My Favorite Lines 

“In the Company of Others” by Jan Karon

(Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh and his wife go on vacation to Ireland)

I read "In the Company of Others" by Jan Karon while on vacation and here are my favorite lines in the book......

• Where Christ is, cheerfulness will keep breaking in.
• One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
• It’s just life - quirky and scary and lovely and immense.
• Really listening to someone is a very tender and generous gift.
• Petition God for the grace to adopt a more agreeable attitude toward the day at hand.
• There’s no such thing as bad weather — only the wrong clothes.
• Create in me a clean heart, oh, God, renew a right Spirit within me.  Clean me out, fill me up, please.
• As a curate, he’d tried using words against tears, yet something he thought wise often came out as banal.  Later, he learned to be silent, praying.
• I wouldn’t have minded bein’ poor if I hadn’t been so short of cash.
• He offered the smile he relied on when parishioners commented on his sermon and he realized they’d heard something entirely different from what he’d said.
• Since when do we know where anything might lead?
• There’s nothing so bad it couldn’t be worse.
• “Never waste a crisis,” said Albert Schweitzer.
• Thank you for hearing me yesterday; it is a great gift to be heard.  You really listened, and your prayer - I shall always remember it.  I felt I was starving unto death, and it fed me.
• One pays a price always for what is loved.
• A little fire that warms, is better than a big fire that burns.
• I remember the day he called me at the church office and said, “Preacher, I done fell off a twelve-foot ladder.”   “Good Lord,” I said, “did you hurt yourself, any bones broken?”  “No, sir,” he said, “not a dent.  I only fell off the bottom rung.”
• Wounded people use a lot of smoke and mirrors, they thrust the bitterness and rage out there like a shield.  Then it becomes their banner, and finally, their weapon.  
• There’s no quick fix.  It’s all in increments, the same way roses grow.
• There’s just no way to deal with their suffering, except through love.
• I feel your time would be the greatest gift you could give her. 
• Ask God every day to give you the wisdom and courage to be all He made you to be - for your spouse, for yourself, for Him.
• Pray for your spouse.  You’re a team - think like a team.
• When I find myself in the cellar of affliction, I always look about for the wine.
• God does not humiliate the righteous.  He may fire us in the kiln to make us vessels, crush us like grapes so we become wine - - but he never humiliates.
• Love is an endless act of forgiveness.  Over and over again.  
• Fear pulls you away from peace.
• We all need the company of others.