Let me be a woman....

I'm reading this book right now by Elisabeth Elliot, "Let Me Be a Woman". It's a beautifully written work of encouragement from Elisabeth to her daughter before she gets married. I'm only about half way though it, but I wanted to sum up some thoughts in a few quotes.

"...the freedom of the sailboat to move so swiftly and beautifully is the result of obedience to laws. The builder of the boat had to know the proper ratio of beam to keel and mast. The one who sails the boat obeys the rules of sailing...She is doing the thing she was made for. she is free not by disobeying the rules but by obeying them...the crux of the questions of liberty and liberation. Does it mean casting off all restrictions? (Could a ship sail without them?) Does it mean doing what we feel like doing and not doing what we don't? It means discipline. It means doing the thing we were made for."

"We have something to respond to, something that directs and calls and holds us, and it is in obedience to the command that we will find our full freedom."

"Single life may be only a stage of a life's journey, but even a stage is a gift. God may replace it with another gift, but the receiver accepts His gifts with thanksgiving. This gift for this day. The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived-not always looked forward to as though the "real" living were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow."

"The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman...For the Christian woman, however, whether she is married or single, there is a the call to serve."

"You yourself will be given light in exchange for pouring yourself out for the hungry.; you yourself will get guidance, the satisfaction of your longings, and strength, when you "pour yourself out," when you make the satisfaction of somebody else's desire your own concern; you yourself will be a source of refreshment, a builder, a leader into healing and rest at a time when things around you seem to have crumbled."

"To accept limitation requires maturity...[the child] has to grow up to realize that saying 'yes' to happiness often means saying 'no' to yourself."

And that's all I've read so far:) I'm sure there will be many more quotable quotes as I continue reading. This book has been really challenging on my thoughts and encouraging as I continue to pursue righteousness! If you get a chance to read it, please do:).