Principle of Abundance

Five Forks in the Road

by Andy Wood on June 10, 2011

in Consumers, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance, Principle of Eternity, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Increase, Principle of Legacy

This may be a leap, but let’s assume for a minute that you know what it is you want, and you’re pursuing it.  I don’t mean what you’re conquering in your search for lunch.  I’m talking destiny, journey-of-desire stuff.  Maybe it’s to influence or gain the approval of someone.  Maybe it’s wisdom to make good choices or the ability to do something that’s hard or impossible for you right now.

Regardless, have you ever noticed that sometimes getting there feels like an eight-lane highway?  And other times, the minute you start moving in that direction it feels like you just turned onto a muddy jungle trail?

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the journey launches like gangbusters, but then stalls or stagnates?

Chances are, you came to a fork in the road and made a wrong turn.

Robert Frost was right in his famous poem about the two roads and choosing the one less traveled by.  What he failed to mention was that life or any worthwhile pursuit is a series of forks in the road, not just one.  One road leads to a path that makes it easier to pursue your dreams; the other leads to mediocrity, failure, and defeat.

Appearances are Deceptive

Paths that lead to mediocrity and failure are well-worn and popular.  They require the least mental effort or “soul work.”  But what starts off as the path of least resistance quickly turns to the path of resistance-beats-my-brains-out.

Other paths may appear to require a lot of work or may leave you feeling isolated and alone.  But somewhere in that spiritual, emotional, and mental work you activate forces that begin to carry your load, increase your speed, and move you in the direction of your truest desires.

The other tricky part about these forks in the road: [click to continue…]

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Get Out of That Tomb!

by Andy Wood on May 19, 2011

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

It’s time for a resurrection.

Namely, yours.

You have focused on death long enough.

It’s time for another kind of reckoning.

Christians worldwide seem to have a fascination with death.  Pass most any church and somewhere you’ll find a cross – a symbol of public execution and death.  Listen to us talk about spiritual growth and overcoming sinful habits and somebody will mention the Bible principle of being dead to sin.  Listen to our music or examine what there is of our art, and you hear descriptions of a life so surreal you have to, well, die to get there, or we celebrate the death that Jesus died to make it possible.

Lest I be misunderstood, all of that is true.  But it’s only half the truth.  [click to continue…]

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A Heart Made Glad

by Andy Wood on April 19, 2011

in Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, Principle of Abundance

To know I can rise to the dawn of a new day,

Having surrendered my fatigued sorrows to a night of rest…

To see my hope ascend with the sun

And feel the comfort that only Your presence can provide…

This is the story,

This is the song

Of a heart made glad by love.

 

To hear the sound of laughter in places reserved for mourning,

Knowing the troubles are lighter lately because You carry my load… [click to continue…]

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Two Questions to Start Each Day

by Andy Wood on January 28, 2011

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance, Time

(Time Leadership, Part 2)

What kept Jesus on the cross?

That’s been the subject of many a sermon or song.  And the answer is always the same, ranging somewhere between the ugliness of our sin and the beauty of His love.

You know He could have come down, don’t you?  When He was mocked and taunted, Jesus could have called a legion of angels and put an end to the whole shebang.

But He didn’t.  So what kept Him there?

Hint:  the answer to the question is not, “love.” [click to continue…]

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Don’t Just Manage Your Time – Lead It!

by Andy Wood on January 26, 2011

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance, Time

You can accomplish every task set before you, live your life as a model of get-it-doneness, and die with a clean desk… and a completely unfulfilled life.

It’s possible to check off every box on your to-do list today, yet go to sleep tonight completely joyless… only to do it all over again tomorrow.

You may be the one everybody calls for help with prioritizing, streamlining, simplifying and ordering, only for your phone to grow cold when it’s hang-out time.

I think I may have found the problem… and the solution.

Get out of time management.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit too strong.  Let me try again… Don’t just manage your time.  Lead it.

There’s a huge difference between the two.  [click to continue…]

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Time to Deal With the Elephant in Your Head

by Andy Wood on December 27, 2010

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Insight, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Photos, Principle of Abundance

Can we talk about The Elephant in the Room? 

Most of the time we use the phrase to describe the unspoken but obvious thing between two or more people that no one is talking about.  There’s a different elephant, however, that I want to explore. 

It’s the one in your head.

I don’t know what yours is doing, but the elephant my head likes to dance.  Badly.

The Elephant in Your Head is the one or two things that appear in every mental photo.  The two or three things that interrupt – albeit silently – any patterns of forward thinking.

What do you do when you’re the elephant in the room? [click to continue…]

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My Christmas Prayer for You

by Andy Wood on December 25, 2010

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

Wherever you may find yourself this Christmas – in prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, laughter or tears, togetherness or solitude – I pray that you will experience the same sense of wonder, gratitude, and grace (and more) that I have found. 

I pray that in the midst of all you call blessings, you experience the beauty of knowing the miracle of being loved in this life – deeply, fully, completely…

That the evening shadows and stars remind you of the one star that mattered most and the Spirit behind it, guiding those who sought Jesus to discover His presence, and to miss Herod’s schemes…

That as heaven and nature sing of the glory of God, the mountains you face only serve as reminders that they are no match for the love He has shown you in His coming and His care…

That Jesus, our Emmanuel, would manifest His faithful awareness and presence and the miracle that takes place when God and sinners are reconciled in love and grace…

That whether you hear His voice in a prayer or a song, a promise or a still small voice, that you would truly hear it – and that as He sings over you, you would taste and see that the Lord is good,  His mercy everlasting, and His truth endures forever to you and yours…

That joyfully and triumphantly, you would live in anticipation and adoration of the Word of the Father who appeared in flesh, and that you would not for one moment miss the opportunity to invest your life in what He is still doing today…

That in the silence of the night or the newness and glory of the morning, you would experience again and again the coming of the King – with the promise that the One who lit the sky once will split the sky when He comes again to claim you…

That the nearness and tender care of the Lord Jesus would carry you through the seasons of loss and the memories of those you miss this Christmas season…

And that the Carpenter’s son who built a bridge of goodness and light will find you waiting, however long it takes, for the day He returns.

Merry Christmas!

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Your Name is Music to Hear – His Name is Power to Speak

by Andy Wood on November 15, 2010

in Esteem, Life Currency, LV Stories, Principle of Abundance

(A puzzle… wrapped in a true story)

I was standing in the bank branch foyer the other day.  It was lunchtime, and only two tellers were working, so there was a small line.

Waiting my turn, the man in front of me turned around, and I recognized him.  He was an acquaintance from a former church where I had served.  The truth is, the last we’d seen of each other in any meaningful way was on a rafting trip more than 10 years ago. We had a few minutes to catch up – not asking eternal-type questions mind you – just mainly the life-and-work stuff.

He had retired a few years ago, just in time for the stock market to crater.  So he had figured out that the way out was the way back in, and had gone back to do some consulting.

I told him I am a teacher now for four different universities, soon to be five.  I didn’t mention the part about being an aspiring author and counselor.

His back to the tellers, I had to tell him there was one who was available.

“Hello, Mr. Scott,” she said.  It was the beginning of a powerful lesson.

Wow, I thought to myself.  He must get by here a lot. He must be The Man.  I wondered what it was like to have the fab bank teller know you as a somebody. [click to continue…]

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Six Signs of a Life-Lover

by Andy Wood on November 10, 2010

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, Principle of Abundance, Tense Truths

A few years ago, my friend Rick was on a plane loaded to the wing flaps with hazardous cargo.

It was hauling a bunch of preachers to a convention.

Rick was in his best never-met-a-stranger form, and he was trolling up and down the aisle introducing himself.

“Are you a pastor?”

“Where are you from?”

He’d chat for a while and move on.  And the more he moved, the more the passengers paid attention.

Finally he reached one row and asked a well-dressed man, “You look like a pastor.  Where are you from?”

“I’m not,” the man replied in a louder-than-usual voice.  “I’ve just been sick for a few days.”

The whole plane erupted with laughter. [click to continue…]

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The Awakened Spirit

by Andy Wood on October 27, 2010

in Ability, Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance

I hate sleep.  I’m afraid I may miss something. 

Yeah, yeah, I know.  I “get it” and I get it.

I know that, too.  God’s design and all that.  It just chaps me a little that somebody who lives to be 90 will spend 30 years of their lives physically unconscious… and then talk about “sleeping in” as if it’s a life goal.

What’s even more disturbing, though, is how easy it is to be asleep when our eyes are open.  Spiritually oblivious to a world of life and movement and transformation and possibilities – all ready and waiting… for the awakened spirit.

Snapshots of Awakening

February 3, 1970.  In a small Kentucky Christian college, students showed up for what they thought was a routine chapel service.  It was anything but.  What was supposed to be an hour-long service lasted for 185 hours round the clock.  And the lights never went off in the chapel until Ju [click to continue…]

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