“I believe that children are our future”

I’d rather be alone than unhappy

I believe the children are our future

I feel so blessed to just have done what I had done. To be able to just use what God has given me is a blessing. You know, never mind the Grammys, never mind the records, never mind all of that. Just to be able to sing.

If I should die this very day, Don’t cry…cause on Earth We wasn’t meant to stay.

I’m a person who has life and wants to live, and always have.

My mother taught me that when you stand in the truth and someone tells a lie about you, don’t fight it.

I wish to you, joy and happiness. But above all this, I wish you love

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.

I was aware of people staring at me. No one moved. They seemed almost in trance. I just stared at the clock in the center of the church. When I finished, everyone clapped and started crying.

God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?

I finally faced the fact that it isn’t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems.

I think over the years, being a mother, I’ve matured in so many ways.

I’ve turned down a lot of arena dates because I’ve done the big-arena thing. Now, I want to do something where people can feel me and I can feel them.

I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy.

Never let your heart take precedence over reason, otherwise you will have problems.

Being around people like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack, all these greats, I was taught to listen and observe.

Be believing, be happy, don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.

Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. Prayer is to faith what breath is to the body. How a person can live and not breathe is past my comprehension, and how a person can believe and not pray is past my comprehension too.

You can’t get through seminary and come out believing in God!

The problem with religion, because it’s been sheltered from criticism, is that it allows people to believe en masse what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation.

I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good.

One of the exciting things about being a believer is watching God unveil His plan for our lives.

Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them.

This is for all of you out there tonight, reaching for a dream – don’t ever give up! Never ever listen to anyone, when they try to discourage you, because they do that, believe me!