Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to quickly wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend. For those of you traveling to see loved ones, or the few of you lucky (expletive deleted) that get to leave the country --you know who you are -- I hope that your journeys are safe and well. May all of you experience the love of friends and family over the next few days, but let us also keep one thing in mind. As we sit around our dining room tables eating turkey, ham, dressing, and the dozens of other classic Thanksgiving dishes, may we keep close to heart the millions around the world who will go hungry, who will probably not live to see tomorrow, or worse...who have nothing to hope and be thankful for. Let us not make it our mission to feed the world. Let us not focus on ending the sufferings of millions. Instead, let us focus our efforts on introducing the freedom and life-giving nourishment that comes from knowing our Savior, Jesus Christ. Through discipleship and evangelism, we can put an end to the worldly plagues of our day by offering an eternal hope that will rise above every physical thing here on earth. Only then can we overcome hunger, suffering, and hopelessness. Let us give thanks for our freedom through Christ, and may we pray for the opportunities to free others.

Answered Prayers

The Lord is good, isn't He? For weeks I have been feeling led by God to have a heart of prayer for a certain someone, for me to focus my thoughts on him daily. Some of you know to whom I am referring, others do not, but in order to protect his identity, I will refrain from using his name.

Last night, I found out that my prayers have not gone unnoticed, and God has been working hard to shape the heart and soul of this person. He made mention to the fact that he has been visiting a local church, and especially these past two weeks, has sat in the back feeling as if God was directly speaking to him that he was missing something...that something wasn't right. He admitted that he needed to talk with someone about things he was struggling with, and to get some things off his chest that have been holding him back. He has questions that need answering, and he has problems from which he needs to run. He needs support, and he asked that I help him the way I have helped others he has known. My eyes were tear-filled as I heard his account from a loved one, and even though the words were not coming directly from the source, I could hear and feel his pain...I could sense his desperation. God has in the past few months reaffirmed what I have believed for years: His spiritual gift entrusted to me was the gift of Counsel, and I find myself in a place beyond ecstasy as I hope and pray for people the people I love to know the God I worship, and to experience His unending Love. Praise be to the Father forever and ever..Amen!

Needed Prayers

Today, my prayers are with my youth group, and I ask that you join me in lifting them up to God. Things are going well, but I can tell that several of the kids know little to nothing about the Bible. One kid yesterday even made a comment that he did not believe in God, which kind of took me by surprise. I knew I would run across this eventually with someone, but I didn't expect it quite so soon. Another of the boys that has been coming since the beginning said that he didn't like the fact he was in a class with someone who didn't believe in God. I tried to help him understand that we all have to start somewhere, but how much can you say while you are in a group setting like that with no way to pull someone aside in private. I need your prayers, and I need God's help in making me an example by which they can see Christ, and for those that are already believers, that they can see the patience and acceptance of God through my example.

Amidst the Storms

What do you do when your world comes tumbling down around you? Where do you turn when it seems like the path on which you were traveling suddenly disappears beneath your feet? How do you cope with a major and tragic event in your life? Give up? The answer is God. There is the vast majority that will say that was an easy answer, but then why do we seem to take such tragedies and losses--such major shifts in direction with such disappointment, anger, frustration, fear, and hopelessness? The reason is that we say we trust God with our lives, seemingly giving Him the ability to direct and guide our steps as well as to help get us through the tough times. Where we make our mistake, however, is when those tough times do come, we too often try to regain control of our lives and our situations. It is as if we are telling God, "Never mind. You got me in this mess, now I guess it's up to me to get out of it." Blasphemy? How else would you take it if someone treated you the same way? Can we not trust God enough to not only see us to the bad times, but also to see us through? The Bible says that we will endure hardships and troubles as followers of Christ, but that He is the ultimate Comforter and Provider. He will be victorious in every outcome, and He will in the end "lead us beside still waters."

There is a reason for this post. I know of someone very dear to me that is suffering right now. Fear and pain are consuming their very being, and my heart is reaching out to save a soul...maybe even two. May I take a moment to share something that the Lord taught me just recently? I hope so, since this is my blog after all. Throughout our lives, we are given many choices, often multiple choices at one time. When we reach these crossroads in our lives, people will often say things like, "You have so many doors opening right now," or, "When one doors closes, two more open." The problem most people face (and I speak from experience) is that we stand in front of these many open doors leading to our futures with fear and trepidation. It is typically in these times that we like to try and regain control of our lives, even for a moment. "Your destiny is in your hands!" is a very common phrase given to graduates on their big day. But is our destiny really in our hands? Jesus made it very clear in The Gospel of John chapter 14, verse 6 when he said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He also touched on this again in The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7 verses 13 and 14, "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

That small road is Jesus, and He is the ONLY way. So when faced with many paths and many open doors, pray diligently that God will show the only one you should be taking. Otherwise, we may end up somewhere we really don't want to be. Then we are left with an accusing attitude towards God that He led us to this awful place we don't want to be. Focus your thoughts and prayers on the only thing in this world and the next that is an everlasting constant. That way, when the storms of life come, your world shifts and shakes around you, and everything seems to come tumbling down before your feet, you will find that you are not rattled, and you remain in the presence of the Eternal One, the unchanging Father. Then you will find you are unshaken and undisturbed amidst the storms.

The Wright Family is Growing?

No, it's not what you think...we are growing, but in a spiritual context. These past few months have been eyeopening for both Jessica and me, and we have begun to see God's glory in ways we never have. Our passions for spiritual growth have been a major part of this, fulfilling the promise of God that He will transform us from the inside-out. Our thanks go out to all of our friends and family that have been diligent prayer warriors on our behalf. What God has next for us, who knows. Hopefully the next time I write that we are growing, we will be in the literal sense :)

We have begun to search out different options concerning adoption, not allowing our dreams of having a large family to be restrained by any one methodology. The Lord is teaching us many things right now in preparation of having a family, some of which can be tough at times. I am finally an active Realtor again after nearly 4 weeks of taking my continuing education classes (yes, I know I'm a procrastinator). Already the Lord has allowed me to cross paths with old and new friends that need someone they can trust as they look to move their families, and I am remaining prayerful that the first offer I wrote the other day for one couple will be the first paycheck I receive after re-activating my license. If all goes well, that may even come much sooner than expected...

A New Day Begins

So it seems we have a new president...I can hardly say I am excited, because we still know next to nothing about this man we have chosen to lead our country. So many will hail him as a hero and an agent for change. But I ask, who is he? It looks as if we will find out soon enough.

Things are going very well on other fronts. The youth group continues to grow, and I now have 4 new regulars attending, making it eight total that come each week. Please continue to pray hard over those that do come, and those that may be out there seeking a place to find refuge. I have a lot in place to make this an exciting thing at the church for the youth, as well as the rest of the church body, and I hope to begin introducing those things within the coming weeks. I am starting a new curriculum this coming Sunday, one from the Student Life Bible Study series. Hopefully having a more definitive structure will help them grasp the information I bring to the table.

I finally finished my real estate continuing education classes. Yeah, it only took me 4 weeks, but hey, that's how long it would have been had I actually sat in a classroom on the weekends. Now I am eagerly waiting on the Alabama Real Estate Commission to receive all my info and credits so that they may reactivate my license. I have people who need my help, and I need to get going!