Soulspiration: Quotes About the Soul

In researching information regarding the soul, I came across a list of Soul Quotes which I thought were interesting, based on man’s own interpretation of what the soul means to them. I would like to share some of them with you as follows:

Neither height nor depth can measure the possibilities of the human soul–James Lendall Basford (1845-1915), “Sparks from the Philosopher’s Stone”, 1882

(A) great soul, with a great purpose, can make a weak body strong and keep it so…Mark Twain, “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc”, 1895

When you say a man has guts, you say he has a soul–Martin H. Fischer (1879-1962)

The windows of my soul I throw Wide open to the sun–John Greenleaf Whittier, “My Psalm”

The soul has no secret that the behavior does not reveal–Lao Tzu

You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body–C. S. Lewis

If I should die tonight what have I to show for my life in the way of soul-winning?–Fredonia Ellsworth Holloway (1867-1920), c.1909

Why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul you postpone the cure until next year?–Horace

Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul–Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations”

Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul–Mark Twain

You are a beautiful soul hidden by the trench coat of the ego–Mike Dolan@HawaiianLife

If you hide things in your soul, don’t forget about them–Terri Guillemets

The defects of the soul are like wounds in the body–whatever care one takes to heal, the scar still appears, and they are every moment in danger of reopening–Francois VI de la Rochefoucault (1613-1680)

Most men have more scars on their souls than on their bodies–James Lendall Basford (1845-1915), “Sparks from the Philosopher’s Stone”, 1882

When you do things from your soul you feel a river moving in you, a joy. When action comes from another section, the feeling disappears–Rumi

With all your science–can you tell how it is, and whence it is, that light comes into the soul?–Henry David Thoreau

Is soul the stem and body the blossom–or body our stem, with soul its seasonal bloom?–Terri Guillemets

One thing in the world, of value, is the active soul–Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my soul, the music of the universe can be heard–Eric Honeycutt, August 2011 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter

What is soul? It’s like electricity–we don’t really know what it is, but it’s a force that can light a room–Ray Charles

Webs of strange patterns we weave (each owns), From colour and soul; and like unto these, Soul has its tones and semitones, Mind has its major and minor keys–Amy Levy, “In a Minor Key (An Echo from a Larger Lyre),” c.1884

The soul, like the body, lives by what it feeds on–Josiah Gilbert Holland

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire–Ferdinand Foch

You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out–Martha Graham

The above quotes can be found, along with others, on The Quote Garden (www.quotegarden.com) if you would like to look up additional quotes about the soul. I found it most interesting to see a number of quotes from the 1800’s. During that time period, many individuals wondered about the purpose of the soul as well.

From my earlier post (Scripture Quotes About the Soul), we learned that the Bible has many answers regarding the mysteries of the soul. We just need to continue to read God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our inmost being–our souls–for the answers to His will and purpose for our lives.

Blessings,
Yvonne

Book Reading Now: “Winter Garden” by Kristin Hannah.

Soulspiration: Bible Verses About the Soul

The scriptures give us a number of verses from various books of the Bible that reference the soul. In my search for them, I came across many that give answers as to what the soul means. Some of them are as follows:

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV) – But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Matthew 16:26 (NIV) – What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Psalm 62:1 (NIV) – Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.

Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV) – This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Psalm 42:11 (NIV) – Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 103:1 (NIV) – Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits–who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion–who satisfies your desires with good things.

Psalm 130:5-6 (NIV) – I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 19:7 (NIV) – The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV) – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 63:1 (NIV) – O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Proverbs 16:24 (NIV) – Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV) – As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

In reading the above scriptures one can see a common theme throughout and that is the theme of Salvation (Psalm 62). God created us to thirst after righteousness and to seek Him because even in our mother’s wombs we were created to praise Him. Psalm 139 says that He created our “inmost being” and that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of a soul is:

“The spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe; a person’s total self; an active or essential part; a moving spirit.”

If we seek Him, we will find Him, and He will reach down into our inmost being (soul) and show His love to us. Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) says:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

May the Lord richly bless you and keep you in His loving care each and every day.

Blessings,
Yvonne

Books reading: “The Bridge” and “The Chance” by Karen Kingsbury

Soulspiration: The Windows of the Soul

Last week I ended with a quote by Thomas Phaer: “The Eyes are the windows of the soul.” I have heard this quote many times and wanted to explore it further. The eyes help us see the “true colors of someone.” I believe that is what Jesus does with us. He looks deep down into our being and knows us–the good, the bad, and the ugly.

About two weeks ago as I was scrolling down on my FB page, I came across a story that I think might help illustrate this even more.

It begins by setting the scene: A young couple with their young child entered a restaurant and were promptly seated. The child sat in the high chair provided. Another man–very rough and gruffy–enters the same restaurant and is seated across the room. As soon as he sits down at his table, he begins smiling at the child and begins making comments such as, “Do you know how to play peek-a-boo?” The parents looked at the man and then at the gleeful face of their child and questioned whether or not they knew or even recognized this man. This back and forth continued between the child and man until it was time for them to leave. As soon as the young couple stood up and headed towards the cashier, the man did so as well. The child apparently couldn’t wait to get near the man and showed this by practically leaping into his arms. The couple was extremely puzzled by this entire situation. The man gently gave the child back to its mother and said, “You take care of him. He is a very special child.” Upon hearing those words, the mother began to cry and the family left the restaurant.

Outside, the mother tried to process the entire incident and it was then that she realized her child had looked past the man’s appearance and looked straight into the very soul of the man. Her child didn’t see a rough and gruffy old man, but he saw the kindness and love that he had in his heart. She thought that this is also the way God looks at us. He looks straight into our hearts and our souls.

What will God see when He looks into our hearts and lives? May He always find us full of love for one another by loving our neighbor as ourselves. We can do this by reaching out to those who are going through a difficult time in their lives, who need a friend to just listen to their concerns and not judge–actions definitely speak louder than words.

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His continued care.

Blessings,
Yvonne

Currently Reading: “The Bus to Corinth” by Ladine Housholder.
Finished Reading: “The Well Women” by Ladine Housholder.

Soulspiration: Reflection

Recently, my thoughts for inspiration have turned inward, and I find myself dwelling on thoughts of reflection and the soul. Following are a number of scriptures which talk about reflection:

Proverbs 27:19 — As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.

I Corinthians 13:12 — Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

James 1:23-24 — Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

Merriam-Webster describes reflection as:

“An instance of reflecting; the action of bending or folding back; something produced by reflecting such as an image given back by a reflecting surface”.

A number of years ago, Matthew Wilder and David Zippel composed a song for the movie “Mulan” entitled “Reflection”. As Mulan gazes into the water, she sings:

“Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?
Somehow I cannot hide who I am, though I’ve tried
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
When will my reflection show who I am inside?”

Sometimes when we look into the mirror, we are pleased with who we see staring back at us/who we are–what we have become; but sometimes it can be hard to look into the mirror and we see someone we don’t recognize; someone who has become angry, bitter, selfish, greedy, and just mad at the world and blames God for all the “bad” things that have happened to him or her.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says that we are to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” God wants nothing but good things for each and every one of us. As we study His Word, He directs our paths and teaches us all things. We need to believe and trust Him!

The Soulspiration series will reflect upon “the soul”–a person’s total self–the spiritual principle embodied in human beings. I will share a number of quotes and explore how the soul reflects who we are. The following is one such quote:

“The Eyes are the windows of the soul”–Thomas Phaer

May the Lord richly bless you and keep you in His care.

Blessings,
Yvonne