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Take The Risk

11/23/2016

This painting hangs on the wall at a coffee shop on Taft Street in Houston. My friend and I happened to sit close by it as we sipped coffee and discussed life.
The nails that currently hold up this piece of art, at one point, held up the One who this picture has captured and the message behind it, IS LOVE!
As I curiously sat and watched, some people would walk by LOVE and NOT notice Him, while others noticed LOVE but immediately rejected Him.
Yet, even though this “act of LOVE” happened over two thousand years ago, He still continues to beckon people and draw them in like the ocean tides.
Just as my friend and I were wrapping up our coffee date, a man who appeared to be in his early twenties laid his body at the foot of this painting and began to weep. The Holy Spirit nudged us to go over to the man. My first thought was, “I can’t go over there and disturb him. Besides, I don’t know what to say.” Although the “nudging” was getting stronger, so we surrendered our human reasoning and made our way to this man. The moment I knelt beside him, he began to weep even louder and so I started to pray out loud. As I opened my mouth, words began to form that could only come from the Lord. I was praying very specific things for a complete stranger. I was speaking destiny into his life, through these prayers, without knowing his name. Afterwards, he told me that he had decided to jump off a bridge later that day and end his life. But the specific words the Lord spoke through me, to him, convinced him that God had a plan and that moment, he chose LIFE!
I often think about this story. What if I would have ignored the Holy Spirit’s prompting to go and see about this man who was hurting? Would the story of him choosing LIFE that day, turn out differently?

Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for hope and a future!”

A Visitation From an Angel

11/22/2016

While I was waiting in line at Starbucks, an older woman stepped through the door and headed straight for me. Her demeanor revealed that she was on a "mission" and had no intention on buying herself a coffee.
I happened to be holding a bible in my arms and when she approached me she boldly said,
"The Lord has a message for you, do you want to hear it?"
She reached her hand out to take my bible and without hesitation, I gave it to her while saying,
"Yes, I want anything He has to give me!"
Prior to this encounter, I had been desperate to hear from the Lord about a situation I was facing that had gripped me in fear. I previously told the Lord that I could not move forward until I heard from Him about my situation! I was currently feeling hopeless and scared.
This mysterious messenger took my bible and began flipping through pages as she was determined to find this hidden treasure with my name on it.
In typical girl-fashion , I wanted to connect with this woman, buy her a coffee and talk about the Lord. BUT oddly enough, she had no desire to sit and chat. As she skimmed through the pages, I asked her questions...
"Where do you work?" I inquisitively asked.
"I work for the Lord," she quickly replied.
"Where?"
"Overseas!"
Just about that time, she had found what she was looking for!
"Here, this is it! This is what He wants to tell you!"
As my eyes fell upon the page, I was introduced to Jeremiah 29:11-14...
"Holly, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord! Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity."
... And just like that EVERY question I had was answered and the fear that once gripped me, was now but a vapor.
God spoke straight into my situation and breathed hope back into this lifeless body. Only a God who has memorized me and concerns Himself with every detail in my life, could accomplish this!
As for that "messenger" the Lord sent... Yea, the second I looked back up from reading, she had disappeared, nowhere to be found!
People often say, "The Lord works in mysterious ways!"
I would have to disagree with that statement! The Lord is only "mysterious" to those who do NOT know Him.
He clearly reveals Himself to those who seek His face!

He Is In The Waiting

11/22/2016

Everyone at some point is seeking an answer. Maybe you are seeking answers from your last blood test or possibly an answer from your recent job interview. Some could be probing for answers to life's problems or even their failed marriage. Whichever the case, we all find ourselves at some point, searching!
Recently my dad found himself at a crossroad! Although, he is typically the one you can go to and find "the answers." This time, he was the one who was desperate. So instead of running to the phone to receive direction, he ran to the Throne (good choice). He cried out to God and genuinely asked for a revelation to what he was supposed to do?
He asked God, "Do I wait? Do I do something? Or what do I do?" In that moment all he heard was silence.
You see, my dads been walking with the Lord long enough to know that just because God didn't respond right away... the answer was still coming and he needed to be expectant!
Several days later my dad was preparing to teach at a gun range. He was at a place called, Impact Zone, and for you avid pistol shooters who know this club, you are aware of the high grass and unkept lawn.
Just as God would have it while my dad is alone and undistracted by people, a shiny ray of Light begins to beam from the tall weeds. From the corner of his eye, this small invasion grabs hold of his attention and draws him to the source. He pushes back the grass blades to find a small silver ring mingled with the dirt. In the blazing Houston heat he turns the ring around and just like that, there was his answer engraved on the ring! "BE STILL!"
The chills ran through his spine as a flashback from a few days ago darted through his mind! This was how God chose to answer my dad! Clear and simple, "Be still" and the back of the ring was branded with Psalm 46:10- "Be still and know that IAM God!"
Since this ring was so small, he squeezed it on his pinky because it meant so much to him. He would wear his answer around his finger as a reminder of what he was to do and how special God answered him. Although fast forward several weeks later, he was training a woman who noticed the ring on his finger. She asked my dad where he found HER ring! She said she had lost it and prayed that God would help her find it. God originally gave her that ring to answer her questions through college and she was desperate to find her ring once she had lost it.
Sad to let it go, he handed the ring back to its original owner, while amazed how God used this simple ring to answer two prayers in one swoop.
After my father shared this story with me, I felt led to go online and see if I could find any ring that had "be still" engraved on it.
Since I had never seen the original ring before, I asked Holy Spirit to help me. When I presented my dad with his new ring, with absolute shock he said, "YOU FOUND THE EXACT SAME RING!" Except this one fit his pinky better! Ha! Of course it did!
May this story encourage anyone who is currently seeking answers! Let me ask you this, have you gone to the One who holds ALL the answers? Have you gone to the One who has said, "Come boldly to the throne of grace, and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16)?
He is waiting to answer you, my friend!
#RelationshipNotReligion
#SeekingAnswers
#GoToTheSecretPlace
#HeIsInTheWaiting

Love Always Wins

11/22/2016

Me: "Jason, have you left the office yet?"
Jason: (Sheepishly) "Ummm, I'm about to leave...."
Me: (Angrily cuts him off)) "JASON! It's 6:30 and you said you were leaving the office thirty minutes ago! Dinner is almost ready and you have not even left yet?..."
Does this sound familiar to anyone, other than me?
To the wives, who put a lot of stock in spending quality time with their family in the evening, especially over a home-cooked meal...
And to the husbands, who have good intentions to try and make it home on time, but the thought of, "Oh, just one more email," often trumps freshly cooked lasagna.
Here is what I want to say to that...
Ladies, let it go!
Someone wise once told me, the definition of insanity; Is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results!
Let me ask you this... how's your controlling/frustrated reactions working for you?
Let me answer that from experience: ITS NOT!
I know, because that scenario, was me, for many years in our marriage! So much so, that I would allow that scene to dictate the rest of my night, which ultimately didn't pan out well for me, Jason, or the children!
It never produced the type of "change" I was trying to manufacture in my husband.
I'll even take it a step further than lasagna:
I clung to control, manipulation, and angry outbursts all throughout my marriage to try and reproduce what I thought I wanted. While at the cost of not loving my husband and sacrificially putting his needs above my own.
You see, I saw things differently.
I looked at things from an inward perspective. I was focused on MY needs, MY rights, MY desires, MY lasagna ...MY... MY....! Get the point?
Today, I wake up each morning to love my husband. Period!
When I wake up, I do not "need" my husband to treat me/love me a certain way. Otherwise, I am only doing as good as he is treating me, which means he gets to dictate how I "feel" and that will result in an emotional roller coaster. Instead I am filled with Love (not need).
If he is tardy to the dinner table, then I wrap his meal up with foil and greet him at the door with a smile.
LOVE covers a multitude, while a harsh word ALWAYS stirs up anger.
The integrity and strength of a virtuous wife, transforms her husband into an honored king. But the wife who disgraces her husband, weakens the strength of his identity.
#LoveAlwaysWins

Choose Life

11/16/2016

Recently I was meeting a friend at a restaurant. I happened to arrive a little early and set my eye on the perfect table. It needed to be cleaned, so I walked over to a man who was bussing a booth close by.
"Excuse me Sir, when you are finished would you mind cleaning off this table?"
He ignored me.
Clearing my throat and elevating my voice a little, I repeated myself.
"Excuse me Sir, when you are finished would you mind cleaning off this table?"
He finally made eye contact with me but his facial expressions quickly communicated his dissatisfaction with me and my request.
While rolling his eyes, he mumbled under his breath, "I guess!" Sigh. Then proceeded towards my table.
Within seconds, I could feel offense begin to rise up inside of me and it quickly begins to scream in my ear:
"Who does he think he is? I should tell his manager, if he is so unhappy at this job! He's not going to treat me like that! What's wrong with him?"
Yet, simultaneously as offense is screaming in one ear, I hear the Holy Spirit whispering in the other ear:
"Holly, don't lose sight of his value because of how he is acting. He doesn't know his own value which is why he acts like this! He is my son and deeply valued!"
While deciding which voice to listen to, I chose to remain quiet and the guy walked away after he finished cleaning the table.
I watched him walk back and forth continuing his job with little satisfaction and frustration.
All the while, hearing Holy Spirit whisper to me, "Go and speak life and destiny into him who lacks it!" While offense continued to wrestle me for my attention.
Finally surrendering to Love, I walked over to this man and handed him a $20.00 bill. He paused and looked at me with confusion.
I said to him, "I have been watching you over the past hour and I have seen a man who takes great pride in his work. I see a man who deeply cares for other people and loves to serve. I want you to know that even when you think no one cares, they do! I want to bless you and encourage you to continue doing these things!"
For the first time that day, his eyes genuinely met mine and with a clearer understanding of his own value, he tightly squeezed my hand and said, "Thank you!" ... And he walked away with joy in his eyes!
Maybe because now he saw himself differently through my eyes... Or should I say, Christ's eyes!
Has someone recently offended you? Have you lost sight of their value, while seeing through the filter of offense?
May I encourage you to change your perspective?
Proverbs 19:11
The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 17:9
He who covers an offense promotes love.
Proverbs 10:12
Offense/hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.

Church Unusual

11/16/2016

There was a man who conned me out of $600.00. He lied to me and told me he could fix the dent out of my car for $500.00.
I believed him and let him "fix" the dent. While working on my car he told me his baby son had cancer and they were struggling. In that moment, I felt led to give him an additional $100.00 to help him in his time of need.
By the time I realized it was a scam, he had taken the money and was out of sight. I had his cell phone number and he told me he would come back and do the job correct or give me my money back. He never came back and I had felt so violated, so betrayed, so angry.
Now I was $600.00 in the hole, plus I had to go spend another $1,500 at the dealership to get the car fixed and painted correctly!
Instead of joining with offense and frustration, I went to the Lord and shared all of my feelings with Him (hurt, frustration, violation, victim, offense, etc...).
You see, only if you have a relationship with the Lord, can you understand how in ONE encounter with Him (Love), He can change your whole perspective and infuse your heart with Love! I can't explain it with words but allow my next action to prove it!
With a new perspective on my situation, I decided to allow LOVE to manifest and not give authority to my feelings... So, I sent that "con-man" a text message and this is what it said:
"Jim, it's Holly! Jason told me that you have faltered on your promise to pay us back and do the right thing. I questioned my ability to hear from God through this process because I thought He told me to bless you with an extra $100, even though I didn't know your intentions were not good for us!
But then God confirmed that it WAS Him who told me to bless you with $100 and He was doing a work with you and it was my job to be obedient. All I know is God is up to something with you and even though He does not approve of your choices, HE is giving you fair chances to turn from your ways and He is choosing to do it through grace and mercy! Wow!
Through this experience, I choose not to be angry with you and to release you and pray that God forgives you for what you did to me!
Because I know that my Father is for me and I wouldn't want His wrath towards anyone on behalf of me. And even though you are doing the wrong thing, I choose not to participate in wrong behavior. So with that being said, I forgive you!"
You see what I didn't mention in the text was the Lord had reminded me that I was called to plant "seeds" of His love and mercy to anyone willing to receive... And I ALWAYS gladly accepted the mission. But what about planting a "seed" when it cost me something deeply (like pride, monetary loss, hurt?)
Was I still up for the mission in order to reach the people?
#HisLovingKindnessDrawsAManToRepentance
#KingdomPerspective
#ReligionWontTeachYouThis

A miracle

11/16/2016

I remember one of the first miracles I heard about, was an encounter my mom had with the supernatural. For those of you who know her, understands that she has never been an exaggerator or someone who bends the truth to dress up a story.
Out of pure fascination, every detail of this story had been permanently etched into the fine grooves of my memory bank and it just so happens that today I would like to make a withdrawal. :)
You see, my mom was leaving her office and made it to her car just in time before the rain began to pour. While entering the freeway, a car splashed oil onto her windshield and immediately she was unable to see through the combination of smeared lube, rainwater, and fast-paced wipers.
Her driving location forced her to keep moving forward at a quick pace, yet her vision was completely obstructed and panic began to set in. A wave of fear, the size of a tsunami knocked her over and the only thing she could think to do, as her foot was still accelerating, was grip her steering wheel and cry out to God! With tears streaming down her face, she begged Him to help her.
In that passionate moment of lament, the torrential downpour that had covered her car came to an abrupt halt and she could easily see out her windshield.
Yet, here is where we see the miracle... When she looked to her right, to her left, in front or behind her, the rain was still beating down. Readjusting her eyes and blinking several times...she realized that God had not stopped the rain, He had blocked it from touching her car. Almost like a shield that followed her all the way home.
I often wonder what the people saw who were driving next to her?
Were they paying attention to the modern-day miracle set before their eyes, or could they even see out of their own windshield? I guess I'll never know!
But this I can tell you; My mom was forever changed after that encounter! Her faith multiplied and secured her trust in a God who not only answers prayer but concerns Himself with every detail in her life. It was this encounter that set a fire down deep into her soul and thirty years later it is still blazing!

Take The Risk

A Visitation From an Angel

He Is In The Waiting

Love Always Wins

Choose Life

Church Unusual

A miracle

Holly Wright

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