Tuesday Ten: Top Ten Looking for Lovely Quotes
Over the past few years, Annie F. Downs has become one of my favorite authors. I don't just love her because she also hales from Marietta and is a Georgia Bulldog (GO DAWGS!), I love her because her writing is real, vulnerable, and authentic. She is equally funny, witty, and inspiring with her transformative (I think I just made up a word?) stories that make you feel like you're not alone. She gives a whole lot of grace because she's been given a lot of grace. I just love her.
Annie's new book, Looking for Lovely releases in a little less than a month, and friends, you've got to get it. You just have to. It will challenge and inspire you while moving you to laughter and tears. So friends, this week's Tuesday Ten is dedicated to Looking for Lovely. And trust me, it was hard to choose just ten quotes! My book is underlined and starred up the wazoo.
1. What Paul says in Romans, and what you and I know from our lives, is hope is an expensive commodity, not easily won, always fought for, and the result of a process that may take some time.That WILL take some time.
2. I want us to learn to look for the lovely all around us and collect it, hold it close, and see how God drops beautiful things into our lives at just the right time to help us step forward on our own paths.
3. I'd see the sun set behind Green Hills Mall, turning the sky one hundred shades of evening...It was the tiny bit of lovely that helped me hang on and show up. God was doing a big work. I knew it, I just had to keep showing up, even when it hurt or felt hard or wasn't AT ALL what I wanted to do.
4. I'm watching for a miracle like I watch a movie because I'm expecting one.
5. You have to be brave to believe that you are made on purpose- to go after your passions and walk in who you were made to be. When you believe God made you on purpose, you are willing to be brace because the root questions are already answered.
6. The only way you can fully experience the next level is by experiencing some pain.
7. God gives us permission to feel. There's no demand on your life to bite the bullet and be stronger than the hurt and pain. Yet the directive is the same: rejoice in your sufferings, persevere in them, let your character grow, and watch as hope blooms.
8. That's what music does. It holds you together when you think you'll fall apart. It reminds you of truth. It grabs your hands as you try to cross the finish line. It fills your ears with peace when it feels like there is no peace.
9. I believe you are shaped by the people you surround yourself with, and I am deeply shaped by the people around me.
10. A good balance of grace and perseverance pushes us forward without destroying our spirit when we don't meet a goal, and it continually brings us back to our goals, dreams, and desires in order to remember why we began, how far we have come to get here, and where we ultimately want to go. It gives us permission to not be perfect but to strive toward excellence.
And there you have it, friends! Go pre-order your copy now! It releases April 5th, and right now on Amazon it is only $9.70! That's less than your last mani. :)