Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Courage. Faith. Bonhoeffer day.

Source: flickr.com via Donna on Pinterest


This quote is by Fredrick Beuchner.


#6 Smile

I see faces.
They're everywhere.
Smiles.


******


Someone mentioned that today is Bonhoeffer day....or something like that.
(I'm a dope.)


Here are a few quotes I thought you would like.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer


“In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…” 

“There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.” 

“There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. For to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it. It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and thus helps us preserve -- even in pain -- the authentic relationship. Further more, the more beautiful and full the remembrances, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude transforms the torment of memory into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.” 

“I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.”


Encourage one another,
Donna





25 comments:

  1. “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
    ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

    It's the 68th anniversary of his death today. Can you believe that? Powerful stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Steph.

      What a guy!

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    2. My dead-theologian-crush only grows with time. Glad my hubby doesn't mind. :)

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    3. You make me laugh, Steph!

      Di

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    4. Anonymous1:51 PM

      {{{LIKE}}}
      jep

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  2. "In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.”

    What a man.

    And how little we would know if he had not been such a marvelous letter writer. Can we save emails in the same meaningful way? I guess we shall see.

    68 years ago. Wow.

    Buechner is one of my favorites. No sugar coating with him. But his honesty includes the beautiful and the trusting. I love that.

    Happy day all. Love that smile in the cheese grater!

    Di

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    Replies
    1. Julie2:56 PM

      I wonder also about preservation of the "stuff" that gives our lives meaning: letters, photos, diaries. I love that there are so many access points for communication, but when it comes right down to it, I love holding a book in my hands, having photos on my walls, writing my thoughts out onto paper.

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  3. Anonymous10:32 AM

    "I see faces. They're everywhere."

    and

    "My dead-theologian-crush only grows with time."

    are tied as the two best things I've read this morning. Both made me smile, so thanks Donna and Steph!

    Mary Z

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  4. Anonymous11:43 AM

    thank you for these.

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  5. Anonymous1:48 PM

    Thank you Donna for the quotes and this safe and loving place for us to come. I only got up to Chapter 9 in the book and I am excited to read more. DB impressed me with his love for children every place he went, no matter their nationality or their color or their manners or lack thereof...he just loved them like I think God loves us...unconditionally. We are God's own and we can throw ourselves into His arms for any reason and at any time. Jesus came to make sure we always know that we are forgiven and loved, that the sacrifice was for us no matter who we are or what we have done...we are accepted and loved. I am so thankful.

    love and prayers, jep

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    Replies
    1. Julie2:59 PM

      Yes, a safe and loving place. Thank you, Donna!

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  6. Hello from your Swiss Miss - back in Zurich. Just came home and I'm on my sofa with my feet on the coffee table - I know you can picture it Donna :-)

    Now that I'm done traveling for a time I have no excuse but to take up the DB book and plow on. It's an amazing book for sure and he was a remarkable individual (understatement; just call me Princess Obvious).

    The quotes are wonderful. I need to chew on them a little.

    Amen to this being a safe and loving place. And Encouraging. Thanks!

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  7. Julie3:04 PM

    Those are really good (deep) quotes...more than what I can take in reading through them just once.

    I'm not sure how dedicated days happen. Per Steph's comment, I get that this is the anniversary of his death. But I read this morning that International Scrabble Day will be Saturday, April 13 (Scrabble the board game, that is). I wonder how that comes to be...

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  8. so beautiful......all those quotes touch me.

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  9. That first DB quote is very powerful to me. And very helpful and encouraging. Thank you for sharing it. I might need to steal it.

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  10. I love that you see faces. I totally saw it - but only after you mentioned it.

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  11. Thank you for these beautiful quotes.

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  12. ^^^ Sounds very nice - almost too nice to be spam. But I'm thinking it surely is.

    Crumby spam

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  13. Replies
    1. they are persistent buggers, aren't they? at least this one sounded *sweet*

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  14. I see smiley faces everywhere too. I've taken a picture of some of them. I've seen them in sticks on the sidewalk lying just so, and one of the funniest was two rolls of electrical tape with some velcro strips beneath them in a curve. I also found a thread from a load of laundry that had been on my bed that was in the exact shape of a flower, the kind one draws as a little girl, a stem and the bump, bump, bump, bump, bump all the way around at the top. Do you know what I mean? I thought that was neat.
    Here is one more smiley for you: :)
    I love the quotes. I was thinking of Bonhoeffer a lot yesterday.

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  15. i think this first quote is a fantastic quote for new babies... showers, announcements, nursery walls. beautiful, honest, and true. but perhaps i just have babies on the mind.

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  16. You might enjoy The Innocence of God by Udo Middleman. It kind of goes along with that quote.

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  17. You might enjoy The Innocence of God by Udo Middleman. It kind of goes along with that quote.

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