If you intend to be successful in any area of life, sooner or later you are going to have to have to fight for it. I wish I could tell you that being intentional (a popular darling word) was enough. But it isn’t.
I wish I could prove to you that some simple formula – here a step, there a technique, everywhere a quick-and-easy procedure – would guarantee the fulfillment of your fondest hopes. Can’t do it.
I wish I could assure you that if it was really hard, or lonely, or dangerous, that the idea was certainly not God’s will. If that were true, the Almighty’s got some ‘slpainin’ to do with some people who are now in heaven.
But the truth is, sooner or later, you’re going to have to fight for your family. Or for your testimony. Or for your walk with God. Sooner or later you’re going to have to fight for answered prayer. Yes, answered prayer! Or the advancement of the gospel. Or the safety of one of the world’s most endangered species – American children.
Sometimes when you run to the battlefield you may discover that you are the only one standing there. You may find that you’re surrounded by taunting enemies, and for backup you have a bunch of gossips, critics and spectators – but nobody willing to draw a sword or raise a shield with you.
Still think that cause is worth the fight? David did.
In the familiar story of David and Goliath, the young man after God’s own heart – newly empowered and anointed by the Spirit of God – brought a giant to his knees while the army of the living God looked on in disbelief. What was the difference between David and the rest of the army of Israel? Didn’t they have the same power available to them? Yes. Didn’t they have the same God? Yes. So what did David have that they didn’t?
In the life of David, there was a difference in: [click to continue…]
(Sort-of-random thoughts at 30,000 feet with a lot of free time on my hands…)
It takes minutes to make paper fly; to build something capable of carrying you long distances takes months, and a lot of helpful, smart people. The same is true with your important dreams – and your character.
You were created with the language of Forever in your heart, and nothing else will satisfy.
“I will” spoken with resolve has power, but your resolve will be tested and the limits of your willpower will be exposed.
You were not born with the wisdom and capacity to wait, but wisdom and reward waits for those who learn to.
God created the world for you, not you for the world – but He does hold you accountable for leaving it better than you found it.
A thousand opportunities dance before those whose eyes are open to see them. Ten thousand chances pass by those too lost in fear or consuming to notice them.
Summers are God’s way of showing that you don’t have to be in a classroom to learn.
I just saw a man express his gratitude by giving up his first class seat to a woman… who happened to be wearing a United States Army uniform. I wonder how I can say thank-you to somebody today.
I will always respect the one who can wait (there’s that word again) with discipline, but then decisively act with courage.
I’m not so sure that God has a plan for you so much as God has a plan period and invites you to participate joyfully in it… Or bruise yourself on it. [click to continue…]
Ronnie Blair spent a lifetime waiting for the perfect moment. And he never seemed to find it.
He waited to ask Lisa Crane to the Senior Prom. Ricky Styles beat him it to it. Now they’re married with two kids and a third one on the way.
He waited to apply for the college scholarship from his father’s employer; didn’t want to appear too eager, he said. He missed the deadline.
He waited for the perfect job to present itself upon graduation, and in the process passed up three good choices. He wound up taking an entry-level hourly position not even in his field.
He waited for the perfect time to ask Leanne Wilson to marry him, and to her it seemed as though he was afraid of commitment. They wound up possibly the only couple in town who got engaged as the result of an argument.
In Ronnie’s life, the pattern was always the same. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 24, 2011
in Ability, Consumers, Five LV Laws, Gamblers, Hoarders, Insight, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Increase
Think fast! What’s the difference between a test and a temptation?
Fast answer: Nothing.
Slower answer: One comes from the devil and one comes from the Lord. But did you know that the same Greek word is used for both? Check out these familiar words: [click to continue…]
The other day I found a smoking gun. And it’s still smoking.
It’s the greatest test of your character, hands down. Other than pride, it’s the most deceptive phenomenon we humans encounter because it takes so many hidden forms.
It’s the deceptive driver behind many of the ways we think, act, or speak. It’s often the reason we give up in the face of pressure, avoid caring for certain people, or keep a long memory of others’ offenses. It drives us to compare ourselves with others, point out others’ faults and weaknesses, or brag about ourselves to impress people. It leads us to lie to protect ourselves, assume the worst about the future, or treat people with suspicion or jealousy or just plain rudeness.
Yes, I’m talking about fear. And it can lead to some galactically stupid choices. I’ve had mine. You’ve probably had yours. Let’s pick on somebody else. [click to continue…]
I think I may have found the key to happiness, success, power, and the life you’ve always wanted. I’m not sure how I lived so long without recognizing it; from the looks of things, quite a few people have already figured it out. In fact, you may already be ahead of me on this.
The secret? Be completely in control of every aspect of your life and world.
There you have it. The results will speak for themselves.
No longer do you have to put up with displeasing people – you now will control them. No longer will you-know-who resist your wise ideas, visionary leadership, or impressive communication. You’re in charge. Say good-bye to disappointment, discouragement, rejection, financial pressure, TSA agents, time-wasting meetings, and even those unsightly blemishes.
In fact, research conducted through a grant from the Lifevesting Institute of Advanced Relationship Studies (LIARS for short) suggests that there are at least 12 strategies through which people ascend to such an advanced state of life ownership. Any one of these can take you to new heights. But when you combine these paths, the outcomes are staggering.
Well, somebody’s staggering, anyway.
Here are twelve pathways – twelve roles you can assume to take you to a state of Ultimate Grip Hold (UGH) on life – the last stage before the designation of Master of the Universe. If one doesn’t work for you, feel free to substitute for another. Or mix and match, if you like. [click to continue…]
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…]
It’s the creator’s fantasy…
…to use the tools of the trade – words or paint or dance or music – to design the ultimate masterpiece.
…to turn passion into such artistic cleverness and inspiration into such adoration that mountains move, easels grow dark, and all other voices remain silent, at least for a while.
…to write the song to end all songwriting, or the story that all other stories are compared to, or the verse that contains the finest content of the heart.
Never gonna happen.
The heart is too large to be reduced to words or rhymes or phrases or meter.
The soul is too powerfully changing to be framed by one snapshot of expression.
The imagination is too delighted in the dance of dreaming to stop with one image.
The inspiration is too elusive and awe-inspiring to ever satisfy the poet that his work is done.
The Creator whose image we bear is too interesting to be limited to our vision-of-the-moment.
So we have the choice… [click to continue…]
You wouldn’t have known from meeting Martha the first time that her life had been a sinking ship. Rewind from the near-poverty this single mother of two sons lived to the day she walked away from her “covering” – an abusive, controlling religious system. Go back a bit further to the time her minister husband left her for another woman. If you dare, rewind a bit more to the night she and her husband came home to find their third son, Matthew, dead in his crib from SIDS.
Life had not been kind. But you wouldn’t know it from the courageous smile, the ox-like willingness to work, and the radiant joy she had in her relationship with Jesus Christ. Sure, Martha had her moments, and could cry with the worst of ‘em. But a heart so captured by the grace of God will cling to it, even when everything else seems lost.
I once asked her why she didn’t just walk away, since loving and serving God had been so costly. I don’t remember any words – just the look on her face that let me know I had just asked the most absurd question possible.
A heart once captured will never let go. [click to continue…]
Ever hear of Harry Hartman?
Probably has the distinction of having the shortest major league baseball career ever.
Harry was a gifted Dodgers ballplayer whose day of glory arrived in 1918 when he was called up from the minors to pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This was the moment he’d dreamed about, the beginning of a great career!
But Harry’s dreams began to fade when his first pitch was hit for a single.
The next batter tripled.
He walked the next batter on four straight pitches, and when he did throw a strike to the next hitter, it went for a single.
At that point, Hartman had had enough. He headed for the showers, dressed, and walked out of the stadium to a naval recruiting office, where he enlisted. The next day, he was in a military uniform, never to be heard from in professional baseball again.
Safe to say, ol’ Harry left baseball with an itty bitty confidence problem. And the tragedy of it all? Harry was good enough. But he threw away his confidence, and never tried again. [click to continue…]
If you intend to be successful in any area of life, sooner or later you are going to have to have to fight for it. I wish I could tell you that being intentional (a popular darling word) was enough. But it isn’t.
