Quotes from Lysa TerKeurst

And we'd both agree this isn't how it should be. This life between two gardens is confusing and complicated. Dust is messy. We don't even like to touch dust, especially if it's made up of the shattered pieces of our own hearts.

And if we ground ourselves in the reality that we trust God, we can face circumstances that are out of our control without acting out of control. We can't always fix our circumstances, but we can fix our minds on God. We can do that.

So the human heart was created in the context of the perfection of the garden of Eden. But we don't live there now. This is why our instincts keep firing off the lie that perfection is possible. We have pictures of perfection etched into the very DNA of our souls.

Why doesn't Jesus work for me?" is never the right question. Instead, when circumstances shift and we feel like we fall short, we should ask, "How can I see Jesus even in this?

We can't live in an alternate reality and expect what's right in front of us to get better.

But weeping with them and rejoicing with them does not mean trying to take control of their out-of-control choices and behaviors. We can forgive them. But we cannot control them. And we should not enable them.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

How many times have I claimed to be a woman of faith but rarely lived a life requiring faith?

Friendships are like plowed open fields ready for growth. What we plant is what will grow. If we plant seeds of reassurance, blessing, and love, we reap a great harvest of security.

How a woman thinks is often how she lives.

He is jealous for you. He is jealous for me. The fullness of His love and lavish acceptance is the only match for the rejections we will experience. And He absolutely doesn't want us making other relationships the false gods of our worship. As we seek love and acceptance, God doesn't want us to test Him; He wants us to trust Him.

Labels start out as little threads of self dissatisfaction but ultimately weave together into a straightjacket of self-condemnation