The Quotable Susan

Easter Quotes

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  2 Corinthians 5: 21 (NIV)

“Most of the descriptions of the victorious life do not match the reality of my own. Hyperbole, bloated rhetoric, and grandiose testimonies create the impression that once Jesus is acknowledged as Lord, the Christian life becomes a picnic on a green lawn; marriage blossoms into connubial bliss, physical health flourishes, acne disappears, sinking careers suddenly soar … The New Testament depicts another picture of the victorious life: Jesus on Calvary. The Biblical image of the victorious life reads more like the victorious limp." --Brennan Manning from his book, “The Ragamuffin Gospel”

“Grace is not cheap; it’s free. To us it is offered freely but it is not cheap. It cost Christ everything.” --John Michael (my husband)

“The cross is tiny physically but in the scope of the vastness of the universe, it dominates everything.  That is why the universe is so big –so that it can be a stage for the cross.” --Jack Miller World Harvest Missions, “Sonship” videos

“The foolishness of the cross means that ministry is essentially and irreducibly scandalous and there is nothing you can do about it. There is nothing you should try to do about it. We can’t manage scandal, we must bear it.” --Dr. Albert Mohler President of the Southern Baptist Seminary

The Quotable Susan

On Writing:

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” -Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” -George Orwell, “Why I Write”, 1947

"Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed." -P.G. Wodehouse

“Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him.” -Mel Brooks

“That’s what we story tellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” -Walt Disney character in the movie, “Saving Mr. Banks”

"... once I began writing, it became clear to me: This is not a foreign language; this is my native tongue." -Elizabeth Gilbert 

"... don't demand that your art supports your life. Instead, make a promise that your life will always support your art." -Elizabeth Gilbert 

Quotable Susan

On Family:

“Except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain who build it.”  Psalms 127:1

In high school one of Susan’s son’s did not call her to let her know that he was going to stay after school and lift weights. When she scolded him for not letting her know where he was, his defense was that the only phone available to him was in the coach’s office and as he put it, “all the guys and even the coach were in there.”  Susan’s response to her son was, “I have earth shattering news for you. ALL of those guys and even the coach HAVE A MOTHER!!”

-Susan Siami

“I finally came to grips with the fact that my life was not my mother’s fault.”

  -Gina McQuellan (friend)

“I told my daughter, ‘we love each other in this house; whether we like it or not!’”

-Alisa Smith (my sister)

“My true brothers are those who rejoice for me in their hearts when they find good in me, and grieve for me when they find sin. They are my true brothers, because whether they see good in me or evil, they love me still.”

-Augustine

“Life is not about avoiding the storms.  It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

 -unknown

 

 

 

The Quotable Susan

On Scripture:

   “For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword” Hebrews 4:12

“Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think.  All nonsense questions are unanswerable.  How many hours are in a mile?  Is yellow round or square?  Probably half the questions we ask –half our great theological and metaphysical problems are like that.”

   -C. S. Lewis from his book “A Grief observed”

“God Himself has condescended to teach me the way.  He has written it down in a book. Oh! Give me that book!  At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book!”

 -John Wesley

“The Bible is alive; it speaks to me. It has feet; it runs after me. It has hands; it lays hold of me.”

 -Martin Luther

“The most valuable thing we have on earth is not the Hope Diamond or the Mona Lisa, but the Bible you hold in your hand. Blood stained by martyrs and sweat stained by theologians and scholars.”

  -Hayes Winkler

“If you don’t have God’s words rolling around in your head, you will start to believe your own words and that’s dangerous.”

  -Tom Schriener (pastor of Clifton Baptist Church)

“Never forget whether you understand it or not, the Bible is pure truth; given by God, preserved by God, and has no errors in the original language and texts.”

-Kay Arthur

“I will take God at His word and trust Him to prove it to me.”

 -Jim Elliott (as recorded by Elizabeth Elliott in “Through Gates of Splendor”)

The Quotable Susan

Quotes from my friend Susan and other equally “famous” people.


Quotes about God


“I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen –not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”

-C.S. Lewis


“It’s not that I walk faithfully with God; it’s that God walks faithfully with me.”

-Susan Siami, my friend


“I know God will not give me anything I can not handle; I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!”

-Mother Theresa


“He is the I AM in the was, in the is, and in the will be”

-Susan Small, the other Susan in my life


(the doctrines) “That God predestines yet that man is responsible …are two lines that are so nearly parallel that the human mind that pursues them the farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.”

-Charles Hadley Spurgeon


“The ultimate evidence for the absolute sovereignty of God is that He dared to give man responsibility and the free will upon which it depends.”

-Peter Gilliland, a friend who also has a blog. It is http://aboutthefamilybuisness.blogspot.com

The Quotable Susan

When my daughter was in high school she kept a “quote book”. This was a notebook in which she recorded quotes that she particularly liked. These quotes were from a variety of sources. As she read books, listened to lectures, or even heard her friends speak, she would write down in her “notebook/quote book” quotes that she thought were note worthy. I don’t know where this idea originated - whether it was my daughter’s idea, one of her friend’s, or even a cultural phenomenon at the time.

Whatever the source, I began to keep my own quote book. Like my daughter, I record quotes from many sources; from both famous people and not so famous people. I soon came to realize that one of the people I love to quote the most is my friend Susan. My friend has great insights into God and the world He created. I tease her and tell her that she is one of the greatest Christian orators of all time. She is just not as well known as, say Spurgeon for instance. In fact, sometimes she has an audience of only one –me! Susan is also one of the funniest people I know. God has blessed me greatly by placing her in my life.
This section of my blog, “The Quotable Susan” is a compilation of the quotes from my personal quote book. These include quotes from famous people as well as not so famous people. I have arranged the quotes topically. Occasionally, I have also written little anecdotes to explain the circumstances surrounding the quote. Some of the quotes are quite serious while others are humorous. I hope you enjoy them all.

Quotes about God

“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice.” Psalms 97:1

“God is God, He is not tame and domesticated like we sometimes (try to) make Him.”
- Edward T Welch from his book, “Depression a Stubborn Darkness”

“So many people think they can look at their lives; the things that impact them; the circumstances they are dealing with, and learn something about God. But actually the opposite is true. If we behold God and His glory as gleaned through His word, it will give us perspective and a greater understanding of our lives and our circumstances.”
- Susan Siami -my friend

“God rules and over rules!”
- Frank Ingram, friend