Words from Ann and Francis.

And no matter how loud and crazy and broken the world is, child? Let joy live loud in your soul.

And believe that you are His beloved – it’s only when you trust He loves you that you really begin to live. Really, count a thousand blessings more, never stop. Why wouldn’t you want joy? Sing to no one and everyone on the front porch in the rain and laugh so much they question your sanity. Pet the dog long.

Because really, none of us knows how long we have. Remember that a pail with a pinhole loses as much as the pail pushed right over. A whole life can be lost in minutes wasted… in the small moments missed. None of this is forever grace. That’s why it’s amazing grace.

-Ann Voskamp
excerpt from What a Parent Wants to Say Before a Child Leaves

Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people he has made?

-Francis Chan