To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
There are two basic ways to pray for somebody. There are “issue” kinds of prayers, and there are “always” kinds of prayers. When somebody asks you to pray for his Uncle Jack because he’s having gallbladder surgery Monday, that’s an issue prayer. It starts with the reason, or the issue.
Always prayers are different. [click to continue…]
Pam is a worrier. She knows she isn’t supposed to, but her underlying insecurity tends to frame every thought or situation in terms of what’s the worst thing that can happen. When people tell her it’s a sin to worry, she just worries more about that. She would like some joy in her life, but after a couple of times being burned or disappointed, she feels the need to protect herself from pain.
Pam is living in the tension of a core conflict. And so is her boss, Alex.
Alex lives his life in pursuit of excellence. Work excellence. Play excellence. Family excellence. Financial excellence. Your excellence if you get close enough. The problem is that everything has to be so excellent that most times nothing is. Because Alex can’t settle for ordinary in anything, he’s haunted by mediocrity in everything.
Alex is living in the tension of a core conflict. And so is his sister, Teri.
Teri is one of the walking wounded. Her life has been a vicious cycle of injury, followed by failure, followed by injury, followed by failure again. It seems that whenever she’s working on forgiving somebody else, she becomes haunted by her own past sins or consequences. These past mistakes and conflicts have left her fearful of trusting and shy of trying anything or anyone new in her life. She knows her version of “playing it safe” is only adding to the sadness. But she’d rather have a sad heart than a seared one.
Teri is living in the tension of a core conflict. And so is her son, Will. [click to continue…]
(Giveaway alert: Keep reading to learn how you can win a free copy of John Smoltz’s new book, Starting and Closing.)
When I was in Virginia Beach a couple of weeks ago, I had a happy surprise. That Sunday afternoon I watched the Braves finish off a sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis in what may be their last win of the season. I especially enjoyed having a chance to hear John Smoltz as one of the broadcasters. I told my son later how impressed I was that this man, who our whole family has enjoyed as a professional athlete, had brought that same professionalism (and humor) to the broadcast booth.
Imagine my surprise when I’m roaming the hotel at midnight in search of something not made by Pepsi, and there, 928 miles from St. Louis, is John Smoltz, having a midnight burger and fries.
“Andy!” he said. “How long has it been?”
“Forever, dude!” I replied. “I just saw you on TBS this afternoon! What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for an interview in the morning. Hey, I heard you spoke at the Servant Leadership Roundtable. How’d it go?”
“It went well, I think.”
“That’s awesome. Hey, I’ve been keeping up with the LifeVesting blog. I read it every chance I get.”
“Seriously? Man, that’s awesome. Did you tell Tommy we named our cat after him?”
“Yeah, he thinks that’s hilarious. Says you ought to name your next dog after Maddux and call him Mad Dog.”
+++++++
Okay, so… um… it didn’t exactly go like that. [click to continue…]
Watch the video, then let’s talk (yeah, that’s me doing the voiceover).
Here’s a bit of thoughtful Bible trivia for you: what was it that enabled David to kill the giant, Goliath?
There are a number of possible answers, of course. A rock in the middle of the forehead was certainly helpful. David’s faith in God was essential. His skill and courage were an asset.
But I believe there was one catalyst that made David stand out among the armies of Israel. In a badly-translated King James verse, David asked his brother, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29).
[click to continue…]
When the armies of Napoleon swept over Europe, one of his generals intended to make an attack on the little town of Feldrich on the Austrian border. It was Easter, and as Napoleon’s great army maneuvered nearby, the citizens hurried together to decide whether to surrender or to attempt a defense, futile as it seemed the effort would be.
The pastor of the church remarked, “We have been counting on our own strength, and that will fail. This is the day of our Lord’s resurrection. Let us ring the bells and have service as usual, and leave the matter in God’s hands.” The council accepted his plan, and in a few minutes the bells were chiming out joy over their Lord’s resurrection.
Napoleon’s army misunderstood the meaning of the ringing bells, decided they were announcing the arrival of Austrian reinforcements, broke camp and retreated from the area as fast as possible! God honored those who worshipped the risen Christ even in the presence of possible death, and used their worship to drive away the enemy!
An old book title says it well: There’s Dynamite in Praise!
If there is any greater untapped resource than prayer among God’s people today, it is praise. [click to continue…]
You don’t have to read through this site very long to figure out that music flavors a lot of my thinking. I often tell people that I almost always have a song on my mind, and it’s often very random. (I’d rather not tell you what song is there right now, but it does have the phrase “freakin weekend” in it).
Hey, I never said they were all spiritual.
Anyway…
Like a lot of people, I love the idea of new ways of expressing things – of what the Bible calls “singing a new song to the Lord.” And I get tired pretty quickly of rehashing the same-old same-old.
That said, there are some songs that defy time and never seem to lose their place in the hearts of people. They may not be on this week’s Billboard Top 100, but they never lose their ability to capture the imagination and connect to the soul. They’re the songs we can sing forever.
For example, my grandmother absolutely loved music. She loved to sing it, play it, and hear it. But something completely changed in her countenance when somebody started in on “Amazing Grace.” It was a song she could sing forever. [click to continue…]
As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I was blessed to have a father who actually wanted to be a dad and inspired me to want to be one. I’m even more blessed to have three adult children who also wanted to be parents. This video was my son’s beautiful way of expressing that, and I wanted you to see it. It’s only two minutes long, but I think you’ll agree it’s worth the time. (If you’re seeing this on the email or RSS feed, you may have to click on a link either to the embedded video or to the post title).
I have included his script below. [click to continue…]
We live in a disposable culture. “Old” has been redefined by phone companies in terms of seconds, and kommitment has been karikatured by kertain kelebrities as a multimillion-dollar hoax. And in a culture where the official religion is the Church of Relative Truth, disposing of beliefs or vows is old news.
Science has made recycling possible, but we’ve taken the plunge with some things – and people – that never should have been “cycled” in the first place. It’s one thing to recycle McDonald’s napkins; recycling children is another story. And some people recycle relationships with little more care than they might recycle motor oil or a milk jug.
Of course, some things should be disposed of, either because they’ve satisfied their purpose or because they hinder our growth and progress. Henry Cloud, in his must-read book Necessary Endings, says,
“Getting to the next level always requires ending something, leaving it behind, and moving on. Growth demands that we move on. Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.”
We can’t be free to let go, however, until we have some clear life anchors – those beliefs, relationships, and commitments that keep us grounded and pointed in the right direction. Simply put, there are some things you should never let go of. The question is, how do you know what to throw away and what to keep? What’s the difference between a relationship or belief that serves as an anchor and one that is more like a ball-and-chain?
Here’s where I would start in your search for life anchors: [click to continue…]
Yes, this is me mocking my grandson. Or maybe Cason's mocking me. Hmmm.
Tucked away in the third stanza of a familiar hymn, Fannie Crosby penned these lines that were years ahead of her time:
Down in the human heart, Crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore.
Except for the grace of God, every single one of us will go to our graves feeling guilty about our feelings. Can you relate to any of these?
- “I didn’t love my mother enough.”
- “I hate my father.”
- “I don’t like being a mother.”
- “I will never forgive her as long as I live.”
- “I love one of my children more than the other.”
- “Why can’t he just die?”
One person has said, “Emotions are what we have the most of, and know the least about.” One of the longest, and most frustrating searches that many people have is why do I feel the way I feel, and what can I do about it?
On the other hand, some people (stupidly) dismiss all that and passively allow themselves to be led around by their feelings as if they are helpless to do anything about them. Ever hear something like this? [click to continue…]
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…]
