FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP ~ 06 May 2018

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

 

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

A Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Did you get some rest?

[radu]

I didn’t take the camera today but need to take it next time I go up.
I didn’t zero in on them when I took pix in the flyers room last weekend but there some gorgeous hand-carved helicopters made of cherry, I think it is. I have no idea where they came from but somewhere there’s a heck of a wood carver. Those things are so beautiful.

I didn’t walk through the museum today. All the guys were there, with extra helpers, unloading several of those totes and putting things out on display. There’s an open house and military vehicle swap meet in two weeks and they want everything ready for it. I figured it best to stay tucked in my little corner, out of their way. LOL

Can’t blame you a bit for not wanting to fly in helicopters any more. Watching and admiring them is plenty good. :-)

I love going to air shows and crawling around in the big war birds on display but you will NOT ever catch me in one that’s going to take off. LOL

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Sunday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. How's it going?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning, Redcitizen, and a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning, E...((HUGS))...hope you and Bo have good hunting weather.

A Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

[SandRat]

Recalls are Calls are made on more than just CARs.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good Afternoon, Kathy!

***HUGS***



A Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours! Thank you very much for Today's Sunday Chapel thread.

This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad!

[ConorMacNessa]

"TAKE UP THY CROSS
AND FOLLOW ME"



"I Vow To Thee My Country"
Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
(Click)

"I VOW TO THEE, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace."

[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!



Amazing Grace
(Click)
By John Newton

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.