American Scandal!: The Solution for the Crisis of Character by
Pat Williams
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Pat Williams has written an excellent book. Many, many great quotes and valuable information and encouragement is contained in this book! I trust you will enjoy the quotes below:
Core values are of no value unless they reflect God’s values. p. 47
My basic principle is that you don’t make decisions because they are easy; you don’t make them because they are cheap; you don’t make them because they are popular. You make them because they are right. ~Theodore H. Hesburgh p. 47
If He knows you’ve done the right thing, and you know you’ve done the right thing, then it really doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. p. 60
Truth is a hard master and costly to serve, but it simplifies all other problems. ~Ellis Peters p. 78
I think that honesty is still the best policy. I think morality still pays off. I believe in all those old-fashioned things because I honestly think they work. ~Ann Landers p. 78
The first step in greatness is to be honest. ~Samuel Johnson p. 78
Skilled ignorance is often more powerful than knowledge and honesty, but only temporarily, only for a short time. In the long-run knowledge and honesty will pay off. ~Vince Lombardi p. 80
Honesty has to be my number-one ingredient for success. Honesty means being sincere. It also means being fair in your deals and agreements. ~Dave Thomas p. 80
Remember, them, as long as you live, that nothing but strict truth can carry you through with either your conscience or your honor unwounded. It is not only your duty, but also your interest, as a proof of which you may always observe that the greatest fools are the greatest liars. ~Lord Chesterfield p. 81
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill p. 82
I think of Lew Wallace, who wrote Ben Hur. He began working on the book with the intention of discrediting the idea that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. However, as he researched for the life of Christ, his attitude began to change. His doubt slowly began to melt away, culminating in the day he got down on his knees and surrendered his life to Christ. His classic novel, made into a movie that won ten Academy Awards – including Best Picture – became a wonderful affirmation of the Gospel. ~Pat Williams pp. 83-84
Let us so live that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry. ~Mark Twain p. 91
As you are in private, so you are in public. What is in a person’s private life will eventually surface in public, for good or evil. ~Joe Gibbs p. 96
You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great. ~Joe Sabah p. 139
You may be dissappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try. ~Beverly Sills p. 140
Joy doesn’t come from having more money than anyone elsew. It isn’t the feeling you get when you receive the promotion that your co-worker really wanted. It doesn’t spring out of an absence of troubles in your life, but rather from an understanding that God is using whatever troubles you experience to strengthen your character and make you a better human being.
Joy is an inner sense of peace, contentment, and happiness that stays with you even when things aren’t going your way. Joy is keeping a smile on your face when people look at you and ask, “What in the world have they got to be smiling about?”
For the most part, joy comes from God’s presence in your life. It’s impossible not to have joy if you’re walking with God on a daily basis. But joy also comes from maintaining an attitude of gradtitude, from doing what the old song says:
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one.
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done. pp. 148-149
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose. ~Dr. Seuss p. 176
Former New York Mayor Rudy Guliani has always kept a small sign on his desk. The sign bears two words: “I’m responsible.” p. 176
The good news is that the best season of your life can be ahead of you, no matter what your age or circumstances … if you choose to make it so … because 90 percent of your potential is not only untapped and unused but undiscovered. That’s not just good news … it’s incredible news! ~Tim Hansel p. 179
If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders. ~Dear Abby p. 181
The worst thing you can do for those you love is the things they could and should do for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln p. 181
As far back as he could remember, the young man had always wanted to be a writer. He spent almost every moment of his leisure time working on his craft, and the more he wrote, the more his passion for writing grew. Now, in his twenties, it was becoming apparent that he had chosen the wrong profession. He had received more than 120 rejections from various publishers. Their form letters said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and decorated the walls of his apartment. Not one of his short stories or novels had been accepted, but the young man continued to write and look for new publishers who might be interested.
On the 123rd try, someone finally said yes. A publisher was willing to take a chance on This Side of Paradise. That’s when the writing career of F. Scott Fitzgerald finally got going. p. 193
To finish first, you must first finish. ~Rick Mears p. 215
If you’re too big to do the little things, you’re too little to do the big things. ~Terry Johnson p. 223
Humility is not denying the power you have but admitting that the power comes through you and not from you. p. 223
Someone asked Dr. Albert Schweitzer how children learn, he answered: “First by example. Second by example. And third by example.” p. 259
Francis of Assisi once invited a young monk to go with him into a neighboring village to preach. Francis had already gained a widespread reputation as a great man of God, so the monk accepted his invitation with enthusiasm. The two of them traveled into the town, where they spent the day tending to the needs of the poor and suffering. All day long the young monk waited for Francis to set up a place where they could preach; but before that ever happened, the sun started to set, and it was time for the two men to head back home.
On their way out of town, the monk told Francis that he was confused and disappointed. “I thought we were going to preach,” he said.
Francis responded gently, “My son, we did preach. We were preaching while we were walking. We were watched by many, and our behavior was closely observed. It is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk.” On another occasion St. Francis advised his followers, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.” p. 259
We have to decide if we want to impress people or influence them. ~Tom Landry p. 260
The most essential quality for leadership is not perfection but credibility. People must be able to trust you. ~Rick Warren p. 261
People are changed not by coercion or intimidation but by example. ~John Maxwell p. 261
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. ~Edmund Burke p. 278
Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain. ~Ralph Waddo Emerson p. 279
Fear God, and you need not be afraid of anyone else. ~Woodrow Wilson p. 280
Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common ones and make them great. ~Orison Swett Marden p. 285
Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. ~Augustine p. 291
I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sunrise; not because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything else. ~C.S. Lewis p. 292
Faith is like a muscle; it grows with exercise, and the more we know of the trustworthiness and faithfulness of God ... His grace, love, power, and wisdom … the more we can trust Him. ~Bill Bright p. 292
How did we ever get the idea that faith in God is connected to hard-backed pews, boring sermons, and dirge-like music? It is incredible to me that anyone could come into the presence of the Creator of the Universe and be bored. God isn’t some white-bearded grandfather who likes to tell boring stories about the good old days. There is absolutely nothing about Him to bring on a yawn or cause your eyelids to start drooping. p. 294
The story of Jesus is the story of a celebration - a story of love … Jesus embodies the promise of a God who will go to any length to win us back. Not the least of Jesus’ accomplishments is that He made us, somehow, lovable to God. ~Philip Yancey p. 296
There’s nothing that goes on where God says, “Oops, I missed that one.” Every circumstance that happens in life, God has control of. ~Matt Ware p. 297
Chances are good that you’ve never heard of Matt Ware, the young man who is quoted above. Chances are also good that you would have not heard of him except for the terrible accident in 1998 that left him paralyzed. Matt was a standout high school basketball player with dreams of further success in the sport. Of course, those dreams died the day Matt was injured.
Matt doesn’t understand why this happened to him, but he isn’t bitter or angry about it because he knows for certain that his life is in God’s hands. He has faith that God always sees the big picture, and he trusts that God is in control of everything. Does that mean God caused Matt Ware to become paralyzed? No! What it does mean is that God knew that it had to happen, and that He allowed it for some greater good that we are not yet able to see from our vantage point. pp. 297-298
God is too good to be unkind,
He is too wise to be confused.
If I cannot trace His hand,
I can always trust His heart. ~Charles Spurgeon p. 298
It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular … it is why he does it. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart, and he can therefore do no common act. ~A.W. Tozer p. 303
You can buy a man’s time. You can buy a man’s physical presence in a given place. You can even buy a number of skilled muscular, motions ecah day. But you cannot buy enthusiasm and loyalty. You must earn these. ~Clarence Francis pp. 326-327
Golden Rule principles are just as necessary for operating a business as trucks, typewriters, or twine. ~James Cash Penney p. 337
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