrong. Our thinking is wrong. But if we come . . . with an open heart and mind, we will see the rightness of their declarations.

Governed the tides by the distant moon? Who put the "wonder" within my breast? Set off the "joy bells" within my soul? Who gave a reason to even exist? Made earth a "mission" and heaven a "goal"? Mere chance occurrence? Complete mystery? Of course there's a reason, if only we prod. Nature demands it—and so does my heart. There's only one Answer. Only one God!

a few hours.

Sometimes I cannot understand the things men do. The way they gnash and tear at one another - it's worse than wolves or foxes.

Mankind cannot suffer anywhere without it bringing sorrow to other hearts

Who knows what exciting things might be just over the next hill.

father again." She had more that she was going to