I refuse to be discouraged, To be sad, or to cry;
I refuse to be downhearted, and here’s the reason why…

I have a God who’s mighty, Who’s sovereign and supreme;
I have a God who loves me, and I am on His team.

He is all wise and powerful, Jesus is His name;
Though everything is changeable, My God remains the same.

My God knows all that’s happening; Beginning to the end,
His presence is my comfort, He is my dearest friend.

When sickness comes to weaken me, To bring my head down low,
I call upon my mighty God; Into His arms I go.

When circumstances threaten to rob me from my peace;
He draws me close unto His breast, Where all my strivings cease.

And when my heart melts within me, and weakness takes control;
He gathers me into His arms, He soothes my heart and soul.

The great “I AM” is with me, My life is in His hand,
The “Son of the Lord” is my hope, It’s in His strength I stand.

I refuse to be defeated, My eyes are on my God;
He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.

I’m looking past all my circumstances, To Heaven’s throne above;
My prayers have reached the heart of God, I’m resting in His love.

I give God thanks in everything, My eyes are on His face;
The battle’s His, the victory is mine; He’ll help me win the race.

Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do -
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too-

But always remember, the hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart start upward
An climb ‘Til you reach your dream,

For nothing in life that is worthy
Is never too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it
And you have the Faith to believe-

For Faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God’s wisdom and will-

For Faith is a mover of mountains.
There’s nothing that God cannot do.
So start out today with Faith in your heart
And “Climb ‘Til Your Dream Comes True”!

---

Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981)

There was this couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery, especially teacups.

One day in a beautiful fine shop, they saw this beautiful teacup.

The man said, “May I see that? I never have seen one quite so beautiful.” And the lady handed it to him.

As she handed it to him, suddenly the teacup spoke:

“You don’t understand,” it said, “I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, ‘Let me alone.’

But he only smiled, ‘Not yet.’ “Then I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the teacup said, “and suddenly I was spun around and around and around and around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting dizzy’ I screamed.

But the master only nodded and said, ‘Not yet.’ “Then he put me in the oven. I’d never felt such heat! I wondered why he wanted to burn me. I yelled! I knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, ‘Not yet.’

“Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf and I began to cool.

There, that’s better,’ I said.

Then he brushed me and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. ‘Stop it! Stop it!’ I cried.

He only nodded, ‘Not yet.’

“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven not like the first one. This one was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head, saying, ‘Not yet.’

“Then I knew there wasn’t any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf.

One hour later, he handed me a mirror and said, ‘Look at yourself,’ and I did, and I said, ‘That’s not me, that couldn’t be me, it’s beautiful. ‘I’m beautiful!”

‘I want you to remember then,’ he said, ‘I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I just left you, you’d have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad and when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have hardened.

You would not have had any color in your life, and if I hadn’t put you back in that second oven, you wouldn’t survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product.