“and that braw lad,...is the finest piece of man flesh in these parts.”

“Joy ... It's a journey we all embark upon from the first moment we draw breath. We search so avidly for it. We cannot help it; it's inherent in our nature. Yet no matter how hard we strive, our joy can never truly be complete until we find it in the Lord.”

“Physical beauty, however, was frequently more a detriment than an advantage if one wished ever to be respected and valued for one's mind.”

“Faith isn't grounded on emotions. It's grounded on the will. It's grounded in the act of taking up your cross and following the Lord wherever He leads, through good times and bad, through dark days and happy ones.We're not tested and tempered in good times, Abby." Ella released her hand and sat back in her chair. "Our true test," she said softly, "lies in the dark night of our despair.”

“And whose rules will choose to you follow? God's? Or man's? You say you want to break the outmoded patterns and crate a new model? Then do it. That is part of your destiny, boy.”

“The soul, they say, is divine and the flesh is iniquity. But I am a musician and I ask this - without the wood and the strings of the violin, where would the sonata find form?”

“Her heart literally stopped and she felt her fight-or-flight mode kick in. Part of her wanted to hide and cry, while the other part of her wanted to reach for her 9mm and shoot the bastard.”