FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP ~ 17 May 2015

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

 

 

THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP

For "Sparky", school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics in high school, getting a grade of zero. He also flunked Latin, algebra and English. And his record in sports wasn't any better. Though he did manage to make the school's golf team, he promptly lost the only important match of the season. Oh, there was a consolation match; he lost that too.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn't that the other students disliked him; it's just that no one really cared all that much. In fact, Sparky was astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. There's no way to tell how he might have done at dating. He never once asked a girl out in high school. He was too afraid of being turned down... or perhaps laughed at. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates... everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.

One thing WAS important to Sparky, however -- drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one else appreciated it. But that didn't seem to matter to him. In his senior year of high school, he submitted some cartoons to the the yearbook. The editors rejected the concept. Despite this brush-off, Sparky was convinced of his ability. He even decided to become an artist.

So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples of his artwork. Despite careful preparation, it too was rejected....one more confirmation that he was a loser.

But Sparky still didn't give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life's story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the perpetual loser and chronic underachiever. You know him well...because Sparky's cartoon character went on to become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. People readily identified with this "lovable loser." He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and their shared humanity. The character soon became famous worldwide: "Charlie Brown." And Sparky, the boy whose many failures never kept him from trying, whose work was rejected again and again...is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip, "Peanuts," continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us, as someone once commented, that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.

If you follow the comic strip for a while, you will begin to notice one other thing as well. It isn't anger, resentment or in-your-face sarcasm which fuels Schultz's creativity and resilience. It's his faith. In fact, one study of the comic strip, published several years ago, made precisely that point. It eventually became a popular book entitled, "The Gospel According To Peanuts."

Sparky's story reminds us of a very important principle in life. We all face difficulty and discouragement from time to time. We also have a choice in how we handle it. If we're persistent, if we hold fast to our faith, if we continue to develop the unique talents God has given us, who knows what can happen? We may end up with an insight and an ability to inspire that comes only through hardship. (Read Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28.) In the end, there are no "losers" with God. Some winners just take longer to develop!

CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN

 

[Publius]

IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE SUNG

This is scored for tenor and a capella chorus.

Mendelssohn: Psalm 22, Op. 78/3

[left that other site]

Gorgeous!

[MeshugeMikey]

“Never, Never, Never, Give Up,” Winston Churchill

God Bless You.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

A Blessed Lord's Day and Shavua Tov to you.

[Publius]

IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE SUNG

This is one of my favorite Schubert songs. He keeps the piano in the upper registers of A-flat to make it sound like a harp, and he makes the female chorus sound like angels. This is a staple in the German-speaking world, but it has never caught on in the English-speaking world because the words of Luther’s German Bible don’t scan properly into English. The end will make your screen blurry.

Schubert: Psalm 23, D. 706

[SandRat]

Good evening, Kathy...(((HUGS)))...a Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours.

The shoulder and arm are doing as well as can be expected.

[DuncanWaring]

He died on literally on the eve of the publication of the final Peanuts strip.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Shavua Tov.
Wishing all our Jewish troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
a peaceful and prosperous week.

[left that other site]

Dear FRiends...I didn’t get any sleep last night because of this disgusting cold.
I have a church service tomorrow morning, so I am hitting the sheets REALLY early tonight

God bless!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Kathy in Alaska]

Prayers for our troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
for a safe and peaceful week ahead.

[DakotaGator]

That was my understanding. He knew it was his time and said goodbye.

A gift I shall not forget.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening and good night, ML...(((HUGS))...a Blessed Lord’s Day and Shavua Tov to you.

Hope you get a good night’s sleep and feel better in the morning.

[ConorMacNessa]

I can identify with Charlie Brown.
Sort of reminds me of my (snort) career. :)

[kvanbrunt2]

thx needed that

[SkyDancer]

~ Good Evening! ~

~

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, MeshugeMikey....a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Good advice from Winston Church...NEVER give up!

Thank you.

[Kathy in Alaska]

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G-d from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May HASHEM cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your G-d, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.

G-d bless and keep your children safe, Alouette.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Publius, and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Thank you for Mendelssohn’s Psalm 22. ((HUGS)) Very nice.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey....((HUGS))...Shavua Tov and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Enjoying your home time? Any big games for the family?

Next trip planned?

[MeshugeMikey]

Thank you.

My landord was having work done on the stop downstairs...starting at 6 AM ..this morning so Im a tad tattered.
Thank again.