In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened.

The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.

That's why I want to change Mississippi. You don't run away from problems - you just face them.

People ask why God allows suffering. You could just as well ask the Minister of Transport why he allows accidents on Britain's roads.

When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they're not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can 'cause I know I'm gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can? Some days, they pan out a little better than others, but you still gotta always just try.

In this world, full often, our joys are only the tender shadows which our sorrows cast.

I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down.

The breakthrough innovations come when the tension is greatest and the resources are most limited. That's when people are actually a lot more open to rethinking the fundamental way they do business.

Any of us can be happy and have a good attitude when everything is going our way. But I believe it's the real test of your character and of your faith to say, 'Things are not going our way, but I'm still being good to people; I'm still attending church; I still have a good attitude.'

I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else - an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage.

But I think my mistakes became the chemistry for my miracles. I think that my tests became my testimonies.

Tough times never last. Tough people do