Insight

A Fungus Among Us

by Andy Wood on February 16, 2009

in Insight, Life Currency, Words

critic-4I’m about to share some relevant, important information to you – especially if you are interested in starting a business or avoiding germs.  I’m also going to show you something that’s so painful, it’s funny (or vice-versa).  Why?  Because I can!  And because The National Enquirer was right about inquiring minds.

But first, a story with a point.

I miss my old friend Randall.  During our younger years, we spent many hours together praying, talking, and clowning around.

Randall once told about a funny, yet convicting experience.  For a long time he’d been watching another highly-respected Christian.  One day he announced to his brother Leigh, “I think I’ve finally found something wrong with Greg.”

Leigh, known for his dry humor and sometimes biting sarcasm, replied, “Congratulations!  You found the mote!”

The “mote” to which Leigh referred was the old King James word for “speck” in Matthew 7:3-5.

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck out of your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Next time you’re in a crowd of people, Christians in particular, look around.  You will find your share of people whose “eyes” are filled with “motes.”  And you’ll be tempted to look past the pole in your own eye to notice, criticize, or try to correct the specks in someone else’s. [click to continue…]

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Can You Lead the Nodians Out of Victimhood?

by Andy Wood on February 9, 2009

in Insight, Life Currency, Love

supportTwo posts ago I started sharing what we’re learning about being instruments of healing to people in the “Land of Nod” – the realm of the aftermath of broken relationships.  It was to this place that Cain went after he had killed his brother and rejected the mercy of God.

To bring hope to the Land of Nod, we must:

1.  Reconnect the spiritual with the interpersonal.
You relate to people in the same way you relate to God, and vice-versa.  We must be faithful to live that message, and communicate it well to others.

2.  Expose anger for what it is, and provide a model for forgiveness.
Anger is always a choice; so is forgiveness.  To help the Nodians, we must encourage them to accept responsibility for their anger and guide them toward forgiveness.

The third thing we are learning to do to bring hope back to Nod is:

3.  Respond to Victimhood by Redefining Responsibility

Week in and week out, people pass through our doors carrying a past that neither they nor we can change.  [click to continue…]

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Where Do You Go With Your Super-sized Challenges?

by Andy Wood on January 14, 2009

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Gamblers, Hoarders, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle

Imagine the looks and the laughs.  You’re a servant – socially, a nobody.  You own no property, have little-to-no money.  On a busy city sidewalk, you are nameless and faceless.

And yet here you are, in the local real estate office, looking for investment properties.

Or maybe sitting around the local JerusaBucks, sipping on a latte and asking some of the locals about business opportunities or stock market preferences.

You’re a legend in your own mind.  But if anyone knew you, they’d laugh you out the door.

Version 2.0

Imagine the awkwardness and anguish.  You’re a servant – socially a nobody.  You own no property, have little-to-no money.  On a busy city sidewalk… well, you get it.

And yet here you are, being asked by the most powerful man you know, to look out for part of his money – more money than you’ve ever seen, much less ever held in your hand.

Echoes of your parents’ proverbs still ring in your ear – stuff like, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

Can’t he find someone else for the job?  This is risky business, and you’re no risk taker.

Isn’t there some hole somewhere…?

Above Your Pay Grade?

How do you handle assignments that are, in the words of the president-elect, “above your pay grade?” [click to continue…]

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The Day After Christmas

by Andy Wood on December 26, 2008

in Exploring the Possibilities, Insight, Life Currency, LV Cycle

This is one of the strangest days of the year.  The Christmas tree is still up, but there are no presents beneath it.  The trips have been made, and people are starting to settle back down to “normal.”  All the cooks have declared a holiday, and the Great Gift Exchange has begun.  And in our culture, we’re preparing for another phenomenon:  the end of one year, and the start of another.

Sort of like they did on the first day after the first Christmas.

Take a look, and maybe we can catch an insight into how we can extend the wonder of the season past all the gifts and food.  And I think we can gain some principles that will also help us prosper in the coming year. [click to continue…]

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My Favorite Funny Posts in 2008

by Andy Wood on December 23, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Insight, Life Currency, Spoofs

Life is too serious not to be laughed at.  And 2008 has given us plenty of seriously funny expressions that soften our defenses, then make a point.  Often a sharp one!

So without further ado, here, in reverse order are my 10 personal favorite funny blog posts from 2008.  Many have links elsewhere, or combine videos with photos, etc.  But you’re seeing them where I found them (or put them).

10.  Speculators
David Hayward describes himself as “an artist trapped inside a pastor’s body.”  His cartoons have appeared several times here.  They often combine a funny thought with a sharp, convicting point.  In “Speculators,” he pokes at the way people can and do profit from the message of the cross.  Want more? Here’s one that mocks corporate mentality in the church. [click to continue…]

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Why Haven’t You Won the Lottery Yet?

by Andy Wood on December 10, 2008

in Ability, Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Money, Principle of Abundance

Why do you have the resources, abilities, relationships and intelligence that you do?  Why do you lack the brain, the pain, the financial gain that others have?

It all comes back to the Trust.

What you “have” isn’t yours any more than what somebody else “has” is theirs.  It all – even your life – belongs to God.  He purchased it completely with the death and resurrection of His Son.  But He has entrusted the management decisions to you.  Incidentally, the primary management decision you must make is what you will do with the death and resurrection of His Son!

Jesus’ story of the talents illustrates the point. (You can read my paraphrase/summary here.) Each of the servants received part of the master’s possessions to manage for him while he was away.  That represents your life and all it entails. [click to continue…]

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The Secret Sadness

by Andy Wood on December 3, 2008

in Insight, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Protecting Your Investment

This just in… modern newlyweds are increasingly dealing with “the bridal blues.”  Doctors report that the expectations of newlyweds are so high, and married life such a letdown after all the planning and excitement of the big day, that an increasing number of brides are suffering post-nuptial depression.  The feelgood factor fades so fast that up to 10 per cent of couples suffer enough remorse, sadness or frustration to seek counseling.

Wow.  You mean it wasn’t whispy clouds and fairy dust as you lived happily ever after?  And Franck Eggelhoffer isn’t there to plan the details of your marriage like he did your wedding?  And Daddy’s not there to pay your bills?  And sex doesn’t cure everything, or come with an orchestra in your bedroom?  And to add insult to injury, you find yourself married to a sometimes-sweaty, stinky boy, who leaves socks and underwear on the floor?  Or to a woman, who – get this – ain’t yo’ mamma, your maid, or your madame?  She’s no Cinderella, and you’re not exactly Prince Charming.

Those expectations take you for a ride sometimes, don’t they?

Dr. Terry Eagan has a name for post-wedding depression. He calls it the secret sadness.  Why? Because the women who suffer from it are often too embarrassed to tell anybody. And men simply bottle up their feelings.

The Secret Sadness is real.  And it isn’t limited to newlyweds. [click to continue…]

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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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Thinking and Thanking

by Andy Wood on November 26, 2008

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

Oh, my Father, I enter into Your presence in the name of Jesus to express my eternal gratitude to you.

Thank You for ACCESS – the unfathomable privilege of entering directly into Your presence.

Thank You for BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE – those wonderful growth experiences that look at first like obstacles or curses.

Thank You for CHILDREN – for the ways they remind us that You are big, life is good, and pleasing You isn’t all that complicated.

Thank You for DREAMERS – those who saw the possibilities when no one else did, and who risked failure to make their dreams come true.

Thank You for EXAMPLES – for people who are just as willing to practice as they are to preach. [click to continue…]

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Hanukkah Hams – Show Me the Money Edition

by Andy Wood on November 13, 2008

in Consumers, Gamblers, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, Money

Okay, all you fans of the amazing possibilities of humans left to their own ideas, it’s time for another edition of Hanukkah Hams!  In case you missed previous episodes, a Hanukkah Ham was named after this, uh, “creative” marketing idea last year.

With all the gloom, doom, and sleepless nights about the economy, I thought maybe we could use a little financial inspiration.

Couldn’t find any, so this is what you get instead…

One of the fundamental truths of the New Testament is that money is “coined personality.”  That is, people can see the “real you” in the ways you respond to and handle money.  If you’re generous with your finances, you’ll be generous with other parts of your life as well.  Same is true if you’re careless, stingy, unorganized, etc.  This raises some interesting questions about some or organizations.  If money is coined personality, we may have a few problems!

A couple of years ago, I walked into a local bank, started writing a check, and told the teller in my best deadpan voice that I needed $30 worth of Federal Reserve notes.  He actually asked another teller, “Do we have Federal Reserve notes here?”  “Ya mean, money?” she asked.

Last month a man in Warren, Michigan figured the best way to get a little extra cash for the holidays was to strong arm somebody and steal theirs. [click to continue…]

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