“Forgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek.”

There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.

It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.

Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.

We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.

The path of joy was connection and the path of sorrow was separation.

Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.

There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they’re falling in.

A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.

If you are setting out to be joyful you are not going to end up being joyful. You’re going to find yourself turned in on yourself. It’s like a flower. You open, you blossom, really because of other people.

Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely.

Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you dont want to repeat what happened.

In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.

To protect our children, we must talk to them about rape.

A very important but difficult piece of renewing relationships is accepting responsibility for our part in any conflict.

We need other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A person is entitled to a stable community life, and the first of these communities is the family.

And gradually they’re beginning to recognize the fact that there’s nothing more secure than a democratic, accountable, and participatory form of government. But it’s sunk in only theoretically, it has not yet sunk in completely in practical terms.

Hold everybody accountable? Ridiculous!

In millions of encounters each year between the police and the public, it may be too much to expect that every officer will always get it right. But it is not too much to expect that we can put the right safeguards in place to hold officers accountable when they get it wrong.

I repeat… that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people and for the people all springs, and all must exist.

Through biblical community in their local church, through honesty and transparency, sharing what it is that troubles them, being accountable.

Find a partner, commit to taking action, and hold each other accountable.

My Dear Son… remember that you are accountable to your Maker for all your words and actions.

I like being responsible for myself.