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I learned a long time ago we've control of little in this world, Amanda. It doesn't belong to us. It's out of our hands. Like being born or being sold into prostitution at eight. All we can change is the way we think and the way we live.
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Francine Rivers |
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God does not abandon men, my son. Men abandon God.
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Francine Rivers |
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If you love me as you claim to, then you love her as well. She's part of me. Do you understand? She's part of my flesh and my life. When you say things against her, you say them against me. When you cut her, you cut me. Do you understand?
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Francine Rivers |
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b094629
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Love the Lord your God, and love one another. Love one another as he loves. Love with strength and purpose and passion and no matter what comes against you. Don't weaken. Stand against the darkness, and love. That's the way back into Eden. That's the way
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Francine Rivers |
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db8a79a
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And if it (life) were easier, would i have given my heart so fully to God? Put your hope in Him, and you won't be disappointed by what life offers
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Francine Rivers |
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I want someone wonderful. I want a man to love me the way Michael loves you. I want a man willing to fight for me. I want a man who won't let me walk away from him.
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Francine Rivers |
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She was so tightly wrapped in herself, her own misery and dark thoughts, that she was blind to everything else. Especially him.
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Francine Rivers |
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77ca31b
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A beautiful face can mask great evil...
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face
mask
evil
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Francine Rivers |
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For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10)."
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Francine Rivers |
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5ee5608
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All the way back, she had imagined him gloating and taunting, rubbing her face in her own broken pride. Instead, he knelt before her and washed her dirty, blistered feet. Throat burning, she looked down at his dark head and struggled with the feelings rising in her. She waited for them to die away, but they wouldn't.
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Francine Rivers |
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her. "Love cleanses, beloved. It doesn't beat you down. It doesn't cast blame." He kissed her again, wishing he had the right words to say what he felt. Words would never be enough to show her what he meant. "My love isn't a weapon. It's a lifeline. Reach out and take hold, and don't let go."
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Francine Rivers |
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Every religion in the world is about man trying to reach up to God, like working your way up the ladder. They're all about striving to achieve something for yourself. Christianity is the only religion about God reaching down to man and offering salvation as a free gift, with the added bonus of a personal relationship with the Creator God through Jesus Christ, who was there in the beginning.
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Francine Rivers |
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e72e3c2
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Though fallen low God raised her up An angel.
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Francine Rivers |
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Wherever you go, let Christ be your refuge. Put your hope in Him, and you won't be disappointed by what life offers.
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Francine Rivers |
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If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that you've got no say in what other people do with their lives. Everyone makes their own choices, good or bad.
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Francine Rivers |
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Why did you come for me?" "You're my wife." "I left the ring on the table! I didn't steal it." "That didn't change a thing. We're still married." "You could've just forgotten about it." He stopped and glared at her. "It's a lifetime commitment in my book, lady. It's not an arrangement you nullify when things get a little tough to bear."
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Francine Rivers |
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For as he told the story of a simple Judean slave girl. Marcus Lucianus Valerian, a Roman who didn't believe in anything, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Francine Rivers |
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087d203
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Were you there?" She shook her head. "No. I was here in Nain having a child." "Then why do you weep as though you had part in his crucifixion? You had no part in it." "I'd like nothing better than to think I would have remained faithful. But if those closest to him--his disciples, his own brothers--turned away, who am I to think I'm better than they and would have done differently? No, Marcus. We all wanted what we wanted, and when the Lord..
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god
vanity
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Francine Rivers |
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He was never angry when she made mistakes. He complimented and encouraged her. He shared his own mishaps with a sense of humor that made her less annoyed with her own incompetence. He gave her hope that she could learn, and pride when she did.
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Francine Rivers |
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How can we be witnesses of the one true God if we hold the truth as our own possession? God meant his truth for the world.
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Francine Rivers |
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This generation seems to see children as a financial burden and responsibility to be avoided.
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responsibility
sad-but-true
finances
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Francine Rivers |
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ff8d940
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Sometimes God has to destroy in order to save. He has to wound in order to heal.
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faith
god
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Francine Rivers |
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9ee87cc
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Lord," he said heavily. "Lord, this isn't exactly what I had in mind." But he knew he was going to marry that girl anyway."
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Francine Rivers |
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But I know Jesus arose. I feel his presence now, here, with me. I see the evidence of his Word everyday. From creation forth, the whole world is witness to God's plan revealed through his Son. From the beginning, he prepared us. In the passing of the seasons; in the way flowers spring forth, die, and drop seeds for life to begin again; in the sunset and sunrise. Jesus' sacrifice is reenacted every day of our lives if we but have the eyes to..
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seasons
jesus
sacrifice
god
witness
sunset
evidence
flowers
die
eyes
sunrise
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Francine Rivers |
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a4e9af3
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You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.
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Francine Rivers |
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You are free. You just don't know it yet.
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Francine Rivers |
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Michael took a cloth and dried her hair. When he finished, he pulled her close and cradled her in his arms. "Flesh of my flesh," he whispered against her hair. "Blood of my blood."
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Francine Rivers |
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She thought she had been saved by his love for her, and in part she had been. It had cleansed her, never casting blame. But that had been only the beginning. It was loving him in return that had brought her up out of the darkness.
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Francine Rivers |
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Tell me how on God's green earth we can dare offer salvation to a dying world when we're so busy shooting our own wounded.
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Francine Rivers |
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What does the body matter if the soul is dead?
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matter
dead
soul
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Francine Rivers |
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I promise to love and cherish you, to honor and sustain you, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, in the bad that may darken our days, in the good that may light our way. Tirzah, beloved, I promise to be true to you in all things until I die. And even beyond that, God willing.
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Francine Rivers |
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8ebdfd7
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Emotions are powerful, but they also change as quick as the wind. That's why the Lord says to renew your mind. Don't base decisions on what you feel.
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emotions
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Francine Rivers |
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8b3d0b3
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We all just use each other in one way or another. To feel good. To feel bad. To feel nothing at all. The lucky ones are real good at it.
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Francine Rivers |
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5227b6f
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We're each single threads woven together in a tapestry God has created. Only he sees the full picture, but not even a sparrow falls without his knowing.
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tapestry
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Francine Rivers |
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5c66c71
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singing has to come from the inside, and i don't have anything left inside.' 'really?' Ruth said, amazed, 'How did that happen?' 'it all just drained out.
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emptiness
singing
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Francine Rivers |
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God will give you courage when you need it.
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Francine Rivers |
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87789cd
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Stand firm in the Lord, Hadassah. Stand firm and let him fight your battles. Do not try to fight alone.
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Francine Rivers |
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You're going to marry me, and I'm going to take you out of here.
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Francine Rivers |
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Michael sat down behind her. He put his strong legs on either side of her and pulled her back against him. "Just wait." She wanted to resist his embrace, but she was too cold to fight him. "For what?" He put his arms around her. "For morning." "I could have waited for that in the cabin." He laughed against her hair. Lifting it, he kissed the nape of her neck. "You can't understand until you see it from here." He nuzzled the soft skin beneat..
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Francine Rivers |
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0e0fc66
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When I made you say my name, you couldn't pretend nothing was happening between us, could you? Was that it? I wanted to get inside you, inside your heart," he said huskily. "Did I?" "A little." "Good." He traced her face with one finger again. "A woman is either a wall or a door, beloved." She gave a bleak laugh and looked at him. "Then I guess I'm a door a thousand men have walked through." "No. You are a wall, a stone wall, four feet thic..
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Francine Rivers |
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6224c68
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loved her, Lord. I loved her enough to die for her, and she did this to me. Maybe she's beyond redemption. How do you forgive someone who doesn't even care enough to want to be forgiven?
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Francine Rivers |
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bd9dc8d
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Have you ever been to the beach and wanted to feed the seagulls? The problem is you tear off a little crust from your sandwich and toss it to one, and ten more show up. Toss a little more and a flock descends. You start to wonder: if I run out of bread, will I become the meal? Turkeys are different. They startle easily and run for the barn. In the wild, they run for the hills. Of course, they're very tasty. Benjamin Franklin thought them ma..
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society
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Francine Rivers |
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14b03d0
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As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee. PSALM 42 : 1
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Francine Rivers |
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2a5d428
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Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.
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Francine Rivers |