Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Edison Endures

"I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes." (Thomas Edison)

Helen Keller Pursues Dreams

Helen Keller faced incredible obstacles. Although both blind and deaf from the age of two, she refused to be overcome by her disability. Rather than retreating into the darkness of her world, she ambitiously pursued her dreams. In her own words, "Security does not really exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." (Last Days Magazine, Fall, '89) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Exhaust Your Own Strength to Find New Strength

"When I go to my workout at the YMCA early in the morning, the place is full of people emptying themselves of physical strength. But as I look around I see that their bodies have acquired great endurance and great power. How did they get that way? Day after day and week after week they used their muscles to the point of exhaustion. As a result their strength increased. You see, God gives strength to the weary, but we don't like to get weary. God increases the power of the weak, but we don't like to be pushed that hard. Therefore we avoid exercise. We say, God, give me your power, and expect it to come as we sit in the church pew. That is not the way it happens." (Caywood, Escaping Materialism)

Schwarzenegger's Mentor

At 15 years of age, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided he wanted to be the best body builder in the world. And when he saw a massive bodybuilder named Reg Park in a movie, he knew he had found his hero. In Schwarzenegger?s own words, "From that point on I was utterly dominated by Reg Park. His image was my ideal. I found out everything I could about Reg Park. I bought all the magazines that published his programs. I learned how he started training, what he ate, how he lived, and how he did his workouts. I became obsessed with Reg Park; he was the image in front of me from the time I started training?. I pasted his pictures on all the walls of my bedroom. ? I studied every photograph of him I could get my hands on ? noting the size of his chest, arms, thighs, back and abdominals. This inspired me to work even harder. When I felt my lungs burning as though they would burst and my veins bulging with blood, I loved it. I knew then that I was growing, making one more step toward becoming like Reg Park.." (Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Douglas Kent Hall, A Fireside Book, New York, pp. 18-20. Used by Permission.)

Tom Cruise Endures

I can?t make it through the grocery store line these days without noticing Tom Cruise staring at me from a magazine cover. How many of you saw him play Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible II? His accomplishments are pretty incredible. At 37 years of age, he has starred in blockbuster after blockbuster, is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, has been recognized for his achievements in acting by a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination, and has the physical agility (and guts) to perform 95% of the stunts in MI2. It?s easy to look at Cruise and assume that he probably always had everything going for him. Think again. His life is actually the story of a survivor who learned to turn his shortcomings into assets. His dad was consumed with his work and finally abandoned the family when Tom was 12. Tom couldn?t afford some of the things other kids had because his dad refused to pay child support for his four children. He and his sisters had to work to contribute to the family income. They sometimes survived on food stamps. His social life was disrupted regularly by moves that forced him to change schools an average of once a year (8 elementary and three high schools). Lots of kids made fun of him. He was always the new geek, never the cool guy that girls flocked to. Lots of kids made fun of him And to make matters worse, he felt stupid and embarrassed because he was put in the remedial class for slow learners. He was later found to have a learning disorder called Dyslexia, which makes it incredibly difficult to learn skills like reading. Not knowing what was wrong, he just thought he was dumb and would often come home crying. He couldn?t even distinguish his right hand from his left. Concluding that academics weren?t his forte, he plunged into athletics. He played football but was too small to excel. Wrestling, however, is divided into weight classes, giving him the opportunity to compete. But when running some stairs (trying to lose a pound to compete in his weight class) he slipped on some papers his sister had left and tore a tendon on his leg. So much for athletics. Unable to wrestle on the team, he tried out for a part in their high school play. He landed a starring role and fell in love with acting. A theater agent ?just happened? to be in the audience the night of the performance, encouraged him to go into acting and the rest is history. Cruise could have turned inward and bitter about his circumstances. But instead, he learned from them. He draws from the heartache he experienced as a child to express emotion when he acts. He learned to work harder than others by having to learn with a disability. He says that his school difficulties were a character course that made him a better person. As a result, he goes the extra mile for his producers and has the character that makes people love to work with him. (Sources: 1 ? ?Cruise Control? (excerpt from 'Cruise')( Cosmopolitan ) Frank Sanello; 12-01-1995; 2 ? ?Man With a Mission,? ( The Calgary Sun ) Lisa Wilton, Calgary Sun, 05-21-2000; 3 - ?Conversations With Cruise,? Vanity Fair, June, 2000; Tom Cruise, by Phelan Powell, Chelsea House Publishers, 1999) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

John Wesley Perseveres

Perseverance! These are diary entries for John Wesley on 5 days of one of his circuit riding tours: Sun. a.m.-5/5?Preached in St. Ann?s, was asked not to come back anymore. Sun. p.m.-5/5?Preached at St. John?s, deacons said, ?Get out and stay out.? Sunday a.m.-5/12?Preached at St. Jude?s, can?t go back there either. Sunday p.m.-5/12?Preached at St. George?s, kicked out again. Sunday a.m.-5/19?Preached at St. somebody else?s, deacons called a special meeting and said I couldn?t return. Sunday p.m.-5/19?Preached on the street, kicked off the street. Sunday a.m.-5/26?Preached in a meadow, chased out of the meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services. Sunday a.m.-6/2?Preached at the edge of town, kicked off the highway. Sunday p.m.-6/2?Afternoon service. Preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.

Churchill's Wartime Challenge

"When you feel you cannot continue in your position for another minute, and all that is in human power has been done, that is the moment when the enemy is most exhausted, and when one step forward will give you the fruits of the struggle you have borne." (Winston Churchill)

Persistence

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent." (Source Not Found)

God Can Use Amateurs

When you get discouraged because of your own inadequacies as compared with others who have the benefit of so much training, just remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

An Acorn that Held its Ground

An oak is an acorn that held its ground.

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