
Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult of times.
When times get tough, at some point, people instinctively know they need to lighten up in order to get through it.

Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult of times.
When times get tough, at some point, people instinctively know they need to lighten up in order to get through it.


In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.
One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t play to get discouraged.
Lucille Ball (1911-1989) persevered through a quiet film career in the 1930s and 1940s. Television would be her gateway to stardom with her memorable sitcom “I Love Lucy.” This comedic actress earned five Emmy Awards for her television work.

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.
From 1 Corinthians 15:57-58: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Our lives are like water, always flowing forward in the streams of time.
Life is always full of limitless possibilities.

Constant effort and frequent mistakes are the stepping stones to genius.
A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience.
Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) was an American writer, philosopher, and artist. Much of his work became more recognized in the years following his death when both he and his wife perished with the sinking of the RMS Lusitania during World War I.

If you quit every time things don’t go your way, then you’ll be quitting all through your life.
A setback only paves the way for a comeback.
Evander Holyfield is a former American boxing champion, who competed from 1984-2011. Throughout his life, he has found the inner strength to overcome many challenges in both his youth and his boxing career.

Innocence of its journey
Silently moving along
Life flowing from its spirit
Hearing river’s steady song
Adventure fills nature’s page
Imagination runs wild
Treasured stories to transcribe
Waters frolic like God’s child
Back in time, from long ago
Calling out, steady she goes
Flowing with perseverance
Energy shall never slow
Panoramic and mighty
Slicing across vast landscapes
Mystery around each bend
Secrets waiting to escape
Most precious and sustaining
Endless scenic avenues
Dreaming of chapters to write
Like tasting sweetest fondue

Allow
God’s Wisdom
To speak aloud
Permeate souls and minds
Truth

Courage
Young David
Clinging to God
Lasting perseverance over his
Trials

Witness
Christ’s body
Wounds and scars
Transformed by our Risen
Savior

This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.

I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.
From Hebrews 12:1-2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The only true remedy for discouragement is to put our hope in God. He alone can give us the courage to persevere.
From Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”