Principle of Legacy

The Language of Surrender… and Freedom

by Andy Wood on December 1, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Legacy

I don’t have to win.

I don’t have to lead.

I don’t have to debt.

I don’t have to worry.

I don’t have to be first.

I don’t have to survive.

I don’t have to give up.

I don’t have to overeat.

I don’t have to be right.

I don’t have to succeed.

I don’t have to be afraid.

I don’t have to get angry.

I don’t have to be served.

I don’t have to look good.

I don’t have to be noticed.

I don’t have to cradle pain.

I don’t have to have things.

I don’t have to be offended.

I don’t have to be stressed.

I don’t have to feel rejected.

I don’t have to procrastinate.

I don’t have to resist change.

I don’t have to be depressed.

I don’t have to defend myself.

I don’t have to always say yes.

I don’t have to spend all I earn.

I don’t have to hide my failures.

I don’t have to control outcomes.

I don’t have to get instant results.

I don’t have to hide from the truth.

I don’t have to hide from intimacy.

I don’t have to harbor resentment.

I don’t have to feel sorry for myself.

I don’t have to judge others’ motives.

I don’t have to blame myself or others.

I don’t have to be thanked for what I do.

I don’t have to take counsel of my fears.

I don’t have to crave words of affirmation.

I don’t have to repeat destructive behavior.

I don’t have to compare myself with others.

I don’t have to criticize weakness in others.

I don’t have to envy the blessings of others.

I don’t have to live in the shadow of my past.

I don’t have to spend money to impress others.

I don’t have to see every (or any) expectation fulfilled.

(I’m sure there’s plenty more I’ll discover.  How about you?  What does your language of surrender/freedom sound like?)

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The Strange Case of Josh Poker-Stick

by Andy Wood on October 13, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Principle of Legacy, Words

(A spiritual leadership fable.)

Hi, I’m Josh.  Pleased to meet you.

Hi, Josh.  I’m Andy.  So tell me about yourself.

I’m a poker.

A what?

A poker.

You mean, like a poker player?

No.  I mean, like a poker in your fireplace.

You’re a poker?

Yep.  Poker.

Okay, I’m steppin’ out a little here, Josh.  What does a poker do?

Pokes.

(Should’ve seen that coming.)  Okaaay.  Pokes what?

I poke people.

Seriously?

Yep.

You just walk up to them and poke them with your finger?

Naw, not like that.  That’s creepy.

Ya think?

I do for people what a poker does for your fireplace. [click to continue…]

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The Silent Champion

by Andy Wood on September 24, 2008

in Executing Your Plan, Five LV Laws, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Legacy

Nobody will ever name their boy Zerubbabel.  There are still plenty of Davids and Samuels, Joshuas and Calebs left for the hallways at the hospital.  Zerubbabel?  Not a chance.

Here was a guy who is never quoted in the Bible.  He never wrote a book that bears his name.  Yet he occupied a position of great importance, hope, strategic necessity in Israel’s history – enough that he held the attention of two Old Testament prophets.

He led an emerging nation, but would doubtless never be hip enough to lead an emerging church.

If Zerubbabel lived in the last 200 years and somehow been elected president of the United States, I figure he’d be a Calvin Coolidge or Warren G. Harding – somebody we know was there, but never talk about.

If he were a tree, he’d be one of those types that was nameless – big and strong, and I guess some expert knows what type it is, but most of us would just look and say, “It’s just a tree.”

If he were a piece of chicken, he would be the thigh.  Strong, muscular, flavorful.  But at the bottom of everybody’s list of preferences.

Somehow in the wisdom and providence of God, this silent champion was chosen to head a dangerous and deliriously exciting project: [click to continue…]

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The Day of the Second House

by Andy Wood on September 23, 2008

in Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Legacy, Waiting

I have a friend who’s living in-between.  He once had a position of ministry and fulfilled calling, and believes he’ll have another one again.  In between, he waits – preparing for the day of the Second House.

I have another friend who was blindsided by an unwanted divorce.  He has suffered the loss of a family, a vision, and a sense of being at home.  Still, he waits – convinced that he will see, in some measure, the day of the Second House.

I can relate to both, but for different reasons.  More than 10 years ago, I began a Second-House journey of my own – explainable only by the stunning grace of God.  I have watched in awe as dreams I had given up on, callings I had once felt, and opportunities I once squandered began to be fulfilled.  More than a God of second chances (which He is), He has shown me that He is a God of second seasons, second lives, sometimes second families, and even second callings.

He’s the God of the Second House. [click to continue…]

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How to Restore Your Losses

by Andy Wood on September 19, 2008

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

(Note:  I make no claims to be a prophet, so I write this with a bit of fear and trembling.  But I believe a day of restoration and change is coming to a significant number people worldwide.  Pardon the timing, but it has little-to-nothing to do with the upcoming elections.  I haven’t had a stirring in my spirit on this level in more than 10 years.  For reasons I’ll explain next week, all I know to call it is the day of the Second House.  Make no mistake about it – these are heady, often stressful times.  Things that can be shaken will be, so that the things that can’t be shaken will remain.  But those who hear God’s call, trust God’s heart, and courageously obey God’s direction will enter into a season, like Israel, when their latter glory will be greater than the former.  This post and the next one will serve as an introduction to that.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++

It was January 3, 1993 – more than 15 years ago – and it remains the greatest comeback in NFL history.  At halftime the Buffalo Bills, their starting quarterback injured, trailed the Houston Oilers with mighty quarterback Warren Moon by a score of 35-3 in an American Conference playoff game.  Backup Frank Reich led the team to a stunning upset.  The score:  41-38.

Most of us aren’t football players, professional or otherwise.  But we all experience adversity when, like the Bills, our backs are pressed against the wall.  Sometimes we’re beyond distress; we’re beaten.  These times of adversity almost always involve losses of some kind:

  • money (how ‘bout them markets?)
  • friendships
  • joy
  • health
  • dreams
  • family

LifeVesting?  Designing your future?  Ha!  To quote the pained psalmist in slavery, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4). [click to continue…]

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What’s Your B.S.?

by Andy Wood on September 12, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Hoarders, LV Alter-egos, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Legacy

Imagine for a minute that you lived in a world where you were the only one who ever told the truth.  A world of random mirrors where you never knew whether someone else’s “yes” meant “yes” or “no.”  How would you get a loan at the bank?  How would you get directions to the nearest gas station?  How would you fall in love or have meaningful family relationships?  How could you ever function, much less be happy?

Imagine getting up every day and telling yourself and everybody around you how badly your life is going.  Have a cough?  It’s probably pneumonia.  Surprise bill in the mail?  You’re going broke.  Get a compliment on your appearance?  You mumble something about needing new clothes or not feeling well lately.  Receive a major blessing?  It’s just a matter of time until the other shoe drops.

By now I’m sure you have an image of somebody in mind (certainly not you, of course).  I’m thinking of a girl I once knew named Kim.  She was a twin; her sister Kay was pretty much an optimist.  Kim?  Winnie the Pooh’s friend Eeyore had nothing on her.  The only seventh grade girl I’ve ever met who was completely dreary.

I made an amazing discovery the other day.  Kim (and whoever you’re thinking about) has a soul mate in the Bible.  [click to continue…]

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Two Ways You DON’T Want to be Remembered

by Andy Wood on August 20, 2008

in Consumers, Five LV Laws, LV Alter-egos, Principle of Legacy

LifeVesting is about creating a compelling future and leaving a legacy long after your life here is done.

How do you want to be remembered?  Here are a couple of ways I don’t recommend.  One is pretty funny – the other, painfully sad.

The Man Who Got Shot and Arrested for Robbing a Drug Store with a Caulking Gun

The Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram reported on August 15 that a 24-year-old man, John Wilkinson, of Big Spring, walked into a West Texas pharmacy carrying what looked like a gun wrapped in a dark cloth, and demanding Xanax and hydrocodine.

After getting the drugs from the drug store, Wilkinson tried to make his escape, but realized he had locked his keys in his running car in front of the store.  So he took off running on foot.

He was shot by police.

He’s not dead, though.

Just under arrest for suspicion of armed robbery after being treated for the gun shot.

Oh, and John’s weapon of choice?  A caulking gun.

Not sure what he would have done had the druggist challenged him.  I guess he would have waterproof-sealed him to death.

The World’s Most Honest Obit

The following obituary was posted a couple of weeks ago in the Napa/Sonoma Times Herald.  It was confirmed to be real here.  Brace yourself…. [click to continue…]

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Don’t Go Gently: How an Alcoholic Friend’s Death Taught Me How to Live

by Andy Wood on August 19, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, Principle of Freedom, Principle of Legacy, Turning Points

(A Turning Point Story)

“Hi, I’m Butch, and I’m an alcoholic.”

He didn’t say it exactly like that the first time I talked to him.  But two minutes into my first conversation with Butch Lowrey, I knew he had been visiting my church, he was a recovering alcoholic, and that he liked what I was preaching.  Butch introduced me to a spiritual program that had changed his life and stopped his drinking forever.  I attended his second A.A. birthday party, and eventually became his sponsor.  No doubt about it, though.  I learned more from him than he ever learned from me.

“Nothing in God’s world happens by mistake.”

Butch believed that, and said it often.  As part of his recovery, there were many other spiritual truths he stood on, and repeated.  Truths such as:  “If all your problems could solved by money, you don’t have a problem,” and, “You’ve just got to let go and let God.”

He also learned a rare and refreshing kind of honesty.  On one occasion he said, “People in [this] county are committed to making everyone else just as miserable as they are.”  Later he told me, “Andy, you preach long because you like to hear yourself talk.  You’re just on an ego trip.”  He was smiling, of course. [click to continue…]

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10 Things to Pray for the People You Love

by Andy Wood on July 31, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Legacy

PrayerI want to share with you 10 things I pray for my children, all of whom are married adults now, living elsewhere.  They are listed in order, but not necessarily order of importance or chronological order.  More on that later.

I didn’t make the list up – somebody already beat me to it.  But as soon as I found it, I decided that this was a good “handle” for interceding for anyone I love.  But I’m particularly drawn to praying this for my children, and their children as they come along. Here goes…

1.  Deep personal fulfillment.  I want them to be happy!  Not in that shallow, vain use of the word, but for them to find life satisfaction – true joy – in their lives, their relationships, and their work.

2.  The success and strength of their descendants.  To use a biblical term, I pray that my grandchildren and beyond would be “mighty on the earth” because of the things my children taught them and demonstrated to them.

[click to continue…]

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Like Abel – The LifeVesting Principle of Legacy

by Andy Wood on July 15, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Legacy

MemorialOur family keeps an oral tradition of famous lines spoken by somebody.  Today’s edition comes from Joel, when he was about seven or eight:

“Daddy, when you die, can I have all your tapes?”

++++++++++++++++++++++

I want to be like Abel.

Not so much the rock-upside-the-head part.  I’m talking about legacy.

Hebrews 11:4 contains a fascinating description of Abel’s life:  “By faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”

Here’s a guy who could be famous for the things he never did:

He never preached a sermon.

He never started a church.

He never wrote a book.

He never engaged in an argument to defend the faith.

He never had his name plastered on the side of a building.

He never had a wife or children, much less succeeding generations.

He never was elected to any office.

He never fought for a cause or a nation.

He never was on TV, or interviewed by the press.

He never had God give him a song (all rights reserved, of course).

He never made a YouTube video.

He never made a financial fortune, that we know of.

He never rescued anybody in distress, except maybe for a sheep or two.

 

Yet long-dead, Abel still speaks.  And so can you and I.  It’s what the LifeVesting Principle of Legacy is all about:

[click to continue…]

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