quote of today

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.


~ St. Augustine

This prayer was on the cup I chose to drink my coffee from and when I went on-line it was there on my i-google. When I checked my e-mail, I had a message from a friend that rarely sends me e-mail (I think this was the first) and although it was not the serenity prayer, it held a very similar message. The courage to keep trying to reach your goal, serenity with failures, and wisdom to believe in your ability, just to try a different strategy. 
 
"'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

I believe everything happens for a reason, no coincidences. I was still not wanting to take a final try at the CPNE for all of my efforts hours of studies and practicing had not resulted in a successful exam twice. I am not religious but I do believe in God, okay this gets even more weird - while looking for the origin of the quote I found the following on a website selling a tool the  Freedom Wand for disabled individuals to be independent.
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
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There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.

The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.

When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.

When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said ….”

Ask yourself these questions:

· How do I handle failure?

· When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?

· When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?

· When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?

· Do I finish what I start?

· How would I rate on persistence?

If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.

When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.
And that’s true of life, too: Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.
The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.

  I believe it is the subtle things that are messages to heed only I am not so sure this was all that subtle????