Gifts

How Comfortable Are You With Grace?

by Andy Wood on October 12, 2011

in Allocating Your Resources, Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance

I can’t get this picture out of my head.  It’s from Stuff Christians Like, by Jonathan Acuff.  Jon describes a scene that took place at the ice cream bar at Chuck E. Cheese when he was in the second grade.

I remember when I was in the second grade watching a fifth grader fall apart at the ice cream bar. The problem he faced was that the hot dog bar was right next to it. While was waiting in line I watched him take a big bowl of pristine white soft serve vanilla ice cream and approach the first condiment dispenser. He pressed down hard and out came a serving of mustard.

It was all over his ice cream and he looked down at it with complete and utter devastation. I felt bad for him but out of nowhere a Chuck E. Cheese employee jumped in and said, “Here, that’s okay. Here’s a new bowl of ice cream. That’s okay. Here you go; have some new ice cream.”

I’ll never forget that little boy’s face as he looked up at the employee and down at his ruined bowl of ice cream. He was so ashamed at what he had done, so embarrassed that he had put mustard on it that he paused and then told the employee, “I’m fine. I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. I’m fine.” And then he started to stir the mustard into the ice cream.

He tried as hard as he could to mix that bright yellow mustard into the bright white vanilla ice cream. Finally it all became this pale emo-yellow-colored mush. He looked back up and then returned to his table, presumably to choke down his mustard ice cream.

What the kid didn’t understand was that when someone purchased his trip to the ice cream bar, they were giving him unlimited access to the ice cream maker.  But in his mind and world, “the ice cream is free, but the rest is up to me.”

Reminds me of me.  And many Christians I know. [click to continue…]

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The Myth of the Early Christmas Shopper

by Andy Wood on November 27, 2009

in Consumers, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers

BestBuyblackfridayQ. – Dad, why do you wait until Christmas Eve to do your Christmas Shopping?

A. – Because the stores are closed on Christmas Day.

Christmas has its own unique mashup of truth and myths, and every year somebody ultimately brings up both.  I was asked on one occasion what my favorite Christmas myth was.  I’d like to share my reply with you.

My favorite Christmas myth has nothing to do with Nativity scenes, jolly little fat men, or reindeer with nuclear sinus infections.

It has to do with people. [click to continue…]

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When God Invades Your Passion

by Andy Wood on July 29, 2009

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase

CraftsmanshipHaving a son soon?  Still pondering the little guy’s name?  Here’s one for ya – name him after that famous guy in the Bible.  Call him Bezalel.

Here’s the press release from Moses:

See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work. He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs (Exodus 35:30-36).

Did you see that?  Here was a man who was anointed and pointed, fired and wired by the Holy Ghost!

For construction.  Did you know that God can supernaturally fill you with a love and passion for things that get your hands dirty? [click to continue…]

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Ten Ideas for “Giving Up” Your Holidays

by Andy Wood on November 18, 2008

in Life Currency

We’re giving up Christmas this year.  Thanksgiving, too.  And if I have my way, New Year’s day will follow suit.

It all started with a meeting by our Creative Team at the church.  The conversation was about what to do this holiday season.  What’s on people’s minds?  What are they thinking/planning for the holidays, especially Christmas?

As the conversation flowed, it followed themes such as people who were giving in to discouragement, fear, and despair because of the e-word.  Also, one couple talked about giving out to charity instead of buying family a bunch of stuff they didn’t particularly want or need.

We talked about how Christmas has become jacked up because of the demands and expectations we place on it – how it’s supposed to magically solve all our problems or bring some sort of enchantment to our otherwise unhappy lives.

We talked about the pressure to make Christmas tricked up – raising the materialistic bar year in and year out.  We’ve been keeping up with the Joneses, only to discover that we are the Joneses.

We talked about how, biblically, God one-upped Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist.  God always seems to be able to out-give, out-serve, out-surprise the greatest acts of our service or obedience.

And we talked about the ultimate Gift – offered up by God to a world too busy to care.

So, our theme for Christmas is, Give It Up!  Before you give in or give out, give up!  That’s exactly what God did with His Son.  Now He awaits your response.

But why wait for Christmas Day?  Why not start now, in the Thanksgiving season, to offer up our lives, first to God, then to others?  For many of us, this will be an opportunity, albeit unwelcome, to really discover that it’s not about the toys and trinkets as much as it is about the love, the joy, the life, and the service we offer up.  So in that spirit, I thought I’d share ten ways you can give to others in life-affirming ways for little or no money.  I would encourage you to do some or all of these things, regardless of your financial status. [click to continue…]

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The Encourager’s Creed

by Andy Wood on December 16, 2007

in Esteem, Love

Encouragement 3
Today and every day I will offer the most elegant gift another human can receive: the gift of encouragement. I will recognize that my gift is theirs to receive or to refuse, and that it comes with no expectations or demands.

Today and every day:

I will give the lonely a reason to believe in companionship again. And in so doing, I will banish loneliness from my own heart forever.

I will give the open-hearted a reason to grow – to expand their knowledge or their experience, their character or their self-confidence. And in so doing, I will discover paths of my own growth I never knew existed.

I will give the dreamer a reason to achieve – to accomplish a major step toward a goal or project. And in so doing, I will find myself closer to my own dreams than ever.

I will give the sojourner a reason to feel connected – to God, to self, to me. And in so doing, I will embark on my own wondrous journey of intimacy.

I will give my coworkers a reason to say, “Thank You,” but I will not demand that it be said. And in so doing, I will experience the exhilaration of true teamwork.

I will give the ordinary a reason to feel respected. And in so doing, I will possess greater respect from myself and from others.

I will give the solemn a reason to laugh or smile. And in so doing, I will be reminded again not to take myself too seriously.

I will give the decision-maker a reason to say, “Yes” with enthusiasm, or, “No” with courage. And in so doing I will be delivered from my own inaction.

I will give the weary a reason to go on, refusing to quit. And in so doing I will sow the seeds of my own prevailing strength.

I will give the apathetic a reason to be passionate about the things that really matter. And in so doing, I will face the trivial and meaningful in my own life.

I will give the cautious a reason to get out of that dull routine and live a little. And in so doing I will protect my own spirit from stagnation.

I will give the cynic a reason to believe the world is a beautiful place. And in so doing, I will rediscover for myself the splendor of the grand and the grace of the simple.

Most of all, I will recognize that this day is a gift to me. Today and every day I will take the time to encourage the encourager. I will recognize that my greatest gifts become available to others only when I offer them first to myself and to my God.

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