"We are not called to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love." - Jean Vanier

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” - Stephen R. Covey

“Spending time with God is the key to our strength and success in all areas of life. Be sure that you never try to work God into your schedule, but always work your schedule around God.” - Joyce Meyer

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard

"The people I admire the most are the ones who fall and break and hurt and ache; yet still have the courage to rise once more." - April Green

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” - Mahatma Gandhi

It’s a beautiful morning in Auburn for early church at Auburn UMC. The Second Sunday after Pentecost. Hope everyone has a great day!

Love God. Love your neighbor. Love the beautiful diversity around you. Love the wounded world. Practice joy and justice. Trust. Tell the stories of faith over and over again. Create, imagine, envision. Be your most beautiful, welcoming selves. Don't be fake. -Diana Butler Bass

"Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks." - Philip Yancey

"Look for an opportunity to be kind today, however, wherever, whenever, and to whomever you can." - David Jeremiah

"Weaponizing the Bible always benefits those in power when in reality, the whole narrative of scripture is the liberation of the oppressed." - Brandi Miller

“The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find that fabulous things start to show up in your life.” - Mandy Hale

“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.” - Michel Legrand

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The only opportunity you will ever have to live by faith is in the circumstances you are provided this very day."- Eugene Peterson

“No amount of regretting can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future.” - Roy T. Bennett

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” - John Wooden

"It would seem that, quite possibly, the ultimate measure of health in any community might well reside in our ability to stand in awe at what folks have to carry rather than in judgment at how they carry it." - Gregory Boyle

“We cannot be too careful about the words we use; we start out using them and they end up using us.” - Eugene H. Peterson

"I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude." - Brene Brown

“We cannot expect life to be perfect. But we can expect to see life come from death. We can expect to see morning after night. We can expect that acceptance of the struggle will give rise to the victory over self.” - Joan Chittister

“The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds.” - Thomas Merton

"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." - Henri Nouwen

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." - Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird

“It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.” - W. C. Fields

“On Memorial Day, we remember all those who gave everything for something greater than themselves. It's up to us to not simply reflect on their sacrifice but to honor it with service of our own—and by living out the values they fought for.” - Barack Obama

"Don't worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth." - Dorothy Day

“God is with you; God is for you; God is pro ‘you’.” - Mike Foster

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” -Flannery O'Connor

“Religion is lived by people who are afraid of hell. Spirituality is lived by people who have been through hell and come out enlightened.” - Richard Rohr

“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.” – William James

"Choose being kind over being right and you'll be right every time." - Richard Carlson

“Have a big enough heart to love unconditionally, and a broad enough mind to embrace the differences that make each of us unique.” - D.B. Harrop

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”- Corrie ten Boom

“I bet you've seen the fundamentalist bumper sticker that says, “God said it! I believe it! That settles it!'" It must be a typo because what the driver really means is, "I said it! God believes it! That settles it!” - Robert Price

“When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It's all a matter of perspective.” - Harvey MacKay

“Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God's grace. And our best days are never so good that we are beyond the need of God's grace.” - Jerry Bridges

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." - John Wesley

“Each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we need to do is stop pounding on the door that just closed, turn around- and welcome the largeness of life that now lies open to our soul.” - Parker Palmer

“In every public square, we are called to be a people who affirm the humanity of all and act with the compassion of Jesus.” - Bishop Tracy S. Malone, President, United Methodist Council of Bishops

"Whenever religion shows contempt or disregards the rights of persons, even under the noblest pretexts, it draws us away from reality and God.” - Brennan Manning

"It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people." - John Wesley

“How do I have productive days with minimum drama? Simple; I mind my own business.” - Steve Maraboli

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them; the first time.” - Maya Angelou

“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.” - Eckhart Tolle

You should be known more by what you’re *for* than what you’re *against.* - Patrick Miller

You should be known more by what you’re *for* than what you’re *against.* - Patrick Miller

Good morning from early church at Auburn UMC. The Third Sunday of Easter. Hope everyone has a great day!

May the Fourth Be With You!

"In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.” - Henri Nouwen