Encouragement 4 The Day :“Strong At the Broken Places”

In reading an article by Martha Beck I came across a quote by Hemingway “The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” Oh I love the power and the lyrical beauty of a well spoken thought!

In going through struggles and in fighting depression, we tend to adopt an almost a fatalist point of view. We literally cannot see the forest for the trees but remember: NOTHING lasts forever!

I’m also learning to put things in perspective (one of my favorite words). When I consider the fact that one day this world will end a weird thing happens. It then makes no sense for me to get upset about bills, failures, and disappointments…you think I’m joking but it really works. Try it when you’re late for an appointment or you’re embarrassed about a mistake. Remind yourself that this world is only temporary and see what happens. Trivial things no longer become inflated disasters.

I don’t care what it is that you’re going through- at some point, it will end and if you endure, you will discover that you are indeed stronger at those broken places.

Encouragement 4 The Day: “Dare to Embrace Your Dream”

RIP Steve Jobs.

It’s amazing how the death of a total stranger can affect you simply by the way in which they lived their lives. I admire Steve Jobs for one reason that’s captured in a small portion of his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford in which he stated:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Read the rest of his speech here.

I would like to take it one step further. God did not create us haphazardly. Each of us was not only designed for a purpose, but there is a compass implanted within, calibratedto lead us to our divine destiny IF we choose to pay attention to it. Unfortunately, too often we let the ‘norms’ of society, the expectation of others and the rivers of self doubt coursing through our minds to dull our vision and thereby block our dreams.

·         Pay attention to what you love.

·         What is it that makes you feel alive and closest to God when you’re immersed in it?

·         Have you harbored a dream that you’ve pushed on the back burner simply because it ‘seemed unrealistic?”

Mr. Jobs dropped out of college and slept in the dorm rooms of some his friends while taking classes he enjoyed. If we had been asked to critique him right then, adjectives like ‘bum’ or ‘loser’ would probably come to mind. How seriously wrong would we have been?

Sometimes the opinions of others can be so deafening, that we need to withdraw from the noise, listen to the still small voice of God and answer His call on our lives. I can think of no greater reward than to hear the words: “Well done” when I meet Him face to face. Whitley Phipps sings a beautiful song: “Keep on Climbing.” As you listen, I hope you enjoy it and I do hope that you have the courage to Embrace Your Dreams!

Encouragement 4 The Day: “A Must Read Story-Vonetta Flowers”

It’s a chill bump story. You know those stories where you can literally trace the hand of God in someone’s life? This is one of them. I heard Vonetta’s name mentioned while listening to Joel Osteen and had to Google her to really get an understanding about her story. I’ve outlined the skeleton version below using bullet points but you must visit her website Vonetta's Story to really understand the power behind her testimony. Here goes:

·         Since she was a young girl (9 years old), she dreamed of competing and winning a Gold Medal in the summer Olympics and trained practically her entire life in the hopes of fulfilling that dream.

·          At the 1996 trials she was unsuccessful in obtaining a spot on the team.

·         She spent the next 4 years training but unfortunately did not make the team then either.

·         She decided it was time to retire and possibly start a family.

·         Her husband noticed a flyer asking track and field athletes to try out for the bobsled team and tried to talk her into going. She and her husband knew nothing about bobsledding and essentially she thought the whole idea was ridiculous.

·         Her husband decided to participate anyway but pulled a hamstring and she ended up completing the test for him because she wanted to assist him with his dream. (That’s the part that really gave me chill bumps).

·         Long story short, she became the first person of African descent from any country to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics and the first African-American to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics.

What if she had given up? It blew my mind to see how God ordered her steps because of her determined spirit and not only did she get her Gold Medal but she also became a trailblazer! I’m planning on purchasing her book: “Running on Ice”.

What a powerful testimony.  Indeed, disappointments can be brutal and some may even knock us down but we can’t afford to give up! You simply do not know what mind boggling blessings God has lined up for you in your future. Please, don’t miss out on claiming your victories by giving up.

Encouragement 4 The Day: "Ever Feel like Giving Up Lately?"

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

We live in a world where success and perfection are paramount, where people often ask “How are you?” but never stop for the answer, where any form of apparent weakness is regarded with disdain. Survival of the fittest-if you can’t keep up with the race then get out. Is it any wonder then that so many people give up? They look at the lives of celebrities, the rich and famous, people at the top of their game and think: “That will never be me-I can’t ever seem to get myself together.” If you’ve ever felt that way then this is for you (and for ME).

Chicken Soup for the Soul

 I had no idea of the history behind Chicken Soup for the Soul. In the words of one of the founders Jack Canfield, here’s a portion of what they experienced in trying to have their first book published: "We were rejected by 123 publishers all told," Canfield told Shareguide.com. "The first time we went to New York, we visited with about a dozen publishers in a two day period with our agent, and nobody wanted it. They all said it was a stupid title, that nobody bought collections of short stories, that there was no edge -- no sex, no violence. Why would anyone read it?" See the rest of his biography here

Walt Disney

At 22, Walt Disney experienced bankruptcy and in the 1930s he experienced what he called “a heck of a breakdown. Read the rest of his story here

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was initially a mediocre student ranking 15^th among 22 candidates set to enroll in Ecole Normale Superiuere.  See his story here He is quoted as saying: “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”

Henry Ford

Henry Ford spent $86,000 attempting to produce a car that would not be sold. After his investors deserted him, he started yet another company which also ended in failure. Read more here According to Mr. Ford: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Susan Jeffers

Susan Jeffers author of the book: “Feel the fear and do it anyway” received such a scathing letter from a reviewer that had it been my book, I might have promptly burned it. This is what she says: “My new career took a while to take hold. It took many, many rejections before my first book, FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY, was finally accepted by a publisher. The worst rejection letter I ever got was that "Lady Di could be bicycling nude down the street giving this book away and nobody would read it." See her biography here She has gone on to sell millions of copies-oh to see the look on that reviewer’s face.

And the list goes on and on. Whenever I’m inundated with thoughts of my failures it is such an inspiration to read the stories of fellow human beings who’ve faced failure and adversity and have never given up. I am also realizing that when you’re at your lowest point, you are quite possibly at the onset your greatest breakthrough if you don’t give up. Why? At this point inhibitions, meeting the status quo, and appearances start not to matter. You (or at least I do) somehow go into the “I have nothing to lose mode” and interestingly enough you begin to make things happen.

It’s been proven my dear friends that failures can breed success if only You Don’t Give Up!

Encouragement 4 The Day: "Where is God when I Hurt?"

As I surfed the internet today I came across a profound statement that literally slapped me across the face. It’s funny how words, phrases or sentences can take the same idea or principle and give it a whole new meaning. Indeed, the written word is a powerful tool and should therefore be used wisely and with great caution.

So what was it that I read? Here it is from the website http://www.becauseofgod.com/theme_devotions_for_women/where_is_God_when_I_hurt_part_2.html 

“When you think and feel things like, “I am hurting so much but I don’t feel God’s presence!  It is hard for me to think of Him much less pray to Him in my hurt!  I feel He has deserted me because He doesn’t seem to answer my cry for help!”  You need to understand (if you don’t already know) that from a psychological and physical standpoint, when you hurt your mind doesn’t think very clearly, because your mind is mentally trying to handle the pain. Your emotions are screaming pain and hurt so it isn’t easy to feel anything but what you are experiencing. When you are suffering, anxiety and depression can also weigh on your feelings and outlook on life. So when you feel like He isn’t there when you are suffering, you need to realize no matter how you feel He is with you!”

How absolutely profound! I knew that when someone was in a depressed state or going through extreme mental or emotional anguish situations ‘appear’ to be worse than they actually are. I’ve experienced that so frequently…something that may not bother me when I’m happy will cause me to bite someone’s head off when I’m sad or depressed. BUT, it never occurred to me to link that with my feelings of abandonment by God. It’s empowering when you can cognitively recognize that what you’re feeling is not factual but a symptom of your emotional state. Subsequently, I further understood why loving God and your fellow man should not be based upon feeling but based upon choice-in other words, loving with your head in addition to your heart.

So if you’re feeling as if God has abandoned you-He hasn’t. If you feel as if it won’t ever get better-IT WILL. Recognize that these feelings of despair are symptoms of your pain and just as your body can heal so can your mind and your soul. This too shall pass!

Rest if you must but DO NOT QUIT!

Encouragement 4 The Day-"When God has more Faith in Us than We have in Ourselves"

Persevering through trials is certainly not an easy task and in the midst of the pain hearing the phrase: “God never puts more on you than you can bear” may actually bring to mind a few choice words. “Hear me out” and consider Job.

Do you think that God’s plan was to set Job up for failure and allow Satan the pleasure of saying “I told you so”? Certainly not, God knew EXACTLY what Job was capable of yet Job in the midst of his pain certainly did not (he wanted to give up and die).  So what is the lesson?

1.       We cannot see what’s going on behind the scenes-stop trying to figure it out-trust God.

2.       We will have doubts-feel the fear and trust God anyway.

3.       If you’re going through it-He’s allowing it and there’s a good reason for it-trust God.

4.       When it seems to be more than you can bear-sometimes we fight when we should be resting-trust God.

5.       If He believes in you and your ability to be faithful (in spite of the pain)-He must know- He’s carried you this far-trust God.

I know in theory it all sounds good and I know that pain takes it to a whole other level, but if we can just remember the story of Job. Job had no clue that his end would be better than his beginning-he just refused to desert God and God did not let him down.

Encouragement 4 The Day-"To take your mind off the pain…Keep Your Eye on the Game!"

The topic today was not meant to sound glib…instead I actually experienced that today. It was RUFF (misspelling intended ‘cause that’s how it was). I was sooo discouraged, and tired and wanted to spend the day in bed but was tired of doing that too!!! I paced my apartment miserable because the job search was turning out to be fruitless at every turn. Finally, I got on the internet and just started reading and looking. Then I’d come across something funny and start laughing and when I finally got up from the computer I was in such a better mood I was surprised. Not only had I responded to two more job postings when I thought I had no strength left but, I found humor in the middle of my job search.  I had to say a prayer of thanks to God because my mood, I promise you, had gotten pretty dark. I was feeling rather unloved and unimportant to Him.

A plug for sports: When you’re losing or not playing as well as you want to, don’t think about it- just concentrate on the game (I learned this while ‘playing’ tennis). If I thought about how many points I was behind sure enough it did nothing but put me in an anxious mood which consequently had an even greater negative impact. But, if I concentrated on just returning the ball man, the dumbstruck look on my opponent’s face would be priceless. I’d start to notice something also…when they realized that I was catching up and started to become anxious- guess what happened? It’s interesting to watch psychology at play.

Ok-back to spiritual matters. So consider Job. What if his friends had, instead of fault finding, encouraged him to keep his eye on what is important? What if they had filled their conversations with talks of heaven and the promises of God or just gotten a tub of water with some oatmeal and allowed Job to soak while singing songs? This brings me to another important matter- be careful of the company that you keep when you’re going through trials. Even though some people mean well, just their nature will cause more harm than God.

I read an article today about how Tyler Perry was one of the highest paid men in the entertainment industry. If you haven’t read his story here is a link:  Tyler Perry. What if he had given up when he was homeless? I’m sure that he had no idea at that time he would be where he is today. Keep your eye on the Game! Trouble will not last!

(Oh and by the way-I'd decided that I wasn’t going to write on the blog today. Well guess what happened?) (Smile)

Encouragement 4 The Day-"Tenacity"

Tenacity


You’ve suffered loss,

You’ve endured pain,

Failure has knocked on your door,

You’ve felt the shame.

“Don’t Quit”

Just let it go they’ve said,

Others will succeed,

Your eyes are bigger than your head,

Your wants more than your needs.

“Don’t Quit.”

Life has slapped you down,

Sometimes it’s been your fault too,

Hard to keep your feet on the ground,

Not knowing if you’d pull through.

“Don’t Quit”

Endure until the end,

If you cannot stand then sit,

You may be your only friend,

Whatever the cost, so be it.

“Don’t You Quit”

             

                                           J.Y.M