† > I

“It is better to be yourself and have no friends than to be like your friends and have no self.”

I would not trade the difficult years for all the prosperity in the world. God knows what each one of us must suffer in order to be conformed to the image of Christ.

“I have a list in my head of all the feelings I still want to feel before I die. And you have ticked so many things off that list.”

Every time you begin a new month ask yourself

This is so true. For the right person, you don't have to jump through hoops, bend over backwards and transform yourself into someone you don't recognize.

One reason God may seem hidden today is the simple fact of willful, unrepentant sin. “Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done” (Micah 3:4; cf. Deuteronomy 31:18; 32:20). Also, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Sometimes people miss evidence of God because of a refusal to believe (see Mark 6:1-6)—it’s hard to see when you refuse to open your eyes.