Shannon L. Alder

"Never pray to be a better slave when God is trying to get you out of your situation."

"Empowered Women 101: A confident woman doesn't have to talk a man into loving her. He either loves her completely, not enough or not at all. Regardless, she doesn't settle for less than she deserves."

"You didn't choose God. He chose you. When you stop feeling hurt by everyone and plotting your comeback, he has some very important things he wants you to accomplish with your life."

"What lies between where you are and where you want to be sometimes requires traveling through the Twilight Zone."

"Give up trying to convince people who you are, instead confuse them. It is a lot more fun!"

"A wise woman protects her kids. A wiser woman hangs out with police officers, retired FBI agents and private investigators."

"We are stronger than stigma, but until more celebrity role models openly discuss mental illness we will still be stereotyped as less than capable, by an upside down world that thinks reality television is actually normal behavior."

"She builds people up because she knows what it is like to be torn down."

"When you have a grasp on eternity your eyes won't ever see the battle or the lost people that hurt you. You will see a beautiful story of hope, in every character. It is not one person god loves. He loves us all and this is his story, our story and theirs."

"The best plot twists are the ones you didn't expect."

"Anyone can have a friend, but the one that would walk in a storm to find you is all you will ever need."

"The people that understand you the most are not always the people you call family. Often, it is the person that has traveled a parallel road because they have seen the same scenery in life and can comment on the view."

"The meaning you apply to what has happened to you is your decision. There will be critics that have their version, but God didn’t call them to be your audience, someone else did."

"Don't waste your time being what someone wants you to become, in order to feed their list of rules, boundaries and insecurities. Find your tribe. They will allow you to be you, while you dance in the rain."

"Always remember that you have been called worse things by better people."

"Always remember that you can explain things for people, but you can't comphrend for them."

"To die old with a young mind is such a tragedy. Naiveness was never a blessing."

"Either, you are in love with someone or you're not. Fear is complicated, not love."

"If your soulmate can't teach you a few things then what is the point of having one? I don't need someone to tell me I am right. I don't need someone to tell me I didn't screw up. I don't need someone to not push me to reach for my dreams. I don't need someone to not take an interest in making me better. I need a team mate, a best friend and someone that allows me enough room to have off days. I am allowed to be as silly, corny, upset at times, excited, scared and a million emotions, but still loved. I need someone that will be that way for me, also. I don't want perfection. I don't want to build my world around what other people think. I want to build it around positive experiences, spiritual growth, and adventure. That requires something deeper than just acting the way someone requires. It means finding someone imperfect that I have the ability to help and someone that sees my imperfectness and is willing to help me. If a soulmate is anything, it better be useful. Otherwise, it is simply a made up fantasy that has no place in God's plan for me."

"Before you ever get the person you really want in your life, you will be tested with every person that was wrong for you. You will be tempted with what was easy, what was familiar, what was only physical, what was safe and what was simply a friend to pull you out of a difficult situation because you didn't want to be alone. When you finally meet the person you were meant to be with you won't have to guess, decide or choose. You will be drawn to them. They will seem to fit who you are, but at the same time have the missing pieces that makes you want to become a better person. There is no need to be guarded because this soul is like your own and talking to them about the deepest things in life are effortless. They won't be like any other you have met and you will find yourself looking for parts of them in everyone you meet."