Quotes from Lynn Austin

living in a stinking

When we were in hiding, we were never hidden from God.

That was the destructive power of sin and lies—they harmed the innocent along with the guilty.

You have beautiful hair"... and she reached out to touch it, her bejeweled fingers gently caressing my head. A tear slipped down my cheek. I knew how the lepers felt when Jesus touched them and made them whole again.

No matter what came next, Daniel rested safely in the grip of his Sovereign God.

I don't think it's right to unburden your own heart by laying the load on someone else's. Some secrets are better left untold.

baby-sitting their roast in his oven? Who knew what he would be doing for them next?

Goodbyes were like crossroads where the path divided, places where you could look back at what you were leaving behind yet glimpse the choices and possibilities that lay ahead.

Scripture references for Keepers of the Covenant: Ezra 7–10 Esther 1–10 Ruth 1–4 1 Samuel 15:1–35 Genesis 19:1–38; 36:1–12 Exodus 17:8–14; 28:1–42; 34:15–16 Numbers 1:47–53; 3:11–13; 8:5–26; 18:21; 25:1–15 Deuteronomy 25:5–10; 25:17–19 Joshua 2:1–22; 6:22–25 Judges 4–5 Matthew 1:5–6

As I just told Miriam, we'll die a hundred times before the day finally comes if we give in to fear.

It was easy to rise up in faith and heroism when we faced a clear-cut enemy. It's much harder to resist the enemy of gradualism and assimilation, much harder to maintain a passion for God when we're bogged down in the daily routine of life.

Down Cut Shin Creek: The Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer.

That's absurd," I said with a little laugh. "Nobody can read too much. That's like saying someone breathes too much.

Faith don't come in a bushel basket, Missy. It come one step at a time. Decide to trust Him for one little thing today, and before you know it, you find out He's so trustworthy you be putting your whole life in His hands.

Happiness is something that comes from our own hearts, not from other people.

God] wants us to work with Him, honey. Not for Him.

I've seen spring come to the orchard every year as far back as I can remember and I've never grown tired of it. Oh, the wonder of it! The outrageous beauty! God didn't have to give us cherry blossoms you know. He didn't have to make apple trees and peach trees burst into flower and fragrance. But God just loves to splurge. He gives us all this magnificence and then, if that isn't enough, He provides fruit from such extravagance.

You pray. And you allow the Lord to be your strength. Remember the Lord doesn't give you strength. He is your strength.

Don't be fooled by strength you can see," he said at last. "Yahweh often hides His power in the simple things, the weak things, and so His strength seems foolish in man's eyes.

You know what I wish? I wish I could put time in a bottle and throw it into the ocean. Then I would have forever to spend with you. I wouldn't need air to breathe or food to eat. Holding you in my arms would be all the food I would need. Having your love would be the only air I would need to breathe.

Our trials are supposed to turn us toward God, but we whine and complain and wish someone would turn down the fire so we could have our old life back the way it was.

It takes less courage to end your life in a burst of glory than to face the mistakes you've made and start over.

Librarians are serious people, seldomgiven to idle jocularity. The reason for this, I believe, is because we are overwhelmed by the enormous number of good books waiting to be read, leaving little time for frivolity. My personal list of must-read books presents a daunting challenge; I can't even imagine the pressure our head librarian must be under.

Until Gettysburg," she continued, "I was working for the wrong reasons. At first it was to prove myself worthy in someone's eyes. Later it was out of guilt, trying to find atonement in God's eyes. But atonement is free, never earned. And I've learned that the only person I need to please with my life is God.