Great Quotes from Leaf

Life has felt overwhelming this week, as we’ve had some big decisions coming down the pike that I can articulate more later… but this explains my blogging absence!

Last week I had my first opportunity to coach for a development process offered by our company called Leadership Evaluation And Formation. It was fine fare for the soul, and I learned at least as much as I contributed! Here are some of my favorite quotes from the week, most of them spoken by Bruce Edstrom who joined us for the week. (You may remember hearing his name before—he was one of our coaches for our own experience of LEAF last May.)

“There are two rules in life. You don’t get to create reality, only enter it. You don’t get to decide who you are, only discover who He made you to be.”

“I am sobered by the depth of my depravity; I am awed by the depth of His redemption”

“To be truly present with a person, you must learn to hear beyond the static in your own heart.”

“Every night, you surrender to sleep. God requires that everyday we become “dead”, releasing control of our breathing, our mental activity, our consciousness. And so in our spiritual life. Do you know what you must release in order to be at rest? You will not learn to rest until you are able to name it.”

“Coping mechanisms" are simply ways that people deceive themselves.”

“The undisturbed heart lives life as it should to stay away from life as it is.”

“Relief is not rest.” Relief is escape from what is true. Rest is lived in the midst of what is true.”

“You move into brokenness when you will do anything to be set free. Do you want to be free more than you want to be successful? More than you want to be liked? More than you want to be safe? More than you want to belong? More than you want to win?”

“The pre-requisite for a good counselor is, do they know the part of them that hates God? Do they believe there is no goodness in them apart from Christ? What you offer someone is dictated by the roads you’ve traveled with God in your own heart. A counselor who knows this part of them can offer true understanding, true compassion, true grace.”

“Let your sin surprise you. The sin that you’ve hunted down won’t change you. You will change when the Healer becomes more important than getting rid of your leprosy. I hope you begin to see your leprosy so clearly that you give up trying to reform. The best thing you can do is side with the Father against your old man.”

Next time I’ll share a few of my personal take-aways, which I am still processing!