Messages like to come in threes, and when I hear or read something multiple times it usually means God is trying to tell or show me something. Yesterday morning I opened up my computer to a Relevant Magazine article, which centered on the following quote by Theodore Roosevelt.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
A couple weeks ago I first read this quote when Justin Timberlake used it in his iHeart Radio Awards speech, and right after that another non-profit used it in a Facebook post. So today was the third time, however I am not simply posting about it because it has come up three times. I am posting about it because over the past few weeks it has become one of my favorite quotes and has become something I have found great comfort in praying and meditating over. I am sharing it to inspire you; to give you comfort and courage in your valiant effort. To encourage you to step out in faith towards that adventure or creative endeavor you have bubbling just beneath the surface. So get in the arena, embrace the sweat and blood, fail, strive, find you’re worthy cause, and dare greatly. The most exciting part about this is we all have the ability to bring someone else into the arena with us, someone who has already been marred by dust and sweat and blood, someone who is willing to do it all over again with us everyday, that someone is Jesus, all we have to do is let him in.
In my arena, I have found incredible support over the past week in talking more about my ventures. God has a way of supporting us in ways that we could have never dreamed up ourselves. He moves through people that we haven’t seen or talked to in months, and the beauty in seeing who he brings to us is awesome. So what can you do to support me right now? First, subscribe to my blog by clicking the button in the upper left hand corner. Second, please be praying for strength and focus as I enter into the last 30 days of my undergrad. Today is April 11th, and in exactly one month I will be graduating on May 11th, I have a feeling I am going to become pretty obsessed with this whole number 11 thing, #11n11. In the coming weeks I will be sharing more info about what different forms of support can look like, launching my online store, and continuing to build a core group of supporters. Thank you so much for the love and support everyone, I had over 250 hits on my blog this week.
Here are the links to the article, and Timberlake speech, both are great reads.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/we-need-more-creators-and-fewer-critics#MmFEOrRo0MmE5EzV.99
http://entertainthis.usatoday.com/2015/03/30/justin-timberlake-innovator/
