I’ve been doing a lot of reading this week and I thought it would be good to post some of the quotes that have made me think 🙂

1. I read these on a Christian Aid appeal email. They are stark reminders of the suffering of our Syrian brothers and sisters:

‘If you help us, we will have a chance.’

‘If they bomb me [in Syria] I would die immediately. Here, it is a slow death.’

-Both quotes from Nasrin, a Syrian refugee. To give to the appeal go to https://www.christianaid.org.uk/secure/syria-crisis-2013.aspx?MC_approach=A016648&MC_fund=F010508&amount=

I am hoping to interview someone from an Aid organisation about the Syrian crisis in the next few days – so keep your eyes peeled for that special post! You can also find a lot of information on the Christian Aid website.

2. A quote from Just Courage by Gary A. Haugen, published by IVP Books:

‘Are we raising our children to be safe or brave? Are we raising our children to be smart or loving? Are we raising them to be successful or significant?’

Something to think about – not just for parents but for all of us. What are the qualities we respect and value most?

3. A prayer by Anselm, an eleventh-century monk, as quoted by Beth Moore in Stepping Up:

‘I do not seek, O Lord, to penetrate thy depths. I by no means think my intellect equal to them: but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe, that I may understand.’

I’m still mulling this one over, but I think it reiterates that faith is about relationship, and healthy relationships involve all three of love, trust and understanding.

4. As relevant and poignant today as it was when Martin Luther King first said it:

‘The question is not whether we will be extremists but what kind we will be. Where are the extremists for love and grace?’

Hope you’ve found these as thought-provoking, and perhaps also action-provoking, as I did.