Praying for California

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrRxFoBSPng

The video does have a couple of bad words being yelled from the mob but it just shows what we as believers are facing, NOW in our country.

This video is taken, November 14, 2008, as a group of 13 Christians who had been in the Castro District. The Castro dist is largely populated by the homosexual community. As these young people were playing the guitar and singing and praying. They were not "preaching" they were just loving Jesus. A crowd started to lash out against them. The mob surrounded the Christians and began to throw hot coffee in the face of some girls, one girl had her Bible taken from her and when she asked for it back, the guy hit her in the face with the Bible then knocked her down and began to kick her.
This group of Christians did NOT retaliate against them, but continued to tell them Jesus loves them and they love them. They continued to sing praise. The crowd grew to about 500 people lashing out. They were threatening to kill these Christians. Again this is happening in SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA IN THE USA...NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY!!


My encouragement is that they didnt fight back with anger. Jesus would not want us to lash out back at them. That is part of the reason most of these homosexuals are so mad at that group of Christians is because for the longest time, we as Christians have been judgmental towards them. I know I have, but thats NOT how the Lord wants us to respond. HE wants us to love them....HE loves them. We need to show them God loves them and has a plan for them. HE doesnt care about their past, HE cares about their future.
We have all heard "Love the sinner, hate the sin" Well now is a time we as believers must ALL live that. We can no longer be judgmental towards any sinful lifestyle. We must love them, genuinely love them!!
Our flesh wants to fight back, and lash out back at them. But we have to die to the flesh and let the Holy Spirit prevail. I am NOT saying we support the homosexual lifestyle, because it is DIRECTLY against Gods word and HIS will for marriage. We must show them Christ love, because until they know Jesus truly loves them, they will not turn from the sinful lifestyle. remember we are all sinners and sin is sin.
There is an old song by Steve Camp and my favorite line in the song says:
DONT TELL THEM JESUS LOVES THEM UNTIL YOURE READY TO LOVE THEM TOO!!!
Its easy for us as believers to just tell them "Jesus loves you" whats hard and the second part of that is to also tell them we love them.
So, lets all, as Christians, commit today to love the sinner hate the sin and truly spread the love of Jesus to everyone we come in contact with. So lets show them Jesus loves them AND SO DO WE!!!

Rescue

I had an AMAZING moment with the Lord this morning. I was driving to HCHS and I had my music jammin' as usual, just praying and worshiping, which is what I do on my way to school. I was listening to David Crowder.
It was a partly cloudy day, but I looked up and there was a break in the clouds and I could see the suns rays coming through the break. As I looked up, Crowder kicked in the chorus of the song I was listening to, the chorus went like this:
"DONT GIVE UP NOW, A BREAK IN THE CLOUDS WE WILL BE FOUND, RESCUE IS COMING, RESCUE IS COMING, RESCUE IS COMING, RESCUE IS COMING NOW"

I broke into tears and began to sing at the top of my lungs, people may have thought I was crzy but I didnt care.. I was praying and thanking HIM. I have been praying about some directions God is taking me in and I know the "Rescue is coming"! What that means for me in this situation is that God has something BIG for me and it's coming. I felt the Lord tell me not to give up, and that my time is coming and HE has an amazing plan for me, my future spouse and family. I need to and will be faithful to HIM and HIS calling on my life and that "rescue" I need is coming.
I highly reccommend you listen to the song, it's callled "Rescue is Coming" by David Crowder off the CD "A Collision"

Also, this song is of grat encouragement for our country and our world that with all of the abortions, human trafficking, financial crisis, drug addictions and all the other "junk" thats going on will be over soon because our (as believers in Christ) our ultimate rescue is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for HIS children. I believe that HE is coming soon. I pray for anyone who reads this to be blessed and know that HE is there for you and HE wants you to look to HIM and not to give up because
RESCUE IS COMING!!!

TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS

TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS

HERE IS THE STORY BEHIND THE MOVEMENT "TO WRIT LOVE ON HER ARMS" Cutting is ramped in our society, let us reach out to them and show them the love of God, join the movement to write love on their arms. www.twloha.com -TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS.....THE STORY!! http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.... or here: TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS. by jamie tworkowski Pedro the Lion is loud in the speakers, and the city waits just outside our open windows. She sits and sings, legs crossed in the passenger seat, her pretty voice hiding in the volume. Music is a safe place and Pedro is her favorite. It hits me that she won't see this skyline for several weeks, and we will be without her. I lean forward, knowing this will be written, and I ask what she'd say if her story had an audience. She smiles. "Tell them to look up. Tell them to remember the stars." I would rather write her a song, because songs don't wait to resolve, and because songs mean so much to her. Stories wait for endings, but songs are brave things bold enough to sing when all they know is darkness. These words, like most words, will be written next to midnight, between hurricane and harbor, as both claim to save her. Renee is 19. When I meet her, cocaine is fresh in her system. She hasn't slept in 36 hours and she won't for another 24. It is a familiar blur of coke, pot, pills and alcohol. She has agreed to meet us, to listen and to let us pray. We ask Renee to come with us, to leave this broken night. She says she'll go to rehab tomorrow, but she isn't ready now. It is too great a change. We pray and say goodbye and it is hard to leave without her. She has known such great pain; haunted dreams as a child, the near-constant presence of evil ever since. She has felt the touch of awful naked men, battled depression and addiction, and attempted suicide. Her arms remember razor blades, fifty scars that speak of self-inflicted wounds. Six hours after I meet her, she is feeling trapped, two groups of "friends" offering opposite ideas. Everyone is asleep. The sun is rising. She drinks long from a bottle of liquor, takes a razor blade from the table and locks herself in the bathroom. She cuts herself, using the blade to write "FUCK UP" large across her left forearm. The nurse at the treatment center finds the wound several hours later. The center has no detox, names her too great a risk, and does not accept her. For the next five days, she is ours to love. We become her hospital and the possibility of healing fills our living room with life. It is unspoken and there are only a few of us, but we will be her church, the body of Christ coming alive to meet her needs, to write love on her arms. She is full of contrast, more alive and closer to death than anyone I've known, like a Johnny Cash song or some theatre star. She owns attitude and humor beyond her 19 years, and when she tells me her story, she is humble and quiet and kind, shaped by the pain of a hundred lifetimes. I sit privileged but breaking as she shares. Her life has been so dark yet there is some soft hope in her words, and on consecutive evenings, I watch the prettiest girls in the room tell her that she's beautiful. I think it's God reminding her. I've never walked this road, but I decide that if we're going to run a five-day rehab, it is going to be the coolest in the country. It is going to be rock and roll. We start with the basics; lots of fun, too much Starbucks and way too many cigarettes. Thursday night she is in the balcony for Band Marino, Orlando's finest. They are indie-folk-fabulous, a movement disguised as a circus. She loves them and she smiles when I point out the A&R man from Atlantic Europe, in town from London just to catch this show. She is in good seats when the Magic beat the Sonics the next night, screaming like a lifelong fan with every Dwight Howard dunk. On the way home, we stop for more coffee and books, Blue Like Jazz and (Anne Lamott's) Travelling Mercies. On Saturday, the Taste of Chaos tour is in town and I'm not even sure we can get in, but doors do open and minutes after parking, we are on stage for Thrice, one of her favorite bands. She stands ten feet from the drummer, smiling constantly. It is a bright moment there in the music, as light and rain collide above the stage. It feels like healing. It is certainly hope. Sunday night is church and many gather after the service to pray for Renee, this her last night before entering rehab. Some are strangers but all are friends tonight. The prayers move from broken to bold, all encouraging. We're talking to God but I think as much, we're talking to her, telling her she's loved, saying she does not go alone. One among us knows her best. Ryan sits in the corner strumming an acoustic guitar, singing songs she's inspired. After church our house fills with friends, there for a few more moments before goodbye. Everyone has some gift for her, some note or hug or piece of encouragement. She pulls me aside and tells me she would like to give me something. I smile surprised, wondering what it could be. We walk through the crowded living room, to the garage and her stuff. She hands me her last razor blade, tells me it is the one she used to cut her arm and her last lines of cocaine five nights before. She's had it with her ever since, shares that tonight will be the hardest night and she shouldn't have it. I hold it carefully, thank her and know instantly that this moment, this gift, will stay with me. It hits me to wonder if this great feeling is what Christ knows when we surrender our broken hearts, when we trade death for life. As we arrive at the treatment center, she finishes: "The stars are always there but we miss them in the dirt and clouds. We miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember hope. We have hope." I have watched life come back to her, and it has been a privilege. When our time with her began, someone suggested shifts but that is the language of business. Love is something better. I have been challenged and changed, reminded that love is that simple answer to so many of our hardest questions. Don Miller says we're called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world, to stop the bleeding. I agree so greatly. We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive. I might be simple but more and more, I believe God works in love, speaks in love, is revealed in our love. I have seen that this week and honestly, it has been simple: Take a broken girl, treat her like a famous princess, give her the best seats in the house. Buy her coffee and cigarettes for the coming down, books and bathroom things for the days ahead. Tell her something true when all she's known are lies. Tell her God loves her. Tell her about forgiveness, the possibility of freedom, tell her she was made to dance in white dresses. All these things are true. We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home. I have learned so much in one week with one brave girl. She is alive now, in the patience and safety of rehab, covered in marks of madness but choosing to believe that God makes things new, that He meant hope and healing in the stars. She would ask you to remember. ***that is such an amazing story. If you know someone who is a "cutter" od on drugs, PRAY for them, help them but most importantly LOVE them. You love them by helping them.** I love you guys..Tiger if you need help with this contact me. I will help 832-498-2742

Milo, My Dog

On June 15, I had to put Milo, one of my dogs, the Weimariner/Catahoula mix, down. My dad had called me the night before to tell me Milo had been very sick and "Just wasnt himself"
He had been vomitting and had diarrhea all night. That Saturday morning we took him into the vet. The doctor said Milo was really sick, he had lost 12 lbs in about a week. As tears filled my eyes I thought about Milo's quality of life and it was not good.
In addition to this sickness, his aggression had got better. We just didnt know if he would have another spell and bite again.
That being said I decided it would be better for HIM to be put him down. The fear of him biting, caused mom and dad to not be able to have he grandkids over.
Yall, hardest thing I've done in a long time.... if not ever!!!
Milo looked at me as if to say "its ok daddy, Im sick, Im going to a better place" When the nurse came in to have me sign the paper, I could barely see, I was crying so hard. Then she when the tech came to get him to take him to the back, I lost it!! I kissed him on his head and he walked out with the vet tech.
Dad and I sat there and cried for about thirty minuites.
It was hard for him, eventhough Milo had bit him twice, dad greew VERY close to Milo, I think it was harder for dad than me. I had made my peace with it the other time I almost put him down. I was still tore up, but i knew it was best for him.
I miss him VERY much. Watching the fireworks tonight in Lewisville with a group of friends, it brought back memories of July 4, 2006. I had just got Milo, June 29, 2006 and took him to a friends July 4th party, he was so little, he was the LIFE of the party.
That all sparked me writing this tonight as I sit here in Dallas...well actually Lewisville, with friends, Im quietly sitting here fighting tears...hiding them with laughter about conversations. Truth is, I miss him bad and it makes me sad. I love him and know he's better off, its dad and I who are hurting. The fireworks tonight just brought back memories which caused me to be quiet and anyone who knows me knows I am RARELY quiet!!
RIP good buddy Milo, daddy and Pops love and miss you!!

Nickel for a Quarter

Its funny how God works in our lives sometimes. One of my favorite sayings is , "God doesnt take away your nickel, unless HE's gonna give you a quarter!"
I'm in a place now where HE has taken my nickel and I am now waiting for that quarter. I have been substitute teaching at Houston Christian High School for about 4 years. I applied this year to be the Chaplain.
This is something I prayed long and hard about. I absolutely love the students, faculty and staff at HCHS. My hearts desire has been to be able to be there full time and when the Chaplain position came open, I immediately threw my name in the hat. I interviewed for it and even made it to the second round of interviews, along with 3 other candidates.
I was VERY excited at the opportunity to be with those students on a daily basis, not just occasionally as a teacher would be out. The students have been amazingly awesome and encouraging as they have expressed how much they want me in that position. One even started a "Facebook" group called "Tiger Coffman for Chaplain" The messages and emails I have received from the students are priceless and I will cherish forever.
I say all that because I received the call yesterday to tell me the school had hired another man for the Chaplain position. Honestly, my heart broke immediately not just for me but for the students as well. I really wanted to be there and I believe (not boastfully at all) the students wanted me too. Not because anything special about me other than the relationships I have built with them. They know how much I truly care about them and love them as my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now the nickel to quarter thing is two fold here. First for the students, Know that the man God has for this position is a quarter compared to me. He is the one God feels is best for you and this position. I am still going to be here and available for you for whatever you may need.
Second for me, God has something ministry wise that is huge for me. I am not sure what that is, but I know it will involve ministering to students!!
My heart is broken in that I wanted to be there as Chaplain, but at the same time it is excited to see what God is going to do both for HCHS and for me!!

ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!!!!!!!!

OK so I didnt watch American Idol last night, Astros were on , but I heard about it. On KSBJ, our Christian radio station in H-Town, they were talking about it this morning. Apparently, the contestants sang "Shout to the Lord", but they took out the first two words "My Jesus" and replaced it with "My Shepherd". This troubled some folks at first, because, in my opinion , they are the most important words in the song.
If you think about other religions, they can refer to their "god" as lord, shepherd and god. We as Christian know there is only ONE true GOD and no matter how many times Oprah says there is "Jesus isnt the only way" we know she is wrong.
I think the reason they took out "My Jesus" is because NO OTHER religion can refer to their "god" as Jesus!
MY JESUS is the only way. MY JESUS is the only true tower of refuge and strength, MY JESUS is the ONLY one that mountains will bow to and seas will roar to at the sound of HIS name. MY JESUS is the only Savior, MY JESUS is the only comforter, MY JESUS is my only shelter. MY JESUS is the power and majesty praise to MY JESUS, MY KING!!! and I will sing for joy at the work of MY JESUS' hand, FOREVER I'll love MY JESUS my favorite part... "NOTHING COMPARES TO THE PROMISE I HAVE IN YOU.... MY JESUS"
Oprah cant promise me anything eternally, yes she gives money to people in need, but as scripture says, "not by works so no one can boast" Ephesians 2:9
My prayer is the American Idol contestants song last night will be a spark for us Christians to share the TRUE words to the song but more importantly the TRUE GOD the song is for and about. so, today at work, school or wherever we are, let us SHOUT TO THE LORD.....but sing the right words, starting the song ( as we should start our day) with MY JESUS...MY SAVIOR....here are the words for you.

My Jesus, My Savior,
Lord, there is none like You;
All of my days
I want to praise
the wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength;
let every breath, all that I am
never cease to worship You.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
let us sing
power and majesty, praise to the King;
mountains bow down and the seas will roar
at the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!

Storms

"How long have I been out here in this storm..." Storm by Lifehouse

As I read the lyrics to Lifehouse's new song "Storm", it caused my heart to begin to reflect and be encouraged, this is what God showed me...

We all face storms in life. It’s unfortunately one of the harsh realities of our time on this earth. Jesus even warned us,”in this world you will face trouble…” If you are like me, after I’m through the storm I look back and confidently exclaim how I knew God would get me through it, which is true! It’s the times when I am in some rough waters spiritually and the wind and waves are crashing against me that I need to practice what I preach. I need to remember the storms I have already come through and the beautiful rainbows that followed.
Looking back on how difficult a storm was is easier than being in the storm and looking forward to the rainbow. I don’t quite understand that, since God has promised us that HE will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) The reality is when we get tangled up and off track, we lose focus and get down, but we need to Stand up, brush ourself off and say. I will overcome. As Rascal Flatts so brilliantly explains:
'Cause when push comes to shove

You taste what you're made of

You might bend 'til you break'

Cause it's all you can take

On your knees you look up

Decide you've had enough

You get mad, you get strong

Wipe you hands, shake it off

Then you stand, then you stand

I know the rainbow awaits, when it will appear I don’t know but I WILL wait BECAUSE I AM a child of God and as HE promised Moses, HE promises us, “I {God} will go with you, I will see the journey to the end.” Exodus 33:14
During the storm I believe its ok for us to be upset at God, to beat on HIS chest with the questions of why me, why another storm? But, I caution to do this in a way that will turn us TOWARD HIM not away from HIM. God actually tells us we have the right to do that in 1 Peter 5:7 “cast ALL your cares on HIM because HE cares for you.” If He didn’t care for you He wouldn’t want you to tell Him your concerns, worries, hurts or fears. HE ALREADY KNOWS THEM ANYWAY!!! He just wants us to express those to Him. To build that "Daddy-Child" relationship. It feels so good to get things off your chest, whether that’s telling God or sharing with a friend you can confide in. Our friends are great, they will listen and if they are truly walking with the Lord, very often God speaks wisdom to us through them. A man once told me, regarding storms of life, “Short term pain leads to a long term gain” That is a great paraphrase of 1 Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you but REJOICE that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be OVERJOYED when HIS GLORY is revealed”
God allows us to put our worries, fears, concerns, hurts etc on HIM and He knows all things so He knows how it will all pan out. Our problem, me included is that when it doesn’t work out the way we envisioned it, we get mad at God. Then our selfishness kicks in because we want it “our" way. When our prayers are not answered how WE want them to go, we feel God is ignoring us. Garth may have a “catchy” song, but there is no such thing as “Unanswered prayers”. I fully know it is, though it shouldn’t be, hard to trust God knowing He has a better plan and timetable for our lives. It may not always be that He is saying NO to our request; it may be that is saying WAIT! The waiting is the hardest part. We know God answers prayers in one of three ways, HE says “Yes”, “No” or the dreaded ‘W’ word, “Wait”.
I am the type of person who can’t buy Christmas or birthday presents too early for someone because I can’t wait for the birthday party or Christmas. If I have something for someone I care about and love, usually something I know they want or need, I want to give it to them immediately. Sometimes I have made it or sometimes I buy it but either way I can’t wait until the Birthday or Christmas, I want them to have it now. By giving it to them early, it’s just not the same excitement as when the time is right. This is especially true with things we make for someone. Whether it’s a scrapbook, a bookshelf or whatever, if we give it to them too early or when its not finished or ready its not as enjoyable or meaningful to them.
I am thankful that God has more patience than I do. As HIS children He wants the very best for us. Sometimes HE will give us a glimpse or a hint of something huge he wants to do or give us then HE removes it to see if we will be patient and wait for HIM to complete it and to see if we will trust HIM and LOVE HIM more than the glimpse of what HE showed us or if we just want our gift from HIM now, the way it is finished or not. That would make it seem as if we only love HIM for what HE gives us or does for us. In his book, It’s Not About Me, Max Lucado says, “When our deepest desire is NOT the things of God, or a favor from God but God HIMSELF we cross a major threshold” That has been something God has be drilling in my head and heart recently. It has changed my perspective on many things!
My hearts passion and desire is to be in full time ministry. Be it traveling and preaching full time, on staff as a full time youth/college pastor or a Bible teacher at a Christian school. God has given me glimpses of all those choices and I am eagerly awaiting HIS direction for me in that realm. I KNOW God has something huge in store for me in that area. I am in the place now of the waiting for HIM to show me where exactly that is. That is my biggest desire now, to serve HIM where HE wants me. My heart longs to be investing in the lives of students and young adults, actually to anyone who will listen!
I realize desire one, being my relationship with God and the ministry HE has for me, takes precedence over ALL other desires. If we don’t keep Christ number one in our life, it doesn’t matter how bad you want something, how long you’ve worked for it, how much you’ve prayed for if, the fact is if Christ is not FIRST in our hearts, mind and souls everything else will fail. That’s not to say that it won’t ever happen, I’m saying if it is to be TRULY blessed by God, HE has to be the leader, the center and the motivation for EVERYTHING we do. Anyone or anything we put before God is an idol and HE will remove idols, because HE DESIRES, DESERVES and DIED to be number one in EVERY area of our life. In the words of Paul to the Philippians, “Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of for me. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead . I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
Therefore I WILL keep my heart and life focused on keeping Christ my focus and the main desire of my heart. I WILL seek HIM first and full force with everything in me. I WILL find the place HE has for me in ministry wherever that may be. I WILL “Rejoice in the Lord always” Philippians 4:4. I WILL “be confident that HE who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.” Philippians 1:6 I WILL “boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ power may rest on me” 2 Corinthians 12:9 I WILL “consider it joy when I face trials of many kinds for I know the testing of my faith develops perseverance and perseverance must complete it’s work so that I may be mature and complete in Christ.” James 1: 2-4 I WILL “Be strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might, putting on the full armor of God” Philippians 6:10 I WILL “persevere so that when I have done the will of God I will received what HE has promised” Hebrews 10:36 I WILL “pray continually, giving thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is Gods will” 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 I WILL “fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of {my} faith” Hebrews 12:2 I WILL “greatly rejoice, though now for a little while {I will} have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that {my} faith …may be proved genuine and may result in praise Glory and Honor when Jesus is revealed” 1 Peter 1:6-7
I make these statements as a commitment to God and a reminder to myself so when the enemy attacks, and he WILL I will be ready to stand my ground and fight!
I can say all of this knowing that God’s word is true. BECAUSE I AM “ I am a child of God” 1 John 3:1 BECAUSE I AM “more than a conqueror through HIM who loved {me}” Romans 8:37 BECAUSE I AM certain “ALL things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to HIS purpose.” Romans 8:28 BECAUSE I AM “having no fear of bad news because my heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord” Psalm 112:7 BECAUSE I AM “not my own, I was bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 BECAUSE I AM “created in Gods image” Genesis 1:27 BECAUSE I AM “not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16 BECAUSE I AM “fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139: 14 BECAUSE I AM “delighting myself in the Lord, HE will give {me} the desires of {my} heart” Psalm 37:4 BECAUSE I AM “desiring to do YOUR will o my God, your law is in my heart” Psalm 40:8 BECAUSE I AM “trusting in you {Lord} with all of my heart and leaning not on my own understanding and in ALL of my ways acknowledging You {Lord}, YOU will make my path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 BECAUSE I AM “saved by grace through faith, and this not of myself, it is a gift of God not by works so {I} can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 BECAUSE I AM “Fighting the good fight of faith, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” 2Timothy 4:7 BECAUSE I AM “Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for {me} to do”
Ephesians 2:10
I WILL continue in my journey with God and go where HE leads and do as HE says, BECAUSE I AM determined to not only finish what God has started but to FINISH STRONG!!! I know this is making me a better man for HIM, me, my family and friends as well as my future mate and MY family. I want to close with a quote, “Life’s success isn’t measured by the position you hold, it’s measured by the obstacles you overcome” author unknown.