WQ - The Inner Fire

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I'm participating in the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write. And I'm quite late in getting this little collection of quotes and thoughts published. I felt like I needed someone to light a fire under me to get me motivated this past week . . . or perhaps I was just busy with other things.

You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within. ~Bob Nelson

Okay, maybe I need to fan the flames of some inner fire. That makes sense, because there are a lot of things I'm interested in and really do want to do, but the energy or focus is what's lacking. When I find ways to get that fire within to burn a little brighter, it does help me stay motivated and on task.

Fire is a natural symbol of life and passion, though it is the one element in which nothing can actually live. ~Susanne Katherina Langer

That's an interesting observation, isn't it? Quite true, and yet it is so common and natural to speak of being "on fire" for the things we believe in and are passionate about; "lighting a fire" in our hearts or in our minds; and many other kinds of flame and fire references for living well.

Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it. ~Mary Lou Retton

It's that inner fire that inspires us, that encourages us and helps us stay determined to make it through the hard times. It can make us brave and help us rise above challenges.

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke. ~Benjamin Disraeli

Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists . . . it is real . . . it is possible . . . it's yours. ~Ayn Rand

Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames. ~Rumi

Friends are like coals in a fire - together, they glow; apart, they grow cold. ~C.S. Lewis

Love is friendship set on fire. ~Jeremy Taylor

Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealousy is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the LORD.

Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

~Song of Songs 8:6-7~

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer

In the apostle Paul's letter to Timothy, there's a very similar reminder. Timothy's grandmother and mother helped light a fire of faith in his heart, and his mentor Paul was instrumental in getting that flame to burn even brighter. Now Paul reminds Timothy to keep fanning those flames. We all need those around us that help us keep the fire burning.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

~II Timothy 1:5-7~

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

~Hebrews 12:28-29~

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #36: Fire/Orange and Gold

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