“If I can summarize Calvin’s teaching on prayer succinctly, I would say this: The chief rule of prayer is to remember who God is and to remember who you are. If we remember those two things, our prayers will always and ever be marked by adoration and confession.”

R.C. Sproul

Emphasis mine.

HT: Justin Taylor

“‘I am in favour of leaving people alone, however imperfect their polity may seem. It appears to me that you must not tell other nations how to set their house in order; nor must you compel them to be happy.’”

Patrick O’Brian

“A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent”

William Blake

“I am not of the opinion that all the arts shall be crushed to earth and perish through the gospel as some bigoted persons pretend, but would willingly see all and especially music, servants of Him who gave and created them.”

Martin Luther

“In short, I think there are powers and mysteries at work in the world that can only be expressed through fairy tales. Fairy tales allow us to cast nets into mystery and catch things that are otherwise inexpressible. Tolkien said that fairy tales can give us a glimpse of our eventual redemption in a way no other story can.

At its best, fantasy provides us with an escape from the narrow, restrictive perspectives of modernism. And with its emphasis on the primal, it returns us to engagement with the elements, with the stuff of rocks and trees and fire and rivers and mountains. Since those elements of creation “pour forth speech,” according to the Psalmist, we’re able to hear some things more clearly when we meditate there.

But fantasy can be destructive, too. I’ve seen people who are dissatisfied with their lives attracted to the violence, to sorcery, to the ideas of tremendous power that are celebrated in some fantasy stories. I’ve watched people become severely irresponsible, abandoning engagement with their own world in order to indulge in fantasy role-playing games or non-stop fantasy media. Fantasy is dangerous territory and it demands discernment.”

Jeffrey Overstreet

From this excellent interview, by Jenni Simmons, with this outstanding author.

Raven’s Ladder releases today! Go here to buy this book. I loved it, for what it’s worth.

Note: If you haven’t read the first two books, Auralia’s Colors, and Cyndere’s Midnight, get them first.

“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.”

Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

HT: Ron Block

“The great thing with unhappy times is to take them bit by bit, hour by hour, like an illness. It is seldom the present, the exact present, that is unbearable. Remember one is given strength to bear what happens to one, but not the 100 and 1 different things that might happen.”

C.S. Lewis, Letter to An American Lady

HT: B. Smith

And that’s another reason to love him.

“He loved the wisdom of the ages, not the whimsy of the passing present. He called himself a Neanderthaler and a dinosaur. He didn’t read newspapers. He never wore a watch. He never learned to type. He did not own or drive a car. He cared nothing about cutting a good appearance and wore the same old clothes until they were threadbare. He was incredibly free from the addicting powers of the present moment.”

John Piper

HT: Justin Taylor

“I can think of nothing that an audience won’t understand. The only problem is to interest them; once they are interested, they understand anything in the world.”

Orson Welles

Probably not, but here it is anyway. I guess this is the most memorable for how deeply connected to it I feel, and how true it is (in the story, and in reality). This from Theophilus Msimangu, a beautiful character from a lovely book.

“I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me.”

Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country