Shannon L. Alder

“Try not to be a man or woman of success, but rather a man or woman of inspiration. If you’re successful, they will flock to you for money or fame, but if you’re inspirational, they will flock to you because they love your soul and how you change theirs.”

“Often the truth is in front of your face, but your eyes and heart are so full of lies that you can't see it.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Often, love is a tangled web of lies that only a broken heart would weave. Seldom is dishonesty the whole person, rather it's the pain.”

“There comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book or simply close it.”

“The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie.”

“The clock ticks; the taunting rhythm serving as a reminder that forward is the only way we can go. The mechanical heartbeat of the darkness, a cold ellipsis, punctuating years gone by. Arising unchained.No glorious hymn, just the steady beat of the illusion of time. We heal or we carry forward the weight of our wounds... To believe otherwise is the mendacity of desperation. Arising honestly. The miles behind are littered with the weight of nostalgia, but too many miles lay ahead us to carry the weight. In the end, even echoes fade away. Pen in hand...Arising to write the next chapter.(MU Articles 2013, Dedication to Joey)”

“Betrayal is an ironic thing. He or she betrays you then you betray yourself. You think you’re showing strength with your anger, but in reality you’re showing how much you still care.”

“If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.”

“Marriage is what you make of it, and God has many versions of what that looks like based on what different souls need, in order to grow.”

“I am not afraid to die; I am only afraid of saying goodbye to you forever.”

“Sometimes you have to look past a person’s mistakes to see God’s presence.”

“God didn’t design your life so you would constantly fall down, but he does hope that you will be brought to your knees.”

“The problem with Christianity is more people profess the truth than live it. So much hypocrisy abounds that I can no longer say I count myself among them without being held to the same unachievable standard.”

“If a man says he is Christian, yet he has no problems knocking you up, having premarital sex or living in sin with you, then you have to ask yourself, “What version of Christ does he believe in?”

“If you want to be an honorable man, then be what you pretend to be.”

“Every relationship that has hit a crossroads has asked, “What is it that you want from me?”

“Truth and facts are woven together. However, sometimes facts can blind you from seeing what is actually going on in someone’s life.”

“Acceptable hypocrisy is often called politeness.”

“Immorality is the word we use to describe people that are not sinning the same way we are.”

“Your religion is not what you do on Sunday. It is how you live Monday through Saturday.”

“It doesn't matter who said it, as long as it changed you.”

“If you think people in your life are normal, then you undoubtedly have not spent any time getting to know the abnormal side of them.”

“No matter how many sins you make or how slow you travel back toward God's valley, you are still way ahead of a person who never made a mistake and doesn't know what it is like to climb out of a pit of shame and rise above their temptations.”

“God is always trying to give blessings to us, but our minds are usually too full to receive them.”

“If you want to discover the true character of a person, you have only to observe what they are passionate about.”

“God can deliver you so well that some people won’t believe your testimony.”

“If you don’t find the right set of eyes to see through your bull, you will always be surrounded by friends that will tell you white lies because they like your company and don’t want to ruin the evening.”

“Sometimes the best and worst times of your life can coincide. It is a talent of the soul to discover the joy in pain—-thinking of moments you long for, and knowing you’ll never have them again. The beautiful ghosts of our past haunt us, and yet we still can’t decide if the pain they caused us out weighs the tender moments when they touched our soul. This is the irony of love.”

“I don’t believe in the Law of Attraction. There were things I wanted in my life that no amount of positive thinking was going to make it a reality for me. However, I have learned to believe in the Law of Tough Love. Life has thrown a dozen tragedies at me. I did what any Christian would do--prayed for the outcome I wanted, but God was tough and only gave me what I needed. I now realize that life is not about fulfilling a wish list; rather a need list. Good and bad experiences are on the horizon. How else does a person change, grow and evolve? And just like any warrior woman, I won’t simply survive-- but thrive!”

“You don't have to be strong to survive a bad situation; you simply need a plan.”

“I don’t understand hospital chaplains that try to rob my patients of their anger. Sometimes anger is a key motivator that gets people to take action. Anger can push a cancer patient to jump out of his hospital bed, walk down to the nurses station and scream, “I am getting the hell out of here!”. There is a misconception that God is simply sweet and passive. Actually, God can be quite cunning, manipulative and relentless with his children. What we consider as negative traits are actually helpful in molding us. He will use a negative emotion if needed to push people to do things that will change them for the better. He will allow people or situations to derail us if there is a chance that those interactions will push us forward. Personally, I don’t want a God that is going to send some church member to my deathbed with a plate of cookies and tell me to have faith. Actually, I rather have a God that screams, “Get the hell off your ass, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Walk down the hall with that Physical Therapist so you can get on with your life!" A little anger in a person can push them to do amazing things.”

“Every woman that finally figured out her worth, has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change.”

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, but I chose neither one. Instead, I set sail in my little boat to watch a sunset from a different view that couldn't be seen from shore. Then I climbed the tallest mountain peak to watch the amber sun through the clouds. Finally, I traveled to the darkest part of the valley to see the last glimmering rays of light through the misty fog. It was every perspective I experienced on my journey that left the leaves trodden black, and that has made all the difference.”

“If God didn't want me to cross boundaries, then he wouldn't have made me a writer.”

“A foolish woman believes that loyalty is automatic. A wise woman knows that it is earned.”

“Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for—YOU.”

“It is not the self respect and pride that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind to your children that matters. A strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations. Those blessed with a patriotic genetic legacy should run to the top of the mountain and roar with all fervency, “If they can over come, so will I!” When you know the ghosts that stand in support of you, you can begin to see life as they did—a life of joy, possibilities and freedom.”

“A coward talks to everyone but YOU.”

“When you forget yesterday and embrace the new vision of what you are to become through the eyes of your best friend, you have found a new sister standing by the open door that was once closed in your heart.”

“Every game is winnable if you change your mind about what the prize should be and your perspective about the players at the table.”

“God helps everything come to pass. However, he reminds us that nothing comes to stay.”

“When you are near the middle of your life, often God will do outrageous things to knock you back on course.”

“The problem isn’t that I think so highly of myself. It is just that you think so little of yourself. Live life BIG, BOLD and OUT LOUD!”

“It is hundreds of tiny threads of memories, which sew people together through the years. Despite, their mental separation they stay woven into that tapestry out of habit, emotion, obsession or fear.”

“Marriage creates one world for your child. For that alone, two old friends can try to see a peaceful world through the eyes of their angels.”

“The irony of being ignored by someone is that it means you have been noticed by that person first. Take heart you were seen, and yes they still hate you. However, they will never forget you and will always look over their shoulder to see if your coming their way.”

“Satan will always provide a witness to where you have been, in order to challenge your fate.”

“Cruel people offer pity when they no longer feel threatened. However, kind people offer compassion and understanding regardless.”

“When criticism doesn't make sense, it is usually coming from a different place.”

“The most intriguing people you will encounter in this life are the people who had insights about you, that you didn't know about yourself.”