Pressure Destroys Or Creates Precious Diamonds!

Pressure touches the lives of everyone but our individual experiences of pressure are unique & our response to pressure will either allow us to become as brilliant as a diamond or it will make us crazy!

May our lives shine like diamonds which makes this world a much better place!

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond!" by Pink Floyd

The pressure the Miami Heat have endured over the last 3 years has been intense but pales in comparison to people making a difference in the lives of others in areas that are physically dangerous such as El Salvador during a war or in the "barrios" of Medellín, Colombia which was the murder & kidnapping capital of the world for several years, places that "Paisas" avoid but I was filled with joy, love, & peace, allowing me to have peace throughout my journey!

"Courage is grace under pressure." ― Ernest Hemingway

Each & every trial prepares us for what lies ahead & knowing that we are in a process of becoming a brilliant diamond will result in blessings for ourselves & for others.

"Without a whole lot of pressure, a diamond is just a piece of coal." ― Miriam Darnell

"Every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it, which will 'turn the necessity to glorious gain." ― C.S. Lewis

"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself & know that everything in this life has a purpose." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"We are not necessarily doubting that GOD will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." ― C.S. Lewis

"Hope knows that if great trials are avoided great deeds remain undone & the possibility of growth into greatness of soul is aborted." ― Brennan Manning

"The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment & the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter." ― Paulo Coelho

"Writing is like a lump of coal. Put it under enough pressure & polish it enough & you might just end up with a diamond. Otherwise, you can burn it to keep warm." ― A.J. Dalton

"Character cannot be developed in ease & quiet. Only through experience of trial & suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, & success achieved. ― Helen Keller

"Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes." — Alexandre Dumas

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle & shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them & their value will never be known. Improve them & they will become the brightest gems in a useful life." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is within each one of us a potential for goodness beyond our imagining; for giving which seeks no reward; for listening without judgment; for loving unconditionally." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"We think sometimes we're only drawn to the good, but we're actually drawn to the authentic. We like people who are real more than those who hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"Trials are medicines which are gracious & wise. A physician prescribes because we need them; & he proportions the frequency & weight of them to what the case requires. Let us trust his skill & thank him for his prescription." ― Isaac Newton

"It's only when we truly know & understand that we have a limited time on earth ― & that we have no way of knowing when our time is up ― that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"GOD allows us to experience the pressure of life's trials to make diamonds out of the lump of mess we may be in. Your shine is determined by the way you handle the pressure. Breathe & don't be afraid to be still. Being still is an action. Just do it." ― Beth Payne

"GOD has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. HE knew it already. It was I who didn't. In this trial HE makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, & the bench all at once. HE always knew that my temple was a house of cards. HIS only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down." ― C.S. Lewis

"Diamonds are found only in the dark bowels of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought. It seemed to him that after descending into those depths after long groping in the blackest of this darkness, he had at last found one of these diamonds, one of these truths, & that he held it in his hand; & it blinded him to look at it." ― Victor Hugo

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, & have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, & an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, & a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"These are the times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, & animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life & form the character of the hero & the statesman." ― Abigail Adams

"Only under extreme pressure can we change into that which it is in our most profound nature to become. That is what people get wrong about transformation. We're not all shallow proteans, forever shifting shape. We're not science fiction. It's like when coal becomes a diamond. It doesn't afterwards retain the possibility of change. Squeeze it as hard as you like, it won't turn into a rubber ball, or a Quattro Stagione pizza, or a self-portrait by Rembrandt. It's done." ― Salman Rushdie

"It is very important that you only do what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may lose your car, you may have to move into a shabby place to live, but you will totally live. And at the end of your days you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. Otherwise, you will live your life as a prostitute, you will do things only for a reason, to please other people, & you will never have lived & you will not have a pleasant death." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

There are only two possibilities in life:

1) Things don't always go the way you want, & you don't understand why you're having trouble; yet there is a hand of providence behind everything & a purpose for all that happens. 

2) Things don't always go the way you want, & you don't understand why you're having trouble; but there is no hand of providence behind everything & no purpose for all that happens. 

The first possibility gives hope in the midst of trials, the second produces only despair. ― Fred Klett

Readers may be divided into four classes:

1) Sponges, who absorb all that they read & return it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtied.

2) Sand-glasses, who retain nothing & are content to get through a book for the sake of getting through the time.

3) Strain-bags, who retain merely the dregs of what they read.

4) Mogul diamonds, equally rare & valuable, who profit by what they read,  & enable others to profit by it also.

― Samuel Taylor Coleridge

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic." — ISAIAH 28:16

So . . . what must we do to not only keep pressure from destroying us but to allow it to make us flawless & precious diamonds?

I am thankful to have experienced a wide variety of pressure & even though I am not quite a finished product, my wife & I hope to create an environment that will be conducive for people to become precious diamonds!

"Sometimes you have to step outside of the person you've been & remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want to be. The person you are." ― H.G. Wells

Will you remain a lump of coal or will you become a precious diamond?

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Is My Life Meaningful?

Everyone in this world longs to be loved even if they don't admit it, yet very few people seem to trust others enough to be vulnerable & make their lives an open book.

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." ― George MacDonald

When our lives are filled with pain & frustration, that is when we need to trust the most!

Who is worthy of our trust?

Our families?

Our friends?

What about GOD?

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known GOD." ― Corrie ten Boom

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the CREATOR for all I have not seen." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

For 5+ years I've suffered daily as nerve pain ravishes my body making even the simplest of tasks excruciatingly difficult & there has not been one second since the car accident where I've physically felt comfortable.

"But GOD doesn't call us to be comfortable. HE calls us to trust HIM so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if HE doesn't come through." ― Francis Chan

I thought living in Miami from 1991-1993 was a testimony of trusting the LORD completely but the intensity of living & ministering in Medellín, Colombia took complete trust to a whole new level!

There were times while I was walking through the most dangerous "barrios" that the HOLY SPIRIT prompted me to not go down a certain street.

How did the LORD communicate that to me?

Was HE speaking directly to me?

In "Discovering El Salvador!" in 1990, my sweet heavenly FATHER filled me with supernatural joy, love, & peace.

I could write for days on end about joy, love, & peace without ever conveying what they truly are & feel like because the supernatural is beyond our capacity to fully describe.

However, I can tell you that all the money in the world falls drastically short of the value of joy, love, & peace!

After being so profoundly impacted by the presence of peace in me while in war ravaged El Salvador, I now pray for the LORD to take away that peace if I should do or not do things that HE wants me to do.

So, as I walked through the most dangerous city in the world Medellín, Colombia ... I was filled with peace but if there was danger ahead, that peace would start to leave until I made the necessary adjustment to keep that peace from slipping away because let me tell you, once you've known peace, you are completely miserable when it's gone!

There may be people who think sharing what we know or learn is a bit eccentric.

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." ― Bertrand Russell

We are in good company if we are thought to be eccentric as all the so called knowledgeable people thought JESUS was eccentric!

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." ― Robert Frost

I refuse to be silent about what the LORD prompts me to share, even if it costs everything & several times through various moments of standing firm on my beliefs & the testimony of who JESUS is & what HE has done, has cost me dearly in the financial realm.

However, I am so grateful for the FATHER's provision to me even though to some it may appear to be meager.

Millionaires & even billionaires have committed suicide because they are so empty & lack meaning in their lives!

I am thankful for each meal. I am thankful for my loving wife. I am thankful for each & every person that has been a part of my journey.

Most of all, I am thankful that my FATHER not only created me but saved me through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST & daily fills me with HIS supernatural joy, love, & peace via the HOLY SPIRIT living in me!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, & more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today & creates a vision for tomorrow." ― Melody Beattie

My life is full & I have more than I need which is why I strive to encourage others on a daily basis.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ― William Durant

We can be excellent in our daily lives because we can overcome whatever may come our way through JESUS & our faith!

"For everyone who has been born of GOD overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that JESUS is the SON of GOD? This is HE who came by water & blood — JESUS CHRIST; not by the water only but by the water & the blood. And the SPIRIT is the one who testifies, because the SPIRIT is the truth." — 1 JOHN 5:4-6

All of us experience pain emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually but it's up to us as how we deal with it!

"You can't avoid pain, but you can choose to overcome it." ― Paulo Coelho

You may be thinking or yelling, "Easy for you to say!"

Really?

In the last 5 years:

I have not slept for more than 3 consecutive hours.

There have been several sleepless nights each month.

I'm awoken by muscle cramps in my calves so painful that I scream!

Just moving my arm feels like someone is stabbing my shoulder with a knife & twisting it to make sure it hits all the nerves!

As I shared before, being physically comfortable is a memory to me that is fading more & more each day because lying down, sitting, standing, or walking are all uncomfortable.

The simplest of tasks is extremely difficult as my fine motor skills seem to be destroyed as simply clasping a necklace sometimes takes 10 minutes or I can't even hold onto a pen to write a check.

I enjoy the variety of wildlife that either live on our lake or visit from the Atlantic Ocean or the Everglades but now I'm unable to throw a piece of bread more than 10 yards as it feels like someone is grabbing my arm & ripping it off as the burning sensation reverberates throughout my entire body!

So, how do I overcome all of that?

"The moment in which the mind acknowledges 'This isn't what I wanted, but it's what I got' is the point at which suffering disappears. Sadness might remain present, but the mind is free to console, free to support the mind's acceptance of the situation, free to allow space for new possibilities to come into view." ― Sylvia Boorstein

Does suffering ever truly disappear?

"GOD is calling us to live for the sake of CHRIST & to do that through suffering. CHRIST chose suffering; it didn't just happen to HIM. HE chose it as the way to create & perfect the church. Now HE calls us to choose suffering. That is, HE calls us to take up our cross & follow HIM on the Calvary road & deny ourselves & make sacrifices for the sake of ministering to the church & presenting HIS sufferings to the world." ― John Piper

So GOD actually wants me &  you to suffer?

How could that be?

What can we do to discover what is deep within us so that we may understand?

For me, writing has been a window into my body, mind, soul, & spirit.

"In the very act of writing I felt pleased with what I did. There was the pleasure of having words come to me, & the pleasure of ordering them, re-ordering them, weighing one against another. Pleasure also in the imagination of the story, the feeling that it could mean something. Mostly I was glad to find out that I could write at all. In writing you work toward a result you won't see for years, & can't be sure you'll ever see. It takes stamina & self-mastery & faith. It demands those things of you, then gives them back with a little extra, a surprise to keep you coming. It toughens you & clears your head. I could feel it happening. I was saving my life with every word I wrote, & I knew it." ― Tobias Wolff

It's amazing to me as I hated to write in school when I had to write yet now, I'm able to read what I have written & see where I was at that moment in time. To see where I had been, where I was, & where I hoped to go allows me to understand myself & any fears that I may have.

"Feed your fears & your faith will starve. Feed your faith, & your fears will. Can you imagine a life with no fear? What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?" ― Max Lucado

My faith in GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON JESUS CHRIST, & GOD the HOLY SPIRIT grows stronger & stronger as I trust in HIM no matter what miserable & painful physical condition I may be suffering because I have faith in HIS promises to me!

"We are closest to CHRIST when sharing the world's misery. You think JESUS came to remove our pains? Wherever did you get that notion? The LORD came, not to remove our suffering, but to show us the way through it to the glory beyond. We can overcome our travails. That is the promise of the cross." ― Stephen R. Lawhead

The love JESUS has for you & for me is more powerful than anything else in this world & can carry us through the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

"For all these years, you've lived under the illusion that, somehow, you made it because you were tough enough to overpower the abuse, the hatred, the hard knocks of life. But really you made it because love is so powerful that tiny little doses of it are enough to overcome the pain of the worst things life can dish out. Toughness was a faulty coping mechanism you devised to get by. But, in reality, it has been your ability to never give up, to keep seeking love, & your resourcefulness to make that love last long enough to sustain you. That's what has gotten you by." ― Rachel Reiland

I long to leave this world & be with JESUS in heaven where there are no more tears & no more pain & a new body but for some reason or reasons, the LORD has other plans for me.

So, what are those plans?

GOD hasn't revealed all of HIS plans yet but one thing I know for sure, HE has blessed me richly through several unbelievably & extraordinarily ultra-cool friends!

"I believe GOD allows special people to enter our lives at the right moment in time to help us on our journey. Some of those special people are in our lives just a moment & others remain forever. No matter how long we are together, the timing is always arranged by divine care." ― Melissa G. Moore

What do I want my relationships with my friends to be like?

"I crossed a line by making his family's personal business my own. But isn't that what friendship is? Isn't that what love is? It's more than caring & laughing & inspiring. It's about taking hurt & anger off people's shoulders & helping to carry the weight. It's more important to love people on the worst days than their best." ― Katie Kacvinsky

Instead of just trying to make it through another day, I hope to do more than just encourage, inspire, & laugh with my friends.

I don't want to see them hurting or angry or overwhelmed, but if they are, I want to love them in the midst of all of that.

It's amazing to me that I need all of that yet in giving it to others, I receive exactly what the LORD knows that I need!

Is that cool or what?

Another part of the plan for my life is obviously writing or I wouldn't have a blog.

Is there more to me writing than what I've already shared?

"Writing & reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen & widen & expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose & their truths, & even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over & over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts & spirits of the people who are together on that ship." ― Anne Lamott

Why do I love to laugh or make other people laugh?

"I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much ... because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting." ― Robert A. Heinlein

I don't know if that's true for you or not, but I know that laughing in the midst of pain definitely eases the load on my shoulders.

Why has my blog been silent for so many weeks?

What has been going on within me?

If writing is my favorite form of expression, where has it been?

"Every child of GOD is not called by the LORD to establish schools & orphan houses & to trust in the LORD for means for them. Yet, there is no reason why you may not experience, far more abundantly than we do now, HIS willingness to answer the prayers of HIS children." ― George Müller

"Glory be to GOD who by HIS mighty power that is at work within us, is able to carry out HIS purpose & do super-abundantly, far over & above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams." ― EPHESIANS 3:20

You may check out my prior post "We Are Together" for a hint about what has literally made everything else in life unimportant!

Do you know what it is?

If so, please tell me as there are several possibilities & combinations of things that may come next as there is so much need out there for those who the world seems to have forgotten about, especially right here in the USA!

Is there ever going to be a conclusion to this hodgepodge of ideas & thoughts?

There is an incredible quote that rang so true to me & finally captured how not only me but anyone who is faced with circumstances that drain them emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually is able to rise above them.

"Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it." ― Eckhart Tolle

How will accepting whatever comes our way help us?

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." ― Maya Angelou

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the MASTER calls a butterfly." ― Richard Bach

"Death is a butterfly in it's cocoon waiting to fly." ― Maria Housden

There is freedom in CHRIST & that occurs when we accept all that is part of our journey, even when we don't see or think that GOD cares for us!

"Sometimes GOD allows what HE hates to accomplish what HE loves." ― Joni Eareckson Tada

Trusting GOD when things are going well for you is easy, the true test is to trust HIM when our lives are filled with what we consider are problems.

"HE uses our problems for HIS miracles. This was my first lesson in learning to trust HIM completely." ― Corrie ten Boom

Next time you feel frustrated or horrible or lack motivation, be courteous to someone by simply opening the door!

"The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of." ― C.S. Lewis

It's absolutely amazing what one small act of kindness can do!

This brief video is a powerful testimony of just that, so go ahead & click if you dare to be inspired!

"Certain people have said that the world is like a calm pond, & that anytime a person does even the smallest thing, it is as if a stone has dropped into the pond, spreading circles of ripples further & further out, until the entire world has been changed by one tiny action." ― Lemony Snicket

My life & your life are meaningful, especially when we are filled with joy, love, & peace!

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Life's A Journey!

Life is a journey & those who have communicated with me a least a couple of times know that I totally dig closing a message with: 

Peace be your journey,

BPK 

Why?

Every single one of us has had difficult to overwhelmingly impossible situations in our lives & the last decade plus has been extremely challenging to me as I have faced one health problem after another with many right on top of the previous.

Since a car accident almost 5 years ago, the pain throughout my body literally increases on a daily basis however the joy, love, & peace within me increases every moment.

How is that possible?

Well, I refuse to let my circumstances dictate my attitude & if I am able to encourage only one person each day, it is an amazing day for me! 

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." — Jackie Robinson 

Why should I push through the pain of sitting at my computer to encourage many people who I have never met? 

"Every man & woman is born into the world to do something unique & something distinctive & if he or she does not do it, it will never be done." — Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays 

Is the physical toll worth it to me? 

"There are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give." — Leo Buscaglia 

Why is writing so important to me? 

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." — Benjamin Franklin 

I have heard many wonderful preachers & speakers in my lifetime but I am not one of them. However, I can communicate through the written word what I am unable to speak. 

"The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say." ―  Anaïs Nin 

Many people have told me that I should write more & that I should get paid for it but I refuse to write anything that does not flow out of me because they are not just words to me. My writing is an expression of who I am & what I believe in. 

"Better to write for yourself & have no public, than to write for the public & have no self." ― Cyril Connolly 

If you do not want to be impacted emotionally, mentally, & spiritually by what you read, then you may as well stop reading right now but if you are already this far along, you may as well enjoy the ride! 

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader." ― Robert Frost 

I am extremely careful in what I write because even if no one ever reads my words, I know that I will reread what I have written as I am able to see where I have been, where I was at, & where I hoped to go. 

"A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth & freedom, & so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers & poets spend their lives learning that skill & art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper." ― Ursula K. Le Guin 

There is someone very special that I encountered via "Sunday's Best" a few years ago & I was amazed at the depth of her writing when I read some of what she had written. 

All I am is all that God created me to be.

All I have is all God created me to give.

All I want is what God wants me to have.

All I shall be remains to be seen ... — Rein Johnson 

From the moment I was first blessed via the insight & wisdom of her writing, I knew that she was unique to say the least! 

"I CAN do ministry just as I am; All that I am, God's Creation...Uniquely Me!" — Rein Johnson 

Here is what Rein Johnson wrote on her website as she promotes a book she wrote that is now available to bless multitudes of people! 

Family,

I am pleased to share with you a very important book that God has blessed me to author, "I Am Not Garbage," which is divinely appointed and assigned to break into the enemy's territory and dismantle the stronghold of abuse and the pain of the past through what God has given me as the "gospel of transformation." Did you know that 4 in 5 adults have suffered some sort of traumatic form of abuse from sexual to physical? If you consider how many people we church with alone, the statistics are outright devastating! It may be you or four other people sitting right next to you on a pew, and largely issues of this kind are going completely unnoticed and unaddressed in the church. I need to get this work into those hands and into your hands as an aide to begin to deal with issues of this kind.

I have to be honest, At the time I was commanded to walk off my job and write this book, I didn't want to do it. I had no problem sharing my testimony, but to write it all down made it all so visibly permanent. I didn't want to be that exposed. I didn't want my family members that exposed, and I preferred the mask of being well put together with my deepest darkest sins and secrets neatly tucked away in the recesses of my mind. God; however, said not so. As I wrote, I cannot even begin to describe the overwhelming transformation that occurred as the words were written by divine inspiration without outline or plan in just two months. The testimonies of those that read early excerpts and those of the editors have expressed the same overwhelming experiences of transformation, and needless to say, the enemy has done all he can do to try to keep this book off the shelves. I have suffered much in the spiritual realm, but I will spread this message of hope, healing, and transformation for a lifetime and pray this work will carry on long after I am gone.

This book is a very raw and real depiction of everything I have suffered including prostitution at 4 years of age, molestation, rape, physical abuse, abortion, bulimia, abandonment, desperate dating, infidelity and encounters with the other woman, BUT the story does not end there. The reader will be taken on a journey through my experiences, but will end up with me in the depths of transformation as they will be forced to look at and deal with their own "stuff." The chapters are not only candid recollections of life as I knew it, but they include spiritual reflections that challenge perceptions and walk the reader into transformation and prayer.

This book is going to change so many lives, and it's so important that I receive your help in spreading the word about it and getting it out to the masses. — Rein Johnson

 

"I Am Not Garbage: My Life's Journey ..." was not only written from Rein's heart & soul but also from the direction of the HOLY SPIRIT!

Here is the link to Rein's website where you may order this book that will change lives throughout the world!

Rein-Soul.com 

If you would like a Kindle version, just click on this for a link to Amazon!

"I Am Not Garbage" Kindle Edition on Amazon!

Click on the following to go to the Facebook page. 

HeReinz Ministries, LLC

Rein is most definitely a true artist! 

"A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others." — Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech 

May we all have the courage to take the steps of faith that the LORD desires us to take. 

"Take the first step in faith.

You don't have to see the whole staircase.

Just take the first step." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

May your journey & my journey be filled with strength from people who have gone before us & helped to lighten our loads. 

"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life ― those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley & the ordinary things of life & that is where we have to prove our stamina & strength." ― Oswald Chambers

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