#nonfiction

My pastor, Pete Wilson, gave a message on prayer, specifically citing this idea many of us have that prayer is a kind of transaction. beside him on the platform, an object the size of a refrigerator stood cloaked beneath a black cover. He said, 'most of us have reduced prayer down to a transaction. A way to manipulate what we want. A vending machine.' At that point, he yanked off the cover revealing a large vending machine, loaded with all kinds of snacks. He inserted some coins and pushed the button for peanut M&Ms (smart man, my pastor). Nothing happened. He hit the machine a couple of times, tried to rock it. Nothing. He continued. 'Most of the time when we go to God, it's because we want something. If we get what we want, we turn and walk off, satisfied. If we don't get what we want, we get frustrated; we kick the machine and blame God for not answering our request.' This 'transaction' view of prayer will always disappoint us because at the root of it, we think it's all about us. but prayer is so much more than giving God a list of our wants and needs or, in some cases, our demands. Prayer is communication. It's talking and listening. ↗

— Diane Moody

#diane-moody #nonfiction #prayer #communication

I believe that there is something in all of us that is seeking expression, that wants to be heard, that wants to be accepted and respected and loved. We each express ourselves in different ways - through manipulation or domination, through receiving and giving pain, through crying, through loving, through giving hope and inspiration to others. We are all seeking the same thing - expression of who we are and what we want from this life. ↗

— Robin D. Hart

#inspirational #law #lawyers #legal #nonfiction

I could talk more directly in a nonfiction voice than I could in fiction. ↗

— Joan Didion

#directly #fiction #i #more #nonfiction

I like to get paid for doing basic research, so it's pleasant to write some nonfiction about it. ↗

— Bruce Sterling

#basic #basic research #doing #get #i

No one cared what St. Louis thought, although the city got a wink for pluck. ↗

— Erik Larson

#nonfiction #st-louis #change

The child intuitively comprehends that although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue ... ↗

— Bruno Bettelheim

#comprehension #education #fiction #learning #nonfiction

We ate, if we were fortunate, a spoonful of food each day. We drank as much water as we could keep in our cupped hands. The dying began on the fifth day. ↗

— Dave Eggers

#food

Friendship is greater than the colonial and dominating race ideologies of hundreds of years." -"Some of My Best Friends ↗

— Luis J. Rodríguez

#race #friendship

Though I have started emailing with one of my fellow readers whenever there's something important to say about Modern Family or Friday Night Lights, and with another when I notice her updates on Goodreads.com. ↗

— Rachel Bertsche

#goodreads #nonfiction #family

Beyond that, I seem to be compelled to write science fiction, rather than fantasy or mysteries or some other genre more likely to climb onto bestseller lists even though I enjoy reading a wide variety of literature, both fiction and nonfiction. ↗

— Joan D. Vinge

#beyond #both #climb #compelled #enjoy