Exerpts from books I am currently reading:

Spiritual:
"since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God"
2 Corinthians 4: 1-2 (Message: Remix)

Language practice:
<<>> pensó el muchacho mientras intentaba una vez más leer la escena del entierro con que se iniciaba el libro. <>. Incluso sin un rey que lo interrumpiese, no lograba concentrarse. Todavía estaba en duda con respecto a su decisión. Pero se estaba percantandode una cosa importanteÑ las decisiones eran sólo el comienzo de algo. Cuando alquien tomaba una decisión, en realidad estaba sumergiéndose en una corriente poderosa, que lleva a la persona a un lugar que nunca había soñado a la hora de decidir.
El Alquimista by Paulo Coehlo

Inspiration for work:
As younger generations of Christian leaders honestly face our shared history, they can begin to imagine a different role for our churches in the future, in hopes of creating a different path for their nations, a different world for their children. This shared dissatisfaction, together with this shared imagination and hope, combine to form an emerging consensus that is spreading across the global South.
Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McLaren

Fun/Fiction:
"Soon the pretties were all loaded into the helicopter, and the two villagers stepped back, waving and smiling. Tally didn't wait for it to take off. She headed southward down the coast, back in the direction it had come from, staying below the cliffs to keep out of sight. The trick would be waiting until the machine was far enough from the villagers before climbing into the open sky. After weeks of hiding, she didn't want to be spotted this close to her goal. Tally had never pussed a Special Circumstances board as fast as it could go. Unlike hoverboards designed for randoms, the Cutter's didn't have safety features to keep you from doing anything stupid."
Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Stretch, Challenge:
"Defining patriotism as obedience to government- as an uncritical acceptance of any war the leaders of government decide must be fought-- has been disastrous for the American people. Failure to distinguish between the country and the government has led so many young people, recruited into the military, to declare that they would be willing to die for their country. Would not those young people hesitate before enlisting if they considered that they were not risking their lives for their own country, but for the government, and even for the owners of great wealth, the giant corporations connected to the government?"
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress by Howard Zinn