Quote: A happy and rejoicing spirit

Unhappy spirit, cast down under thy sins, multitudes of sins, years of sins! - heavily burdened as thou art, and pierced through with sorrows, thou mayest look to God, and hope, for "HE delighteth in mercy." His mercy can make thee a clean and beautiful, a happy and rejoicing spirit. God will be "delighted" to make thee "equal to the angels." so humble, so loving is thy God, and so earnestly does He long to bless thee, that behold, He stands at thy door and knocks.                                   from Joy and Strength Selected by Mary Wilder Tileston

Heart-Work

"...the greatest difficulty in conversion, is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is to keep the heart with God... Heart-work is hard work indeed."          John Flavel

Found in Sanctuary of the Soul by Richard Foster

An expanded quote found here...

Heart-work is hard work indeed. Are you inclined to undertake the business of keeping your heart? Are you resolved upon it? I charge you then, to engage in it earnestly. Away with every cowardly feeling, and make up your mind to encounter difficulties. Draw your armor from the Word of God. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in its commands, its promises, its threatenings; let it be fixed in your understanding, your memory, your conscience, your affections. You must learn to wield the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) familiarly, if you would defend your heart and conquer your enemies.

Psmith & Miss Halliday

This made me laugh out loud the other day....

Psmith, going into Miss Clarkson's Employment Bureau, has just become acquainted with a Miss Halliday leaving the office. After already meeting with her on the streets a few hours earlier, he is eager to learn more about her.

"Is that young lady a nurse?" he asked.
"Do you want a nurse?" inquired Miss Clarkson, at once the woman of business.
"I want that nurse," said Psmith with conviction.
"She is a delightful girl", said Miss Clarkson with enthusiasm. "There is no one in whom I would feel more confidence in recommending to a position. She is Miss Halliday [....] She is a charming, warm-hearted, impulsive girl....But you will hardly want to hear all this."
"On the contrary," said Psmith, "I could listen for hours. You have stumbled upon my favourite subject."
Miss Clarkson eyed him a little doubtfully, and decided that it would be best to reintroduce the business theme.
"Perhaps, when you say you are looking for a nurse, you mean you need a hospital nurse?"
"My friends have sometimes suggested it."
"Miss Halliday's greatest experience has, of course, been as a governess."
"A governess is just as good," said Psmith agreeably.
Miss Clarkson began to be conscious of a sensation of being out of her depth.
"How old are your children, sir?" she asked.
"I fear," said Psmith "you are peeping into Volume Two. This romance has only just started."

From P.G. Wodehouse's Leave it to Psmith.