The technical term is aphorism, a short saying that expresses a generally understood truth. Whether we call them proverbs, sayings, truisms, or maxims, their impact comes from being short, catchy, and easy to remember. In response to people’s questions, I sometimes think of something to say that might be memorable, which is important because of how easily I can forget stuff.
Here, I have written some of those thoughts.
  • A lie has no power if it doesn’t appear to be true.
  • All work and no play can still be fun if you whistle.
  • We seek deserving people for our giving, but God serves the undeserving.
  • The world we watch becomes the world in which we live.
  • We should be thankful for the valleys. Without them, we wouldn’t appreciate the mountaintops.
  • In following the Lord, we take one step at a time, right behind wherever he leads.
  • God wants to be your guide, not your chauffeur.
  • Only the hopeless have no hope.
  • Finding a treasure is great pleasure, but losing a treasure is tragedy.
  • The greatest of all rewards is to find a treasure you have lost.
  • When the cold days are gone, the roses will bloom again.
  • A leopard can’t change his spots without God’s help.
  • If we knew how much God was our answer, we wouldn’t bother with the questions.
  • A miracle put the stars in space, but the greater wonder is to be saved by his grace.
  • When people turn to the Lord and don’t find help, they need help in turning to the Lord.
  • Cleanliness is to godliness as a comfortable bed is to restful sleep.
  • We pray, not so God will do what we want, but so we can do what God wants.
  • Without God, life is hell.
  • God gave us a brain, but we still need to read his directions so we know how to use it.
  • Patient prayer permits the promise.
  • Fools speak their thoughts, but wise people listen.
  • Diamonds are only worth what people are willing to pay.
  • Our lives are like old jalopies. Restoration is a difficult, time-consuming task.
  • God adds something extra to ordinary people to make them extraordinary.
  • What you do with your time and money reveals what you value most.
  • Choose to enjoy life because the alternative is misery.
  • Unrestrained spending is a medication with serious side effects.
  • Blessed are those who run around in circles, for they shall be called big wheels.
  • A worthwhile life takes a lifetime to build.
  • Everything of value has a significant price.
  • Woe to the hypocrites who fool the mirror and think they will also fool God.
  • Our appetites are the forces that control us.
  • Woe to the man who pulls against God, for he has a noose around his neck.
  • Blessed are victims who trust God and do what they can, for they shall become victors.
  • Blessed are those who repent of their awfulness, for God shall give them his awesomeness.
  • Walk among giants and feel like a grasshopper. Walk with God and feel like a giant.
  • I learn the most by doing what I least like to do.
  • All frustration comes from taking responsibility for results beyond your control.
  • Our authority on truth is whatever we choose to listen to.
  • Life without Christ is a dungeon without Son light.
  • Over-extend yourself, and you’ll forever be playing catch-up.
  • Live within your means, and you’ll always have enough.
  • Satan is the master of deception, unless we see how masterfully we deceive ourselves.
  • True friends get to give. They don’t give to get.
  • The world we watch becomes the world in which we live.
  • The opportunity to help others can make life worth living.
  • Our actions reveal the truth beyond the words we say.
  • If you don’t own a goat, nobody can get your goat.
  • A turtle withdrawn in his shell is safe but alone.
  • Woe to those who refuse to help others, for they will find no help for themselves.
  • He who angers you controls you.
  • Fools speak their thoughts, but wise people listen.
  • Woe to those around whom the world revolves, for they shall become black holes in the universe.
  • Our most dangerous enemy is the one we fail to see.
  • Fear is conquered by holding God’s hand and walking through it.
  • Pigs prefer peas above pearls.
  • Woe to the pots who call the kettles black, for they shall be the darkest of all.
  • God helps those who help others instead of themselves.
  • To be appreciated, we must give of ourselves.
  • The most difficult image to understand is in the mirror.
  • God adds something extra to ordinary people to make them extraordinary.
  • A monkey will do what he sees, not what he is told.
  • Woe to those who bite the hand that feeds them, for they will without doubt go hungry.
  • Woe to those who ignore a neighbor’s pain, for they shall have their own pain ignored.
  • Whatever matters to us has the power to upset us.
  • Blessed are those who touch others, for they leave the fingerprints of God.
  • Blessed are open hands and caring hearts, for they belong to people who will have many friends.
  • Blessed are those who know God, for they shall never be alone.
  • The best way to be encouraged is to encourage others.
  • Writers are like professional photographers, who have to bring everything into focus, making sure all the settings are right.
  • The best goal is not to send a great message but to have a great message received.
  • Unlike the question of a tree falling in the forest, we can know our voice in print will be heard when we’re not there.
  • Great words are birthed out of undying patience, as people endure an endless search for the right thing to say.
  • Our actions reveal the truth beyond the words we say.
  • An early finish requires an early start and relentless plodding along the way.
  • The only writer who fails is the one who gives up.
  • A man convinced against his will nods in agreement but goes his own way, unconvinced.
  • A written story can live forever.
  • When a man fails to write about his life, a library of stories is lost when he dies.
  • After thoughts are put on paper, writers know themselves better than ever before.
  • Some of the most powerful stories are not yet complete.
  • As soon as God has done something for us, we have a story that needs to be told.
  • Unused talents are like jewels locked in a safe.
  • Good writers never die. They just get re-published.
  • If words contain no reward, people have no reason to read.
  • A good picture is framed by encouraging words.
  • An untold story is a candle with no flame.
  • If your life is an open book, you should make it worth reading.
  • The most important book you haven’t read is one you haven’t written.
  • A picture is worth a thousand words, and a few well chosen words create different pictures for a thousand readers.
  • A strong finish is better than a strong beginning.
  • Blessed are those who suffer pain and struggle to do right, for they shall have great stories to write about.
  • Blessed are the writers who have blank pages, for they shall create new worlds with their words.
  • Words are like sheep’s wool, needing to be tightly woven to make something wearable.
  • Expecting words on their own to achieve a compelling plot is like believing the universe created itself without a divine plan.
  • If bad things happen to good people, someone could tell us how good our writing is and we might lose sight of how badly we need to improve.
  • We have no way to know what miracle God might do, and how he will use our mistakes as an essential part of the process.
  • A book title is like a needle in a haystack—forever lost unless its brilliance grabs attention.
  • Effort must rise to the level of the dream or the dream will fall to the level of the effort.
  • Tools have no value unless they are used.
  • The more useless rubble you dig through, the more likely you will find gold nuggets.
  • An untold story is as valuable as a diamond forever locked in a safe.
  • The grass will be greener on your side of the fence… if you water it.
  • Without plenty of inspiration, perspiration stinks.
  • The best goal is not to send a great message but to have a great message received.
  • There’s no way to judge the value of work that’s never done.
  • We should be thankful for the valleys. Without them, we wouldn’t appreciate the mountaintops.
  • Woe to those who wait for perfect conditions, for they will never get anything done.
  • In following the Lord, we take one step at a time, right behind wherever he leads.
  • God wants to be your guide, not your chauffeur.
  • Only the hopeless have no hope.
  • When you try your best but don’t succeed, trusting God is what you need.
  • Impatience expects a tree to mature in a day.
  • Overnight successes require many years of work.
  • Persistence has value only when you’re knocking on the right door.
  • Mountain climbing is difficult—even painful, but if you can’t fly, it’s the only way to the top.
  • Good intentions make great excuses for doing nothing.
  • Woe to those whose hearts are wrapped up in their wealth, for they have discovered fool’s gold.
  • Woe to the fallen who never get up, for they will never experience victory.
  • Unused talents are like jewels locked in a safe.
  • An apple is good, but a seed produces a harvest.
  • When the mountain peak seems unreachable, be content with one step up.
  • Fear makes real the dragons of our imagination.
  • Choose to enjoy life because the alternative is misery.
  • Everything of value has a significant price.
  • Find that which truly satisfies, and you need not hunger again.
  • An impossible goal can still mark the right direction.
  • Without a tough battle, the victory cannot be great.
  • Woe to those who say “I can’t,” for they shall be right.
  • A strong finish is better than a strong beginning.
  • The thrill of victory overcomes the agony of defeat.
  • Adverse circumstances will either break us or build us.
  • Success that is easy is called luck.
  • The process is as important as the prize.
  • Encouragement builds success while criticism tears down.
  • Frustration sees a need but can find no way.
  • When our plans die, God’s vision can flourish.
  • Blessed are those who learn to tread water, for they shall keep their heads up and learn to swim.
  • Blessed are those who are willing to get wet, for they are the only ones who get to swim.
  • Learning how causes the impossible to become possible.
  • What you do with your time and money reveals what you value most.
  • Every ladder has a top and bottom rung. Where you are is not as important as the direction you are going.
  • A battle with the Lord is most easily won with surrender.
  • Anything is impossible when you don’t know how.
  • Mountains of impossibility are climbed one possible step at a time.
  • Tools have no value unless they are used.
  • Aiming at nothing is a waste of good bullets.
  • To get where we need to be, the next step is all we need to know.
  • Future steps have no value until they become the current step that is taken.
  • The more useless rubble you dig through, the more likely you will find gold nuggets.
  • Effort must rise to the level of the dream or the dream will fall to the level of the effort.
  • We can afford to be patient, but we can’t afford to give up.
  • The secret to having fun is assigning pleasure to all that needs to be done.
  • There’s no way to judge the value of work that’s never done.
  • When we’re in the valley, we should look up, for all deep valleys are surrounded by mountain peaks.
  • Fear is conquered by holding God’s hand and walking through it.
  • Blessed are they who seek to please God, for they shall rise from callused knees and take steps in the right direction.
  • A spider weaves hope for what might fly by.
  • To fulfill God’s purpose, the next step is all we must know.
  • People focus on perfection. God focuses on progress.
  • Wealth is measured by what we have received. Value is measured by what we have given.
  • The fear of failure guarantees failure. Walk with God, and you can be whatever he wants you to be.
  • The opportunity to help others can make life worth living.
  • An early finish requires an early start and relentless plodding along the way.
  • Success is guaranteed only when we put our God-given talents to use.