💖 'PERSEVERE - MY DEAR!' 🙋🏻

💙⚾️ "IT'S HARD TO BEAT A PERSON WHO NEVER GIVES UP!" - Babe Ruth ⚾️💙 As a result of - BEING - fifty five years YOUNG (ha!), married - thirty five and half years (long yrs. - just kidding!🤣😉🙏🏼), and, being a preacher's wife - thirty two years, "you can bet on" the certainty that - I have had to - as the following statement (T-U - post from 'FB') says:  "Sometimes, you just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and TRY again!" The picture with it, shows a horse that, is shaking off a bunch of dust. 🐴💞 However, it seems as though, I find myself doing this - much too often, and, this frustrates me! 😩 Nevertheless, something (to God's credit) in me, will not LET me be totally defeated, and/or, to quit! 🙌🏼 We all should "take heed," whenever, we are discouraged, and tempted to "GIVE UP, to these powerful words - spoken by the late-great, Dr. Maya Angelou:  "You may encounter many defeats, but, you must NOT be defeated!" 👊🏼 Whenever, we find ourselves having had failed, yet once again, we MUST CHOOSE TO MAKE ourselves, "dust ourselves off," and, PERSEVERE!! 🤗 "DOUBT kills more DREAMS than FAILIRE ever will!" - Karin Seddiki 😕 PERSEVERANCE is a strong, active response to the different events in life (T-U - wachabuy.com via 'Pinterest'). 🥊 I think that, everyone who lives long enough, at some point in life, is tempted to just give up!?  The ole devil definitely wants us to quit (JOHN 10:10)! 😈 But, God, through Jesus, didn't suffer, die on The Cross, and, resurrect HIMself, for us to QUIT!!  HE PERSEVERED, and, got the VICTORY, so that, we could, too!! ✝️ Think about this profound TRUTH:  "A CHAMPION IS SOMEONE WHO GETS UP WHEN HE/SHE CAN'T" (T-U - @just.brave.quotes)!! 💪🏼🥊🥇🏆 The following are just some areas of life, in which, I have FAILED (OFTEN), asked the good, merciful Lord to forgive me, "dusted myself off" (or so to speak), and, have chosen to PERSEVERE:  relationships, scholastically, driving, health-lifestyle, church member, preacher's wife, ETC., ETC., and, worst of all - as a Believer/Christian!! 😔 However, I keep trying to apply to my life, what the great apostle Paul writes in 'The Good Book," what he did, in Philippians 3:13+14:  (vs.13) "...Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:  but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are BEHIND, and REACHING FORTH unto those things which are before..." (vs. 14) "...I PRESS TOWARD the mark for the PRIZE of the HIGH CALLING OF GOD in CHRIST JESUS.' 🙏🏼✝️🙌🏼 PERSEVERANCE is NOT a long race;  it is MANY short races - one after another (T-U - 'Pinterest' + wachabuy.com)!! 😉👍🏼❤️ SO, if you. find yourself, yet, once again, in a state of FAILURE, then, ask God to forgive you (if you believe it is necessary), "shake yourself off," and, TRY, TRY, AGAIN - in Jesus' name (for Believers), PRESSING ON, toward the PRIZE (whatever or whoever, it may be)!! 🏃🏻‍♀️🥇🏆 ("Fall down seven times - stand up eight times!") 😎 In order to PERSEVERE, we must "talk to ourselves," with encouraging words, such as:  "FAILIRE IS SUCCESS IN PROGRESS" (T-U - 'Pinterest') (Philippians 4:13) 🙏🏼 And, as "game-changing" 'Bambino,' also said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run!" ⚾️😘💙 If, we're honest, FAILING "feels" embarrassing, humiliating, discouraging, and the such, but, it is a phenomenon, which, every human being experiences! 😏 It is true that, "IF, you TRY, you RISK FAILURE!  IF, you don't, you ENSURE it" (T-U - 'Pinterest'!)!! 😉 We can learn something valuable from "FAILURE," and, become better, having gone through it, or, we can choose to LET it damage us, and, thus, cause us to develop a bad attitude, and possibly, become bitter, mean, etc., and. ultimately contaminate other people, which, is a BAD scenario - for everyone concerned (Hebrews 12:15)! 😩 Whenever, this happens to a Believer, it is not what 'The Lord' desires - for - that person, nor, for the people, whom, he/she, negatively affects, and, for - various reasons, nor, does it, honor and glorify, HIM!! 😢 It truly helps, whenever, we cast, our FAILURES, ETC., on 'The Lord' (1 Peter 5:7-9)!! ✝️ Overall - in LIFE - one has NOT FAILED - IF - one is still TRYING!! 👍🏼 We have to be tough with ourselves - oftentimes! 🥊 "PERSEVERANCE is placing one foot in front of another, even if it DRAGS!" - T.B. LaBerge 🚶🏻‍♀️🙏🏼 PRAYER is my "LIFELINE," personally!! 🙏🏼 I highly recommend it (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)!! 🙏🏼✝️🙌🏼 The worst "mistake/sin/FAILURE" of my life (so far), could have, and, still could presently - DEVASTATE - me, IF, I, would have, and/or, would now, dwell on it! 😔 But, because, it is one of my many sins, in which, was nailed to that 'Old Rugged Cross,' with Jesus, my Savior, I don't need to "beat myself up" over it, nor, does HE want me to do so!! ✝️ MY OH MY, I'll be forever grateful to HIM! 💜 Because, I am HIS, I am a VICTOR/WINNER! 🏆 And, HE even takes my "FAILURES," and, "SOMEHOW," uses them for "THE GOOD!!" 🙌🏼 What an AMAZING GOD HE IS!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 Josh Shipp says that, "PERSEVERANCE" is  STUBBORNNESS with a PURPOSE!" 😙 NEVER GIVE UP BECAUSE GREAT THINGS TAKE TIME (T-U - wachabuy.com - 'Pinterest')! 🏋🏻‍♀️ Sometimes, it motivates me to keep going, if, I remind myself of the terrible "feeling" of REGRET, with which, I've experienced, in the past, from QUITTING endeavors, in which, I should have continued, knowing that, I do NOT want to "feel" like a "LOSER," ever again!! 🤔🙁😉😂 Personally, I have been in a deep valley - the past couple of years, and, some of the reason that I have been, is because, I FAILED in certain ways!  A few times, as I was attempting to, crawl and climb, out of it, I have thought of ways, in which, I could QUIT (or, in other words...FAIL)!  However, for me to "GIVE UP," in this valley, would leave me in it, and, I cannot live with that!  I hope and pray that, you never give up, whenever, you find yourself in a dark valley, either! 😘🙏🏼 Whenever, we allow God to assist us (in various ways), in HIS time and way, we'll reach ground level, and then, HE'LL help us - stand up, walk on - PERSEVERING - in Jesus' name, and, for HIS glory, while HE reveals HIS providential plan for each of our lives - one - step of faith - at a time! 👠👠👠👠 I don't know about you, dear reader, but, I relate, and, am determined to do that which this following quote by - wachabuy.com via 'Pinterest,' says:  "I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T GIVE UP!" And, with HIS - SUPERNATURAL- assistance, I'll continue to, stand in faith on GOD'S WORD, especially, Philippians 1:6 (my favorite verse), together, we'll "GETTER DONE," and, HE'LL get ALL the honor and glory!! 😌✝️🙌🏼...I, hope and pray that, you desire, and, take hold, of the, GOD honoring, intention and goal, of always PERSEVERING (no matter what), for, yourself, your loved ones, and your life, also!! 😌💗...👋🏼...until next post...