Quotes from Janette Oke

I hope I never git so land hungry and money crazy thet I have no time fer God, family, or friends.

When he spoke, he illuminated a truth I had always yearned for and yet always run from. I am known as an authority on the holy texts, and yet when he spoke, I realized I knew nothing. And what I did know, I had cloaked in my own selfish interpretations. In so doing, I had turned the truth into lies.

Zadaka." That was it. The word literally meant a righteous gift. It had been the favorite term of Ezra's teacher, an invitation for the listener to do a certain thing, not to help the one asking, but rather to help himself. A zadaka was, in its purest form, an opportunity to bless the doer through a godly act.

Jesus told us that anyone can love a friend. Even the unbelievers do so, even the Romans. But we as believers are called to love our enemies." He paused and stared down at the floor. "I left that meeting a broken man.

Most observant Judeans were content to pray the morning and the evening services. The teachers often said that the afternoon prayers carried a greater sense of divine connection, because they were the hardest to observe. People could more easily find time to address the Holy One at the beginning and the end of each day, but to stop in the middle of activities and pray, this signified a special calling.

We must obey God rather than orders from men. Jehovah has raised Jesus from the dead and declared him the Messiah, to bring Israel to repentance. We are witnesses of all this, as is the Holy Spirit, the one God has given to those who obey.

I had been used to chatter. To sit quietly did not come easy. However, with time and patience, I was learning.

After some minutes, I went back to the Bible. Again my eyes skimmed the pages. My spirit was calm now. My trembling had ceased. I read passage after passage until I came to Psalm 27:14. I stopped and read it through again. "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.

She whispered, "What of love?" "Bah. Love is for poets and princes. For the likes of us, we must hope for a tomorrow without pain." Dorit must have seen the sorrow shadow Leah's eyes, for her voice gentled. "My little one, listen carefully to what I say. You must set such futile dreams of love and happiness aside. And you must plan.

People are more important than fussing over preparations. Why, I haven't even been good company for Wynn, I realized, looking back in humiliation over some of our last evenings spent together. Well, I would change that. After all, a marriage was of far more importance than a wedding.

I tried to drink a cup of tea, but my hands shook when I lifted the cup to my mouth. I was on the verge of tears, but I knew that tears would do no good. I fed the fire, I prayed, I walked the floor, I prayed, I read my Bible, I prayed; and somehow this even longer second day of storm passed by, hour by hour.

I clung to my Bible and prayed until I felt utterly exhausted. Mid-morning, after reading, weeping, and praying for what seemed like hours, I fell asleep. The long days and sleepless nights had taken their toll, and my body demanded some rest even if my mind fought against it.