I am not afraid of death, Abigail. I am afraid that I might draw back and not be bold in proclaiming the gospel." He hesitated, then said, "And I am afraid that I might not stand firm. That under the heel of the enemy, in pain, I might deny my Lord.

I grew up in a family in which no male upstream from me had ever finished high school, much less gone to college. But I was taught that even though there was nothing I could do about what was behind me, I could change everything about what was in front of me. My working poor parents told me that I could do better.

All women are the same, really: They are strong, but they are afraid of their own strength.

I never feared about my skills because I put in the work. Work ethic eliminates fear. So if you put forth the work, what are you fearing? You know what you're capable of doing and what you're not.

If you feel weak, limited, ordinary, you are the best material through which God can work.

I can't control the naysayers. I can control my attitude and work ethic and determination and that's what I'm focused on now.

The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

We go astray when we think that we can do spiritual work without spiritual power.

Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.

Writers tend to be addicted to houses ... We work at home, indulging the agoraphobia endemic to our kind. We are immersed in our surroundings to an almost morbid degree.

Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly.

Yes, it is God who works in you. And, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do the work. And, yes, you do the work.