Inebriate My Heart

"Oh! that Thou wouldest enter into my heart, and inebriate it, that I may forget my ills, and embrace Thee, my sole good!"

Language of The Head And Heart

"My unexpected discovery was this: facts are the language of the head; story is the language of the heart. The language of the head encourages debate. The language of the heart encourages friendship."

-Tony Kriz, 'Neighbors and Wise Men'

But You Didn't Change Hearts!

"The social struggle in my day was very lively and intense, almost, I should say, as much so as in your own times. Everywhere there arose groups of men and women professing poverty and preaching poverty in the church and the renewal of society. But nothing changed, because these people did not change hearts. 

No, brothers and sisters, it is not enough to change laws. You have to change hearts. Otherwise, when you have completed the Journey of your social labour you shall find yourselves right back at the beginning only this time it is you who will be the arrogant, the rich, and the exploiters....."

You can reproach me, go ahead. But I saw, in the gospel, a road beyond, a path that transcended all cultures, all human constructs, all civilization and conventions. I felt the gospel to be Eternal; I felt politics and culture, including Christian culture, to be in time. I was made always to go beyond time. 

- Carlo carretto.  "I Francis"

I Rage At Injustice But My Own Heart Is Selfish

"I talk about love, forgiveness, social justice; I rage against American materialism in the name of altruism, but have I even controlled my own heart? The overwhelming majority of time I spend thinking about myself, pleasing myself, reassuring myself, and when I am done there is nothing to spare for the needy. Six billion people live in this world, and I can only muster thoughts for one. Me."

- Donald Miller. Blue Like Jazz. 

Where Is The Problem.

"The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest."

- Donald Miller. Blue Like Jazz.

Dry Hearts

"While sitting on the bank of a river one day, I picked up a solid round stone from the water and broke it open. It was perfectly dry in spite of the fact that it had been immersed in water for centuries. The same is true of many people in the Western world. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity; they live immersed in the waters of its benefits.  And yet it has not penetrated their hearts; they do not love it. The fault is not in Christianity, but in men's hearts, which have been hardened by materialism and intellectualism."

... Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929)

Calmness For Evil

"I love the people and their innocent sweetness, their calmness before blatant evil."

- Moritz Thomsen. The Saddest Pleasure: A Journey On Two Rivers.

My Courage Grew

"Despite my aching feet,my sense of winder continued to grow."

~ Bill Irwin. Blind Courage

Plow the Heart

"The human heart must be plowed much more deeply."

Dallas Willard. The Divine Conspiracy