Tag Archives: learn from your mistakes

Mistakes Can Turn Into Success

Mistakes Can Turn Into Success. Look at these examples of bad turned good…

Mistakes Can Turn Into Success:  Look at these examples of bad turned good…

In a previous post, we talked about how our failures and mistakes can contribute to some of our insecurities.  We tend to beat ourselves up for the mistakes we make.  It never ceases to amaze me though how God can take our disobedience and mistakes and turn them into something beautiful.  He can take something that I completely messed up and then turn it around to be a blessing to me and to others.  

Did you know there are several products and inventions that came from mistakes?  To name a few…the Slinky, Penicillin, plastic, chocolate chip cookies (thank goodness for this mistake!), potato chips, the pacemaker, silly putty, safety glass, microwave ovens, corn flakes, Post-it notes (another one of my favorites!), x-rays, superglue, popsicles, vulcanized rubber (i.e. tires), and matches.  Here’s a fun read about the 20 Most Fascinating Accidental Inventions all originating from mistakes.  I personally believe many of these mistakes turned success were probably God-inspired.  There are stories throughout the Bible of mistakes turned success too.

God turned Jonah’s mistake into a success

Continue reading

When You Fall or Fail Get Back Up!

When You Fall or Fail Get Back Up!

When You Fall or Fail Get Back Up!

Sometimes we are our own biggest critic and condemner when fall short, fail, and or make mistakes. We may even have a tendency to give up and stay down once we’ve fallen. However God wants us to get back up and keep going. He’s not mad or angry. He’s not discouraged or disappointed. In fact, God is our biggest cheerleader!

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9a (ESV)

“Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.” Psalm 56:9 (NIV)

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 (NIV)

“The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Psalm 118:6 (NLT)

“But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.” 2 Corinthians 7:6 (NLT)

I’ve mentioned before that Joe McGee often says, “We’re not the perfect people, we’re the getting back up people!”

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” Proverbs 24:16 (NLT)

God cheers us on even more if we fall or fail

God is our Father, and he a good father, a good parent…even better than we could ever be.

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11 (NLT)

Subsequently which of us would kick or discourage a child when he’s down? That would be a pretty awful parent to do something like that, right? So why would we expect God to do something like that?

I recently heard someone say that if a child is running in a race but then falls in the middle of the race, the parent would never say, “You’re so stupid. How could you do that? What’s the point of even trying now? You might as well go ahead and give up.” That’s when a parent starts cheering even louder and encouraging them even more… “Get back up! You can do it! You’ve got this!”

That’s how God is. God cheers us on even more when we fall or fail.

It also reminds me of my son pitching at a baseball game. If he’s pitching well and throwing strikes but then starts throwing balls instead of strikes, that’s the time I start cheering him on a little more.

God won’t kick us when we’re down. If we mess up, sin, or fail in some way, he is cheering us on even more…”Don’t give up! You’ve got this! You can do it! You’re not alone—I’m right here with you!”

A fall or fail is not the end or a death sentence

Continue reading

She forgot her backpack…Allowing natural consequences

She forgot her backpack...allowing natural consequences

She forgot her backpack…Allowing natural consequences

A couple of weeks ago I experienced a hard day as a momma. In fact my journal entry for that day reads, “Today is a little rough as a mom to see through natural consequences for my child.”

My daughter had been pretty irresponsible lately (not getting chores done, taking much longer than it should to get things done, forgetting things, and so on). On this particular day, she had forgotten her backpack with her homework at home because she wasn’t paying attention and focusing on the right things. She also forgot to drink her milk that morning even after being reminded.

At school, as she was getting out of the car, she noticed that she had forgotten her backpack. She didn’t ask me to go get it and bring it back to her because she knew she’d already used up her one “grace” already this school year. I give each of my kids one “grace” per school year where I’ll retrieve a forgotten item just one time.

Part of me REALLY wanted to go back home and get it for her though. She had such a discouraged look on her face that broke my heart. However, something inside me reminded me that she needs to have her natural consequences as a learning opportunity. I was struggling so much internally though I even called Eric to ask him if I should go back and get it for her. As soon as I heard myself asking him though, “don’t do it!” was running through my head. Eric had the same response, especially considering her recent irresponsible behavior.

It still just made me so sad because I don’t want my kids to have to suffer discouragement, pain or heartache. I think God must feel this way at times too.

God is also a good, but just parent

Thinking about it all reminded me of a previous post I wrote where I talked about being sad when I wanted to do nice or fun things for the kids but their bad behavior prevented me from doing so. At that time I also had the realization that God must experience similar emotions and how he is a good but just parent. He allows us to experience many of our natural consequences. Though as a parent, he probably doesn’t like it, and it makes him really sad to see us experience pain and hardship too.

Consequences teach necessary life skills

Continue reading