Five LV Laws

Higher Ground

by Andy Wood on August 26, 2012

in Ability, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase, Waiting

When the burdens overwhelm me
And the floods begin to rise
When I see the circumstances
Through lonely, helpless eyes,
There’s a place to go for refuge
And a place to be restored.
And when the storm has passed away,
I’ll be stronger than before.

It’s a place called Higher Ground.  David referred to it as a “rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1).  “Take me there when my heart is overwhelmed,” he prayed.

Growing up on the Gulf Coast, it was fairly common to hear small craft advisories and warnings of approaching storms or hurricanes in which people in “low‑lying areas” are warned to move to higher ground.  The danger for them is that the storm can literally overwhelm them.

In Psalm 61, David finds himself in a situation in which he is under such pressure of heart that he doesn’t think he can deal with it by himself.  He’s in a “low-lying area” spiritually and circumstantially.  Can you relate? [click to continue…]

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The One Thing You Can Do

by Andy Wood on August 24, 2012

in Ability, Allocating Your Resources, Conversations, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase

What do you do when you come to the edge of something you want but can’t get there?  How do you handle it when you have a clear sense of who you want to be, what you want to be able to do, or what you want to have… but only come away frustrated and defeated?  What do you do when you want so badly to push past your limitations and weaknesses, but can’t ever seem to find a way?

You do the one thing you actually can do.  And if you’re like most people, you probably won’t, because it sounds so simple.

Check out this snippet of conversation: [click to continue…]

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The Delivery Room

by Andy Wood on August 22, 2012

in Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase, Waiting

It’s a busy place – a hubbub of activity as people move swiftly to their assigned places.  Timing is critical. Everyone must be ready at the appropriate time, and yet few would dare to hasten the process.  There is tension, mixed with great anticipation.  But above all, there is joy.

Host of a strange mixture of humanity, this place.  Highly-trained professionals and knowledgeable assistants mingle freely with ordinary folks.  Anxious fathers and burdened mothers await an event that can change their lives forever.  The brilliant and the simple, the wealthy and the poor, the veteran and the newcomer all watch with wonder as they witness the miracle of birth.  No matter how many times they’ve seen it, each time it’s new and fresh.  And there is great, great joy.

Make no mistake about it:  this is a work place.  In the midst of the video recording, the spectating, and the bystanders waiting in the wings, this is a place of… dare I say it?… labor. [click to continue…]

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Leadership and Power

by Andy Wood on August 20, 2012

in Ability, Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Legacy

Know why some people want to be leaders?  Because they want the power that comes with it.

Now I’m sure that if you’re a regular reader here, that would in no way describe you.  But haven’t you ever known somebody who was super-nice, very inspirational or whatever… then they got the promotion or the big office and turned into Little Caesar?

Or did you ever know somebody who was an awesome “number two” – a great assistant whatever… but when they finally got their chance to pull the organization’s strings royally flopped because they still acted like a “number two?”

“Power corrupts,” Lord Acton observed.  “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  But here’s the rub:  all real leaders (and others in leadership positions) have power.  Does that mean we’re doomed to lives filled with moral cavities?

Yes.  Unless you do something about it.

Oh… I have good news… You can do something about it. [click to continue…]

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Hanging On

by Andy Wood on August 17, 2012

in Ability, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase, Waiting

It’s a small, weary feeling you carry day and night
Against a vast expanse of time, trouble, and exhaustion.
You’re at the mercy of circumstances that somebody else controls.
You feel jerked and tossed back and forth like a rudderless boat.
Lost for direction or answers,
You’re still moving, but you don’t quite know where…
You’re still seeking,
But sometimes you forget what the questions were in the first place.

Yet something keeps you hanging on –
A voice that says, “I’m here, be strong,”
A prayer of faith, a nighttime song
Of hope that says, “This won’t be long.”
Someone keeps you hanging on. [click to continue…]

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In the Company of a Friend

by Andy Wood on August 13, 2012

in Allocating Your Resources, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance

Something changed that night.  And you are the beneficiary.  But so many things changed in and around that night that this sometimes gets lost in the shuffle and scuffle.

For three-plus years, Jesus-the-Master had been leading a band of twelve full-time followers.  “Disciples,” He called them.  And they did what disciples do.  Listen.  Learn.  Serve.  Make mistakes.  Listen.  Lean some more.  Serve some more.  There were teachable moments and forgettable moments.  Fighting times and healing times.

But just before His death, Jesus was giving these loyal men (Judas had already left) a final round of teaching.  One guy calls this, “Jesus’ Cram for the Final Exam.”  I love it.

Tucked in between these massive concepts about vines and branches and the coming Holy Spirit, Jesus rewrote the contract between Him and those who follow.  Read this carefully: [click to continue…]

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Own Your Influence!

by Andy Wood on August 11, 2012

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Legacy

(Cool things I heard somebody pray, #3)

Went to Willow Creek’s Global Leadership Summit for the first time this week.  Of course, “global” for me was the simulcast just down the street at Live Oak Community Church.

Just before the conference began, Doug Halcomb, the senior pastor at Live Oak, led us in a simple prayer:

“Help us to own our influence.”

Wow.  God had my attention before Bill Hybels ever appeared on the screen.

Influence

Every one of us has, to some degree, the capacity to shape the character, development, or behavior of someone else.  For some people that takes a lot of work.  Others seem to affect the world around them with seemingly no effort at all. [click to continue…]

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Two Things “The Preacher” Missed in His Search for Meaning

by Andy Wood on August 9, 2012

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Legacy

Having a dreary day?  Blues gotcha’ by the, um, big toe?  This’ll cheer you up… just read Ecclesiastes.

“Meaningless, meaningless!” says the Teacher.  “Everything is meaningless!”

Actually, it may not help your mood very much, except to remind you that it could be worse.  (If that doesn’t work, try the book of Job.  I hear it’s a big hit at parties.)

Anyway, Ecclesiastes, which means “the Preacher” was either written by King Solomon or by someone else to represent him.  It essentially describes the reflections of a man who got everything in life that someone would want to have.

He had wisdom.

He had no shortage of money.

He had any pleasure his wandering heart would ever wish for.

He had the praise and adoration of people.

The one thing he didn’t seem to find in all of that was any meaning to it all.  At the end of the day, he concludes, rich and poor, righteous and unrighteous, wise men and fools all wind up dead.  And all the things you spend so much energy working on are passed on to people who didn’t work for them.

“What a waste,” he moans.  “Vanity!”

There are some more hopeful things sprinkled throughout the book, such as remembering your Creator in the days of your youth, fearing God and keeping His commandments, and God making all things beautiful in His time.

But the main theme throughout the book is that while we live in a broken, freaked out world, the places we naturally resort to in order to make our lives easier or better, or the things we spend our lifetimes laboring for, are in the end a complete waste.

“I’ve had it all,” he says.  “And it didn’t do what it promised to do.”

We’ve learned better, right?

Oh well.  Poor Sol.  Maybe if we had a thousand wives and concubines to please, a nation to run (which means taxes to collect), and bills to pay on that scale, maybe we’d be moaning, too.  But we’re New Testament believers, right? [click to continue…]

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The Language, Labor and Love of Forever

by Andy Wood on August 7, 2012

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity

I keep a list of Darling Words – words that have a lot of charm or inspire the imagination.  “Forever” is one of those words.  It speaks of life.  Grace.  Commitment.  And a long, long time.

Used poetically, Forever speaks of a depth of love that’s supposed to exceed the way we feel about watermelon or melted cheese on tater tots.  It’s supposed to last longer than the latest distraction or the next annoying thing somebody does.

Forever is sometimes used to take a snapshot of a moment or a feeling.  It’s the language of a hopeless romantic or magical thinker, inviting someone to a lifetime of adventure.

But more than that, Forever speaks the language of letting go of the past and starting something new.  It speaks of a lifetime pursuit worth waiting for or something more powerful than death and the grave.

We come by our attraction to Forever honestly.  The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  In spite of the vanity of our fallen condition, we are instinctively drawn to love for the long haul and life beyond this lifetime.  Why, then, is “Forever” such a fleeting thing?  Why don’t connections or commitments last beyond the latest inconvenience or frustration? [click to continue…]

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Nothing Too Big for a God Like Him

by Andy Wood on August 5, 2012

in Ability, Allocating Your Resources, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance

(Cool things I’ve heard somebody pray, #2…  You can find #1 here.)

One of my favorite things to do when we had elders meetings was to spend time praying for each other.  Sometimes we’d share where we were in life, then intentionally ask the men there to pray for someone else in the room, based on what that person had talked about.

Someone had shared a pretty heavy request, and my friend Michael was praying for him.  And Michael said something to the Lord that stopped me in my tracks:

“There’s nothing too big for a God like you.”

This was more than an intellectual acknowledgement or a theological affirmation.

It.  Was.  Worship.

It was a faith declaration that suddenly made the prayer need seem not so ominous or obnoxious.  And it reminded me of Who it was we were talking to in the first place.  [click to continue…]

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