FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP ~ 06 September 2026

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

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; chapel; military; troopsupport

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please join us for Sunday Chapel ~ THE LOSER WHO NEVER GAVE UP, and Liberty

Lt. Charles F. Suver, CHC, USN, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
"Mass at Iwo Jima"

Please stop in and say a prayer of protection for the military.
Prayers from all denominations are needed.



Sunday Liberty starts after the Guest Military Chaplain's Service!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Dear God:
I ask that no Airman, Coast Guardsman,
Marine, Sailor, Soldier, Reservist, National Guardsman, or Merchant Marine
feel alone or forgotten.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is loving kindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Psalm 130:7 & 8

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

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

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[lightman]

Keep the Lord’s Day in the Lord’s way.

A blessed Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost(Orthodox) to all!

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

I hope you’ve slipped out onto the deck today for some of that beautiful sunshine. A little breezy, yes, but that’s what long sleeves are for. :-)

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

[Repeal The 17th]

Kinda makes me wonder if Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and Peppermint Patti
were representing other people in his life ...

[decal]

Charlie Brown could be a bit of a stinker at times in the earliest years.

Robert L. Short also wrote a sequel to “The Gospel According to Peanuts” - “Parables of Peanuts.”

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

And blessed Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost(Orthodox)”.

I was late tonight because FR wouldn’t let me post, reply, or FReepmail. Took a bit, but Chris got me back on track.

We have rain (I hope) coming this week. How about you?

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

[Kathy in Alaska]

Extra prayers for Israel...

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]

I did spend a little time out on the deck...communing with the ducks. LOL!
Only a few, but then they kept coming one by one until a lot of them were here. Felt good to be outside.

[luvie]

Casting Crowns~Praise You In The Storm

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir~How Great Thou Art

Daniel O'Donnel~Church In The Wildwood

Statler Brothers~Amazing Grace

Gaither Vocal Band~Heaven's Joy Awaits

St. Olaf Choir~When Peace Like A River

Providence~Sweet Beulah Land

GOD BLESS YOU THIS LORD'S DAY!
...AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!

[radu]

Good. It’s been beautiful up there today, especially now that the wind’s died down. It was pretty blustery earlier. Glad you finally got a decent weekend day to spend some time outside

The ducks got the word out that you were hangin’ with them. LOL

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

I saw your pic earlier of the boys lazing in the shade, trying to stay cool. Not easy.

Another hot one here, too, with rain passing by a couple of times real close. Now it looks like I might get a direct hit tonight ....... unless it fizzles out at the last minute.
We both know what that’s like. LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

That is a very good wonderment. Would not surprise me.

[Kathy in Alaska]

That sounds like a good read.