Kevin DeYoung, speaking of the notion of “churchless Christianity”:
“It’s immaturity actually, like the newly engaged couple who think romance preserves the marriage, when the couple celebrating their golden anniversary know it’s the institution of marriage that preserves the romance.”
From the same article:
“Until we are content with being one of the million nameless, faceless church members and not the next globe-trotting rock star, we aren’t ready to be a part of the church.”
Stuart Schneiderman on modesty:
“Intimacy is not very intimate, it’s not even yours, when you offer it to everyone.”
and…
“I hate to use the word, but micro-minis seem to disempower women while maxi skirts seem to produce heightened self-respect. As the Times suggests, they seem to give women back their swagger.”
I can certainly attest to that. It seems that women have an innate desire for modesty–and when they wear clothing that flaunts it, they are supremely uncomfortable. At least among my students, the girls who are dressed in what I consider a completely inappropriate manner are just as prone (and more likely, in fact) to be self-conscious of the amount they’re exposing. These girls contort their bodies, fruitlessly attempting to not give the whole world a view up their skirt as they pick up a dropped pencil; they yank and pull at the backs of their shirts, trying not to show their backs and butt-cracks in the short tees and uber-low-rise pants. The modestly dressed girls, on the other hand, have a confidence that lets them do whatever they want. They’re not afraid of exposure–they know that they’re covered.
Billy Sunday, from Tim Challies:
“I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I’ve got a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old and fistless and footless and tootheless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition!”
Oh to be so gloriously…unrefined…about the fight against sin. Too often, I think I choose a more “debonair” approach–I’ll reason with sin, maybe even argue against it–but rarely do I fight sin with the intensity of a street-fight.
Tim Challies on longing for the immediate (without a mediator):
“We rejoice that God has accepted the mediation of his Son. We rejoice that we can approach the throne of God. But still we realize that there is a mediator. To speak to the Father, we speak through the Son. To hear from the Father, we rely on the Spirit. Still we need someone to stand between. Still we long for the im-mediate. We long to see God as he is. We long to approach him directly. We long to have the relationship fully and finally restored. We look in that dim mirror, always wishing we might see face-to-face.”
Oh, how I long for that day when I shall know fully even as I am fully known, when the mirror that illuminates but still obscures is taken away and I have opportunity to see Him face to face (I Cor 13:12). And the Spirit and the bride cry, “Come!”… Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Rev 22:17, 20)
From Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest:
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
I’ll admit that I didn’t just “come across” this quote in my reading. Instead, I’ve been thinking of it as I come to the end of a journal I’ve been using for about 5 months. I deliberately looked up the quote in order to include it here. But it does reflect where I’m at. Unlike Cecily Cardew, I don’t fabricate incidents for my journals, but sometimes I still manage to look back in amazement at the “sensational” stories they tell. This last five months has certainly been an adventure–trying, testing, trusting–but I must say I’ve had little time to read it as I’ve had few boring train trips. Instead, I am still amidst my adventure, still learning, and just about ready to start filling the pages of a new journal with the next installment of this thrilling story God is writing with my life.
Collect more quotes from throughout the week with Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”.
I thought that DeYoung article had a lot of good things to say, too. And I never thought of modesty from that standpoint, but it is true. One night we were on our way into a restaurant on what happened to be prom night, and there were several dressed-up couples and groups eating out as well. I was surprised that most of the girls were fairly modestly dressed, but one had on a bright red strapless mini dress. In just the few moments we saw her, she was constantly pulling up on the top of her dress so it wouldn’t go too low. I imagine she was in for a miserable night of constant adjustment.
Thanks for participating!
Yikes!! A lot of good quotes here!! I have just started a journal again and I have found it to be very refreshing. I had let blogging get in the way of this…..then I realized a journal is more personal and intimate and it really allows you time to reflect on life and living and what God is doing in my life as I record in a journal.
The bit on modesty is oh so true. I love the long dresses for comfort and for ease!
Had to chuckle on the quote from Tim–what a cool way to put it!
As far as the top quote on marriage—mmmm, I feel it is both. Romance and the institution hold it together! I read things that feed my romantic feelings and it spills out in our marriage. The romance has never gone and it does help the marriage. But the institution of marriage and the vows make one work on the marriage and marriage does take work!
Great quotes! I’d never thought about how immodesty disempowers women, either, but I can see how it’s true. It is worrisome when you can’t trust your top to stay up or your skirt to stay down!
I also love Billy Sunday’s quote. I’ve heard it many times over the years, having grown up a Baptist in the south, where sometimes the preaching is “unrefined” but often hits the nail on the head! ;)
Wow, that Billy Sunday quote! Powerful!
Thanks for sharing that one. Well, the other ones, too…but that one particularly spoke to me. :)