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Quotations I love: Five quotations about thankfulness

Lynne Baab • Thursday December 29 2016

“A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues.”—Cicero (106-43 BCE)

Another year will draw to a close in a few days, and the self-help magazines are full of ideas for New Year’s resolutions. I wonder why the recommended task of the last week of year focuses on looking ahead in the area of self-improvement, rather than looking back at the past year for the purpose of thankfulness.

I’ve started this post with a quotation that dates from a long, long time ago in order to show that the significance of thankfulness was recognized, at least by one person, in the ancient...

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Quotations I love: The Jerusalem Talmud on enjoying good things

Lynne Baab • Wednesday October 26 2016

Everyone must render an account before God of all the good things he beheld in life and did not enjoy. —The Jerusalem Talmud

I find it quite challenging to accept the notion that we have some sort of responsibility before God to enjoy the good things of life. For most of my adult life, I’ve had an inner dialogue running through my brain along these lines: “How can I truly enjoy this wonderful event when 22,000 children will die today of the effects of hunger?” [1] “How can I relish this beautiful weather when 11.4 million Syrians are displaced from their homes?”...

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Quotations I love: Thomas Merton on our transparent world

Lynne Baab • Thursday October 6 2016

"Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true." —Thomas Merton

I love the idea of a transparent world. I love thinking about ways I can see God’s character, beauty and creativity “shining through” the things, people and events of our world. But I’m not wild about the word “divine.” I looked up the word, and found two definitions: (1) like God and (2) very pleasing, delightful. This makes me wonder if “divine” is...

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Quotations I love: regret and fear are thieves

Lynne Baab • Friday September 16 2016

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” Fulton Oursler, American Journalist (1893-1952)

I love the metaphor of the thieves. Engaging in regret for the past or fear of the future is like a thief sweeping through our mind stealing important things. What gets stolen when regret and fear dominate our thoughts? Joy in the present. The ability to see God’s hand at work. Gratitude for good gifts. Hope for the future based in God’s goodness.

The quotation highlights three challenges: (1) to see the past with faith and gratitude, (2) to see...

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