Mattie Stepanek's Quotes

I've gotten books published. I've met famous people that are very nice. I look back and I say, 'Wow. Thank you, God, for giving me this gift. And thank you for helping me to keep going.'

If it came to a magic genie, I would ask him for two extra wishes. One would be that no one would have to live with the muscular dystrophy disease or any disease. And the second one would be world peace, that we just stop fighting, talk about things, and we could live in harmony once again, like God intended us to do.

It doesn't matter how you pray. Just pray. All religions are beautiful and they all have one common belief. There's something bigger and greater than us that can give us and take from us life. It is better than the here and now.

Maybe I wanted to have kids because you want to leave behind lessons, leave behind everything that matters to you. That's how you touch the world. But I have to reconsider what it's like to leave a legacy.

People are fighting over how our heartsongs are different. But they don't need to be the same. That's the beauty. We are a mosaic of gifts. Each of us has our inner beauty no matter how we look.

People will come up to me everywhere and say, 'Ah, I saw you on 'Larry King,'' and, 'Ah, I saw you on 'Oprah.'' And it's really nice, and a lot of people say, 'Is it a pain?' And I say 'No.' And it's not annoying.

Poetry is a beautiful way of expressing feelings - happy, sad, angry, caring. It's also a way that we share with other people, to help them with those feelings.

Remember to look at your glass half full and not half empty. A lot of my strength comes from God. God has given me a gift - the gift of life - and it's amazing that I live each day.

Sometimes my body wakes me up and says 'Hey, you haven't had pain in a while. How about pain?' And sometimes I can't breathe, and that's hard to live with. But I still celebrate life and don't give up.

The doctor said, 'He can't last a week.' And I did. And they said, 'There's no way this kid's going to last a month.' And I did. And so they said, 'Two years. He's not going to make it.' Two years. 'Five years. He can't do that.' I lived to be five years. 'He's never going to hit double digits.' And here I am, a new teenager.

Wars should be fought with words, not bombs, not weapons. And calm words. I think that wars should be fought over a chessboard and a cup of something to drink.

We all have life storms, and when we get the rough times and we recover from them, we should celebrate that we got through it. No matter how bad it may seem, there's always something beautiful that you can find.

You know, it's kind of hard because I really - I see kids on their Rollerblades and their bikes, and just running around, climbing trees, and I used to do that. And I loved doing that.

Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.

Sad things happen. They do. But we don't need to live sad forever.

Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future.

While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed.

Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.

There can be many different views of what Heaven is like, because Heaven is whatever makes each person eternally and fully happy.

The way of life is not as easy as some people think... like me.

Expressing my feelings and then the opportunity to share it with others is just such a gift.

God gives me hope that there is something greater than us, something better and bigger than the here and now, that can help us live.

I do fear death. But what I actually fear is not dying. I mean, true, it will be sad. But I know that there is a better place waiting for me.

I feel that God has given me a very special opportunity that I should not let go to waste. I use the gift he has given me.

I think that someone is watching out for me, God, my guardian angel, I'm not sure who that is, but they really work hard.

I want to be remembered as a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played.