Tag Archives: Author

12.09.16
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Five awesome quotes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

5-awesome-quotes-from-charles-dickens-2

If you’ve never had the opportunity to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I want to encourage you to do so this Christmas season.  We’ve all seen this story in one form or another on TV (my favorite version features the Muppets), but there are corners of the heart books seems to touch that films simply cannot.

Here are my five favorite quotes from the book:

1.

but-i-am-sure-i-have

That last part really hits me in the gut.  It’s both sad and encouraging.  We’re all “fellow-passengers to the grave,” so why show favoritism toward one person over another?

2.

they-were-not-a-handsome

One of the things I’ve been really learning from the Bible lately is that it is better to be content with what you have than to constantly want something else.  I mean, if you’re happy with what you have, why spend so much time and energy struggling after something you don’t need, something that won’t bring you satisfaction?

3.

i-wear-the-chain

This one’s all about personal accountability.  We can choose what we want our lives to be, and what our lives consist of in this life will ultimately impact what our lives are like in the next.  We’re either building chains for ourselves, or breaking them through the power of Christ.  Which are you doing?

4.

mens-courses

I love this thought!  As long as we have breath in our lungs, it’s not too late to change.  It’s not too late to become a better parent.  It’s not too late to change how we treat our spouses.  It’s not too late to put your faith in Jesus.  It’s not too late, and though you may have built up many chains for yourself, if you change course and turn to Christ you can leave all of those chains behind, forever!

5.

some-people-laughed

This is an attitude I aspire to have.  Who cares if people laugh at you for doing good?  Who cares if people mock you for turning down a better path?  Do what is right, what is best, and let men chatter while you live at peace.

06.10.16
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Pithy is powerful

hway8According to legend, Ernest Hemingway was once eating a meal with some fellow writers when he bet all of them $10 that he could write an entire novel in six words.  Six words!  It seems ridiculous at first, which is why the other writers were probably pretty quick to take up his offer.  Hemingway then took his pen to a napkin and wrote these chilling words:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

He then passed the napkin around the table and, one at a time, each of the writers payed up.

This story about Hemingway, it turns out, is nothing more than a legend, but it proves an important point: pithy can be powerful.  You don’t have to be long-winded to make an impact with your speech or writing.  Preachers don’t have to spend hours and hours drawing out every little detail of a story, because the human imagination is powerful.  Allowing it to fill in the blanks actually adds more color to a story than a communicator could ever add on his own.

In the economy of words, less is more.

Jesus seems to have understood this.  Some of the sermons we consider the most powerful ever spoken are just a few sentences long.  Like Hemingway, Jesus got to the heart of the issue in a quick and memorable way.  His use of parables and short imagery allowed him to paint a broader picture without wasting his breath.

If you are a communicator by trade this kind of thing might really interest you, but what if you’re more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person?  Well, in Matthew 6, Jesus also told us the word count on our prayers doesn’t affect whether or not they’ll be answered:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

The Bible also encourages us to be better listeners than orators, and seems to suggest those that fail to listen well are more likely to be angry people too.  James writes, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Proverbs 17 suggests the same, saying, “A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.”  It also goes on to say even fools seem intelligent when their mouths are shut!

So be wise and learn to do the same.  Listen well, allowing your thoughts be well-formed before they leave your mouth, your keyboard, or whatever.  And when you do speak, remember an entire novel can be written in six words!