Shaker Sayings

In celebration of my new book about a Shaker girl - The Outsider - coming out in a few weeks (August 1), I'm sharing some of my research with you this week. Here are some sayings attributed to the Shakers. They were a very practical people in many of their ways and they believed in "putting their hands to work and giving their hearts to God." Their work was part of their worship. So here goes.

• "Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as if you were to die tomorrow."

• "He did not think when sowing those wild oats in his youth how uncomfortable the gritty oatmeal would prove to be for his aged teeth."

• "Never wish a thing done; do it!"

• "It is just as much a duty to commend a person for doing well as it is to reprove him for doing ill."

• "A place for everything and everything in its place."

• "Our thoughts are character molds. They shape language and actions."

Hope you're having a great week.