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…]
Life is filled with plenty of things worth waiting for…
The answer to a prayer…
The fulfillment of a promise…
The completion of a process….
The realization of a dream…
These and many more are examples of the rewards of waiting for what is precious.
That said, there is one thing that isn’t worth the wait – now or ever. [click to continue…]
I know what you’re thinking right now.
You’re thinking, “No you don’t!”
I know… scary isn’t it?
Know what’s even scarier? Anybody who knows you at all can follow you around for a week and know what you’ve been thinking for the past year. That’s based, of course, on the biblical principle, “As he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).
Your life today is the result of your thinking. It may not always affect your circumstances, but it always affects your character. Your disposition. Your emotions. Your perceptions. Yes, your faith.
If you have any intention of designing a compelling future, it’s time to accept responsibility for the role your thoughts play in creating it. After all, your thoughts have produced the person you are right now.
That’s why the Bible gives such attention to your thoughts. Jesus said to love God with all your mind. Paul talks about renewing your mind, and not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought, but thinking soberly.
Recently I reread a familiar old verse and it rocked my world a little. [click to continue…]
Have you ever woken up first thing in the morning and realized you were in a museum?
And you were what was on display?
You may not have recognized the location at first because everything seemed so real. You were traveling through one mental display after another of your past life.
Names.
Faces.
Feelings.
Friends.
Sometimes the scenes are wistful and happy reminders of people and days gone by. Sometimes you’re reliving the glory days. But sometimes it plays out more like a horror movie or a disaster cleanup. It’s ugly – and you’re the reason.
It may be a new day on the outside, but in here you’re trapped in the old ones. [click to continue…]
Thanks for spending the money and manpower to tell us, not once but three times, what we already knew from the rattling and bouncing of our vehicles.
Is it too much to ask you to actually solve the problem?
I guess if you can’t amaze us with the outcomes, you can always astound us with the obvious.
Hmmm. [click to continue…]
Quick Question: What do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) do when trouble shows up?
Quick Answer: They do what you lead them to do.
More Thoughtful Question: Do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) run for the hills or cower in fear at the first sign of trouble, or do they courageously rise up to the challenge?
More Thoughtful Answer: They do what you lead them to do. Not necessarily what tell them to do or manipulate them to do. What you lead them to do.
That reminds me of a story. True story. About a guy named Eli. Now Eli was a soldier, and being a soldier, he had a Commander-in-Chief. And the reason Eli’s Commander-in-Chief was the Commander-in-Chief was because he was the biggest dude in all the land.
You know what the problem is with making the biggest dude in all the land the Commander-in-Chief? Sooner or later he’s gonna run into a bigger dude. And that’s what happened. Eli’s boss went quaking in his boots to the rear of the line because he was staring down the barrel of an overwhelming challenge.
So you know what Eli did? He quaked in his boots too. I’m talking, Give up now. Better fled than dead.
One day later – one day! – that’s Eli with his shield up, his sword drawn, charging headlong into the enemy’s camp and taking no prisoners. What made the difference? [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.
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…]
It usually starts in the fingers and toes. Then blitzes the middle of the back, radiating out from there.
It’s cold. Oh baby, it’s cold. And those extremities start to go into rebellion. They just…don’t… want… to… moooove.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Throw on the socks, wrap up in the blankie, and you’re still shivering. Body parts you usually ignore are sending you a signal – Do something now! Your ears – normally quite the lady or gentleman – are getting a bit irritate with all this. Your already-cold nose starts running – for cover.
Oh baby, it’s cold.
For relief, you look outside for some sunny encouragement. What you find are swelled up birds, vapor-blowing animals, and icicles on your icicles. The ground is so frozen that even with the howling wind (was that a chill that just ran up your back?), nothing moves. [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…]
Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them;
mere mortals, that you pay attention to us?
We are like a puff of wind;
our days are like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:3-4).
As this shadow passes across another year, what’s obvious on the playground becomes clearer in life: the further away from that initial push, the shorter the passes are.
So… [click to continue…]
How do you gauge success?
