God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg

This book, by John Ortberg, has really brought up some wonderful ideas and thoughts. What I love so much about this book is that one of his first examples is Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam". I love art so much, so this really meant a lot to me. He also uses "Where's Waldo" which is just plain fun!

Chapter 1: God's Desire

"For over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living..." quote of Thomas Kelly

"Apparently one of the messages that Michelangelo wanted to convey is God's implacable determination to reach out to and be with the person he created. God is as close as He can be. But having come that close, He allows just a little space, so that Adam can choose. He waits for Adam to make his move." p. 13

"This picture [The Creation of Adam] reminds us: God is closer than we think. He is never farther than a prayer away. All it takes is the barest effort, the lift of a finger. Every moment--this moment right now, as you read these words--is the "one timeless moment" of divine endowment, of life with God." p. 14

"[When speaking about the 'Everywhereness of God'] He speaks (in the same words of Garrison Keillor) in 'ordinary things like cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, though sports, music, and books, raising kids--all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through'." p. 14

"The central promise in the Bible is not 'I will forgive you'; although of course that promise is there. It is not the promise of life after death, although we are offered that as well. The most frequent promise in the Bible  is "I will be with you'." p. 16

"Friends of ours have a daughter who said when she was five years old, 'I know Jesus lives in my heart because when I put my hand on it I can feel Him walking around in there.'" p. 17

"I have been asked by some how I can be so certain of the existence of a good God, and I have asked then in return if they have eyes to see. God has woven Himself irretrievably into Nature; left His fingerprints behind to show us where He's been. His signature is smeared into the curls of the Milky Way, forever circling above the rim of the world. God has scattered fragments of Himself all about the earth like a father hides eggs in the yard for his son's first Easter; hiding behind a tree with laughing eyes and waiting to see which of the treasures his child will uncover first." p. 20

"Frederick Buechner writes, 'There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving room to recognize him or not...because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.'" p. 23

"Maybe every heartbeat is not just the mechanism of a sophisticated plumbing system but the echo of God's voice, the murmur of God's love." p. 26