This is what everybody else sees.
This is what he sees.
It’s not just a difference of perspective… [click to continue…]
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Fatherhood
The room was completely remodeled.
New drywall, carpet and wallpaper with clowns and balloons.
New furniture filled the space.
New little outfits filled the drawers.
And diapers!
Oh my, the diapers. [click to continue…]
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As you probably could tell from the last post, we got to spend a week with three of our grandsons last week here at our house. You may or may not know that I also spend 95% of my working time at home.
Do you see a potential conflict there?
The week was predictably (and wonderfully) less-than-productive.
Routinely as I would try to “escape” to the bedroom or office to get some work done, one of them would find me. The sweetheart crawler, the scary-smart walker, and the funny, nonstop talker. One wanted me to hold him, one wanted me to see and notice him, and one wanted me to engage in conversation – endless, looped conversation. [click to continue…]
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Having a dreary day? Blues gotcha’ by the, um, big toe? This’ll cheer you up… just read Ecclesiastes.
“Meaningless, meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
Actually, it may not help your mood very much, except to remind you that it could be worse. (If that doesn’t work, try the book of Job. I hear it’s a big hit at parties.)
Anyway, Ecclesiastes, which means “the Preacher” was either written by King Solomon or by someone else to represent him. It essentially describes the reflections of a man who got everything in life that someone would want to have.
He had wisdom.
He had no shortage of money.
He had any pleasure his wandering heart would ever wish for.
He had the praise and adoration of people.
The one thing he didn’t seem to find in all of that was any meaning to it all. At the end of the day, he concludes, rich and poor, righteous and unrighteous, wise men and fools all wind up dead. And all the things you spend so much energy working on are passed on to people who didn’t work for them.
“What a waste,” he moans. “Vanity!”
There are some more hopeful things sprinkled throughout the book, such as remembering your Creator in the days of your youth, fearing God and keeping His commandments, and God making all things beautiful in His time.
But the main theme throughout the book is that while we live in a broken, freaked out world, the places we naturally resort to in order to make our lives easier or better, or the things we spend our lifetimes laboring for, are in the end a complete waste.
“I’ve had it all,” he says. “And it didn’t do what it promised to do.”
We’ve learned better, right?
Oh well. Poor Sol. Maybe if we had a thousand wives and concubines to please, a nation to run (which means taxes to collect), and bills to pay on that scale, maybe we’d be moaning, too. But we’re New Testament believers, right? [click to continue…]
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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…]
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“Joel Andrew Wood! I call you to walk with me in Integrity, Responsibility, and Accountability, and to join me in this community of men!”
There, through a line of tiki torches and a longer gauntlet of whooping, encouraging, cheering men walked my son. For fourteen years I had been his hero. Tonight he would be mine.
As he reached the end of the double line where I was standing, I placed a special necklace around his neck that he has to this day. Then I turned him to face those men and said some of the most powerful words I have ever spoken: “Gentlemen, this is Joel Andrew Wood, my son, in whom I am well pleased.”
I have always lived with the honor of walking in my own father’s unconditional favor – even when he didn’t always approve of my choices. On this night 11 years ago, I had the greater honor of publicly declaring that same kind of blessing over my son.
A Fatherless, Manless Culture
Ours may be the only culture that has no formal point where a boy becomes a man. [click to continue…]
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Corie, Carrie, Cassie, and Kara on the Charles Bridge in Prague, 2005. All were back together again for Kara's wedding this weekend in Ft. Worth.
1. Yes indeed, a washer and dryer will fit inside a conversion van if you take the middle seats out.
2. Driving said conversion van automatically lowers your driver’s IQ by about 30 points.
3. Apparently I was right at home; Dallas/Ft. Worth was the host to an Idiot Drivers Convention this weekend.
4. If a nighttime idiot driver in DFW makes you mad, it’s probably not a good idea to get behind him and turn on your bright lights.
5. If you make a nighttime idiot driver in DFW mad by turning on your bright lights in his mirror, and he decides to retaliate… for 15 minutes… it’s probably best just to declare him the winner. [click to continue…]
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Sometimes when God wants to reveal His heart to us, He communicates with words. But for folks like me, sometimes he has to draw a picture. I thought since Father’s Day is approaching, I would give you a glimpse into the gallery of my soul and show you a master Artist at work. . . .
The Bracelet
“Hold out your hand,” she said as I entered the room to kiss her good-night. With that, my daughter interrupted momentarily my nightly bedtime routine. “This is for you.” [click to continue…]
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Took a look at the funnies the other day. To be honest, I read them for the laughter. But I noticed something else in the process. Call me sensitive, or call me curious, but I was intrigued at the ways dads are presented. If it’s true that art imitates life, we may have some big problems. With fathers. With God. With ourselves.
Who is Father? According to the comics, he is Dagwood, the family calamity. He lives to sleep, or to eat, or to deal with the occasional salesman. He’s loveable, but always a little bit late, and about one brick shy of a load.
Who is Father? [click to continue…]
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(A Turning Point Story)
This is an article I first wrote about my son 16 years ago, about what a powerful thing encouragement can be. It means as much to me today, if not more, as it did in 1993. Click “share this” and forward it to the encouragers in your life. Thank them for being your “Face in the Window.” And let somebody know you’ll be theirs….
It was one of those forgettable days, when nothing seemed to go right. I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. The summer heat was unbearable, the humid West Alabama air unbreatheable. But I had to bear it, and I had to breathe it on this day.
Name a pitiful emotion – I’m sure I felt it on that day. Rejection, anger, discouragement, depression, loneliness, fear, shame – they all showed up with the intention of staying.
“Nobody needs you,” they said. “And nobody believes in you.”
It was a day of giving. Normally that rejuvenates me, but not today. On this Saturday, I had given time, love, and tenderness, together with a whole lot of physical energy. I had given my best (I thought). Apparently, others had disagreed, and I had been humiliated in front of a large family gathering.
I was spent. I would say that I came home with my tail tucked between my legs, but honestly I don’t think I was standing that tall.
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