The superior man makes the difficulty to be overcome his first interest success comes only later.

Death alone will put a stop to my effort!

Miami Dolphins lineman, wrote in his book On God's Squad, "I guarantee you Christ would be the toughest guy who ever played this game. . . . If he were alive today I would picture a six-foot-six-inch 260-pound defensive tackle who would always make the big plays and would be hard to keep out of the backfield for offensive linemen like myself.

Let it be said by our children's children thta when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried frth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

But I'm going to play with the same passion and desire every night, and nobody's going to change that. Not referees. Nobody.

God wants to show such people how strong He really is (2 Chronicles 16:9). But not all who aspire to leadership are willing to pay such a high personal price.

Newcastle was tough - the manager who'd signed me, Bobby Robson, got sacked three games into the season, so a new manager arrived, and I ended up going on loan again, to Aston Villa.

Climbing to the higher levels of leadership isn't easy. It takes effort. It also requires sacrifices. You won't be able to win one level using the skills you used to win the last one. You'll have to give up some privileges and resources to move up. You'll have to give up doing some of the things you love that don't give a great enough return on your time. And some people you'd love to take with you to the top will refuse to go.

A story doesn't really pick up until the hero needs to disarm a bomb, win someone's heart, defeat a villain, or fight for their emotional or physical survival.

I wonder if what might help couples build great families is to pick a place for their family to go and then hit the gas, to work toward their vision and build it out. Relationships have a way of stabilizing when in motion. Until then, they just feel like a road trip to nowhere.

Imperfect changes are slow steps of progress wrapped in grace … imperfect progress.

Whether we are at the beginning of our journey, in the middle, or in the danger zone of having just reached our weight-loss goals, focusing only on what we're giving up will make us feel constantly deprived. And deprivation leads to desperation, frustration, and failure. Instead, we have to focus on everything we're gaining through this process. And see the gains as more valuable than the losses.