My favorite quote

If you've known me for very long, you've probably heard my favorite quote. I actually have two. One is "The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground." which goes along with my life verse "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." - Isaiah 7:9

The quote I'm talking about, though is this one...

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." I first heard it over 10 years ago in high school drill team. It dramatically changed my life. I have probably quoted it over a hundred times since then - at least. I also about 5 years ago fell in love with Charles Swindoll - his book "The Grace Awakening" especially. I consider him to have had a huge impact on my walk with Christ. I LOVE that the man who has had the most impact on my spiritual walk is responsible for the quote that has had the most significant impact on my character.

I don't know why I never looked it up to see who wrote it - but I am so glad I now know. Here is the whole quote:


"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education,
than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.
It will make or break a company … a church … a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude …
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes.

~ Charles Swindoll

Thanks to Rachel Rowell for the information - it made my day (maybe even my week)