Failure is Not a Four-letter Word

Defeated! Dejected! Those words seemed to sum up my life. I started out strong in my late teens by committing my life to Jesus. Oh, but then how my life became marked by failure. I felt so much older than my numerical age.

It all started when I fell in love with a man and subsequently fell out of love with the One whom my soul had adored—Jesus. My life then spiraled out of control for many years thereafter. Each year closed with an attempt to return to the true Love of my life, but every time I tried it ended in failure. I pictured the rest of my life spent in failure, never coming close to resurrecting the relationship I previously enjoyed with my Lord. Fear immobilized me. Why even try again with a cloud of failure suspended over the horizon of my life?

Bent! Broken! This was my state the first time I read this scripture:

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:
but the wicked shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 24:16 KJV)

I read the scripture over, and over, letting the words glide off my tongue. “A just man falls seven times,” (Lord knows I was at seven or more) “and rises again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 24:16) My eyes narrowed as I fully digested these words. It was an epiphany! This scripture says nothing about the unrepentant wicked rebounding. The ability to rise again after #failure is the vast difference that separates the just from the wicked.

I drew the proverbial line in the sand. Fear of failure would no longer rule my life. I determined I might indeed fall again, maybe even seven times, but I will always choose to get back up. In Jesus there is recovery. Healed! Restored! This is the miracle God wrought in my life.

What joy to introduce you to my beautiful friend Reva Flores at the onset of her writing journey.

Reva was born number three out of eleven children in Lorain, Ohio. During a turbulent upbringing, she learned to cope with difficult situations with the love of her family and the enjoyment of reading. At nineteen she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, so she accepted a job in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Reva says God set her up—brought her into a land that she knew not to reveal Himself to her where she gave her life to Jesus and became born again.

Reva is a recent nursing school graduate of the University of Massachusetts. She currently resides in Rhode Island with her husband of 19 years, her mother, and teenage son. Her desire is to encourage and inspire others. She believes her latter years will be greater than her former ones.

Oh, August!  My young friend Isaac returns to share his #poetry.

Oh, August!
by Isaac Barros
 

Oh, August without a holiday,
The month without shopping mayday.

Quite a boring time,
But I must mention the heat and grime.

The sun makes the atmosphere want to cry,
The sidewalk’s so hot an egg could fry

The grass begs for rain,
Heat raging, it’s insane.

So there is some action
Sun and earth having a heated interaction.

Stay in the shade, out of the crossfire,
Cause August has gone haywire!

SUPPORT THE  #UkrainianCrisis RELIEF EFFORT WHEN YOU PURCHASE Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders, compiled by Dr. Bill and Phyllis Nichols.

*PROCEEDS FROM THIS BOOK GO TO the Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s ministry, SAMARITANS’ PURSE toward the #UkrainianCrisis RELIEF EFFORT.

                                                                   

Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders:  

Scientists and soldiers, doctors, ministers, teachers, and writers spanning the globe from Guatemala to the Congo and Caribbean, and even outer space each share two of their #definingmoments. From battlefields and boardrooms, classrooms, hospitals and quiet places and more, these stories inspire faith, hope and action, and demonstrate God's grace and miraculous intervention. 

My essay, That Day, which won 2nd Place in the Foundations Awards at the 2022 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference is included in this newly released compilation book. 

Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders makes a wonderful gift while contributing to this urgent need. 
                                                                   

AND ENTER THE DRAWING FOR FREE BOOK BELOW!

ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS FOR BOOK GIVEAWAY!               

*Limited time offer. Giveaway only valid for those living in the continental USA.
 
1. PURCHASE Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders (*and in so doing provide aid to those impacted by the #UkrainianCrisis via Samaritan's Purse.) 

2. Email me a copy of your receipt for proof and I will enter your name in the drawing for a FREE signed copy from me of The Courage to Write: 62 Devotions to Encourage Your Writing Journey

3. Sign up for my newsletter HERE and let me know you did in the comment section below to receive a second entry in the drawing. 

*PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THE BOOK, Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders, GO TO SAMARITAN'S PURSE TO AID THOSE AFFECTED BY THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS. 
                                                  

Blessed to be a contributor to The Courage to Write: 62 Devotions to Encourage Your Writing Journey, a collaboration of the Renew – spiritual retreat for writers & speakers community. Grateful to co-directors Lucinda Secrest McDowell and Rachel Britton for this opportunity.

My goal is not to please people, but to please God—to speak the Truth in love and reach people.

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PRIOR POSTS

• 
  Reflections on an Imperfectly Perfect Christmas
  Although I was heading out of the country for ten days, I determined Christmas would be stress free—not the usual last-minute mad dash. My sweet potato casserole and other side dishes lay stacked in the freezer. Likewise, the dough for honey-spice ginger snaps, rolled and ready to slide in the oven. Cheery holiday tins filled … Continue reading “Reflections on an Imperfectly Perfect Christmas”
• 
  The Greatest Gift
  “Happy birthday, Jesus. But Lord, as the song says, ‘I have no gift to bring, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.’” There’s no greater gift to give or receive than the message of Truth wrapped in Love. The babe born in a stable, laid in a manger, who later lay down His life to save us as the perfect sacrificial … Continue reading “The Greatest Gift”
• 
  A Time to Disobey
  “God, please don’t take Grandma from me yet,” I frequently prayed. Though I’d moved to the USA and Grandma remained in Jamaica, the world felt a little less scary and lonely because she was in it. “But when you take her home, Lord, I promise I’ll give her eulogy and tell those in attendance about … Continue reading “A Time to Disobey”
• 
  Grit & Grace: Michael Duncan ~ Author, Pastor, Master of the One-Line Sermon Returns
  Feast on a banquet of truth from one who greets life’s challenges with grit & grace. Michael Duncan: author, pastor, master of the one-line sermon returns as my guest interviewee. Undeterred by threats, he shares wit, wisdom, and some wild stories including the unlikely setting in which Jesus saved him.
• 
  The Futile Pursuit of Worry
  Jesus told us not to worry because he knew we would and thus need this counsel. God gave us His Word not for us to use it to bludgeon ourselves or each other, but to instruct, encourage, correct, redirect our missteps, and draw us to Himself.
• 
  Unconscionable Delay
  Delay. Sometimes it’s divinely ordained, but most times it’s due to our negligence or obstinance. There are sins of commission (those we do) and sins of omission (when we fail to do as we ought). Some delays are unconscionable. A heinous example of this is the slow enactment and delivery of the Emancipation Proclamation message … Continue reading “Unconscionable Delay”

Looking for answers in these turbulent times? Wondering what in the world is going on? I pulled these scriptures together last year for my post Peace in Pandemic and Pandemonium. Their truth cries ever louder. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MY FREE COMPILATION OF BIBLE VERSES TO ENCOURAGE AND EQUIP (INCLUDES SCRIPTURES ON THE LAST DAYS).

SUBSCRIBE to my Tattoo it on Your Heart Newsletter for notifications of new blog posts and occasional offers and FREEBIES like this: CLICK HERE for Good News in a Sea of Bad News! FREE downloadable Gospel tract .

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© 2022 Rachael M Colby | Tattoo It On your Heart

Author: Rachael M. Colby

Rachel M. Colby has a heart for reconciliation and a passion to uplift those who serve in tough places. She writes to connect culture's questions with Christianity’s answers, inspire faith, and motivate. She is an award-winning writer in the categories of articles, poetry, devotions, essays, flash fiction, and children’s picture books. Her article The Integration of Oak Ridge (the subject of her WIP) won the 2022 Selah Award for Articles in Print at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is a longtime member of The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild and a protégé in the Cecil Murphey Mentoring program. Rachael's work has appeared on the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Blog, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Christian Devotions, Southern Ohio Christian Voice, Inkspirations Online, in the compilation books Creative Writing Journal: Faith Inspired Writing Prompts & Hope-Filled Poetry, Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders, and The Courage to Write: 62 Devotions to Encourage Your Writing Journey, and in the Oak Ridger newspaper. This Jamaican-born wife, mom, beach bum, artist, and work in progress makes her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She runs on copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, and a whole lot of “Help me, Jesus.” View all posts by Rachael M. Colby