Happy Mother’s Day

We Love MomsHere are a dozen of my favorite Mother’s Day quotes…

“All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.” —Abraham Lincoln

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” —Tenneva Jordan

“I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine—she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.” —Adabella Radici

“My mom is a never-ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.” —Graycie Harmon

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” —Elizabeth Stone

Augustine wrote in Confessions that his mother Monica “wept to God for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son.” In the midst of her prayers, Monica shared her concerns with Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and he said, “It cannot be that the son of those tears be lost.”

“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” —Abraham Lincoln

“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” —George Washington

“The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!” ―Charles Spurgeon

“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley

“Your motherhood is in God’s sight holier and more blessed than you realize.” —Andrew Murray 

“To be a mother is the greatest vocation in the world. No being has a position of such great power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations, for to her is necessarily committed the making of the nation’s citizens.” —Hannah Whitall Smith

4 Quotes By & About George Washington In “Humility”

HumilityI thoroughly enjoyed Dr. David Bobb’s book Humility (you can read my full book review by clicking here). The book was partially a challenge for us to cultivate this virtue in our individual lives and in the fabric of our nation. So Dr. Bobb uses several biographies of notable Americans to illustrate the power of humility. These are some quotes by and about George Washington.

“In [George] Washington’s early haste to achieve greatness, he sometimes let his ambition outpace virtue. He gradually realized this, and he calibrated his actions accordingly. Rather than just cloaking his ambition, Washington recognized that the more he served others and the cause of justice, the more his success would matter. The less his ambition was about his own fame, the more he would deserve the honors he received. Virtue in this sense, he discovered, can be its own reward.” —David Bobb

“I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to His holy keeping.” —George Washington’s resignation speech

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man, as well as prove (what I desire to be considered in reality) that I am.” —George Washington 

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” —George Washington’s farewell address

Humility (book review)

HumilityDavid J. Bobb has a title/subtitle combination that almost sounds paradoxical—Humility: An Unlikely Biography Of America’s Greatest Virtue. After all, when many think of America they are more likely to use the terms “confidant” or even “brash,” but not usually “humble.” But in this seeming paradox is a great truth.

The Greek philosophers often described a virtue as the golden mean between two extremes. Indeed, David Bobb uses such philosophers as Socrates and Aristotle, alongside Augustine and even more modern thinkers like Benjamin Franklin, to explore how America could be virtuous because of its humility.

Or more precisely, how America could be virtuous because of humble Americans. Dr. Bobb explores the biographies of notable Americans like George Washington, James Madison, Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to give us an intriguing description of what true humility looks like. Although in their time many thought of these people as proud or even glory-seekers, Dr. Bobb shows us how it was their profound, often hard-won humility that made them examples worth emulating.

And we do need these examples. In the epilogue, Dr. Bobb quotes Oliver Wendell Holmes, “Humility is the first of the virtues for other people.” How true! The question is: Will Americans re-learn the virtuous power and strength of humility, or will humility continue to erode, mistaken by many as a weakness?

For both history enthusiasts, leaders, leaders-in-training, and those who love a good biography, Humility is a very enjoyable and educational book.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

Thanksgiving Prayer

This is part of George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789—

George Washington at prayer“…May we also unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him—

To pardon our national and other transgressions,

To enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually,

To render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed,

To protect and guide all nations and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord,

To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science,

And generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”

Amen!

Seven Men (book review)

Seven MenWhen I read Bonhoeffer, I knew Eric Metaxas was a special author, bringing such a vibrance and fullness to his subject. So I began Seven Men And The Secret Of Their Greatness with high expectations, and I’m happy to tell you that Eric Metaxas exceeded those expectations!

As the title implies, Seven Men is a collection of seven biographies of key men in history. These aren’t biographies covering the entire lives of these great men, but rather a zoomed-in look at a crucial moment in the lives of these men. Eric gives us just enough of an introduction to their early lives to set the stage, and then concentrates his look at the decisions or stands these men took to achieve the title of “great.”

How does one measure greatness? In the case of these seven men, Eric defines greatness as heroic character put to a test where most are tempted to stop short. These seven men stood firm mainly because of their godly character, and their conviction that a stand in their age would mean others in their own age would be able to stand as well.

Even if you’ve read or heard about George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, or Charles Colson, you owe it to yourself to read Seven Men to see why they are considered “great” men.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

3 Quotes On Leisure & Sports Activities From “The Book Of Man”

I really enjoyed reading The Book Of Man by William J. Bennett (you can read my book review here). The topics were very broad, so I’ll be sharing some of my favorite quotes on the different sections in this book over the next few days.

Here are three quotes about leisure and sports activities…

“Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.” —George Washington, in his “Rules for Civility”

“Leisure only means a chance to do other jobs that demand attention.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

“Finally, if you make any of the teams, never quit. That is all the secret of success. Never quit! Quitting, I like to believe, has not been a striking characteristic of our family, and it is not tolerated in our college. If you can’t win the scholarship, fight it out to the end of the examination. If you can’t win your race, at least finish—somewhere. If your boat can’t win, at least keep pulling on your oar, even if your eye glazes and the taste of blood comes into your throat with every heave. If you cannot make your five yards in football, keep bucking the line—never let up,—if you can’t see, or hear, keep plugging ahead! Never quit! If you forget all else I have said, remember these two words, through all your life, and come success or failure, I shall proudly think of you as my own dear son.” —John D. Swain

Happy Thanksgiving From George Washington

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me ‘to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’

“NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

“And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

“GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.”

An Unabashed Appeal To Join Religion And Government

Talk about taking a passing remark out of context! In a personal letter, Thomas Jefferson mentions how church and state should be separate. But I’m convinced where we’ve ended up is no where close to what he intended! I’m so tired of historical revisionists trying to convince us that biblical values and Judeo-Christian ethics had no place in the founding of our nation. Or—worse yet—that they have no place now. Consider these founding remarks…

“…Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia….” —Mayflower Compact

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence….” —Declaration Of Independence

“I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth, That God governs in the Affairs of Men!—And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without His Notice, is it probable than an Empire can rise without His Aid? — We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring Aid we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel…. I therefore beg leave to move, That henceforth Prayers, imploring the Assistance of Heaven, and its Blessing on our Deliberations, be held in this Assembly every Morning before we proceed to Business.” —Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” —George Washington

“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! What a Utopia, what aParadise would this region be.” —John Adams

And, of course, the quotes could go on and on and on. But one of my favorites:

“Yes, if our religion had more to do with our politics; if, in the pride of our citizenship, we had not forgotten our Christianity; if we had prayed more and wrangled less about the affairs of our country, it would have been infinitely better for us at this day.” —John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829), in his book published in 1800

Happy Birthday, America! May GOD bless you!