from THE DECEIVER by Livio Fanzaga:
"[The Enemy] pushes us to excell above others, to enforce our talents and strengths, . . seeking always consent, approval, and applause from others. Satan exerts himself without our awareness, to take us away from God, feeding the cult of our "selves" in the secret of our hearts." Then Livio Fanzaga writes: " . . . you are either an image of Mary or of the demon. Seek to be a living image of the very humble one, who never puts herself on display and knows how to pass through the world unknown, she who is the greatest of all creatures. Work solely for love of God, love being an ordinary person . . . You will then be a flower that Mary cultivates in this world of external appearances. Her scent will rewaken in the hearts of men nostalgia for being little and humble."
Dear Denise,
ReplyDeleteNow that is just about the anti-thesis of what I came here to do . . . which was to give you an award for writing a blog I admire very much and follow regularly. And yet what you write about me as a blogger is so very true, '...a tendency to obsess about (my) blog and rush-to-read comments. ...like to highlight (my) own work and can appear as shameless in self-promotion as secular writers.'
I suppose I could be ashamed, chastised or chagrined, but instead, I am in awe. He never wastes an opportunity to teach us how to grow, does He?
Anyway, it doesn't matter. I still want to give you the little "award" -- such as it is -- because I do love your writing. I love that you are the most selfless, gentle and humble Christian writer I know. And I'm thrilled for this free and priceless lesson!
God bless you! booklady
http://okie-booklady.blogspot.com/2009/04/lemonade-stand-award.html