HOPE
Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul. Emily Dickinson
Hope is like a road in the country. There never was a road, but when many people traveled it, it came into existence. Lyn Yutang
Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate. G. K. Chesterton
There is always hope when people are forced to listen to both sides. John
Stuart Mill
CHANGE
Change means something good is coming, — even if I don’t yet understand all it will mean. Joe Sherer, Missionary Messenger, November 2011
Until God opens the next door, praise him in the hallway. Orebela Gbenga
PROGRESS
You’ll be amazed how much distance you can cover taking [life] in increments. Little things add up; inches turn to miles, We string together our efforts like so many pearls, and before long . . . you have a whole string!”
Staying the Course by B. J Gallagher quoted in Wednesday, October 12, 2013 entry in Daily Devotional: The Word for You Today
DISTANCE
“Distance lends enchantment to the view,” explaining why events of our youth are enveloped in such a rosy cloud. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Ozarks
Travel helps one see “how [American] ways look from a distance.” Molly Hughes, A London Family (1870-1900)
STRESS-BUSTER
“. . . concentrate on breathing to quell the mind’s restless forays into the past and future.” Geoffrey Cowley, “Stress-Busters: What Works” Newsweek, June 14, 1999.
Try to let go of being in a state of readiness. Yoga instructor, October 2, 1999.
NIGHT-CAP
Have courage in the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. Victor Hugo
‘Tis the Season:
from It’s a Wonderful Life. Clarence the Angel leaves a reminder for George Bailey: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”
Add a quote or respond to one you’ve just read. I look forward to your comments! And I will always reply.
Below is the link to my entry in the Gutsy Story Contest now in progress on the website of awarding-winning memoirist Sonia Marsh:
My Gutsy Story: Rising Above the Pettiness to Focus on the Positive
Plain and Fancy 
Under the category of DISTANCE, I’ll submit my own quote. As a minimalist (who likes to cover a lot of ground), I’m fond of saying, “Travel light, travel fast.”
Marian – I love your gutsy story! I’m trying to vote for you but see “checkboxes” by four other people’s names (to the right side of your headshot). Can you point the way?
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Thanks for the addition to “Distance,” Laurie. It makes sense at this stage of our lives.
About the Gutsy story. I don’t think you missed out on the vote. New gutsy stories are featured each week and then all voted on at the end of the month, in this case December. But I will check with Sonia just to make sure of the procedure. I appreciate your interest and intention to vote. Such a confidence-builder you are. A huge thank you!
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Marian – I’ll keep checking each week until I see your name in the sidebar.
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I checked with Sonia, and here is her reply: I forgot your story is a December 2nd, story, not a November story. As we still have four more Mondays in December, 9,16,23,30th, the voting for your story doesn’t start until January 2nd, and ends on January 15th. The winner for December stories is announced on January 16th.
So, no worries, you haven’t missed boat. Again, I’m so happy your own story will appear in the next “Gutsy” anthology–congratulations!
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Whoohoo! Thank you for letting me know, I appreciate it.
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Yes, God is always awake. 🙂
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And aren’t we glad!
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I’m loving these quotes, Marian, and I see a great advantage to you of doing this. By putting them all in one place on your website, you not only make your joys visible to your readers, but you make them accessible to yourself. You can search your own site and locate quotes you know you have saved here. Great idea! As you write your book, you’ll have a place for both re-inspiration but also retrieval.
Bette Middler’s “From a Distance” really struck me as beautiful when it first came out. You put me in the mood to listen to it again. I know I can go into my iTunes and find it. Retrieval, it’s a wonderful thing.
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Re-inspiration and retrieval, hmmm. The word “Beatrice” does not add to the alliteration, but that is exactly what you are to me as a blogger and as a person. A huge Thank You from your “praise for the pilgrim who plods” along.
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Bette Midler’s signature song would be a good one to download. By the way, Cliff features it as one of the pieces in his “Sharing Brotherhood” performance.
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“Praising God in the hallway” … Love that quote! It’s even more important when we realize how much time we spend in the hallways of life!
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Someone has said, “Life is lived forwards but understood backwards,” but I wonder about that. At times it all seems a mystery, so we praise Him as we acknowledge His sovereignty. Never easy though!
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What lovely shots and inspiring quotes.
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Thanks for noticing. I hope you will visit again. My Purple Passages item appears every month, but I post twice I week. If you like Downton Abbey, tomorrow’s post (December 11) will feature our foray into the sights and sounds of Season 4 of the premiere at our PBS station in downtown Jacksonville.
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Lovely quotes, Marian. One chapter in my book begins with “Hope is a Thing with Feathers” and I wrote a piece from this poem for a hospice publication. So many other quotes I did not know, but I do now. Thank you so much. I didn’t get too far with your more recent post since I don’t watch TV–not because I’m pure, but because I have hearing problems so save listening for human to human contact and prefer to read. Thanks for these inspiring words–and I left a comment on your gutsy experience. (Toilets look luxurious compared to some I unhappily experienced in India.)
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For sure, I MUST read your book. Thanks so much for your comment on the My Gutsy Story website. Because this is a contest, I will alert readers to the voting in January.
I love seeing your smiling face online. You are a brave, creative soul!
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