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

• 
  The Hair and the Chicken
  If you don’t lose all respect for me after watching this video, no worries, you’ll have another chance. Sometimes good things do come out of bad hair days.
• 
  Road to Rabbi: A Messianic Jew’s Journey to Jesus
  What an adventure, an education, and blessing to converse with the lively and jovial Rabbi Henry Morse of the Sha’ar Hashamayim Messianic Congregation in Stoughton, Massachusetts. I first encountered the Rabbi as he led his merry band of people down the hill after the If My People prayer event at the National Monument to the … Continue reading “Road to Rabbi: A Messianic Jew’s Journey to Jesus”
• 
  Let’s Talk About Race Relations with Lori Roeleveld & Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith
  When we attempt to muzzle people’s pain we widen their wounds. Without honest communication there is no intimacy. Without intimacy it’s difficult to touch a heart, the seedbed of where true, lasting, and positive change can take place.  So, thank you to authors Lori Stanley Roeleveld and Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith for participating in this interview. … Continue reading “Let’s Talk About Race Relations with Lori Roeleveld & Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith”
• 
  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 … Continue reading “Failure is Not a Four-letter Word”
• 
  Delay & Divine Direction
  When the road stretches longer than expected and delays and detours abound, we dare not deter from the right path. The high road, though often rough hewn, long, lonely, and costly, is worthy of staying the course. In the long run, the cost of abandoning our call is higher than the pursuit of it. Shortcuts … Continue reading “Delay & Divine Direction”
• 
  Celebrating and Upholding American Freedom
  What fun to introduce you to my young friend and writer, 12-year-old Isaac Barros. Isaac is the son of our beloved family friend, Larry Barros, who went home to be with Jesus in 2014. Larry was a children’s church leader, curriculum writer, and an amazing preacher. I plan to introduce you to Larry’s words sometime … Continue reading “Celebrating and Upholding American Freedom”

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

Born and raised in Jamaica, award-winning writer Rachael M. Colby resides in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Wife, mom, beach bum, artist, work in progress, avid Tweeter—#HealthyFaithChat leader, Rachael writes to glorify God, encourage believers, and reach the lost. She connects culture’s questions with Christianity’s answers, inspires faith, and motivates through articles, devotions, poetry, and interviews. She has a heart for racial reconciliation and to uplift those who serve in tough places. Her work has appeared on Southern Ohio Christian Voice, Inkspirations Online, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Blog, in the compilation books Creative Writing Journal: Faith Inspired Writing Prompts & Hope-Filled Poetry, The Courage to Write: 62 devotions to Encourage your Writing Journey, and Defining Moments: Memorable and Inspiring Stories from Outstanding Leaders, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Well That Was Funny, and in the Oak Ridger newspaper. She runs on copious amounts of coffee and chocolate and a whole lot of "Help me, Jesus." Her WIPS include a compilation of her family’s and others’ stories of their work as civil rights activists (adult and children’s books), and a devotional for writers. You can connect with Rachael on her website, TattooItOnYourHeart.com—a place for seekers, followers, and writers, and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View all posts by Rachael M. Colby