Pleasers

Fools at the Finish Line: Six Ways to Undermine your Legacy

by Andy Wood on May 4, 2009

in Consumers, Five LV Laws, Gamblers, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Pleasers, Principle of Legacy, Protecting Your Investment

runner-painI went to the Fred Flintstone School of Golf.  Simple philosophy:  when in doubt, hit the ball really hard.  When not in doubt, hit the ball really hard.

Maybe you’ve heard that old saying about golf – “You drive for show, and putt for dough.”  Suffice it to say, I’ve never made any money hitting a ball in a hole with a stick.  I have, however, put on a show or two by hitting a ball off a stick.

All of that is fine and fun, so long as you’re dealing with woods and wedges.  Life, however, is a different story.  A mere proverb in the Gentleman’s Game is brutal reality in the real world:

It’s not how you drive, but how you arrive.

Not how you start, but how you finish.  Magilla Gorilla and Fred Flintstone need not apply.

Life is filled with real and proverbial stories of people who started well, but finished poorly.  Rather than leaving a heritage, with inspiring and ennobling footsteps to follow, their names and stories are relegated to footnotes and questions that begin with, “Whatever happened to…”?

It’s up to you.  Will you be a driver, or an arriver?  I must warn you, if you decide to go the distance, the deck is stacked against you.  This is a marathon, not a dash, and you’re surrounded by gloriously mediocre runners and a grandstand full of fat critics.  But you do have a Coach – the Lord Jesus, Author and Finisher of your faith. Under His direction, you’ll learn to identify these six fool makers and finish breakers: [click to continue…]

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The Grasshopper’s Dilemma

by Andy Wood on April 17, 2009

in Allocating Your Resources, Consumers, Enlarging Your Capacity, Executing Your Plan, Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Gamblers, Hoarders, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Money, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance, Protecting Your Investment, Waiting

grasshopperThis week a friend sent me a poignant and compelling image that describes what it’s like to live in a climate or with a spirit of fear.  But the image is so strong, I think it describes anybody who feels as though they are in a no-win situation.

I feel like a grasshopper on the ocean hanging onto a leaf.  I cling to the leaf to keep from drowning.  If I eat the leaf to keep from starving, I lose my life preserver, and drown.

I’ll tell you later what he learned in the process.  But can you relate? [click to continue…]

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Who Keeps Score on Your Success?

by Andy Wood on April 8, 2009

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Pleasers, Principle of Legacy

generations-3“Something’s wrong with your work.” The conversation eventually landed there.

A member of the denomination’s hierarchy delivered the critical review to a faithful old pastor during a prescribed periodic evaluation.

“Only one convert has been added to your church this year, and he is only a boy,” the boss said.

Later that same day, the pastor languished alone in his study, praying with a heavy heart, when someone walked up behind him. [click to continue…]

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The Glory, Honor, and Beauty of Being Different

by Andy Wood on February 12, 2009

in 100 Words, Esteem, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers

Somewhere in a sea of uniformity, a yellow tulip stands alone.

Exquisite… but doubtless convinced that “different” means “ugly.”

Ask this amber wonder for any wish – it will openly yearn to be “normal.”

Never again to be viewed as a mistake, or a freak.

And yet, wish granted, all that remains is a sea of red.

Beautiful… but hardly remarkable.

To dress as no other is the honor of the bride.

To sing as no other is the glory of the nightingale.

To live, give, and love as no other is the beauty of a heart freed by grace.

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Teaching Nodians to Trust Again

by Andy Wood on February 11, 2009

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Pleasers

Bringing Hope to the Land of Nod (Part 3)

1.  Reconnect the spiritual with the interpersonal.
2. Expose anger for what it is, and provide a model for forgiveness.
3.  Respond to Victimhood by Redefining Responsibility

4.  Reopen doors of trust and acceptance.

group-prayerEvery vibrant relationship is a dance with trust.  As the relationship deepens, so does the trust.  As the trust grows, the relationship deepens even more.

That said, it’s easy to see why the citizens of Nod have an itty bitty trust issue.  “Fool me once,” and all that.

Do people trust you?  The challenge we face in being instruments of healing is that trust, once broken, is incredibly difficult to restore.  Yet without it, hearts remain crippled and closed off.

Our goal for the citizens of Nod is to lead them to do more than survive.  We believe God wants them to thrive. [click to continue…]

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Speaking the Truth, Speaking in Love, Speaking Nothing at All

by Andy Wood on January 22, 2009

in Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Words

truth-loveThis is about the difference between creeds and deeds.  Action and diction.  Your words and your walk.

I’m assuming if you’re reading this that you want to be known and respected as a man or woman of truth.  That may be a big assumption, of course, since it’s possible that you went to bed last night with the happy memory of somebody you conned.

But if you’re a believer, God has placed a desire in your heart to please Him, and truth is one of the things that does that.  So is love.  So it’s no surprise that the Bible describes spiritual maturity as the fine art of “speaking the truth in love.”

And it is a fine art.  What do you do when words and wishes collide?  What do you say when your honest thoughts and feelings aren’t very loving?

Years ago I was sitting in a therapy group, where a couple of people were talking about their “inner child” and their “inner adolescent.”  It was a poignant discussion by some people who were sincerely seeking healing and growth.  But I couldn’t help but think, “My problem isn’t my inner child, or my inner adolescent.  My problem is with my inner jackass.”

I figured it would be better to stay quiet.  Love?  Maybe.  Self-protection?  No doubt about it.  I said it best when I said nothing at all.

The greatest love tends to show up in the fewest words.  [click to continue…]

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Obamawood Meets Andywood

by Andy Wood on January 21, 2009

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

inaugurationOkay, surely this is just a coincidence.

During the days of the Carter administration, “Carter Country” was a popular sitcom.  Reagan’s presidency produced a number of “this-guy’s-gonna-get-us-killed” movies about nuclear war, including “The Day After.”  The Clinton years gave us record numbers of movies made about the U.S. President – including “Dave,”  “Wag the Dog,” and “Primary Colors.”  And the Bush years produced a mixed bag of spiritual themes (“Chronicles of Narnia,” “Lord of the Rings Trilogy,” and “The Passion of the Christ”) and war-on-terrorism flicks and shows like “The Unit.”

So President Obama takes the oath yesterday.  And what’s the first new TV rollout, starting tonight?

“Lie to Me.”

No relation whatsoever, I’m sure.

Here are my favorite two quotes from yesterday: [click to continue…]

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Eight Ways to Rebuild Your Gaps

by Andy Wood on October 28, 2008

in Ability, Allocating Your Resources, Consumers, Enlarging Your Capacity, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Money, Pleasers, Time

Here’s a little exercise we actually take worship service time to practice occasionally.  Follow the instructions carefully (yes, I mean I want you to actually do this):

  • Take a deep breath
  • Let out half of it.
  • Hold
  • Smile
  • Repeat the following out loud, in a calm soothing voice:

“No.”

Repeat this exercise regularly, just for practice, and as needed in live game situations.

Not, “No because…”

Not, “Maybe later…”

Not, “Let me pray about it…”

Certainly not, “See if you can find somebody else, and if you can’t, I’ll see what I can do.”

Learning to graciously, kindly refuse is one of eight steps to building or rebuilding margin in your life.  Margin has to do with creating gaps – cushions of time, money, energy, or spiritual strength that act as living shock absorbers for those who have them.

Imagine how it could revolutionize your attitude, relationships, productivity, and health if the next time somebody says, “Got a minute?” you actually do! [click to continue…]

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How to Burn Yourself Out in Three Quick and Easy Steps

by Andy Wood on October 27, 2008

in Ability, Consumers, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, Money, Pleasers, Time

We pass a word around our office that my associate once used to describe me, and it stuck:  Crispy.

He used it a few years ago when he and our office manager decided they’d seen enough of me in the state I was in and informed me that I was taking my wife on an R & R trip to the mountains.  My reservations had been made, and they weren’t taking “no” for an answer.

I hope to God you have somebody who looks out for you like that.  I wasn’t aware of how emotionally and physically fried I was.  The sad truth about stress, crispiness, and burnout is that often others see their effects on us before we do.

It wasn’t the first time I’ve been crispy, and it probably won’t be the last.  But there’s a further step that can be devastating.  Burnout, in a clinical sense, means you have completely exhausted every form of energy necessary to continue.  More than just losing interest (“I’m sort of burned out on jazz these days”), I’m talking about those times people go to their wells and find them completely dry.  Times when people shock those who know them best by walking away from relationships, careers, or wisdom.

“Stress makes people stupid,” a management consultant once told Daniel Goldman. Burnout reveals it to the world.

So how do people get in such a state – past stress, past crispy, all the way to emotionally nuked?  Let me suggest three quick and easy recipes for complete emotional, mental, or spiritual exhaustion: [click to continue…]

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A Product of Grace

by Andy Wood on August 1, 2008

in Five LV Laws, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Eternity

(This is a piece I wrote a few years ago after meditating on 1 Corinthians 15:10.  It amazed me how quickly the words came, and it always seems to get a surprising (to me) response.  I recently received a very nice note about it from someone I’ve never met.  Since I’m traveling today, I thought I’d share it with you.  I hope it’s an encouragement.  And, of course, if you are encouraged by it, I would be encouraged if you would encourage somebody else with it by clicking “Share This” below.  Most of all, I hope you can say it’s your testimony, too.)

I am a product of grace.

No measure of performance could ever achieve in a lifetime

what the grace of God performed in an instant.

No failure to perform could erase

what the Spirit of God has completed for all of eternity.

I am a product of grace.

No nod of any human’s approval could compare with the fulfillment, the joy,

the wonder of knowing my Heavenly Father has turned His face toward me.

No amount of mortal rejection can change the fact that my Lord God

has made me accepted in the Beloved.

I am a product of grace.

No sin of the past, no matter how grave,

can resist the transforming power of a Risen Lord.

No future failure can change the fact that I am an heir of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ.

I am a product of grace.

No situation, no pain, no frustration can rob me of my hope.

No force without or within can deny or change the fact that I am a new creation in Christ –

that every old thing is passed away and everything has become new.

I am a product of grace.

And grace never sleeps.  It never gets tired or weak, old or crippled.

It’s as new as the sunrise, and as powerful today as it was the first Easter.

Grace is my testimony and I its trophy.  There is never a time when grace is not

covering my sin or revealing me as God’s work of art.

I am a product of grace.  And I have a story to tell.

Once I was lost, but now I’m found.

Marvelous!

Once I was blind, but now I see.

Infinite!

Once I was afraid, now I am at peace.

Matchless!

I am what I am.  That’s grace.

But I am not yet what I will be.  That, too, is grace.

Oh, how amazing!

Grace.

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