Approaching Jesus, Correctly!

Approaching Jesus,  Correctly!  

                    

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The Rich Young Man - complete text is linked.

Mark 10:17-22   Remember- Mark is writing to the persecuted Christians of 65-70AD

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.19You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.' "20"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Matthew 19:   Remember- Matthew is for the Jews as a bridge from the OT to the NT,  70-75AD
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."18"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,19honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' "20"All these I have kept," the young man said.

As a Scoutmaster for 12 years and then a middle school teacher for 10 years, finding great teachable moments was often the best moments of my day.  Middle school students often asked good motivated questions but used the wrong words.  The teachable moment that came often involved the word 'can', meaning 'being able to'.  The conversations went something like this:
student- "Mr. Coggins, can I go to the bathroom?"  My immediate answer:  "I don't know." 

"But, Mr. Coggins, I have to go to the bathroom, can I?"
"I don't know."

"Mr. Coggins!, I really need to go, can I!!!?"
"Welllllll, I just do not know.  Are you able? Do you need help?  How do I know if you can even find the bathroom?  Do you need someone to hold your hand?"

Then, with a dumbfounded look, "Mr. Coggins, please let me go, I need to go now!!!!!!"

Then, another student would whisper, "Say, 'May I'."

"Ohhh, Mr. Coggins, may I go to the bathroom?"
me- "Of course you may, why didn't you ask me earlier."
And, they ran out of the room, presumably to the bathroom.

The wrong choice of words is often confusing, reveal misunderstanding of words, and reveal incorrect preconceived ideas of what one thinks they are really asking.

The simple student example shows their misunderstanding of the use of 'can' and the conversation taught the importance of clarity in the use of words.  The students, they always made it to the bathroom and through some slight embarrassment, they learned from the experience.  However, such is not the case for the Rich Young Man.

In reading the story of The Rich Young Man there is great insight on how to approach Jesus in prayer.  There are great meanings to be found in comparing and contrasting the reading of the two accounts in Matthew and Mark, but more importantly, discovering what the words of the story can mean for us.  

Much of the ultimate results of our life's experiences,

our Godly relationship, and resulting peace of mind

 is often based on our attitudes in the our motivations behind

 the thoughts we think, 

the questions we ask,  

the words we say, 

the things we do, and 

the prayers that we pray.

In the example above, if a student appeared before me disrespectfully demanding to go to the bathroom, my answer was often "no".   With a poor attitude you blunder into poor results.

The story of this man coming to Jesus is one of the great blunders of the Bible.   Every step of the way the man is completely out of step with what Jesus has to offer.  Why? His attitude!  His motivation was likely for a worthy purpose, but the question, his comments, and his body language betray and conspire to lead Jesus to know his heart.

First, consider what we can know about the man.  Likely he could be considered a good Jew.  Luke says he was a ruler (Luke 18:18),  he knew and claims obedience to the commandments (vs20),  from Mark we see him honoring and paying homage as he approaches Jesus (vs 17 ).  Finally, he was a man of wealth (vs22).  Our question then is what was his motivation in coming to Jesus?  What had he observed that made the man care about what Jesus could tell him?  Based on the placement of this story in both Gospels we can believe this event came quite near the end of Jesus' ministry.  Therefore, the man had been given opportunity to see Jesus's works, hear His words, and very likely came to believe that He was the Messiah.

The man comes concerned about eternal life.  This too, is our concern and why we submit to Jesus and the life He has for us.  Therefore, we can identify with this man!  We may not have all he had materially, but he, as for most of mankind, wanted to believe there is more to life than just existence, more to life than what we see, and more to life than the number of breaths we take.  People of nearly all faiths are concerned about eternal life.

The man's blunder in coming to Jesus is his attitude! The rich man has life, a good life and motivation, is earthly fulfilled, but still has an emptiness in his heart and this is his motivation in coming to Jesus.  This is the issue many people identify with, especially in western and secular societies, we have much, we have a good life if not a wealthy life, but many are still walking, breathing and living with an empty heart.  People do good works, but it is never enough; people try doing their best, but it is never enough; and people give much of themselves to many opportunities, but it is never enough.  So many people live a good life and keep asking themselves as the rich man did Jesus, "what must I do to inherit, to get, to stake my claim on life beyond this existence?"

People are motivated to have what Jesus gives, have the desire for salvation, desires to respond to Jesus’ "seek", as He commands us to do in Matthew 6:34.  But, just like the man in the story, people  often blunder living and asking the wrong question!

The man asks Jesus, "what must I do, what good thing must I do to inherit, to get eternal life."  The man's great blunder, and for many people their blunder, is the word "I".  For a true relationship with God, WE can do nothing in the manner the Rich Man asks.  He was right in being on his knees and head bowed in submission to Jesus, but he approached Jesus with the wrong attitude, and the incorrect words!

In our crazy world, God's world appears upside-down.  In God's world, love trumps hate, forgiveness over rules sin, everlasting life over comes death, and our approach to Jesus should not start with questions and a "I want" or "what can I do" attitude.  Rather, Jesus, tells us quite explicitly what we must do.  His whole ministry is the example of our behavior and his resurrection is the validation of his first and all other commands to us, "Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand".   In the Rich Young Man’s emptiness, in our emptiness without God, what we seek is not something we "get" or inherit.  In our homage to Christ, our love and submission to God, in our acceptance of the Holy Spirit and in our humble attitude, we simply go to Jesus in prayer and living in the words, “Lord forgive me, for I am a sinner".  In penitence, our real communications with God begins without confusion or misunderstood words, and quite correctly.  

In God's seemingly upside-down world, let not your "I do" attitude be your blunder as it was in the Rich Young man.  Living with a penitent heart in God's will is truly good for us in setting righteous attitudes and authenticating our prayers, resulting in peace of mind and the eternal riches of a Godly relationship that only God can provide.

Thanks Be to God,
TB2G

 lonnie

© lonnie coggins

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lonnie

Publication  0094


intro

HOW WE ASK FOR SOMETHING OFTEN DETERMINES WHAT WE RECEIVE.  Click for a discussion in this message about how we should approach Jesus in our prayers.   Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.  For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2013/01/approaching-jesus-correctly.html

Seven Thoughts on Prayer

Seven Thoughts on Prayer            

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Matthew 14:23 NIV

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,...

Luke 18:1 NIV

[The Parable of the Persistent Widow] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Praying is truly good for us and Jesus gave us great examples on how to pray, when to pray, and where to pray.  Without communications to friends we lose touch, so to it is with God.  We should pray, and pray, and pray, everyday.  It is good for the heart, the brain, but most of all, our eternal life.

1.    Instead of counting sheep when your bedtime is restlessness, pray, and especially pray for others.  Sleep can come much faster.  In addition, counting your blessings in prayer is always better than enumerating your problems in restlessness.  The latter is uselessness; the former, God's will.
…

2.  We must understand the difference between our wants and our needs when we pray.  Just as with parents and their children, parents and God often just will say “no” to our wants but will supply needs and supply them in abundance.  There is much glory in our wants not being supplied.  It teaches us patience;  with our parents it teaches understanding of circumstances; and it makes us realize that often our wants are not good for us.

One of the great mistakes parents make is when they supply too many of their children's wants under the guise of "trying to make a life better for their children".  

In teaching middle school and high school I saw such folly when parents give in to their children and defend every wrong they did.  One "child" in the ninth grade wore the latest in everything, had no respect for authority, thought she could leave the room without asking, and basically was given nearly every want by her mother except values.  This "child" had two children of her own before the 10th grade.

In aggressively giving children their desires, parents are not serving the best interest of the child.  All of us must learn patience and it starts with good parents teaching such to their children.
…

3.  I have heard that there are people who think that God does not hear their prayers.  Often, I wonder if their problem is do they stop talking long enough to listen.  God wants us to listen for His answers more than we talk.  If He wanted us to talk more than we listen, He would have given us two mouths and one ear.
…

4.  I have heard there are people who think God does not answer their prayers.  Maybe, they received the answer, but it was not what they wanted, and kept listening, or worse, quit praying.  Often, especially in prayers for our wants, the answer is “no” or “Be patient and wait”.   In all things for God, pray in patience, and do "not give up".  It is to God's Glory we patiently wait.
…

5.  God does answer our prayers in due time, in accordance to his time, and at just the right time.  If He seems slow with answers,  it may be that He has important desires to teach us to be patient.  However, when we get answers, because we do not like the answers to our prayers does not mean they are not answered.  If you get an answer you do not like (such as “no”), again, pray for patience.  There may be something better coming than what you asked for or what you asked for was, perhaps, not good for you.  Patience in praying for our needs is of paramount importance in our righteous relationship with God.
…

6.  Praying “Not my will but your will be done” and truly accepting that as Jesus did is difficult because it demands clear and total submission to God.  This is made supremely difficult by the society we live in.  Our society teaches us to be, dress, seek, and live like people around you; to be accepted by people and do as society and government wants.  Living God’s way sets you apart and makes you different and open to ridicule.   It can be a difficult path to walk but the rewards are great.

... 

7.  Humble, submissive prayer as in the example of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is truly so important to our righteous relationship with God.  How else are we to truly know what God plans for us unless we talk to Him and then in patience listen.

…
Thanks be to God

  

© lonnie coggins

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© Lonnie Coggins        source- Facebook "A Daily Thought Group"
ldcoggins@gmail.com              www.adailythought.NET

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.

lonnie

intro
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS, MOST OFTEN  the people doing the praying.  Praying rarely changes our circumstances immediately but does change the vision of our situations that we can make better Spirit guided decisions about our future.  Click the link below for more thoughts on prayer in our lives.  Jesus prayed often, He sat the example, we should follow.
 Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.  For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2013/01/more-thoughts-on-prayer.html

Publication  0093

Who Is Your Own Worst Enemy?

Who is                                                    
Your Own Worst Enemy? 

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Galatians 5:22 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Mothers are a great example of patience.  A few years ago when I was three, my mother was painting my room, and I thought painting was really neat.  According to my mother who loved telling this story, I started asking, "Mama, I want to paint."  

Of course, the answer was no, "but mama I can do it, I know I can."
I was really persistent with mother's patience.  We went back and forth, as her patience wore thin, and with my insistence getting stronger, the telephone rang.  Of course, I was too young to answer the phone so she wiped her brush off a bit and answered the phone....and started talking... and then, sat down.  Bad thing!

I am sure of my thinking was along the lines of, "I will show her I am a big boy and can help her paint."  So, I dipped the brush in the paint and started painting.  About 45 minutes later she hung up the phone and came back to 'her' painting.  "He was so proud,"  she would tell people years later, "He painted Everything in sight, at his height.  He started with the walls, the window, the closet, the dresser, the bed, the headboard, the back of the headboard, the bed, the bed covering..... literally.   If it were at my height and it didn't move, it was painted.

When we lack patience, we often make a mess of things just like I did in my room.  Since I do not have a memory of this event, it is unlikely that my mother did much in the way of 'teaching' corrective action (aka punishment).  I think she showed extreme patience as she washed the paint off of me and the other things in the room.  

Teaching middle school and being a Boy Scout leader took and taught me much in the way of patience, and I had learned well from my mother.  In searching the NIV Bible translation, we find 17 uses and mostly definitional information about having patience with ourselves and others.  Those references are listed below and give us great learning and teaching tools..

I especially learned the value of patience in teaching keyboarding skills.  I also taught many students to be patient with themselves.  As I taught students to type without looking at their fingers, so many of them would really resist.  All I could do is tell them, "This is new and it is hard, but like many things you have to be patient with yourself."  Just as they learned to do the typing skill  and nearly all of them came to be very happy in typing without looking at your fingers, perhaps the most important behavior and skill I taught was being patient with themselves.

In a like manner, we need to learn to be patient with ourselves.  It is difficult to be patient with others, if we cannot be patient with ourselves.   Jesus did not talk about or refer to patience in His sermons, talks, and lessons.  He talked about many behaviors we should have, but never about patience.    He did not define patience as that would make it too easy for us.  He knows what is good for us and wants us to see real patience, His patience in the example He sets for us to follow.  As He taught us to show mercy because God is merciful, so too, we should show patience with others because God is constantly patient with us as we seek to be like Jesus in our walk with Him.

It is in our patience we work better with others and in our patience we more easily forgive our enemies.  As He is with us, in patience we show love, for it is in our patience we better learn to do God's will; and, in our patience and prayers, we come to know God's timing in our work for Him and His will for us in our daily living.

In your prayers, pray for having patience in all elements of your life, but especially pray for God through the Holy Spirit to give you the gift to have patience for yourself.  If not, you could be your own worst enemy.


Thanks be to God.
lonnie
(c) 2013

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Topics: Patience Bible Verses

• Proverbs 19:11 NIV

  A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
  Read Proverbs 19 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Proverbs 25:15 NIV

  Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
  Read Proverbs 25 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV

  The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
  Read Ecclesiastes 7 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Isaiah 7:13 NIV

  Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
  Read Isaiah 7 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Romans 2:4 NIV

  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
  Read Romans 2 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Romans 9:22 NIV

  What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patiencethe objects of his wrath--prepared for destruction?
  Read Romans 9 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• 2 Corinthians 6:6 NIV

  in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
  Read 2 Corinthians 6 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Galatians 5:22 NIV

  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  Read Galatians 5 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Colossians 1:11 NIV

  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
  Read Colossians 1 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Colossians 3:12 NIV

  Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
  Read Colossians 3 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• 1 Timothy 1:16 NIV

  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
  Read 1 Timothy 1 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• 2 Timothy 3:10 NIV

  [Paul's Charge to Timothy] You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
  Read 2 Timothy 3 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• 2 Timothy 4:2 NIV

  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
  Read 2 Timothy 4 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• Hebrews 6:12 NIV

  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
  Read Hebrews 6 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• James 5:7 NIV

  [Patience in Suffering] Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
  Read James 5 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• James 5:10 NIV

  Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
  Read James 5 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

• 2 Peter 3:15 NIV

  Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
  Read 2 Peter 3 | View in parallel | Compare Translations

                                                                                

© lonnie coggins

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© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.

lonnie

Publication  0091

Borders in our Lives, Brings Real Freedom to Live

Borders in Our Lives                                       
Bring Real Freedom to Live                 

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A beautiful river without borders becomes
      just another swamp.
So too, like a river without borders, 
     a life without God & Jesus 
     flows into the same result.   



Galations 5:
22 ...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh          with its passions and desires.25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.26Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

The irony of success and the problem with the human condition is our freedom to choose.  Either we choose to rely on God and what He has for us, or we rely on self, TV, others, or even the government to tell us or influence us in what to think, say, and do.  One of the problems we face in choosing is we hear much more often from TV and friends that tell us we should depend on this product to make us more attractive, this or that to have more fun, this self-help to make us more confident, and on, and, on and on.  When instead, we should be depending more on seeking a righteous relationship with God and let Him define what is important in our lives and the Real Freedom that brings.

Depending solely on society's norms, popular trends, and strictly personal attitudes to define how we feel is nothing but a path to unhappiness, feelings of insecurity, and sometimes a life of hopelessness and self-destruction   God created this world and we are made in His image and just like a parent as we are interested in our children, so to is God interested in His children.  Similarly, just as good parents give children restrictions and borders for their own good, so too God does the same for us.  Every limit, every border, every "no-no" to our selfish desired behavior that God puts on us gives us a profound freedom to live more in His Ways, His blessings, and in His Joys of life He has for us.  

C. S. Lewis put it this way: 
     "God designed the human machine to run on Himself.  
      He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, 
      or the food our spirits were designed to feed on.  
      There is no other." 

Living in God's borders for our lives allows us Profound Freedom.  Consider this.  Where do we find people who absolutely refuse to live a Godly life to the extent they did what they wanted, when, and how they wanted to.  You find these people filling our jails and prisons, and look at their lack of freedom in their earth bound borders and limits.  The antithesis, the opposite of those jailed people, the people with the most real freedom are those who seek God's Guidance through the Holy Spirit in every thing they think, every thing they say, and in every behavior they live.  Godly focused people live in a confidence beyond themselves, thankful for all they have, never in escessive worry about what others think of them, full of purpose in their life and future, and selfless in achieving the goals God has for them.  Bigger is not better, less is often more, and spiritual gifts are in abundance.  

Now, with that said, will living in God's borders mean you are always happy? No, perhaps most of the time, however, sometimes far from it; but, Joy always resides within us.   We still have to work to live in this world and many times find unhappiness, but Joy comes in the Fruit of the Spirit.  Pretend you are a doctor.  You find happiness in helping people recover from disease.  Even if you live that, God gives you all the talent you have, you cannot save everyone from every disease.  Even in all their success, when good doctors fail they might not show it, but for most of them, failure is disturbing and brings them some unhappiness in wishing to be able to do more.  Another example, as a teacher, I always wanted my students to achieve and it was hard to see them fail try; because, with that persistent attitude, that student would have a difficult life.  I had two students that refused to learn good behavior habits and both are in jail for murder.   But, in living a life within God's borders for us, it better allows us move on in our failures and keep trying to achieve Spiritually well selected goals.

One of the very important results of living in God's borders and in submission to God's will for our lives is the peace of mind that comes to us.  In 1972, as a most self-confident Lieutenant in the Air Force I was presented with a difficult task that for the first time in my life, all I could do is humbly submit to God that I could not solve what a Vietnam combat situation required of me.  I absolutely thought the problem could not be solved but still felt great self inflicted mental pain in my failure.  In my prayer that first night of the "problem" and for the first time in my life I submitted to God, and in giving up to Him the task to be solved, I felt He would have to show me the solution.  In the lowest moment of my life, in humble submission to God, instead of being restless all night trying to solve the problem, I amazingly went to sleep with no effort.  In the first hour of the next morning, it is clear that God put me on the path to the solution.  It was the peace of mind that came in my submission to God that I was lifted to my greatest earthly job related achievement.  By, 8:30 the next morning, the problem was no longer an issue.  Living in God's will, behaving in the borders He teaches us, and in my submission to His will He gave me a peace of mind and a path to His solution.  Peace and Godly vision comes in God's freedom to serve Him.

In the footnotes, I give a second example of the result of devastating unhappiness in living life not humbly submitting our problems to God.

To find God's will for your life,
 Seek Him 
   in prayer, 
     Bible study, and 
especially reading the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5,6, & 7.  

Remember, the Journey in Seeking God's will consists of trying to be in His will in every thought, everything we say, and in every behavior we do.  When we fail, we pray, as we succeed, we pray for strength to continue seeking everything within His borders for for our lives.


Living in God's Will for us: 
we more easily find proper and attainable goals for our lives; 

we realize we do not have to solve every problem we face;

we are more secure in using use His scale
       to make decisions rather than our desires; 

we do not bankrupt our lives living as
       as we behave as we think others want us to live;

we accumulate friends who are more meaningful to us;

selfishness does not rule our lives;

life's purpose  and goals are God given and more meaningful;

and
prayerful decisions in the guidance of the Holy Spirit are more fulfilling in bringing greater inner peace.

Jesus did not promise happiness in all we do, 
but 
living within His borders, we can: 
find peace in the contentment of living this life,
forgiveness in our failures of achieving His will,
a real freedom to excel in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
a constant assurance of His blessings, and 
the Promise of Joy in an everlasting life.

Matthew 6:33 NIV

[Jesus speaking] "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Thanks be to God.

© lonnie coggins

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Publication  0084

intro

A BEAUTIFUL RIVER WITHOUT BORDERS BECOMES JUST ANOTHER SWAMP. So too, like a river without borders, a life without God flows into the same result.  Click for more thoughts on this.    Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.  For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2013/01/borders-in-our-lives-brings-real.html

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A second result of accepting God's Will for our lives and living in His borders is learning to find success in and beyond our failures.  On the task given me by the Air Force, I failed miserably the first day of flying trying to achieve the task.  I gave it all I had and failed.  We can give and give and give trying with all our abilities and we often we still fail.  If we do all we do based on our self-developed confidence, the failure can be devastating and crippling.  A friend of mine died in his self-developed confidence.  He was a Major in the Army and in assuming command of a supply depot and due to one behavior of not taking a proper inventory when he took command and when several million dollars of inventory were missing, my friend found himself in a court-martial.  In this "failure", a depression led him to feeling total helplessness and he committed suicide with his parents and children in the house.  This is extreme.  But, when we rely solely on self, failure can be deadly.  God is a God of forgiveness and allows us to fail.  Equally, we should not be too hard on ourselves and allow failure to be only a stepping stone to success.  

© lonnie coggins

lonnie

Publication  0084