I’ve lost count of the number of times I have written this word – much less said it (at least to myself). It was a complete waste of time.
I’ve kept a journal for 17 years now (something I highly recommend), and there’s no telling how many times I confessed to this feeling. But not once did it ever create my future, solve a problem, or breathe life into a situation. In fact, it’s more likely to be a sign of defeat, discouragement, or slow death.
It may be a legitimate feeling. But if feelings are designed to prompt us to action, the only thing this feeling ever prompts us to do is make excuses, whine, or wave the white flag. In small doses it may be a call to action. But in standard use, it’s emotional poison, and I hate it.
So I’ve decided to lock this word in a vault and reserve it for special occasions. I may let it out every once in a while, but only with a chaperone. I suggest you do the same.
The word? [click to continue…]
Tell them I said “hi.”
Will do.
Tell them I’m praying for them.
Okay. Do you want me to tell them what you’re praying?
That would be great. Tell them I’m praying that they may stand complete or perfect. And that they would stand fully assured in all the will of God.
Is that it?
Yeah, but that’s quite a bit.
Really?
Yeah. These days it’s pretty much all I do since I have all this free time on my hands. It’s basically become my job.
Your job? [click to continue…]
No one prepared me for how empty the Emptiness could be…
How vain the attempts would be
To fill it with things and times and feelings
That were never designed to satisfy.
It was like dropping feathers into the Grand Canyon…
Always wishing for a little more time and a little less wind.
(A few more feathers would be nice, too.)
But I would never have known the deep satisfaction
That only Your love could provide,
Had I not known the void created by a life
I tried to fill on my own terms.
But I know now I’m loved
With a love that fills deeply and completely.
And in this satisfied life… I’ve been blessed. [click to continue…]
UPDATE: The giveaway has been moved to Tuesday, May 29. (Forgot it was Memorial Day Weekend.)
(Shameless Plug: Be watching Sunday, May 27, for our first-ever prize giveaway.)
The Thanksgiving holiday is still a long way off. The turkeys are still strutting around the barnyard as if life will go on forever.
Nobody’s playing football on TV, though I did hear that Peyton has started working out with his new team and somebody else has joined the sue-the-NFL club.
School is out this week in a lot of places, so maybe families will be getting together for the Memorial Day Weekend holiday. But I fear as a nation we’re just as thankless on Memorial Day as we typically are on the fourth Thursday in November.
So. Since nobody’s going around the table making you share what you’re thankful for, what are you thankful for? Since you haven’t eaten yourself into a ‘bout-to-pop stupor, what are you thankful for? Since nobody is having a pre-Christmas sale right now (that I know of), what are you thankful for? [click to continue…]
This image disturbs me on many levels.
Yeah, it really does get faster and faster. There are more birthdays to remember (or forget).
(Let’s see… when was my son-in-law’s? Today? Tomorrow?)
I’m definitely Moving at the Speed of Life.
There are more demands – many of them self-imposed. I’m at that point in life where I know I can get more done – just sleep an hour less or (my favorite) multi-task. After all, time’s wasting! I’m smarter now than I’ve ever been, I have lots of unfinished business, and I can sleep when I’m dead.
Right?
Just keep Moving at the Speed of Life.
There are more opportunities or distractions, depending on how you interpret them. I’m at a point in my life where I am incredibly grateful for all the opportunities I have and, truth be told, a little scared to say no when another one presents itself. I’m old and scarred enough to recognize there are no guarantees, and still young enough to say yes when the right ones come along.
I only get one of these, and I’m still Moving at the Speed of Life.
Stop. [click to continue…]
Watch the video, then let’s talk (yeah, that’s me doing the voiceover).
Here’s a bit of thoughtful Bible trivia for you: what was it that enabled David to kill the giant, Goliath?
There are a number of possible answers, of course. A rock in the middle of the forehead was certainly helpful. David’s faith in God was essential. His skill and courage were an asset.
But I believe there was one catalyst that made David stand out among the armies of Israel. In a badly-translated King James verse, David asked his brother, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29).
[click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on May 2, 2012
in Consumers, Five LV Laws, Gamblers, Hoarders, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance, Principle of Eternity, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Increase, Principle of Legacy
I have an urgent news flash for you: Just because you know something is wrong, that doesn’t mean you’ll avoid it.
Shocking, I know. And the corollary is also true: Just because you know you’re supposed to do something, that doesn’t mean you’ll do it.
Suppose you could interview Jonah – the Old Testament’s version of Gilligan – and ask him what the most important requirement was for prophets. What do you think he’d say? My guess is that he would tell you that a prophet’s number one job is to speak what he hears the Lord saying to speak.
Why, then, did Jonah have to travel from the boat to the belly to the burp to the beach before he decided to do what his own standard said to do?
Resurrect a first-century Pharisee and ask him what it took to please God, and you’d probably hear something about keeping the law and prophets, serving God and walking in humility and discipline.
Why, then, did Jesus refer to the scribes and Pharisees as unwilling to lift a finger to meet a need, doing all their deeds to be noticed by men, loving the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and insisting on being called by respectful titles in public? If serving God faithfully was so important to them, why did the Son of God warn people not to be like them?
Whenever the bad news breaks out about somebody who has shocked us with their oh-no, no-no behavior, we often ask silly questions like, “Well didn’t they know that was wrong?” Of course they did. Why, then, would someone violate their own standards of right and wrong? [click to continue…]
Got caught in my underwear last week.
Not literally – you can exhale and imagine something less disturbing. But what I experienced was on a similar emotional and mental level.
It’s been a c-r-a-z-y season time-wise for me for about the last month. I generally stay pretty busy, but this was my version of silly season – the time demands were beyond ridiculous. And under that kind of stress, I tend focus on what I do well and throw everything else into automatic pilot.
Probably not a good plan. In fact, not much of a plan at all – I was pretty much in survival mode. And so, in the process of focusing on what absolutely had to be done and what I’m good at, I dropped my guard over my weaknesses. And boy did they show up in some embarrassing ways.
Weaknesses are like underwear. We all have them but most of us would prefer not to expose them to the world. And we spend quite a bit of energy or money covering them up. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on March 5, 2012
in Consumers, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Hoarders, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance
How do you gauge success?
Does being a Christian or being in ministry change that somehow?
I don’t know anybody who gets up in the morning and prays, “Oh God, make me a failure!” But there have been many times when I and many others have used bad gauges to measure it. Here are the three most common:
1. Do I feel good? Was the service pleasurable? Do I feel encouraged, energized, healed or empowered? Do I feel loved, important, or attended to? Do I feel the pleasure of other people or God’s pleasure?
2. Did I see something good? In church world that is measured by the countable things like noses and dollars and building funds. In the Christian business world, the same thing is true – it’s about profits and losses and tangible contributions to the community.
3. Do I feel good about myself? Do I feel affirmed? Do I look good? Did people tell me I performed well? Did someone thank me or praise me or ask for my help?
So what’s wrong with any of that?
Absolutely nothing. [click to continue…]
I
Someone once told Matt he was like the man with the five talents in Jesus’ parable. He was not limited to just one ability, but was blessed with multiple skills. It was a bad interpretation of the word “talent,” but Matt appreciated the sincerity of the compliment. And truth be told, Matt is that kind of guy. Smart. Articulate. Funny if you catch him on the right day.
But lately Matt hasn’t felt like a man with one “talent,” much less five. The tough economy has him working three different jobs to make ends meet. And while Matt is good at shooting from the hip, lately he’s been handed a fist full of criticism in just about every area of his life.
“God,” he says, “You’ve picked the wrong guy. I need you to find somebody else to do this. Or You fix this.”
“No,” comes the reply from heaven. “It’s not my job – it’s yours. It’s not somebody else’s job. It’s yours. Now stop trusting yourself. Stop looking at the problem. Watch Me. Trust Me. And do it.”
Can
Teri always referred to John as her rock. But little did she know how much she really depended on him until the weeks after his sudden death. [click to continue…]
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have written this word – much less said it (at least to myself). It was a complete waste of time.
