When a church is faithless to its duties, the real church is outside its walls, in the community.

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.

The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.

Some men are like pyramids, which are very broad where they touch the ground, but grow narrow as they reach the sky.

As for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them.

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.

The thistle is a prince. Let any man that has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see a more expressive grace and symmetry; and where is there a more kingly flower?

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.

I am not questioning God's power! It is God who gave us reason and circumspection! It is God we serve by exercising prudence!

God emptied out that first tomb so that He could turn around and empty out me.

We can't rightly ever talk about the future, if you think about it. We can only talk about what we imagine or wish for. It's not the same thing.

God honors and blesses people of action beyond expectations.

In nothing do we fail more, as a Mission, than in lack of tact and politeness.

My father, who had previously been a civil engineer, died in the great influenza epidemic of 1918.

When you decide you're going to join a project, it's all about the gift you're giving the audience.

As long as ugly people are not on TV, you should only ever have interesting people on TV.

Ted Hughes has been appointed poet laureate to succeed Sir John Betjeman, which is a bit like appointing a grim young crow to replace a cuddly old teddy bear.