Some thoughts and a repost!

So,  I do think Sunday should be “Sabbath”.  More importantly, my Fiance thinks so too.  But, I also think it may be a day people are sitting at home, clicking around on the internet, trying to find something to read.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Who knows.

Anyway, I have come up with a solution.  I still have my old blog posted and I was going through it.  I realized a few things.  I am a horrible writer and, I can repost these, and a lot of people may not have read them before.  They are of a different style.. more devotional type.  So. Sunday devotional, or Repost Sunday.  Whatever you want to call it.  Anyway.  I started at the beginning of my blog, and pulled out the ones that I think don’t suck too bad.

Come check it out this Sunday. (Or Monday, if you are a “No Internet Sunday” Family)  I hope these blogs are thought provoking, and initiate some comments.  Ahh. Heck. I’ll post one of my old blogs right now.. so you get an idea…

I’m a Failure (repost from 06/04/07)

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” I guess that also means the only man who never fails is the man who never does anything. I have been faced with the fear of failure a lot this week. Wednesday was my official “quit date”. Yes. I am quitting smoking again. Seeing as how I used the word “again”, you can see that this is something that I have failed at quite often. In the midst of quitting, I was confronted with a problem at work. One I have never dealt with before. If I failed at this problem, it wasn’t just my pride, it was my job.

I have failed tons of times before. And before each time, there was a fear that I was going to fail. I have succeeded many times as well. And before each time, there was a fear that I was going to fail. Basically, no matter what I do; somewhere in the back of my head, I’m afraid I will fail.

Everybody fears. Everybody fails. You can’t judge a person by there failures, because, you will always be disappointed. Whenever you have a goal, there is a chance you will fail. But believe me, if used right, that failure could make you stronger than you could ever imagine. Look at Paul.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 3: 12-14

Paul is awesome. He wrote that from jail. He had been sent on his last mission from Jesus, before his ascension to Heaven. His mission was to witness Jesus in Rome, to bring his Gospel to the end of the earth. That is where he was arrested. So, while he was writing this letter to the Philippians, most would say he failed. How well can you spread the word from house arrest or prison cells? It didn’t stop Paul. He knew that if he gave up, there was no possible way he could succeed in Jesus’ mission. So he conducted his ministry as best he could in chains and shackles. How awesome is that?

How can we be like Paul? How can I make myself get back on that horse? The bigger question may be, when I do fail, how do I keep faith that I can still be something, someone, in Christ’s eyes? Because for us, failure is inevitable. (It’s probably what we are best at) How we deal with it is not inevitable. As Christ-followers, we need to remember that we are accepted by Jesus because of grace, not based on performance. If we fail, SO WHAT!? What is important is that we move forward in Christ’s plan, and glorify him to the best of our ability. Strive harder to be like Paul, learn from our failure and don’t let it make us afraid to try other things or move forward. Success can only happen when on the verge of failure. So, if you live your life scared of failure, you will live your life scared of success.