Don’t Quit
I’m a “cup is half full” kind of person.
I usually see the good. I believe the best. I expect breakthrough. Most days, optimism comes naturally to me. Walking alongside my husband helping him as he builds a business from the ground up has brought many fun, life-giving moments. There have been wins. Celebrations that felt like proof we were exactly where we were meant to be. But don’t be fooled, building something new comes with daily doses of failing forward and more hard days than anyone cares to post about. If you’ve ever built something, you know.
The last several years have felt like walking blind, a faith journey filled with every high and low imaginable. There are days I want to throw in the towel. Days I felt like I simply can’t do it anymore. Days I convince myself I need to be smarter, stronger, better. Days when quitting feels easier than pressing on. Building something is one of the most humbling experiences. From owning Mr. Gyro’s, Peace Love & Little Donuts, to now building JHE, each season has stretched me in ways I never saw coming. You are constantly in the press, doing things you’ve never done before and carrying weight you didn’t know you could carry. It’s a lot like marriage and parenting. LOL!
Because building something humbles you to the point where you realize you cannot do it on your own. It strips away self-reliance. It stretches you beyond your own strength. And in that humbling, it builds something deeper, a fierce dependency and an unshakable faith in HIM alone.
I’ve had a thousand moments where I’ve thought “Maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I need to be smarter or stronger.” There are days I want to run. Not from God but from the weight. The responsibility. The constant stretching and pressing. And I’ve learned something about those moments. That feeling usually comes right before breakthrough. Those are the moments that press us. The moments that try to crush our calling. The moments that whisper, “This is too much.” That’s when we must fight. That’s when we must fan into flame what God has put inside of us.
“For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God… For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7
Fan into flame means effort. It means we don’t get to coast. It means we don’t get to surrender to our emotions. It means we must discipline our minds with truth when our feelings get loud. At Champion, we’ve heard it said, “If you don’t quit - you win!” and “We’re anointed to do hard things.” And it’s true. We get tested the most when it’s time to elevate. Do not break.
I had a time recently where I fought with everything in me just to keep moving forward. I was exhausted. The tears wouldn’t stop. I filled an entire journal page writing the same words over and over:
DON’T QUIT.
DON’T QUIT.
DON’T QUIT.
Because that’s what it felt like, a fight to not quit internally. I remember crying out, “Lord, I am about out of strength.” And immediately this scene is all I could hear until I sat down and watched it again, as I had so many times previously when fighting a spiritual battle. This scene is one of the most iconic moments from Facing the Giants, often called the Death Crawl. The coach challenges Brock to perform the death crawl; a brutal conditioning football drill blindfolded, on hands and feet, carrying a teammate on his back, the full length of the football field, while the entire team watches. Here is the scene paraphrased:
Coach (as Brock begins crawling with a teammate on his back):
That’s it. Hands and feet. Keep moving.
Good start. Stay low. Drive forward.
Brock:
Am I at the twenty yet?
Coach:
Forget the twenty. Forget the distance.
Just give me your best.
Brock (straining):
I can’t… I need to stop.
Coach:
Don’t quit on me. You’ve got more in you than that.
Keep moving. Keep driving.
Brock:
He’s heavy!
Coach:
I know he’s heavy.
I’m buying strength right now.
You need to negotiate with your body and find more strength,
but don’t you give up on me, Brock.
You keep going.
Coach (raising the intensity):
Ten more steps.
Ten more.
Give me your heart, Brock.
Brock:
I can’t.
Coach:
You can.
Five more.
Don’t quit.
Brock:
I don’t have anything left.
Coach:
You do.
Five more.
Don’t quit.
One more.
Brock (desperate):
It’s gotta be the fifty. I don’t have any more.
Coach (firm, commanding):
Wake up, Brock. You’re in the end zone.
(The blindfold comes off. Brock realizes he crossed the entire field.)
Coach (final words to Brock):
You are the most influential player on this team.
If you walk around defeated, so will they. Brock, I need you. Gods gifted you with the ability of leadership. Don't waste it. Can I count on you?
View clip HERE
I cried out, “Lord, I am about out of strength.” And all I could hear in my spirit was this truth:
You’re not.
“My grace is sufficient.”
“I can’t do this anymore.”
You can.
“My yoke is easy.”
“I don’t have anything left.”
You do.
“In your weakness I am made strong.”
Less of me. More of Him. Growth requires death to self. Death to our feelings. I don’t want to sin in those moments. I don’t want regrets. I’ve lived long enough to know that disobedience only causes regrets, delay and unnecessary pain.
“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24
That sounds powerful in church. It feels very different when you’re living it on a random Tuesday and nobody sees the battle. After wrestling through breakthrough came. Relief came. Truth came.
We’re committed to growing, in our marriage, in parenting, in business and in ministry. And growth always stretches us. God has carried us before. He will do it again!
Paul said, “I am what I am only by the grace of God.” This is my truth! How about you friend?
Don’t quit! Not on your marriage. Not on your calling. Not on your growth. Not on yourself.
Joshua 1:9 tells us to “be strong and courageous.”
We’ve heard it said I wish there was a manual for parenting, marriage, or building a business or ministry. Actually… there is. The Bible. If we submit and seek Him, He gives wisdom. He gives grace. He gives strength.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
This season was hard, uncomfortable and stretching. Pastor Joie preached a timely message in January “Multiplied Grace” that brought a tangible multiplied grace to my life. There has been a notable shift. Quitting is not an option! Someone is counting on you. Someone is counting on me. So, I’ll say it again to you and to myself — DON’T QUIT!