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Monday, January 22, 2024

Quotes that Resonate this January




"A commonplace book is a highly personal anthology,
and part of the joy in creating one is that it gives a
deeper sense of self: by selecting fragments of language
that speak to you, you become more aware of your
own taste, beliefs and judgement."
MIRANDA MILLS, YouTube vlogger


Posted here are a few lines that I have gathered into my journal these beginning days of January. Each quote for me has meaning and brings a little something to the table while I dreamily mull what 2024 might look like—what I wishfully hope for in real life as the days unfold.

Perhaps you will find words that resonate with your own soul as you start a new week. I hope so.


🎔
December 29th
(As a writer I want to bring these words with me into the New Year)
"Because right now, there is someone
out there with a wound in the exact
shape of your words."
SEAN THOMAS DOUGHERTY, The Second O of Sorrow


🎔
January 1st
"What a wonderful thought it is
that some of the best days of our
lives haven't even happened yet."
ANNE FRANK


"Make something you
can give away."
SUSAN BRANCH


🎔
January 2nd
"I'm getting better, happier, and
nicer as I grow older. So I would
be terrific in a couple hundred years."
MAEVE BINCHY


🎔
January 3rd
"Because even with the dark parts and
the light parts and the good parts and the
bad parts, dinner must still be served."
PATTI CALLAHAN, Once Upon A Wardrobe, p. 102


🎔
January 4th
The word 'restoration' has been singing in my heart of late.
As I ponder what I yearn for in my life words begin to flow;
I write them down:
Restored health for my body,
Restored joy in my writing,
Renewed hope in God's goodness,
Hope and healing for our world,
My dreams and purpose restored,
A restoration of true hospitality with ease and grace,
Order, simplicity, and beauty in my home.
My own thoughts


🎔
January 5th
"(The) world remains 'bent' and smudged by generations
of the sins of humanity, but it is, deep down, still fresh
and radiant with the unquenchable glory of God, made
manifest to those with the eyes to see."
JANET MORLEY, Haphazard by Starlight, p. 142


🎔
January 7th
"But there always have been and always
will be people who are . . . starved for
nourishment. I am one of those readers and I am
also one who can occasionally provide this food.
That is all that really matters to me this morning."
MAY SARTON, Journal of a Solitude, p. 68


🎔
January 10th
"Always be on the lookout
for the presence of wonder."
E.B. WHITE


"It is no bad thing to
celebrate a simple life."
J.R.R. TOLKIEN


🎔
January 12th
"Let go of old and tired things."
As seen on Instagram


🎔
January 15th
"Because you see so much
to make you sad, that doesn't mean
it is your duty to be unhappy."
HELEN MACINNES, While Still We Live, p. 228


🎔
January 19th
"I'm beginning to suspect that the second half
of life is about learning to let go of everything
I feverishly collected over the first half that
wasn't loving or human."
MICHAEL XAVIER


"If a book is well written,
I always find it too short."
JANE AUSTEN


🎔
January 20th
"Snow had fallen, snow on snow."
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI


🎔
January 22nd
"I scribble my list of promises.
The ways I hope to be kind.
To be gentle. To forgive.
To try and try again."
BARBARA MAHANY, The Stillness of Winter


"It was her habit to build laughter
out of inadequate materials."
JOHN STEINBECK, Grapes of Wrath


Wishing you dear friends a beautiful week,
Brenda

Photo Credit:
Image by Nennieinszweidrei from Pixabay




24 comments:

  1. Hi Brenda!🤗
    Today is my birthday and what fun it is to have just looked and found a post from you today! ~ A wonderful birthday gift!!🤗
    I love your collection of quotes!! I particularly loved the quote by E.B. White because it describes how I “feel” about life; looking at life with a great sense of wonder!!!
    Thankful for you!!! ~ Ann from Ohio.☺️💗

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    1. And a belated Happy Birthday to you, Ann. I hope it was special in every way. Thank you for your lovely note. E.B. White certainly made some lovely references in his day. Take care. xo

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  2. So much to ponder here! And many of these are destined for my own quote book. Thank you for sharing such beautiful and comforting words.

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    1. We do love our quotes, don't we? They are the bright sparklers of our reading lives - it's always thrilling to discover a new quote that fits perfectly in our own collections. Thanks, Joy! xo

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  3. There was something in each of the quotes that spoke to me Brenda, thank you for another beautiful post.

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  4. Great quotes--a lovely way to ease into the new year!

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  5. Hello Brenda. Loved all the quotes,including yours. I'd like to restore health to the body, too, and joy to my writing. I mean, I still love to write but I need more joy in it. Lovely post. Have a good week, Brenda. Sincerely, Susan

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    1. Thanks so much, Susan! Yes to restored health in our bodies. Let it be so in 2024! xo

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  6. Lovely quotes! I always have loved the one by Tolkien since I first read it!

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    1. It's definitely a keeper quote. Thanks so much for your note. (I wish you would have left a name in your message so I could imagine who you are. :) Blogger seems to make it harder for people who want to comment.)

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  7. At first, before I zoomed in, I thought the January 1st quotation must be from Anne of Green Gables. I felt sad when I saw it was another Anne but then felt glad that precious soul had once felt like that. Even at my advanced age now there is something in me that still believes it. I've collected quotations all my life too, Brenda, not from quotation books but from books I've read. There's always pen and paper near me when I have a book in my hand, or post-it-notes. And I admit that the really good books have pencil marks all through them.

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    1. Same here, Dewena, so many of my quotes come from the books I've read. And although I write lots of them out, a good many more stay in the books with pencil stars beside them. I'm so glad you stopped by! xo

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  8. Each of these quotes has an appeal, Brenda, and many of them will find their way into my own commonplace book. As I dedicate myself to writing regularly once more, the December 29th quote about healing words shot like an arrow into my mind. Thank you so much.

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    1. Happy you found something that resonated with you, Lorrie. I'm so grateful for words that nourish, encourage, and challenge. And I thank you for the many affirming words you've left on this blog over the years. It has meant a lot to me! xo

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  9. Brenda, your post brings such beauty and healing, and your readers are blessed to have found you in this great big world of bloggers! I haven't been by in too long, and I'm sorry. I haven't been well for a long time but I remembered your posts are always a delight and uplifting, so here I am. The Lord bless you, dear friend! You are a bright spot in someone's day! Right now, it's me. Blessings and hugs, Sandi

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    1. I think of you, Sandi, and I am sorry you haven't been well. I know that's why you had to stop blogging. I'm so glad you dropped by today. Thank you for your lovely words. Wishing you His best in these days ahead. xo

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  10. Sorry, this is Sandi {from Rose Chintz Cottage}. The computer put me down as anonymous.

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  11. There are enough treasures here to feed on all year! It might take me all year to "chew on" and make the most of the ways they prompt us to reach higher, to go "further up and further in." So I better write them down! Thank you, Brenda.

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    1. Also, the quote from Macinnes reminds me of this one from C.S. Lewis: "It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can."

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    2. Gretchen, I love your idea of chewing on these quotations as prompts for us to reach higher, go further up and further in. Thank you for adding that C.S. Lewis quote to this small collection. It reminds me of yet another of his famous sayings: "Joy is the serious business of heaven." It all adds smiles to me face. Thank you, Gretchen!

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  12. What a delightful post, Brenda. Some quotes made me smile, some made me think, and at least one made me laugh out loud. I want to do this now - create a post of quotes. The only problem I foresee is that I'm fairly certain, at the moment, that you have corralled the best ones here! :)

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed this wee collection - of course you are most welcome to repost any of these sayings in your own quote post. As bloggers, we're often borrowing from other lovely writers.

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo