words, words, words

My friends know I like words--books, movies, tea bag quotes, graffiti, lyrics--word, words, words. Which is why I may have an obsession with quotes. There is something about words put together nicely, in a way that commands attention and provokes emotion, that never fails to fascinate me.

I find myself reading King Lear and wondering what inspired Shakespeare to write, “The worst returns to laughter.” Or Dickens writing in A Tale of Two Cities, “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!” Jane Austen in her novel Persuasion, “She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequence of an unnatural beginning." Lord Tennyson, “Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untravel'd world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move…” Thoreau, “There is no remedy for love but to love more.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "How can a man wax arrogant if in this life he shares the suffering of God?" Amy Carmichael: “Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.” Jason Upton, "Stop chasing a somebody to become a somebody, but instead chase a nobody and tell them they are a somebody."

The list goes on and on of people whose heads I would like to get inside of for a moment. Yet I must settle for using my imagination to lead me into the stories behind these words that are now considered "quotes".

All these words aided in shaping my life in various ways. They've gotten into me and stayed in my heart--to the point that on certains days I feel like I can hear them being whispered as I walk. Mother Theresa stating, “Peace begins with a smile.” Audrey Hepburn, “I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." Jeff Tweedy, “Let’s turn our prayers into outrageous dares.” Banksy, “Speak softly but carry a can of paint.” Samwise Gamgee, my fictional hero, "there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.' Mark Twain, "Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."


And what was going on with Charlie Kauffman when he wrote in Synecdoche New York, “But while alive, you wait in vain, wasting years, for a phone call or a letter or a look from someone or something to make it all right. And it never comes or it seems to but it doesn't really. And so you spend your time in vague regret or vaguer hope that something good will come along. Something to make you feel connected, something to make you feel whole, something to make you feel loved.” I want to give that character a hug—although there are also days when I feel exactly that way but don’t want to admit to it.

How about the lovely Lewis, “The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back." Or Buechner, that theologian, writer, seer, who wrote beautiful things like, “Every once in a while life can be very eloquent.” Or my man Wilde, “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.” Ah the fabulous Jewish theologian and philosopher Abraham HEschel, “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people." The often tormented yet honest Van Gogh, “In both figure and landscape … I want to get to the point where people say of my work: that man feels deeply, that man feels keenly.” My favorite poet Robert Browning, "Dante, who loved well because he hated, Hated wickedness that hinders love..." President Thomas Jefferson, “Every generation needs a new revolution.”

King Charles, my favorite musician at the present moment, “The fulfillment of beauty has to be love; the fulfillment of love has to come from above.” Brian Andreas, “Anyone can slay a dragon ...but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again. That's what takes a real hero. " Or my favorite line from any of Ingrid’s songs, “They say you’re really not somebody, until somebody else loves you. Well I am waiting to make somebody somebody, sooooon.” Jon Foreman, "Darkness cannot cast out darkness. You need a light for that. Fear cannot cast out fear. You're gonna need hope for that... death warrants more death. But I believe life wants more life and I'm convinced that the greatest weapon we've got is LOVE! And maybe, in a world full of fighters, in a world imploding with hate, maybe to be a lover, you gotta be a fighter. Maybe that's the biggest fight, the only fight worth fighting, the fight you're gonna be in for the rest of your life." Kris Vallotton, "Our greatest destiny lies on the other side of fear."


The prophet Isaiah,"I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places. So that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Or the Proverbs—words that I hope will grow in my heart and mark my life…”Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.” Jesus, the One whose words I hope come to mean more to me than any others…”love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Paul saying that the Kingdom is about love, and that love, “hopes all things, believes all things…”

These words are not just ink on a page or words blowing aimlessly in the wind. They are alive. They mark me, seep into me, give me stamina for this journey. They make me want to live differently, more fully. In those who crafted these words I find heroes. I find mentors. I find inspiration. I find…friends.

And lately it's been the friends who are around me in the present whose words have brought me to places of crazy fascination. Who they are [and are becoming] and the depth of their love leaves me, this apparent lover of words, totally unable to give an adequate description to how blessed I am to know them. I’m realizing how thankful I am for them—for their friendship, their character, their insight, their love.

So here are a few (although not all) samples of quotes from my friends.

“no matter how many bizillion, articles of clothing you have you never cease to steal from me. you could, in fact, be the true fashionista under cover.”
-Brianna

“I got your back, girl.” –Ashley

“Different loves call for different punctuation. Some are shouted with joy and others are whispered with intensity and thought. And there are others that happen under a laugh and a smile.” –Nathan

“Remember you’re a beloved daughter of the most high king!” –Brittany

“The words to the chorus are few, but the only ones that matter dear are I LOVE YOU.” -Brittany

“Stop and smell the roses. Literally.” –Misty

“I love you and sleep well and know that you are loved. And it’s going to be ok. It’s not as bad as you think.” –Jordan (after I set off the alarm system while baby-sitting)

“Tonight at bedtime, Amber prayed, ‘Thank you for loveliness.’” –Ashley

"Do you really think we need to have 'revival convergence' meetings in order for revival to come? We have just created another culture instead of changing what we live in." -Ashley

“We just need to travel somewhere and find these doors.” –Kelcey

“I love you! i am so so very glad you exist!” –Morgan

“So I stood in front of the mirror testing out Pidge's theory....it's true....” -Heather

“Be confident that God is moving you forward. You’re not a wanderer. You’re on the right path at the right time.” –Danielle

“Caitlin, you should train for the Olympics!” –Debbie

“Purity is essential. And what's really going on is that you are just waiting for everybody to catch up.” –Austin

"Caitlin, I was watching 'Say Anything' and part of her reminded me of you. I hope you get a Lloyd Dobbler. You deserve one more than anyone else I know." -Audrey (I still have no idea what this means...i probably need to see the movie:-)

“You only get one first love.” -Thierry

“That’s the stuff of legends.” –Ashley A.

“You need a banjo.” –Bill Hugill

“Zombies and grotesque creatures are always a great way to start facebook conversations, you know. You should try it sometime.” –Phil

“Why are you so down? You got this!” -Brook

Yes, I know amazing people. This collection is constantly expanding….