But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (ESV)
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book I:
You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening:
We shall not reap unless we continue ploughing and sowing. The reward comes in due season -- but only to those who faint not. Let us not grow weary of doing good, for the harvest is as certain as the seed.
John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians:
Do not think of labor as affliction. The one who does the work of the Lord fights against the devil, and that one must expect wounds. But the victory is already given -- Christ has conquered. So we labor not to earn the triumph but because the triumph has been won.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Ch. 1:
Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience withdraws from grace. And he who seeks private advantage loses what he sought in common. No man safely ruleth but he that hath learned gladly to obey.
What work have you abandoned mid-stride -- not because it failed, but because it demanded more of you than you were willing to give?
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, VI.22:
Adapt yourself to the life you have been given, and truly love the people with whom fate has surrounded you, and do it with sincerity.
St. Clair, MI -- Wednesday, July 15
High near 91°F, low 66°F. Mostly sunny through midday, then smoke moves in after 2pm from Canadian wildfires. Light NNW winds at 3-7 mph. Tonight: partly cloudy with lingering smoke, winds shifting NNE 2-6 mph. Thursday clears back to mostly sunny, 88°F.