Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,When the funds are low and the debts are high,And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,When care is pressing you down a bit,Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,As every one of us sometimes learns,And many a failure turns about,When he might have won had he stuck it out;Don't give up though the pace seems slow--You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,It seems to a faint and faltering man,Often the struggler has given up,When he might have captured the victor's cup,And he learned too late when the night slipped down,How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,And you never can tell how close you are,It may be near when it seems so far,So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

"Don't Quit"

- a poem by an unknown author

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TRANSFORMING UNPREDICTABLE MOMENTS OF LIFE INTO OPPORTUNITIES OF GROWTH

Dealing with defeat – mastering it to our advantage (Romans 12:1-2)

Stages to growth
Presenting our lives as a living sacrifice is the highest form of offering we can give to God. It is the giving of what we are, who we are, and all that we have. But this is only the first step we can take towards growth. We need to take the next step that will lead us to the next level and that is transforming our lives by the renewing of our mind.

Transformation involves our minds
Our lives are affected and influence by thinking on what happen to us specially those things we don’t expect, the unpredictable moments so to speak. Events that cannot be declared or indicate in advance, we cannot foretell through observation, experience and scientific reason. We cannot determine what, when and how. It caught us unaware, making us ineffective, and this state of our mind will determine either we are victorious or we are defeated.

Defeat doesn’t mean we are a failure unless we give up, because failure means final – that is when we give up. Though defeat and failure can mean two different things but still we need to deal with defeat. We need to master its cause, the unpredictable moments of life – mastering it to our advantages.

Transforming unpredictable moments of life into opportunities of growth
It implies a major change in form, nature, or function. It talks about conversion or change. It means turning a disadvantage to our advantage, a seemingly defeatist situation into victorious one, the unpleasant into something beneficial.

In their book, Watersheds, Robert Lauer and Jeanette Lauer detailed four important strategies for mastering the unpredictable moments of life, and transforming them into opportunities of growth.

Assume responsibility for yourself
It is important to deal actively with painful experience such as illness, death, divorce or the loss of job. Some people cope by blaming God, fate or others. Some turns to self-pity. They overlook the fact that ultimately we have to assume responsibility for our own lives. And consequently, we are the ones who must solve our own problems.

Make tough choices
Those who gained most through times of crises know it is not possible to grow by playing it safe and hoping all will turn out well. People grow because of the decisions they made. Risk frequently pays large dividends. Lee Iacocca, in his autobiography, wrote that decisiveness – the ability to make a decision and act on it – it is the mark of a good manager. It is also the mark of someone willing to risk, grow and become his or her person.

Seek relationships that enrich your life
Relationships are the web of life. They influence how we think, feel, and behave. At times, they affect the course of our lives. Successful people had friends or mentors who guided them through the early years of their careers.

Owned by:

Ptr. Ivanhoe Quiñones, NCCF Pastor

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