complaints | Craig T. Owens

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Poetry Saturday—It Couldn’t Be Done

May 10, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
but he with a chuckle replied
that maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one
who wouldn’t say no ‘till he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
on his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: ‘Oh, you’ll never do that;
at least no one ever has done it;’
but he took off his coat and took off his hat
and the first thing he knew he’d begun it.
With the lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
without any doubting or quiddit,
he started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
there are thousands to prophesy failure;
there are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
the dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
then take off your coat and go to it;
just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
that ‘cannot be done,’ and you’ll do it. —Edgar A. Guest

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: complaints, Edgar Guest, failure, just do it, optimist, pessimist, poem, poetry, singing, success, work ethic. Leave a Comment »

Poetry Saturday—“A Man” by Edgar A. Guest

January 25, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

A man doesn’t whine at his losses,

A man doesn’t whimper and fret,

Or rail at the weight of his crosses

And ask life to rear him a pet.

A man doesn’t grudgingly labor

Or look upon toil as a blight;

A man doesn’t sneer at his neighbor

Or sneak from a cause that is right.

A man doesn’t sulk when another
Succeeds where his efforts have failed;
Doesn’t keep all his praise for the brother
Whose glory is publicly hailed;
And pass by the weak and the humble
As though they were not of his clay;
A man doesn’t ceaselessly grumble
When things are not going his way.

A man looks on woman as tender
And gentle, and stands at her side
At all times to guard and defend her,
And never to scorn or deride.
A man looks on life as a mission.
To serve, just so far as he can;
A man holds his noblest ambition
On earth is to live as a man. —Edgar A. Guest

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: attitude, complaints, Edgar Guest, father, grumble, husband, jealousy, manhood, noble, perseverance, poetry. Leave a Comment »

Learning To Stop Complaining

December 11, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

“The heart’s fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honor from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest. Remember that always the greatest Christians have come out of hard times and tough situations. Tribulations actually worked for their spiritual perfection in that they taught them to trust not in themselves but in the Lord who raised the dead. They learned that the enemy could not block their progress unless they surrendered to the urgings of the flesh and began to complain. And slowly, they learned to stop complaining and start praising. It is that simple—and it works.” —A.W. Tozer

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, complaints, praise, quote, tribulation. Leave a Comment »

Nicest Of Compliments

October 30, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

On Sunday my amazing church took some time to express their appreciation to me. It was very humbling and gratifying to hear how God has allowed me to invest in the lives of such wonderful people.

After the service, I was munching on some cake and talking with some folks. I approached one lady in our church to ask about a situation in her life. It turns out that the situation I was asking about was one of those “tip of the iceberg” things. She then proceeded to unload all of the frustrations she’s been carrying around over the past couple of weeks.

It was nice hearing the kind words of my congregations, but this lady’s rant (that was her word for it) was one of the nicest compliments!

Why do I say this? Because she felt comfortable enough to lose the mask, drop the pose, and be real!

Read the Psalms and you will see how many times the psalmists let loose in God’s presence. They tell God how difficult things have been, how many bad guys are out to get them, and how rotten they feel. They unload all of these raw emotions in His presence, and that is the first step toward receiving God’s healing.

In the New Testament, Christians are encouraged to bear one another’s burdens, but that’s awfully hard to do if we keep our burdens to ourselves.

Church should be the safest place for us to unload the burdens we are carrying! That’s why I felt like I received such an amazing compliment when this precious lady felt secure enough to share what was really going on.

I pray that you have a church or Christian friends with whom you can unload your over-taxing burdens. And I pray that you can be the church where others feel safe enough to trust you with their burdens.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, church, complaints, compliments, Galatians, imprecatory, safety. Leave a Comment »

Biodegradable Words

September 7, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The day has been a good one so far: There’s been a lot of traffic through the store, all of the employees showed up for their shifts on time, and the manager is feeling great. Then because of one complaint from a finicky customer, the whole day seems to crumble.

The day has been a good one so far: You got up on time, found the right outfit to wear, got to school on time, smiled at your classmates, and got right down to business. Then a teacher points out a mistake you made yesterday, and your whole afternoon becomes gloomy.

Usually that’s all it takes. Just one complaint, one correction, one unkind word, one angry look, one unfriendly email. Just one, and it’s hard to remember any of the good stuff which happened earlier. Just one, and the rest of the day seems so hard to bear.

That’s because good words are biodegradable. Kind words break down faster than unkind words. Compliments are quickly erased by complaints.

“One of the commodities in life that most people can’t get enough of is compliments. The ego is never so intact that one can’t find a hole in which to plug a little praise. But, compliments by their very nature are highly biodegradable and tend to dissolve in hours or days after we receive them—which is why we can always use another.” —Phyllis Theroux

Here’s how you can help today. It might take a couple of extra minutes, but the results are so worth it! Give three compliments today.

Tell the barista at your coffee shop how much you appreciate her smile every morning.
Mention to the building custodian how nice he keeps the office looking.
Say “thanks” to the band for playing one of your favorite songs.
Compliment your kids for doing their homework without you having to ask them.
Thank your school teacher for her informative lesson.
Tell your supervisor you appreciate their extra effort.

It’s not hard to find something to compliment about anyone. Your compliment may be just the antidote they need to counteract a complaint that has gotten them down. And when you treat others this way, you can be sure that compliments will be coming your way too!