Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Wendy Pope, has a new release Hidden Potential and she's giving away five copies to readers. To enter, drop Wendy a note with your preferred shipping info [email protected]
Thank you Wendy for visiting the book club today...
I remember finally getting the courage to try out for the church ensemble. My confidence and my faith were growing. Since I had been asked to sing solos for the Sunday-night and Wednesday-night services, I thought it was time to take the risk.
My fifty-year-old brain can't recall what song I selected for my audition, but I remember putting the cassette (for those who aren't familiar, a cassette was a small plastic device that played recorded music off magnetic tape) in my player, pressing play, and singing into my hairbrush.
The cassette went with me in my car too. As I drove, I belted out the tune like I was center stage in a coliseum full of hundreds of people who had paid to see me perform. Doug was the sound guy at our church, and he was kind enough to meet me one evening so I could rehearse on stage with the mic. Oh, I was ready. I was gonna rock this audition and be part of the "elite" young ensemble. Audition night came. Audition night passed. I was not selected. Thirty years later, there's still a sting.
Failure is not a word anyone wants echoing in the chambers of the heart and mind. Let's be honest, many of us still cringe at the letter F because we have flashbacks of how it looked on the top right-hand corner of the composition paper we wrote about Abraham Lincoln. The red Bic felt-tip ink just made it worse, as if that F was shouting, "You are stupid! You are a failure!" Whether it comes with the memory of an algebra II midterm (why, oh why, did they have to put letters with numbers?), a job interview, bankruptcy, a pregnancy test, or a divorce, the weight of this f-word can be heavy.
The pain of failure is hard to overcome. The weight of my audition flop was added to the heap of other disappointments and followed me around like a lost puppy most of my life. Though the punch of failure still temporary takes me down, my faith in God and confidence have surpassed the sum of my failures. I've learned experiencing failure, doesn't make me a failure. Failure is only a stepping stone to success.
We can't allow failure to define us. We must use it to direct us toward a better outcome the next time, because failure wins when we don't try again.
-- Wendy Pope
Email Wendy to be included in the drawing for a copy of her new book, Hidden Potential, [email protected]
More about Wendy Pope: Wendy is the Founder and President of Word Up Ministries. She used to allow failure to define and direct her life. Her faith has taught her that she is worthwhile, even though she fails. Wendy is married to Scott and mother to grown children. Wendy is part of the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker team. Wendy enjoys lazy Sundays watching golf with her husband, thrift shopping with her daughter, and practical joking with her son.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.
WILLA'S GROVE (Fiction) by Laura Munson
If you loved my NYT bestselling memoir This is Not the Story You Think It Is--I know you will love my new novel, Willa's Grove! This book is about four women coming together to answer the question we all ask many times: So now what? They show us that rather than becoming islands during these crossroads times, we can gather in safe circles to share our stories and help each other find our next chapters.
Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on WILLA'S GROVE to read more and to email author Laura Munson, you'll get a reply.
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