You Can Quote Me...

On Thursday, January 20, 2011, I pushed the "publish post" button for the first time on my blog. To say I was quaking in my blogging boots is an understatement. But there comes a time when you have to quit thinking about doing something, and just do it, whether it's as perfect as you want it or not.

I've been thinking about adding a "Quotes" page on my blog for a while. But, true to my form, dadgummit, I've procrastinated because I want whatever I do with my quotes to be "perfect," whatever that is. I mean, when someone comes to my blog and sees that I have a quotes section, they need to say, "This is the most amazing quote section I've ever seen on a blog!" Or, "This is the most profound quote I've ever read in my entire life...and I found it on Shelley Harris' blog!"

Is that kind of thinking a ball and chain, or what?

I wish those kind of thoughts never crossed my mind, but they do. My goal, my hope, is that when they do cross my mind, they do just that - cross - and then mosey right on out instead of staking a claim. 

With that in mind, here I go!

I've been spurred on in this quote vein because lately, I've picked up this book again:

In the preface are these two sentences:

"The point is that much reading of many books may be like the gathering of wood, but the fire blazes forth from a sentence. The mark is left on the mind not by the kindling of many pages, but by the red-hot iron of a sentence set on fire by God."

That rang true with me. 

It's sentences - quotes - that stick with me. That change me. Now, I'm not advocating not reading, mind you. It's the reading of the whole book that colors the quote to make it even more powerful. Context obviously matters. But often, it's a few distilled lines that velcro themselves to your soul.

If you read my blog back in October 2011, I shared 29 quotes that I've been hearing in my head for years.  They have stuck with me. They have changed me.  They are my "start up" quotes on my quote page. If you look at the top of this post, you'll see three tabs labeled,  "Home," "My Crew," and "You Can Quote Me." When you click on the "You Can Quote Me" tab, it will take you to the page where I keep those 29, plus the new ones I plan to add.  

I'll be posting my new quotes weekly-ish. (How's that for giving myself some wiggle room?) They'll be on the top right sidebar of my home page.  From there, I'll roll it over onto the Quotes page for safe keeping. Hopefully, every once in a while, a sentence or two will be an encouragement to you!

In addition to my "starter" quotes, and in keeping with the anti-procrastination theme introduced at the beginning of this post, here is my first quote that is kickstarting this thing!  A gentleman said it to me a few mornings ago. It couldn't be more timely.

Quote for July 25, 2012:

"It doesn't have to be perfect. It needs to be done.