When Things Go Wrong

Friday, March 28, 2008

1. When Things Go Wrong

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."1

Today's Daily Encounter is from an insightful anonymous poet.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
So don't give up, though the pace seems slow –
For you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
it seems to a fain and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night
slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure, turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you
mustn't quit.2

As Dale Carnegie said, "Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in all of life's struggles I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please give me the wisdom to know when to keep hanging on and never quit and when, if I am heading in the wrong direction, to stop, look and listen, and turn around and go in the right direction. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT).
2. Anonymous.

<:))))><

When It Comes to Defending the Faith, There is No 'Plan B'

When It Comes to Defending the Faith, There is No 'Plan B'

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

"As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gathers this week for its semi-annual meeting, we hope the bishops will give serious attention to the crisis our Catholic hospitals are facing," said American Life League president Judie Brown. "That's why we took out a full-page ad in the Washington Times and other publications, asking the bishops to oppose laws that require Catholic facilities of any kind to violate Church teaching."


Passage of Connecticut legislation demanding that Catholic hospitals act contrary to church teachings is only the latest in a series of attacks by abortion proponents on Catholic healthcare institutions' constitutionally protected freedom of religion. The law that went into effect October 1 forces Catholic hospitals to provide the abortive drug, Plan B, to victims of sexual assault. Similar measures have been proposed in other states. "Planned Parenthood and its minions are determined to introduce bills in state legislatures that would force Catholic healthcare providers to take actions contrary to Catholic teaching," said Brown. "This attack on the freedom of religion is unconscionable. Would Planned Parenthood also endorse efforts to force synagogues and mosques to serve pork?"


Plan B, a so-called emergency contraceptive, can act after fertilization to prevent a newly-formed human embryonic person from implanting in the mother's womb. "Pro-abortion wordsmiths insist this is not abortion," said Brown. "However, the Plan B regimen mode of action can result in the taking of a human being's life prior to implantation. That is abortion. The Catholic Church forbids the use of any form of artificial contraception, and thus a Catholic institution facing a government mandate regarding the use of this deadly chemical must refuse to comply with such a law. Even if it means that such hospitals must shut down due to lack of funding, no state should be able to force Catholic institutions to violate Church teaching."


American Life League is leading the charge to protect Catholic institutions from outrageous laws and judicial decisions. The ad, headlined, "When it comes to defending the faith, there is no 'Plan B,'" can be viewed at http://www.all.org/pdf/planb.pdf.


Source: American Life League

CONTACT: Michael Hichborn of the American Life League, +1-540-226-9178,
MHichborn@ALL.org


Web Site: http://www.all.org/pdf/planb.pdf