Shannon L. Alder

“Bargaining with God is pointless. He already has a thousand followers that will do what you bargained to do for free.”

“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”

“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.”

“It takes a female to have a baby,It takes a woman to raise a child,It takes a mother to raise them correctly,It takes a warrior to show them how to change the world.”

“This much is true: When you are about to effect the lives of hundreds of people, Satan will do everything he can to prevent it from happening. Often pride and anger are his best assassins.”

“One of the most powerful lessons in life is to recognize that no one can give you power, and many people don’t want you to have it. You have to find the courage to seize it, own it and hold on!”

“You know your testimony is strong when your roots are so deep that other people’s storms will never knock you over.”

“Don’t water your testimony with your righteous expectations of church members. Their imperfection will disappoint you every time and cause you to leave every church you try to join.”

“Never mix business with religion, or you might end up losing your testimony when the business agreement is no longer something you or Christ would put up with.”

“It is the apathetic person that sees the cause while the charitable person sees the need.”

“People complain because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses because I have finally learned not to pick them the next time around.”

“Who would you impress if the world was blind?”

“Sometimes you can be touched by God, but not healed. Often when this happens, he is using your pain for a greater purpose.”

“It is not what you leave to your children that matters, but what you leave in them.”

“A thorn in your side will drive you to find someone or thing to remove it. Therefore, don't hate your enemies. Thank them. Without them, you wouldn't have traveled as far in your life to find peace and happiness.”

“You will always feel insignificant if you never do anything to change the world or another person's life, other than your own.”

“Eternity has a way of letting us all grow up.”

“Faith is hoping that the wizard behind the curtain will explain what the flying monkeys had to do with you realizing that there is no place like home.”

“Cruelty is a language that the blind can see, the deaf can hear, and the heart feels forever.”

“You will never see things as they are; you will only see things as you are.”

“It wasn’t because you weren’t beautiful, talented, funny, creative or had everything in common. It was because some men prefer plain vanilla ice cream. It’s predictable and a safe choice. Confident and adventurous men prefer the complexity and layers of a sundae, even the ones sprinkled with a little bit of nuts on top.”

“The reason everything falls apart around me, but I don’t is because my angels keep me standing up.”

“Bitter people are not interested in what you say, but what you hide.”

“Sometimes the silence of your friends is worse than your enemy's words.”

“We have all at one time been stranded on islands shouting lies across the seas of misunderstanding, hoping the fog will carry our mischief to the distant ports in people’s minds.”

“Every romantic woman dreams of Willoughby. However, every wise woman’s heart knows Colonel Brandon would take care of her when she was sick, love her when she was well and know her worth every day that she breathes.”

“Apathetic people sit back and wait for things to get better before they move. Radical people make things get better, by how they move.”

“People that have trust issues only need to look in the mirror. There they will meet the one person that will betray them the most.”

“The problem with the wise is they are so filled with doubts and questions, while fools are so certain about things.”

“Insanity is everyone expecting you not to fall apart when you find out everything you believed in was a lie.”

“Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they’re jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights.”

“All of us at one point end face up in a ditch, but only a few will choose to look up at the stars and dream.”

“Your heart’s strength is measured by how hard it holds on. Your self worth and faith is measured by finally letting go. However, your peace is measured by how long you don’t look back.”

“If you continue to dig the same hole in the same place in your life, eventually you will be standing in a grave.”

“You can change the place you live, your clothes, your interests, your friends, your religion and even your partner. However, if you forgot to change your mind, attitude, beliefs about the world, how you treat people and how you plan to be different this time around, why did you even bother?”

“Every person that has lived with purpose has at one time or another answered these questions: Do you remember who you were before the world, and it's evil stole your hope? Do you remember who you wanted to be before a religion, culture or organization told you to be something you were not? Do you remember what your dream was before they told you that it was unachievable? Do you remember the moments God kept taking you back to the one thing you were best at (but you kept denying it)? Do you remember the moments He handed you the opportunity and you walked away, instead? Do you remember the moments He kept closing the doors on the one thing you wanted because it wouldn't help you? Do you remember it was all going to be okay if you simply believed, but you gave up? For every bad moment, we blamed others, kept score, got even and forgot to live. When you remember your "true self", then you can begin to walk forward once again down the road to discovery, childhood dreams and your life purpose. (Writer's Conference, 2012)”

“When we want to see someone in a certain way, we find a way, but when we don't we have to wake up and see who they truly are and not what our pain or anger chooses to believe.”

“Stupidity is to have amnesia over your own faults when the person you hate makes theirs.”

“Flirting is a "controversial art form" that leaves the intended either flattered, infatuated, creeped out or getting a restraining order.”

“I don’t understand why some people would even try to categorize you. After watching “Duck Dynasty”, who would have thunk?”

“The only difference between you and the person you admire is their perspective on life.”

“I don't understand women that call themselves a "bitch". It doesn't empower a woman. Rather, it reveals to everyone that you were deeply hurt at one time. Because of the pain your still carrying, you will continue to hurt anyone that reminds you of those moments when you let your guard down and were fooled. Sadly, it sends a clear message to the observant that you are still hurt. If only women would realize that "we all" have moments of stupidity then they would stop comparing themselves to the masses.”

“Often people that say they “don’t care” actually do. The moment they discuss you with their friends and family, compete with you, bad mouth you to others or react to anything you do or say is when they give themselves away. You can either be saddened or flattered that you effected someone so much. The perspective is yours to determine.”

“I don't know why anyone would be scared of a homeless person. The truly scary people are all the murder mystery writers. They spend all day thinking of the perfect plot on how to kill someone and get away with it.”

“The only way to cry your eyes out and laugh your ass off at the same time is to have your mom or girlfriends present. Without them, the laughing part wouldn't be nearly as fun.”

“The purpose of any charity is simply to turn people's mirrors into windows. An outward view of the world's needs are vast in comparison to an inward one.”

“There are only two ways to live your life. One as if all that matters is to have someone love and accept you. The other is as though loving and accepting another person is all that matters. Often, when you choose the second you get the first.”

“The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others, but with yourself.”

“Never be ashamed of madness, instead be ashamed of people that are ashamed of madness. Without a little bit of insanity, we would have never had the Theory of Relativity, electricity, airplanes, cars or your beloved iPhone. Madness got you that.”

“They say faith is taking the first step when you can’t see the whole staircase. Actually, wisdom is seeing the elevator behind it that would have taken you to the top floor.”