Success

Where there is NO CHANCE for failure, there can be NO SUCCESS

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.

I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”

By Dean Alfange

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*Originally published in This Week Magazine.Later printed in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He was raised in upstate New York. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of 1922.

It's In The Valley I Grow

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It's then I have to remember,
That it's in the valley I grow,

If I always stayed on the mountain top,
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God's love,
And would be living in vain.
I have so much to learn,
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it's in the valley I grow.

I do not always understand,
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.
My little valleys are nothing,
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan's loss.
Forgive me Lord, for complaining,
When I'm feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder,
This it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me,
Lord, And use my life each day
To share your love with others,
And help them find their way.
Thank you for valleys, Lord,
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious,
But it's in the valleys I grow!!!!!!!!

The poem above was written by Jane Eggleston who currently lives in Virginia. Her son Jeff states, "She is a wonderful person, loves Jesus and has been the best mother anyone could ever ask for." ~A beautiful tribute to his mother~

God won’t change a person

It’s true. No matter how hard you pray for a person to change, God won’t change them. Certainly, God has all power in his hands, and he can do anything and everything to any part of creation that he chooses. However, all of the power that God has is tempered by his great wisdom. God desires to have a true relationship with us, and therefore our relationship with him must be of our own choice, born out of our real love, respect and trust in Him. (John 4:24). That is why all the scriptures giving the promises of God are preferences with “If.” God gives us the choice. Contrast this with the way appliances work. When you go to microwave and want you want it to heat something up, you simply have to hit the right buttons, and it does it. It does it because it has no free will or choice. Obviously if it broken, it won’t and you’ll either fix it or replace it. And and general most people don’t have relationships with their microwave. God did not create us to be programmable servants with no choices, but has given us free will do accept or reject Him. He also warns us what our lives will be without him, only because he does love us.

So what happens when we pray for a person to change and be saved? Let’s look at it this way. Suppose this person is driving 99 miles an hour on the Sin highway, which only leads in their death and destruction. (Proverbs 14:12). He’s having a great time doing it, and is blind to his reality. We pray that this person comes to the realization that the path will end in his destructions. This is the same when we desire to for a person to be saved and turn their life toward the road of salvation. God will do all kinds of things to get their attention, and warn them in an answer to your prayer. He will put up warning and danger a head signs. He will put up people waving flags to get their attention. He may even cause their tires to get a slow leak, so that they have to slow down to see and hear the warnings he is giving them. However if this person is bound and determined to keep doing what he is doing, God will allow them. He has to, he is God. We know that God desires that no one be lost (1 Tim 2:4), but if this person chooses that they don’t want anything to do with God, and doesn’t want to have a relationship with him. He will grant that person that chose and put them as far from his love, mercy and grace to live out the rest of eternity without him. So the question is, are you listening to God speaking to you, and ignoring him?

Fear Not!

Are you aware that of all of God’s commandments, “FEAR NOT” is the one appears the most? I’ve heard it said that it appears more that 100 times. However, according to the movie "Facing the Giants" it is somewhere close to 365 times. I guess it depends on the translation which translation and which version of the Bible you have. Though the word “Fear” appears numerous times in the Bible, we have to remember there is two meanings depending on it usage in the passage. In once instance it could mean to be afraid or terrified of, in another instance it could mean “to have reverential awe of.” I’m speaking here of the first instance. When men were suddenly in the presence of heavenly beings they were terrified. When we are confronted by things or situations that seem beyond us we often become terrified. Everyone has fears. What do you fear? Some people have a fear of the dark, some fear heights, some fear closed in spaces, some fear success. Sometimes are become fearful of what might happen. Fear will rear its ugly face and make you believe what is unbelievable. Some people panic when the phone rings, because they think its bad news, or when they get called to see their supervisor. Fear can appear and make you see a false Reality, but Fear is never a Reality! Fear Not!

Fear is often used by others to control you. Politicians or the news media use Fear to manipulate the people to do certain things. Fear can be paralyzing and used to keep people in deep bondage. A few weeks ago panic ensued when people were told that gas prices were going above $5.00. What happened in the following weeks? Remember when they told you that the world was going to have all kinds of problems on January 1, 2000, because of all the computer problems that were going to happen? Remember those scientist who told you that the alignment in 1980’s was going to cause gravitation stresses on the Earth? What happened? Fear is a very powerful weapon against the weak. Lions use their roar to send animals in a panic, and thus they are easily caught. People who become afraid can easily loose hope and those who loose hope can easily be controlled. This is not what God has for you. It is written God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind.~~2nd Tim 1:7. So of God doesn’t want us to live in fear, who does? Well that answer if obvious, Satan. The scriptures say that the children of God live by faith in God. Faith is complete and absolute trust in the living God and his Word. God through his world has given us dominion over any situation. Fear manifests itself in the absence of that faith. We open the door to fear when we start to believe the lies of the enemy. Satan doesn’t want you to realize your own power and ability.

Jesus came to set us free from this fear, and to give us authority over any situation the world may throw at us. We should not fear any circumstance including death. God has given us is perfect word to combat this tactics. When someone is trying to scare you to do something, stop and think what God has told you. When the media is reporting that the world is coming to the end, check what The Book says, if you didn’t see Jesus coming on a cloud, don’t believe it. If the news is telling you that times are going to be hard for you remember the Bible says that “God will supply all your needs.” If they try to tell you that voting for this person is bad, remember Psalm 24:1 When the world tell you, “you can’t” respond by knowing because of Jesus you are more than a conqueror. So, Fear Not!