Quotes by Toni Sorenson

Rejection is a blade to the heart. Its the worst kind of pain.

Breaking up is like unsticking your fingers after youve Superglued them. Loves the glue and no matter how slow and carefully you separate, youre going to lose a little bit of yourself in the process. Youre also going to retain a little DNA from the one you lost.

The first and most important person you must believe in is yourself.

No matter where you are along life’s path, your next step is your first step.

The only way to take command of your life is to realize that you are never going to be in control of it.

Your brain processes a thought while your mind creates and cultivates not only your thoughts, but also the knowledge and experiences you gain.

The brain is a material thing, something you can hold in your hands. The mind is an immaterial thing, something only the Universe can hold.

Courage is stepping forward when all you can see is darkness.

Courage is not beating up the bully or letting the bully beat you up, it is standing strong before the bully and seeing him for what he truly is: a child of God in need of an attitude adjustment.

If you have no armsTo hold your crying child but your own armsAnd no legs but your own to run the stairs one more timeTo fetch what was forgottenI bow to youIf you have no vehicleTo tote your wee one but the wheels that you driveAnd no one else to worry, “Is my baby okay?”When you have to say goodbye on the doorsteps of daycareor on that cursed first day of schoolI bow to youIf you have no skill but your own skillTo replenish an ever-emptying bank accountAnd no answers but your own toSatisfy the endless whys, hows, and whens your child asks and asks againI bow to youIf you have no tongue to tell the truthTo keep your beloved on the path without a precipiceAnd no wisdom to impartExcept the wisdom that you’ve acquiredI bow to youIf the second chair is emptyAcross the desk from a scornful, judging authority waitingFor your child’s father to appearAnd you straighten your spine where you sitAnd manage to smile and say, “No one else is coming—I’m it.”Oh, I bow to youIf your head aches when the spotlight finally shineson your child because your hands are the only hands there to applaudI bow to youIf your heart aches because you’ve given until everything in you is goneAnd your kid declares, “It’s not enough.”And you feel the crack of your own soul as you whisper,“I know, baby. But it’s all mama’s got.”Oh, how I bow to youIf they are your life while you are their nurse, tutor, maidBread winner and bread baker,Coach, cheerleader and teammate…If you bleed when your child falls downI bow, I bow, I bowIf you’re both punisher and huggerAnd your own tears are drowned out by the running of the bathroom faucetbecause children can’t know that mamas hurt tooOh, mother of mothers, I bow to you.—Toni Sorenson

Being meek does not make you weak. You’re not someone who sways with changing circumstances. You don’t allow yourself to be used. You’re not passive or spineless. Your faith is in the Almighty, so you know that you are mighty.

You’ll never have a positive life by thinking negatively.

When a man is loved by a strong, confident woman he too is stronger and more confident. Once he has been touched by the tenderness of a strong, confident woman he too can touch with tenderness. That kind of love is contagious.

If you want to discover your true purpose for existing, all you have to do is look deeply into the things that bring you joy.

Life moves for people who move their bodies!

If you’re giving to get, all you’ll receive is disappointment. But if you’re giving to give, all you’ll receive is joy.

Why are you alive? To discover joy and to share that joy with others.

Because Christ doesn’t scream to get our attention, we have to find places and times that are quiet. We can look for Him throughout the day in a smile or the sunlight through a cloud. He’s there in a baby’s face—every time in a baby’s face.

True strength isn’t being able to knock your enemies down, it’s being able to hold yourself upright against their blows.

When we are needy Christ does His best work, but be warned. Someone, maybe even some well-meaning soul, is going to tell you, “Don’t worry. God will never give you more than you can handle.”I double-dog-dare you to find that in the scriptures. The closest you can come is found in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”This talks about an escape from temptation; it does not say that you will not be faced with more than you can handle. The mother whose baby is born and dies, the father who loses his eyesight in a construction accident and can no longer provide for his family, the child who hurries home from school every day hoping that his mother hasn’t yet succumbed to the cancer that he sees ravish her body day by day . . . all of these souls have more than they can handle—on their own.But with Christ as their companion on the journey through life—and only with Christ—all things are possible. Without Him, we fail no matter how far we manage on our own. We can never cross over without Christ and His all-access Atonement.