WEBVTT - JASON F. WRIGHT: "Rise Today" 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:08.039 Has March been roaring in like a lion in your 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:11.840 little corner of the world. It's traditionally been the month 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:16.680 of crazy weather, an outward sign of a dramatic seasonal shift. 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.560 I wouldn't want to face down three or four months 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:25.320 of these crazy weather mood swings, but I can deal 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.760 with a few weeks of it, knowing what the glorious 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:33.280 outcome will be. I'm a little sad to see February 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:36.320 in the rear view mirror, though I hope it was 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.360 as good to you as it was to me, and 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:44.360 I hope you felt seen and heard and loved. Today's 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.080 guest is amazing at doing and teaching those skills and 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:52.239 sharing their importance in a myriad of ways. Along with 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:56.320 his writings, he's often found giving guest sermons at churches 0:00:56.360 --> 0:01:01.160 across the country, or speaking to large and small groups alike. 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.040 Jason Wright is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:10.280 and USA Today best selling novelist. His work that's included 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.600 more than five hundred columns, has appeared in over one 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:19.160 hundred newspapers, magazines, and websites across the US, including The 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:24.560 Washington Post, The Washington Times, the Chicago Tribune, on and 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:28.040 on and on. You may know him from his beloved books, 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:32.679 Christmas Jars is one of my favorites, or maybe from 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:37.959 the twenty twenty award winning film adaptation of Christmas Jars. 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:43.880 Jason is the author of twenty one book titles, including 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:48.440 the August twenty twenty two Delilah's book Club pick, the 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:53.280 fictional feel good novel Even the Dog Knows, as well 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:58.440 as my March choice this year, Rise Today, Trusting God 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.000 in his promise, and the most pressing reason that I 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:06.840 have asked Jason to join us today. He is also 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:12.400 a popular speaker and consultant who provides training on kindness, habits, 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:17.520 faith failure, the Christmas Jars movement, the Lost art of 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.799 letter writing, and now he's with us today to talk 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:24.560 about all of that and whatever else is on his heart. 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:29.680 I'm excited to hear all about Jason's latest book, Rise Today. 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.680 We'll get into that right after I give some time 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:38.400 and attention to one of my fantastic podcast sponsors. Of 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:42.080 the few things in life that are universal, I believe 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:46.280 love is the most powerful. I've been talking about mercy 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:50.000 ships a lot, and someone asked me the other day, Delilah, 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:58.320 what is Mercy. Well, to me, mercy is unfettered love. 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:05.520 Unfettered means boundless, unrestrained, free, the very best kind of 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.000 love there is. There is so much good in the 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:11.960 world if only we train our focus point upon it. 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:17.360 With every surgery, every changed life, Mercy Ships restores a 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.639 little bit of humanity, and that is why I am 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:25.480 such a huge fan. Mercy Ships just launched the Global Mercy, 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.200 the world's first custom built civilian hospital ship, so they 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.399 can perform even more surgeries and change even more lives. 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:38.880 Now that inspires me. Go to Mercyships dot org and 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:44.760 see for yourself what unfettered, boundless love looks like. Mercyships 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:52.320 dot org. Jason Wright, Welcome back. It's been a while 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.600 since we spoke, and I'm so happy that you agreed 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.560 to be a guest on Love Someone today for so 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:01.520 many reasons, For so many reasons, I want to just 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:05.120 reach through the zoom and hug you. Yeah, if we 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.280 could just you know, if Zoom had some kind of 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:12.400 a three D reach through and just grab your buy 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.680 your cheeks and say thank you, That's what I would do. 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:18.600 So I'm so grateful for you, and I know that 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.480 we had chatted over the last few days as we're 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.760 arranging this with your producer. But you were my first 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:31.920 national radio interview, and Christmas Jars launched, and this this movement, 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.680 I mean that was I remember doing that interview from 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:39.400 my kitchen table in Fairfax, Virginia, where we lived at 0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:43.320 the time. And since then, I went from two kids 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.520 to four. My oldest now is married with kids of 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:51.560 her own, and that little book has been translated and 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.320 sold around the world, and it has, more importantly than 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:57.200 a book, led to a movement, and it's pretty exciting. 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:59.920 It was the beginning of a career. And I'm great 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.600 also just for your audience. I know that we've had 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:06.640 great success connecting with your book club, and I'm grateful 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:10.320 for them, and just that they think my work has 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.279 even a little bit of value in their lives is 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.720 unbelievably humbling for me. So to catch folks up in 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:21.120 case somebody somehow miss the Christmas Jars. The book was good. 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.920 I was afraid to watch the movie, to be honest, 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:26.640 because I loved the book so much and I loved 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.200 meeting you and talking about it so much. And I'm 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:33.800 usually disappointed when I read a great book and it 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:38.520 touches me. And then I watch a movie and the actors, 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:42.040 the performers don't look like the characters in my mind 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:46.200 and my spirit, the dialogue doesn't match up, or the 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:52.240 whole spirit of the book is lost in translation. So 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.039 I was a little I had a little fear. I'm 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.000 going to be honest, Jason. When I decided to watch 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:03.719 the Christmas Jars, boy, I was so happy and not disappointed, 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.360 and like you said, it spurred ale a whole movement. 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.920 How many thousands of families now have a Christmas jar 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.320 probably setting in their laundry room, because when you empty 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.160 out the kid's pockets and you find a couple of 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.640 quarters or a couple of dollar bills, you just put 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:24.599 it in the Christmas jar, and then come Christmas time, 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.000 you pray about it, you think about it, and you 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:31.920 decide on a family that needs help. It's just such 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:37.200 a sweet, simple thing. And who would who would have imagined, 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:41.880 I mean, in our wildest dreams. I remember those early 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.600 meetings with a publisher almost eighteen years ago, eighteen years 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.240 actually eighteen years ago right now we were finalizing the 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.520 contract to publish that I didn't have an agent, an attorney. 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.119 I just it was just me and a publisher that said, well, 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:58.000 you know, we'll take a chance on this, and they 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.120 believed that it could become bigger than a book, that 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.160 it could become a movement. They probably had more faith 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:03.880 in it even than I did at the time. And 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.760 I just remember them saying, maybe over the life cycle 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.880 of this book, you might sell twenty thousand copies, and 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:13.920 I just thought, you know, that's someone's probably gonna get fired. 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.160 There's no way you're going to sell that many books. 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:19.560 And it's it's I don't I've lost count. It's well 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:24.000 over a million copies in languages around the world, and 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.600 I'm just thrilled. One of my favorite things, Delilah, is 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.040 when someone comes up to me and says, I'm a 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.160 part of this Christmas Jars movement, this tradition. I got 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:35.600 a jar, I gave a jar, and I haven't even 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.080 read the book yet, and that makes me so happy. 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.000 It's so humbling to know that it has sort of 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:44.120 gone beyond, you know, a product, to something that's really 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.840 connected with people's hearts. And again, I think you and 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:49.480 your audience for being such a big part of that, 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.680 because when I was on your show that first time 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.000 in two thousand and five. Nobody had any idea what 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:56.800 this was or what it would have become, but you 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.679 did so thank you. Well. I know that when God's 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:05.360 at work, and he usually works through very humble, very 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:09.640 simple settings and situations. Not that he can't work through 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:14.720 grandiose or big events or people or whatever. But you 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:19.000 are so humble and so sweet. Oh my goodness, such 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:23.760 a sweet countenance in a sweetheart. And I thought, there's 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:29.360 something magical here, there's something really special. So it was 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:33.000 a joy. It was a joy. And now I'm so 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:39.080 excited about Rise today because we need something to give 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:44.080 us hope, We need something to remind us and trusting 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.600 God and his promise the second part of your title. 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:49.960 You got to know what his promise is to be 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:56.040 able to trust it, right, Yeah? Amen, this is timely Well, 0:08:56.200 --> 0:09:01.480 I hope you're right. This began as a the book, 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.880 as a simple social media post that resonated in a 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.440 way I didn't expect that it would certainly larger than 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:09.400 I thought it would, And and I began talking to 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:13.920 my publisher more about this, this notion that we we 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:18.360 feel like to rise again. You know, biblically means well, 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.640 it's the resurrection. We wait until our opportunity, you know, 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.640 to do what He did to to to be reunited 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:28.880 and to you know, have this second beautiful chance. And 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.680 the more I started thinking about that, that's a long 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.480 way off. I mean, I hope. I'm not ready. I 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:38.199 mean we hope. Yeah, I'm not quite ready for a 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.439 judgment day. Um, I've got some work to do. I've 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.160 got a lot of rough edges to polish off. So 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.800 and not only that, you just had two more babies 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.160 join your family. Yeah, we've got to We've got a 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:48.720 big Yeah, we've got a big crew. I want to 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:50.360 I want to be with them for a while, and 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:51.959 I want to be ready. I want to be more 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.000 ready when you know when he comes in this beautiful 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.920 resurrection that you know, no matter what um faith you 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:01.240 belong to, if you a Christian, you believe in this, 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.440 this beautiful doctrine of the resurrection and rising again as 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:07.840 he did. And that is so far off in the future. 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.400 I just started to think, Wait a minute, what if 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.840 we really believed that we could rise again emotionally and 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:21.600 spiritually mentally right now, if we don't have to wait that, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.760 if yes, the resurrection is a promise from God. But 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:28.520 there are other promises about his willingness to walk with 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.800 us in our journey, a willingness to draw as close 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.840 to us as we will allow him. He's not going 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.600 to force himself, honest, he doesn't force himself into our hearts. 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.040 We have to open that door for him and say, yes, 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.880 I do want to be your best friend, because I 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.000 know that you, God, are always willing to be mine. 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.800 And I found a hope in that, in waking up 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.040 every day and saying, man, yesterday was tough and I 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:55.200 got bad news and this didn't go the way I 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.920 thought it would, and this book was a complete flop 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:02.400 and disaster, and as my career, dad, or my kid's 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.480 going to be okay, and all those things that weigh 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.360 us down that we worry about, particularly as we come 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:10.920 out of this global pandemic, and I just began to 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:16.160 find joy by reminding myself I can rise again today 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.480 right now if I'll just lean on him in every 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.200 way and know that He is ready to help me 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:24.400 have a fresh start every day, every time you get up, 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:25.920 every time you lift your head off the pillows, and 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:29.959 opportunity to rise again. It doesn't matter how bad you 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.959 messed up before you passed out. Doesn't matter if you 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.079 literally passed out because you drank yourself into a stupor 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.640 or whatever it is, if you woke up, if you 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.520 lifted your head off the pillow or off the cement floor, 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:48.200 or off whatever those mercies are, new every morning got 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:52.080 a clean slate. And I don't think many people know that. No, 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.600 and even when we and I've certainly in my life 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.920 is a deeply imperfect person. I have been through stretches 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.400 where I have believed that, and then the trials and 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:05.800 the obstacles have piled up. And we all know what 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.520 that feels like when suddenly a bad day links to 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.559 another bad day, and it links to another bad day, 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.400 and there's a sort of cumulative effect and you look 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:15.320 and go, man, this has been a really hard month. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:19.320 And suddenly that notion of rising again, of lifting your 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.959 head off the cement floor. I love that notion because 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.160 that is the case for many of us sometimes, or 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:27.200 off the fancy pillow, whatever it is. It's been so 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:30.199 long that we forget and we just need a friend 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:34.199 or a writer or one of the world's biggest talk 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.800 show hosts to say, you know what, don't forget even 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.000 though it's been a week, a month, a year, don't forget. 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.720 You can still rise again today, even if it's been 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.199 a while since you've felt that kind of hope. We 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:47.960 I hope can help invite people to feel that way again. 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.680 So I know, but hell our listeners how and it's 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:05.240 hard to do because you wrote it, but how sweetly 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:10.199 and simply it's laid out to give people steps, because 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.760 I think when you complicate things, if you have a 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.480 page with thirty two points or a speech with forty 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:21.960 eight ways to you know, lower your cholesterol, you're not 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:25.800 going to get past number two. Yeah, now that's that's 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.679 all said. And you know, I read a lot of um, 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:31.800 a lot of self help, a lot of you know, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.720 business minded self help, a lot of books in the 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:40.480 Christian space, and they do sometimes get a little long, 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:45.480 and they again I don't want to be negative at all, 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.400 but I've read a few that just I picked it 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.160 up and I felt like I was holding a textbook. 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.640 And that's not what I'm That's not what I'm looking for, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.160 at least for my taste. I want something usually that 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:59.040 I can digest pretty quickly, um that where I don't 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:00.680 have to sit down with a pen and a piece 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.880 of paper and a calcul later and dive into all 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.120 the depth of whether it's doctrinal or not. I like 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.560 something that that I can enjoy sort of quickly and 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.920 that I can return to. So the book is laid 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.760 out almost like a kind of a mini sermon. I 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:18.280 don't know if the publisher cares, but I'll just read 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:21.520 this first page because it's so short. The first three 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:25.360 words are heat is risen on this beautiful, beautiful background. 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:27.880 Shout out to the publisher's shadow mountain. They do such 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.440 a beautiful job of designing books. Writers write the words, 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:36.360 of course, but there is maybe this unheralded world of 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:40.440 design art form. It's an art form, and it's beautiful. 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:42.880 It's so beautiful. So it says he has risen. Those 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.520 three words are more than a headline. They are a promise. 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:51.440 Because he has risen, we shall rise again too. And 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:53.840 then it says, what if this message of the resurrection 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:57.840 is about more than reuniting a body and soul. What 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:02.200 if the process of rising again can begin today? And 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:06.480 then with again beautiful art, the team use light in 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.480 a really beautiful way in each page to remind us 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:13.120 that he is the source of all light. And then 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:15.040 toward the back of the book, and I think this 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:18.520 is what you were alluding to, I provide these five 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.920 suggestions that I have seen work in my own life 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.160 when I feel like I need that kind of reminder 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.280 when I lift my head off the pillow that I 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:30.640 can rise again, and just very simply their prayer, reading 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:36.400 God's word, listening to sacred music, worshiping with others in service. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.080 And then I offer some details for each one on 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:44.320 how adopting some of those spiritual habits can help again 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.640 connect us to God. I think that a good book, 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:48.840 and I hope that's what this is. I hope that 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.520 ultimately what it does is connect people in some way 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:55.400 to Heaven. Even if the heaven doesn't look the way 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:58.640 I think mind does, or if you have different theologies, 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:04.560 different religion, it's okay for me, it's okay, Yeah, absolutely, 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.640 because I believe if you search for Him with all 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.960 your heart, you will find him with all your heart. Yeah. 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:16.440 That's that is beautifully said. And is there anyone listening 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:20.320 right now that believes in anything at all beyond this moment, 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.800 beyond this life, in this higher power again, whatever that 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.680 looks like to you who doesn't believe that these five 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.760 things can bless your life if you strive to adopt 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:36.920 them as kind of daily habits. Prayer, yes, reading God's word, Yes. 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:42.000 Listening to sacred music, which is a big umbrella in 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.280 terms of what sacred music might look like. That could 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:49.320 be everything from from your church choir to classical music 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:55.400 from the great throughout history to contemporary Christian music. And 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.600 then worshiping with others. Yes, there's great power no matter 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.320 what your church looks like on Sunday, whether there's a 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.200 cross out in front of your chapel or not, whether 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.000 you call it a chapel or not, there's great power 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:11.000 when we gather together with like minded people to honor 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.440 that higher power and then service. For me, that's probably 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:17.240 the most important of those. When I really am struggling 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.800 to feel connected, to remember who I am, why I'm here, 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.200 why I matter, and that I'm loved beyond my earthly family, 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:31.120 but by something even bigger. When I struggle, I look 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.440 for opportunities to go do something for someone. It might 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.840 be as simple as dropping off store bought cookies at 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:39.920 the neighbor across the street that I know has been 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.399 under the weather for a couple of weeks, or sending 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.840 a text to someone. I will often take my phone 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:47.480 and I'll just pray for a little inspiration. Who is 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:49.080 it that I have not heard from a long time. 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.200 I have about fifty eight hundred contacts on my phone, 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:55.199 too many, way too many. But I will often go 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.399 through there and I might find someone I have not 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.520 sent a text who in nearly a decade, and I'll 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:02.440 just shoot them a note and say, I just want 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:04.680 to know I'm thinking about you today and I don't 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:07.480 know why, but you know what, You're tremendous, and thank 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:10.119 you for the influence you've had on my life. Every 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.159 single time I have done something like that, I have 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.600 gotten the most beautiful response back, saying I needed I 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.120 really needed to hear that today, and here I am 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:19.880 hearing it from someone I haven't spoken to in nearly 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.919 a decade. So, Servants, looks like, whatever you have time for, 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.760 whatever you can offer, and maybe you should make time 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:30.719 for amen. I'm so enjoying catching up and getting to 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:33.960 know Jason f Right. He's got so much goodness to 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.720 share with us. We've got more ground to cover. But 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:39.120 I need to pause for just a moment. And tell 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:44.840 you about another incredible sponsor, Eyes of Faith. If you're 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:48.359 going to wear glasses, there's one brand of frames. I 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.960 recommend you have to look for it, but it's worth it. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:56.960 The brand is called Eyes of Faith Optical. I discovered 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.760 this brand, I fell in love with their style of frames, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.640 wear them every day now and get so many compliments. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.600 It was only after I discovered the beauty of their 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:12.240 frames did I discover the subtle message hidden on the 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.960 inside of every frame, a scripture from the Bible. Their 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.200 purpose is not only to provide you with a great frame, 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:23.520 but to help others too. Eyes of Faith Optical shares 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:26.680 a generous amount of the money they earn to improve 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:31.040 the lives and eyesight of so many others, many of 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.480 them less fortunate than you. And I see their frames 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.560 and choose the ones that make you feel great when 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:42.080 you wear them. Eof Optical dot Com is their website. 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:48.960 You're gonna love what you discover eof Optical dot com. 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.440 I just want to encourage anybody Jason who's going through 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.440 a tough time right now that if they just pick 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.640 up your sweet little book and put four of those 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.960 five I have simple practices into place, or one of 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:08.920 those five simple practices into place. I promise you, if 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.120 you can hear my voice, it will make a difference. 0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:16.520 And if you feel like you have failed, and if 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.840 you feel like He has stepped away from you, that 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:22.639 you're somehow this creation or piece of art that he 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.320 had looked at and said, I'm not sure there's anything 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:28.000 else I can do with this one. I tell you 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:30.600 with all the love I can muster, you're wrong. And 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.200 you know what, You're probably going to fail again tomorrow 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:35.440 and maybe even the day after that, and that will 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:38.679 be okay too. That is how much this higher power 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:43.600 loves you, deeply, personally, unconditionally. I know that that's true. 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:49.000 God doesn't have boundaries the way you know we think. Well, 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:53.040 I can't wait to hear from people the way I 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:55.480 have heard from people through the years about Christmas Stars 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:59.080 and thousands of stories have come in you can read. 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:01.879 Many of those are Christmas dot Com. I hope to 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.640 hear from people who are similarly affected by this little message. 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:09.000 And again, even if you don't pick up the book, 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:11.639 if the book isn't for you, I hope that I 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:15.679 hope that this message today And Delilah, you're so you 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:18.800 articulate this faith in such a beautiful way that is 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:23.080 so accessible to everyone imaginable. Thank you for that. It's 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:24.640 a gift. I hope that you know what a gift 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:26.359 it is for you to talk about faith in a 0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:29.440 way that is so open to everyone. You know that 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.520 you do have a gift, which I also believe comes 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:37.040 from Heaven to articulate this message in ways that maybe 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:39.879 not everyone can, and you do it better than most. 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:44.240 Thank you, Jason f Right. Go get his new book. 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:45.760 Go get all of your books. How many do you 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:49.280 have published? Now? How many in print? Eighteen? No, you 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:50.760 got more than that. Well, you got a lot of 0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:53.760 articles too that have been published, hundreds of those. Go 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:56.680 find those all? Find them all? Why not? Yeah, and 0:21:56.800 --> 0:22:01.399 watch if you haven't watched The Christmas Jar. It's a 0:22:01.520 --> 0:22:03.640 very sweet movie. It came out a few years ago. 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.480 So well done and so sweet and so powerful. And 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:11.280 then put a jar in your laundry room and join 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:17.880 that movement. But first, go get his new book. Okay, Delilah, 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:19.679 you're the best. Thank you so much for what you 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:21.879 do in the world. You're a light. Thank you, so 0:22:21.960 --> 0:22:24.840 are you. Together we'll shine you know? Did you have 0:22:25.000 --> 0:22:28.400 you seen that. There's a little video going around where 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.000 a young man takes two lighters tow bick lighters and 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:35.520 shows they have equal flames, and then he drops one 0:22:35.600 --> 0:22:38.240 in a jar and pours water on it and says, 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:41.240 every time life beats you up, you have a loss, 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:45.399 you're divorced, your family abandons you. Until the bick lighter 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:48.240 is covered with water, and then he pulls it out 0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:50.000 of the water and he tries to light it, and 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:52.919 you can't because the spark is wet. And then he 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:56.199 brings the other bick lighter and holds it next to 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:59.600 it and lights it and reignites the flame. And he says, 0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:04.719 that's what we're to do to the people who are underwater, 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:08.320 if you will, with life's troubles. And I think your 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:12.800 book is that it's that coming alongside and reigniting the flame. 0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:16.920 I'm gonna go look that up. Thank you, all right, God, 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:21.960 bless you, thank you, Thank you. Bobby Hunt. Jason has 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:25.200 been a guest speaker at many churches throughout the country, 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:30.639 sharing motivational and inspirational messages. He has also done outreached 0:23:30.640 --> 0:23:36.359 to people temporarily without housing or in financial difficulties. Today, 0:23:36.359 --> 0:23:39.960 he and his family live in Woodstock, Virginia. He's also 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:45.880 lived in Missouri, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, in Utah, Germany, and Brazil. 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:50.320 He's a believer in the human spirit and he's a 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:55.320 true connector. Jason and his wife, Cody Ericsson Wright have 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:59.320 a growing family of four children and now three grandchildren. 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:04.440 They of spending time with His most recent book, Rise Today, 0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:08.920 that's been called an extended greeting card full of comfort, 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:12.720