Failure. What failure?

Has something you have been working on failed to impress? Take heart and learn from those who have been there done that.


Oscar Wilde remained unshaken by the failure of his early play The Duchess of Padua:

'The play itself was a profound success.

But the audience was a profound failure.'

Now isn't that a clever way to get up when you are down!

Only don't forget to look carefully at both sides because the source of failure is somewhere in-between.

Be wise!

Advice on being content

Quentin Crisp's view of social mobility:

'Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.

It's cheaper.'

Benjamin Franklin, one of America's Founding Fathers put it this way:

'If you want to know the value of money,

go and try to borrow some.'

Everyone is talking about me...

Have you ever been in a situation where 'everybody' knew something that had happened to you and was telling everybody else about it? That must have made you really angry.

'Why can't they just mind their own business and keep quiet?' you may have asked. Or better still, you might just decide to go on and give them something to talk about. Whether that does you any good or not is up to you.

The way I see it is that you cannot stop anyone from talking about you. Today it is you, tomorrow it is someone else. It is the social nature of human beings. Mind you, it would be odd if nobody had anything to say about you.


Oscar Wilde, the flamboyant Irish dramatist believed that:

'There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,

and that is not being talked about.'

There you go, not so bad, eh?

So what next? The answer is simple: Guard against your reputation, it is far more important than gold and jewels.

So you find things funny, don't you?

"Everything is funny as long as

it is happening to somebody else."

Will Rogers,

American humorist.

Did you just ask your friend for money? Big mistake!

'The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet

and steady and loyal and enduring nature

that it will last through a whole lifetime,

if not asked to lend money.'

Mark Twain

American satirist.

If you want to break a friendship, ask your 'close friend' for money to get you out of a tight spot with the promise that 'I will pay you back when my paycheck comes in'. Now that is the biggest mistake you will have made and it could probably signal the end of your 'friendship'. Why the quotes? Because a true friend (very rare in this materialistic world we live in), will not hesitate to help you.

The mistake that a lot of us make, me included, is to turn to our friends all the time when we get out of budget. We forget to turn to God, who is the source of all our needs. I sometimes wonder why this happens and have come to the conclusion that maybe it is because they are the nearest to us at the time. We trust them to understand that predicament that we have been telling them about and hope that when we are in need they will sympathise with us and give a helping hand.

Oh how wrong I have been. My experience is that when you tell someone that you have a problem, chances are that they will also tell you (true or not, I do not know) that they also have a problem and so cannot help you. Some problems seem to grow legs the moment you mention your own. Sad, but possibly true.

So I get so disappointed. Why? Because I told the wrong person my problem and worse still turned to the wrong person for help and advice. I should have told God and trusted my Heavenly Father to help and guide me. God is the only one who can help in times of need. You just have to believe it and speak to Him when the going gets tough. Then, stop and LISTEN TO GOD for your response. You will be surprised at the outcome.

When things are difficult financially, God wants you to learn how to make it better. It is usually a tough lesson on learning to better manage your financial resources and I know that by seeing it this way I have come out stronger. Take heart, all is not lost. Remember this prayer the next time you are in a financial dilemma:

O God...give me neither poverty nor riches!

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say,

"Who is the Lord?"

And if I am too poor, I may steal

and thus insult God's holy name.

Proverbs 30:8-9

Jesus said,

"Your Father knows exactly what you need

even before you ask Him."

Matthew 6:8

Money

Money makes the world go round! Have you heard that saying?!
How round can this already round world get?
Think about it - some say that money is the source of all evil. True.
Others say money is evil. False.
It is the LOVE of money that is evil. True.

What money cannot buy...

Money can buy a house,

but not a home.

Money can buy a bed,

but not sleep.

Money can buy a clock,

but not time.

Money can buy you a book,

but not knowledge.

Money can buy you a position,

but not respect.

Money can buy you medicine,

but not health.

Money can buy you blood,

but not life.

Money can buy you sex,

but not love.

So you see, money isn't everything.

And it often causes pain and suffering.

anonymous.

Money can buy you anything,

but not everything.

And you thought money can make you happy,

think again!

Did I hear someone about to give up copying

the lifestyles of the rich and famous?

I thought so.

I am an eagle

Have you ever been in a situation where everybody around you keeps off because you spoke to them about God and Jesus Christ?

Have people abandoned you because you have chosen to put God first in all you do and are not ashamed to admit it?

Have you felt alone in a crowd during break time when everybody is talking about the night before when they went out and got so drank that they woke up in a strange place with someone they did not know and yet they do not seem bothered about their lifestyle?

Have you felt alienated when someone asks you how your weekend was and you say that you spent it at a retreat praying and meditating on the word of God; then suddenly everyone looks at you like you just lost a nerve, then silence, then they start moving away and leaving you sat there alone?

Have you felt out of place because you never attend those parties that everybody else goes to but instead choose to spend a quiet time at home praying and thanking God?

Find comfort in these words from Isaiah:

But they that wait upon the Lord

shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

and they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40: 31

Eagles don't fly in flocks but are usually spotted soaring alone, high in the sky; catching the air currents with their wings spread wide and making flight look effortless.

God calls us to soar in flight...not to constantly flap our wings.

Be Blessed.

Disappointment happens

Sometimes things don't go the way we want them to. Somebody you trust betrays and rejects you and makes you feel inferior, less confident - a huge blow on your self-esteem. Then when you look back, chances are that you start blaming them for their disloyalty and even go as far as blaming God (If God loves me how can He let this happen to me?!) but not yourself.

Now wait a minute! Did you not hear that inner voice telling you not to go ahead with it? Did people close to you not tell you that it was not right? Did your friends not tell you that they thought you made the wrong choice and should beware? Ha! There you go - God tried to talk to you in many ways but you ignored and thought that you knew better, that you were right and they were wrong. So before accusing God, stop and search. He was there but you pushed Him away.

But wait a minute, God did not let it happen to you. It happened to you because you made the wrong choice! God did not leave you, YOU left Him and decided to go it alone. And the result? Disappointment! Between you and God, guess who moved - YOU did. Looking back, God is still where you left Him, patiently waiting for you to come back and start all over again.

And start all over again is what you must do. First start by forgiving yourself for your error in judgement, then forgive that which wronged you. Get back with God and include Him in everything you do. You will not go wrong. Learn from your failure and make sure the lesson, not the deed sticks in your mind. And God will still be by your side, guiding you if only you let him.

Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

Take care and God bless you all.

Procrastination

Lord, I hate it when I procrastinate. Oh, that can wait, I will do it tomorrow. My assignment is due on Monday, today is Friday. Never mind, I still have Saturday and Sunday to do it. I get really annoyed when this happens to me as I am sure many have experienced it.

God deliver me from the spirit of procrastination.
It is the devil's way of slowing me way down
and it makes me dislike
what I should be doing with enthusiasm.

Putting things away will not get them done.
Avoiding doing that assignment or postponing
my exam revision will not make it go away.
One week later, it will still be there where I left it
waiting for my attention.

So why push it forward.
Why not just do it anyway and get it over with?
Furthermore, I have prepared all that I need
to get the work done.

Lord, please help me to banish this fear that grips me
and turns me into a temporary statue
putting me in pause mode
making me think that delaying action will get things done
only to start playing weeks later just where I had stopped
having made no progress at all
and making me feel worse off than before.

Help me not to give in to any avoidance temptations
like going shopping when I really do not need to.
Or watching TV when I could have sat down
and paid attention
and concentrated on my work
and done it even though it may be difficult at to start with.
Give me the perseverance to keep on
and the courage and confidence to get the work done, NOW!

My Heavenly Father, let me do as your word says:

"For you have not given me a Spirit of Fear,

but of power, love and a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

Because I believe your word and your promises, O Lord, I know that my prayer has been answered, in Jesus' mighty name, AMEN.

Pauline.

Decisions...

I have had a rather difficult week. I was feeling under a lot of pressure with people needing my attention from all angles and I felt like I was sinking amidst all these demands. To be honest, I was feeling really stressed out. But you know God has a way of reaching us when we are at our depths and that is just what happened. I went to tidy up and came across a book I had bought a while back and not read. I opened a page at random and read a very moving testimony which led me to feel much better and encouraged. I felt a burst of energy and a lot of comfort from these words:

"I will show you what you shall do."

1 Samuel 16:3

It is true what a lot of wise people have said in the past. Never give up on God because he will never leave you nor forsake you. Just remember to always thank and praise Him no matter how you feel because He is looking out for you and will talk to you at the most unexpected times in the most unexpected ways.

God Bless you all and stay encouraged.

Best wishes,

Pauline.