Quotes by Denise Hildreth Jones

Some things just couldnt be protectd from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off...Once old thing were broken off, amazingly beautiful thing could grow in their place.

Thats part of Jesus point, that we all have sin in us. But he was also saying that sin begins and ends with the heart. Actually, that idea runs throughout the entire Bible. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. In other words, what is in us is going to come out of us. And above all else, guard your heart. Do you hear that, Zach? Out of everything we do, protecting our hearts is the most important thing.Weve got to guard them especially from anything that could come in and set up a lie about our God. Anything. I mean, even doing my work - and Im a pastor - could convince me that God needs me in some way. That would be the perfect way for the enemy to set me up to wear myself out and shut myself down. And it would all start with a lie. The devil will try to convince us of anything - hes the father of lies, remember. And that is why we have to guard our hearts so carefully.

Were meant to stay connected to our hearts, you see. Feeling our feelings, present in the moments were given. But we dont do that. And thats when we get in trouble. ...We mature and take responsibility for ourselves and others, and thats a good thing. But were never meant to lose that alive quality, to get cut off from our true hearts. Growing up isnt the same thing as shutting down. ...We can fight it. We have to fight it. Because when our hearts shut down, we become mere shells of who we once were. We dont laugh—not honestly, not from the heart. We dont dream. We dont feel our feelings or use our gifts. We end up trying to just survive instead of live. Its like weve handed our hearts over to the enemy of our souls and said, Here you can have it. Im giving up.

I have only known you about five months. But you know every piece of my life, all the ugly details. Now Im asking you to trust me with yours—not because I want to know your stuff, but because I want to know you. What made you this amazing woman that you are, this woman that Ive grown to admire and love. I want to know her story.

Yep, that girl was as dead as you could get inside. But Scarlett Jo wasnt worried. Not really. Because sometimes a person has to die in order to really live.