November: The Month of Thanks

November seems to bring out some of the best in us. It seems we pause to be thankful more than at other times. We reflect on the early settlement and founding traditions of our great country. Sometimes we fall short in expanding our thought to other areas we have for being thankful. I’ll share a few of mine and hopefully spur your own reflections.

• Freedom to worship as I choose. No oppressive government telling me when and where and how I should worship the God I choose to serve. The founding fathers were clear in providing us the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion. Others have the same freedom to make the same or different choices.

• Freedom to change the direction of our governance at the ballot box and not by armed force. We’ve had this right for over two hundred years and earlier this month once again witnessed our democracy in action. Other than an occasional glitch our election process runs relatively smoothly.

• The advantage of being born an American. What a privilege to be a native citizen of this great land. Our poorest are rich compared to the poor in other lands and yet our obligation is to care about and for our poor.

• The freedom to live where I choose. The only restrictions are my choice and my ability to support the choices I make. We have lived in several places and found good and bad in each one. How we have lived and been treated has been more about how we have responded rather than how others have responded to us.

• The freedom of choosing my life’s work. I am personally thankful to have had two very rewarding careers. Most of my life was spent in sales and marketing, while my latter years are blessed with the opportunity to teach and help develop others.

• The blessing of good health. We take this for granted until we look around and see the suffering of others. Age changes this and so it’s important that we take advantage of opportunities while we have this great asset.

• I’ve saved the best for last, I’m thankful for my wonderful family. My wife of 48years this month, Sharon, and three beautiful daughters, six grandchildren, and our extended family as well. I’m additionally thankful for my parents who loved and gave me everything I needed for a successful life.

So, those are just a few of mine. Now sit down and think of what you have to be thankful for. The list will be endless.

His Perfect Work

He is the King of Glory
He left His home on high
He died to pay my ransom
He secured my home by and by

Cover

In the past few months I had several requests for my book. I am low on copies and don't plan a reprint. I took the idea of a friend to post my newspaper columns and decided to post the book in a blog so anyone interested could read it. The book was written in 2001 so some time has gone by and life has changed in many ways. However, the people, places, Scripture, and quotations remain a blessing to me to this day. I hope you enjoy the stories and the principles behind them. The book is at www.chuckwskw.blogspot.com
Chuck Wright

Another Day

Dawn came, another day
What will it bring?
Where will I be?
Time for class
There I must go
Day is beginning
That’s where I start
That's where I'll be.

Life's Goal

I had my day in the sun
And how the Sun did shine
The remainder of my life will be
Helping others see that time

Back Cover: Pastor's Referral

It is a pleasure to watch people mature in their faith, their profession,
and their service-ability in the Lord’s work. Chuck Wright is one of
those men. He is capable without being showy, learned without being snobbish,
and highly successful yet never elevating himself.I have known Chuck’s family
nearly 25 years, most of the years as their pastor. It has been a joy to see
him grasp spiritual truths, apply them to himself, and teach them to others.
They have served him spiritually, professionally, and academically.

He was very successful with Prudential Insurance, moving from agent
to District Manager, yet growing and serving in various capacities at
Millington Street Baptist Church. Leaving Prudential, he moved into insurance
consulting, as well as becoming an instructor in Business for Professional
Studies at Southwestern College. He has a keen insight into Scripture, using
such to teach others. His recall of facts, dates, and applications are as though they just happened. His book will lead the reader to see the value of the spiritual lessons as applied in Chuck’s life and therefore, valuable for application to theirs. They are practical. They work. They have Scriptures for their origin.
Dr. K.B. Murray, Pastor Millington Street Baptist Church Winfield, Kansas

Final Thoughts

While I’ve been writing, friends have asked how long has it taken me to write this book. My usual response is that it has only taken a few months to write the book, but it took 57 years to live it. My students probably get tired of hearing me talk about balance, but I keep on stressing how important balance is. It is easy to go off on a tangent in a radical area on a subject. It is harder to understand a proper position that we can maintain and be counted on for. The only real answer to balance is to base our lives and our ideas on Scripture. Balancing life for me means making sure we work on each of four areas. First, we must work on our spiritual life, our relationship with God. If this area goes lacking it is impossible for successful life.
The twenty-third Psalm shows God’s continuing guidance and care in our life:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Next, I believe we must work on our family life. No amounts of success in other areas will make-up for failure here. In fact, our family is the human reflection of our true relationship with God. He expects us to meet the needs of our family. Many times our spirituality is by us “being at church every time the door is open.” While I believe attendance and support is important, our family is first priority. Historically, God put the family together many years before He established the church. The third area is our work life. It is important, but in our things-oriented society, this area is over-emphasized. We can be the most successful professionals in the world, and if our family life or spiritual life goes lacking, we are a failure. The final area is our community life. For me this area includes friends and any time we give to make the world a better place. My largest commitment here has been my school board activity. God will give us wisdom in balancing these four areas. We need His wisdom to prioritize activities. I am reminded of one of Bill Gothard’s statements, “The good things are the enemies of the best things because of lack of time.” We must choose the best activities at a particular time from many good things.

As I close the book I hope it has given you a small sense of what God has done in my life. The great thing is He is not limited in His ability to grant blessings. The only limitation is that He can only build those that are His. In order to be His you must accept His Son as Savior. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

"Most of the critical things in life, which become the starting points of human destiny are little things."
R. Smith

"Go to the ant thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
Proverbs 6:6-8