Quotes from Gary L. Thomas

Leslie now says, "God is the perfect Husband. He has met my needs before I even anticipated them. I'm not just talking about big things either; he has met my small, personal needs in very intimate ways.

understanding the glory of being a godly woman and acting with the strength and toughness of a woman who understands she was created in the image of God, forgiven of her sins through the work of Jesus Christ, and gifted and empowered by God's Holy Spirit to live the life God has called her to live.

There are three elements of the traditionalist pathway: ritual (or liturgical pattern); symbol (or significant image); and sacrifice. Evelyn Underhill, a popular Christian writer in the early part of this century, calls these three elements "sensible signs of supra-sensible action."9 They are ways we use the physical world to express nonphysical (spiritual) truths.

2 Thessalonians 3:5: "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

A defeatist attitude kills almost as many marriages as affairs do.

God will speak to us through creation if we'll only listen. If you feel like your time in front of books or listening to sermons has become stagnant, grab a coat, pick up a walking stick, and step outside into a school that never closes.

It's not enough to survive, a lifelong love is all about thriving in a ministry-minded marriage that impacts others.

We cannot receive, however, unless we set aside time for God to speak—and then let him set the agenda for our discussion. I've found that my agenda is frequently different from God's. He must be the initiator in my spiritual walk. He knows what I need to hear. When I'm consumed with my temporal problems, I miss the blessing of being out of doors.

What if exercise and discipline in eating isn't as much about physical health as about honoring the God who made us?

A captivated heart, a bridled tongue, a limited curiosity, and a slow reentry after prayer are necessary disciplines of simplicity.

Approached in the right way, marriage can cause us to reevaluate our dependency on other humans for our spiritual nourishment, and direct us to nurture our relationship with God instead. No human being can love us the way we long to be loved; it is just not possible for another human to reach and alleviate the spiritual ache that God has placed in all of us.

What I'm suggesting is that we connect our marriages with our faith in such a way that our experience in each feeds the other. By learning to respect others, meet each other's sexual needs, overcome dissension, and use the analogies of marriage to foster more creative prayer, we can build and maintain active, growing, and meaningful prayer lives while at the same time developing stronger marriages.

The world is full of religions and religious people who don't know God. Religion can serve faith, but it doesn't substitute for faith, and it can never replace faith. Meaningful expressions of the heart, mind, and will become lifeless if they're not mixed with a deep and abiding faith.

How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist's hands. Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.

The Bible views us as recipients of God's perfect love, already charged with an important life mission (seeking first the kingdom of God), and thus the decision to marry, though crucial, won't define us. Nor will who we marry define us.

we must not enter marriage to be fulfilled, emotionally satisfied, or romantically charged, but rather to become more like Jesus Christ.

We realize it's not about what we get out of our marriage but about what we become in our marriage.

Marriage requires a radical commitment to love our spouses as they are, while longing for them to become what they are not yet. Every marriage moves either toward enhancing one another's glory or toward degrading each other. —Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III

Any situation that calls me to confront my selfishness has enormous spiritual value, and I slowly began to understand that the real purpose of marriage may not be happiness as much as it is holiness.

We don't always need a change. Sometimes, we just need a rest, and there is no better place to rest our bodies and our souls than outside.

Trying to find contentment in this world without addressing the inner person is no more drastic a change than simply changing cubicles while continuing to work for the same company. Your location may change, but the overall environment is exactly the same.

Learn how to grieve fractured relationships, and then learn how to let them go. Don't let disappointment morph into self-doubt and self-flagellation. Just because you wish something wasn't a certain way doesn't mean it's your fault that it's not.

I'd get bored with myself if I was married to me, so it only makes sense that Lisa might occasionally be bored—or at least grow weary—of living with me. But God delights in both of us. God appreciates our quirks and understands our hearts' good intentions even when they might be masked by incredibly stupid behavior.

It is in these dark, intense, and lonely times that ascetics' souls awaken. I think that anyone who has been stretched in ministry knows that the real battle was fought at Gethsemane, not Calvary. To be sure, only Calvary provided payment for our sins and thus was absolutely necessary, but Gethsemane was the real spiritual battleground where Jesus made the final decision to be obedient. In a wrenching, courageous act of self-denial, Jesus proved the mettle of his faith.