"Kindness is going out of your way to perform favors regarded as wonderful by the recipient."

"Far more important than the tribulations and heartaches, the thrills, merriment, and pleasures of life is what you learn from it all. It isn't the tunnel we pass through that matters, it's what emerges on the other side."

"Obsessing over something that has jarred your world is called coping."

"If you avoid all of life's abrasions you will never be polished enough to shine."

"Children rarely follow parental advice unless it is acted out repeatedly. It's called being an example."

"I am accountable for every lie that I tell, but I am also accountable for the effects of every harsh truth I deliver."

"Wanting help, I reached out to serve. Seeking happiness, I smiled and offered comfort. Yearning for love, I showed love. And now I understand. My life was never about me, it was always about you."

"We hunger after the sweet nectar of happiness without understanding that it is harvested from the flowering field of good deeds."

"Hope is a fire more ravenous than the flames of temptation. For if only a portion of it poisons your veins, it is enough to make you stand against ridiculous odds again and again and again."

"Reality depends a great deal upon one believing what he sees-or seeing what he believes. Either way."

"Life is mental, it's all about attitude. The majority of it is lived in your head."

"No misery compares to staring at a clear night's sky with arms stretched toward a coveted star, wishing on what is forever out of reach."

"The world seems to want us to be sad and angry because bad things frequently happen. But I say we should feel the opposite. We should be happy and cheerful because good things happen. We should be delighted to see the sun rise and stars glow and rainbows color stormy skies. We should savor every simple breath and eat each meal with gratitude. We should slumber in sweet dreams and relish moments of laughter and love. We should take more notice of the joys and kindnesses that do exist, still dictating the actions of millions of good people all over the world. Life is filled with pleasant moments, not just grief. We should be happy because this is true."

"To love her was to taste sweet surrender. For had she not entered his life, he would have sought the wonders of both Heaven and Earth. But she surpassed them all and, by her pleasing nature, stayed him."

"I am but the reflection in your eyes, the effect of your expressions, and the sum of your praise and criticism."

"The reality is that doing good unto others actually does more good for you."

"I'm not saying that I think one man is better than the other. I'm not saying that either is kinder or wiser or more ambitious, more thoughtful, confident, or able. But the fact is that when I'm with the one, comfort settles into my bones. I feel calm around him, as if the sun is smiling down on me and the world has suddenly become a sweet, safe place to be. I feel good about life-about myself. And it's hard not to want to be near someone who, just by their very nature, makes you feel that way."

"I'm convinced that whatever contains human emotions is composed of the most fragile material, for it can shatter unpredictably and without effort. And yet it is a resilient marvel as well, able to mend instantly as though never affected."

"You can capture this body of mine, take away my freedom and enslave me. You may even have the power to capture my soul and sentence me to the realm of eternal darkness. But my dreams you cannot touch. They are my will-the very essence of who I am. In them I laugh. In them I cry. In them I love. And in them.....I live.My dreams are untouchable and unceasing."

"To laugh continually is to never laugh at all. For it takes the periodic sound of sorrow from which to distinguish the sound of joy."

"The moon is my fear.The sun is my heart afire.The stars, my love songs."

"Evil exists in this world because it has its place. For had you never sat blindly through the darkness of night, your eyes wouldn't turn toward the sunrise to appreciate its warmth and illumination."

"The real me isn't someone you see but someone you know."

"Consider guilt like a street sign that warns of rough roads ahead if you don't make a u-turn."

"This day is the most recent set of events to define you. Every day changes your life. Every last one."

"What is more powerful than the love of a mother? Perhaps only God's hand in answering her earnest pleadings on your behalf."

"Rather than critique people, try admiring God's creative handiwork."

"People think kindness is a soft, weak, submissive influence when in reality it is the most potent, persuasive force in existence."

"A Halloween flower,if ever there was one,would smell like an onion,have thorns like a rose.With charcoal black petalsand vines that entangle,t'would grow under moonlightin mud, I suppose."

"The key to valuing something is to lose it and then realize how rare it was-after which you pray like mad to regain what you foolishly lost. The value of an item often depends upon how hard it is to attain."

"Beauty is a behavior. As is ugliness."

"If every day you were to walk past the same individual and ignore him, never smiling or saying hello or returning any kind gesture he extended toward you, would you expect that same individual to readily respond if suddenly you were to implore his helping hand? Then don't ignore God. Say 'hello' now and then."

"It was God who gave a man's rib to a woman. But it is man who must learn to give away his heart and never take it back."

"When you begin to care too much about what everyone else says, your confidence shrinks and you start to feel like insignificant, little Jack in a strange land of intimidating giants. But when you come to realize that opinions are as diverse and plentiful as dried beans, you might reach the conclusion that your own is of the greatest worth. That's when your confidence grows, and soon you find yourself striding like Gandalf the wondrous wizard among common hobbits in the shire. Respecting your own opinion is the magic that transforms both you and your world."

"Understand that great accomplishments require great effort. If a goal is achieved without effort, it is no accomplishment but a mere happening."

"The soft heart is not a thing to harden but a treasure to protect. For soft hearts extend mercy, compassion, refuge, and God's redemption to the world."

"Freedom is the atmosphere in which humanity thrives. Breathe it in."

"As a child, I once suffered a bad fall that resulted in scratched palms and scraped knees. I remember how badly it stung, the cold air hitting my bleeding wounds; I felt that I couldn't stand up for the pain. Through a veil of tears, I recall a kind hand reaching for me and helping me to my feet. My knees and palms were washed clean, and I remember thinking that for the rest of my life, I wanted to help people stand back up."

"Father always said that money doesn't grow on trees. Well, time doesn't grow on trees either."

"When you do fall in love with me, Eena, I don't want it to be because I gave into your demands, but because your heart gave into its desire to truly be loved. With an injured frown he uttered goodnight and left the room. She stood alone, chastised and bruised. It seemed right to apologize for her insensitive words, but not now. Not while a room full of people remained out there."

"Some books mirror reality while others are entirely fantasy. My favorite are those that manage to weave both into a world."

"Extraordinary power exists in a trial of patience. Few endure their trials well enough to discover this."

"I love words. I crave descriptions that overwhelm my imagination with vivid detail. I dwell on phrases that make my heart thrum. I cherish expressions that pierce my emotions and force the tears to spill over. In essence, I long for a writer's soul sealed in ink on the page."

"The hero isn't the one who is right, but the one who steps forward to take the blame-deserved or not-and apologize to save a relationship."

"Heroes don't have the need to be known as heroes, they just do what heroes do because it is right and it must be done."

"Life is not about having perfect days. Life is not about handling days perfectly. Life is about perfecting one's character through the having and handling of every given day."

"Sound.Noisethe air employs.Melodies sweet.Tweet, tweet, tweet.Soft. Loud.A roaring crowd.Cluck. Caw. Crow.Tet, tet. Tis, tis.Guttural growl.Harrowing howl.Drip, drip, drip.Tap, tap, tap.Moan and groan.Endless drone.Ding, dang, dong.A church bell song.Vibrations in my earto hear.Sound."

"Fear is the devil's most powerful tool because he can't always convince a good man to do wrong, but he can paralyze his will with fright, keeping a good man from doing what is right. It eventually results in the same end."

"The sun, rising and setting in splendid colors, never grows tired of its admirers-much like a lady, aglow with grace, never grows tired of chivalrous acts or pretty flowers."

"Words never fade away but echo on for eternity. Let your echo ring sweet."