"If there are amazing graces on this earth, I believe that there are these good children sent to us by God and not yet soiled by the knowledge that their nation does not love them." Jonathan Kozol

I wanted to start this feature and obviously failed in this regard, so I am going to restart up my Mother Teresa Quote of the Week feature. I will try really hard to stick with it this time!

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." Mother Teresa

A friend of mine had an amazing quote by Mother Teresa up on her quote of the week last week. In case you haven't realized, Mother Teresa has many many good quotes, so I would like to introduce a new feature on my blog: Mother Teresa Quote of the Week.

When I run out of Mother Teresa quotes, I think I'll move to Martin Luther King Jr., then Gandhi, JFK, and so on and so forth, in no particular order, mind you. If you have any suggestions, be it a person, or a specific quote, drop it in the comments. I have a huge collection of quotes and have always found comfort in them.

Let's start out with a Mother Teresa classic and one quote we should all live by.


"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."


Growing up in the Mormon Church, I heard talks and lessons all the time about not judging people. I suspect a lot of people growing up active in a religion heard similar admonitions. But still, it's so difficult to not judge. I suspect it's one of those battles we never win.

"When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits I dreamed of
changing the world. As I grew older and wiser I discovered the world
would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to
change only my country. Bu it too seemed immovable. As I grew into my
twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing
only my family, those closest to me. But alas they would have none of
it. And now as I lie on my deathbed I suddenly realized: If I had only
changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.
From their inspiration and encouragement I would have been able to
better my country and, who knows, maybe even change the world."
-Unknown

I've most likely shared this quote before, but I love it so much, I'd like to share it again.

"When I tell any truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do." ~William Blake

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." ~Charles Dickens

"I know for sure that everything in life happens to help us live." Oprah

"God does not require that I succeed, only that I do what I can." Mother Theresa

"There comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who won't anymore, and who always will. So don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future." Anonymous

"It's hard to wait around for something that you know might not happen, but it's even harder to give up when you know it's everything you ever wanted."
-Author Unknown

Wordle is a website I discovered through Rosie O'Donnell's website. Go there and have some fun! Here is what I created using some of my favorite quotes!

"Someday soon, very soon in America, we will have a woman as president. And you know what that woman will say? 'I would not be here had it not been for Hillary Rodham Clinton."' Joel Klein

So today is April 13th and that means that in two days, I will be 27 years old. 27 feels so much older than 26 does. Can't explain it. My birthday will be pretty decent. I'll have to work the morning shift, which requires waking up at 4am and catching the 5am subway to D.C. I will have my physical therapy appointment after work and then I am meeting my friend, Paula, from NEW HAMPSHIRE, in D.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to see her. Paula has become a dear friend and I look up to her so much. I love my coworkers and they have all become friends, but it will truly be nice to spend some of my birthday with a non work related friend.

So, I think I've shared my favorite Rilke quote before, but I find it very fitting as I sit on the edge of a birthday and faced with many questions about my future:

"I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Do not search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." Rilke

"The children the world almost break become the adults who save it." Frank Warren from Postsecret.

Seems as though a troll named Kent likes to frequent my blog and leave comments. My blog, my rules-comment moderation is on. I find it really funny and ironic he won't make his blogger profile public so I don't even know who he is. I think he lives in Rigby though.

Kent, I left this for you before and will leave it for you again:

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind, do not matter, and those who matter do not mind." - Dr. Seuss

And all of the Idaho Dems I have spoken with today think it is hilarious that you state I have no credibility with Idaho Dems. How's the weather in la-la land, Kent?

Lastly, Kent, don't leave another comment on my blog again, or even make the attempt. You're behavior is bordering insanity and is pretty freaking creepy.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..." Jack Kerouac

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind, do not matter, and those who matter do not mind." - Dr. Seuss

"We are sixteen votes away in the Senate from ending this war. And so we need to keep turning up the pressure on all those Republican Congressmen and Senators who refuse to acknowledge the reality that the American people know so well. We will call them, and knock on their doors, and we will bring our troops home." Obama

I hope to be doing something this summer to help sway some votes...

how much I would love to blog about John Edwards, but I have other things on my mind. Things which have made me reflect on this quote from Bob Paris, "Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Thanks to a post at DU for reminding me about this.

“Eddie,” he said, “I’m a Democrat because I believe that party is more sensitive to the poor.”
(Pp. 16-18, “An Abundant Life: The Memoirs of Hugh B. Brown, Signature Books, 1988.)

Thanks to the Centerville Citizen for providing this quote.