Love

The Only Dream that Matters

by Andy Wood on January 10, 2011

in Following Your Passion, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle

It was one of those eye-opening days, I guess.  Back to school time for me.  I was living north of Dallas, and still involved in youth ministry.  I taught a Monday night Bible Study that served as the centerpiece of the ministry, and on this particular night I passed out blank paper with a special request:  List, in order, the five things it would take to make you perfectly happy.

How would you answer that?

I really thought I knew what the answers would be – a lot of selfish stuff like cars, a driver’s license, money, or popularity.  But what I heard taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.  Here are some of their actual answers: [click to continue…]

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My Christmas Prayer for You

by Andy Wood on December 25, 2010

in Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Abundance, Waiting

Wherever you may find yourself this Christmas – in prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, laughter or tears, togetherness or solitude – I pray that you will experience the same sense of wonder, gratitude, and grace (and more) that I have found. 

I pray that in the midst of all you call blessings, you experience the beauty of knowing the miracle of being loved in this life – deeply, fully, completely…

That the evening shadows and stars remind you of the one star that mattered most and the Spirit behind it, guiding those who sought Jesus to discover His presence, and to miss Herod’s schemes…

That as heaven and nature sing of the glory of God, the mountains you face only serve as reminders that they are no match for the love He has shown you in His coming and His care…

That Jesus, our Emmanuel, would manifest His faithful awareness and presence and the miracle that takes place when God and sinners are reconciled in love and grace…

That whether you hear His voice in a prayer or a song, a promise or a still small voice, that you would truly hear it – and that as He sings over you, you would taste and see that the Lord is good,  His mercy everlasting, and His truth endures forever to you and yours…

That joyfully and triumphantly, you would live in anticipation and adoration of the Word of the Father who appeared in flesh, and that you would not for one moment miss the opportunity to invest your life in what He is still doing today…

That in the silence of the night or the newness and glory of the morning, you would experience again and again the coming of the King – with the promise that the One who lit the sky once will split the sky when He comes again to claim you…

That the nearness and tender care of the Lord Jesus would carry you through the seasons of loss and the memories of those you miss this Christmas season…

And that the Carpenter’s son who built a bridge of goodness and light will find you waiting, however long it takes, for the day He returns.

Merry Christmas!

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The Gift of Being There

by Andy Wood on December 8, 2010

in Life Currency, Love

It’s a common exchange, repeated in restaurants, homes, and shopping malls everywhere…

“Oh there you are!  I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“I’ve been right here the whole time.”

Life gives us seasons – and this is one of them – when we are reminded that the greatest blessings come in the form of the simple happiness of relationships.  Working together.  Enjoying down time together.  Praying together.  Simply enjoying the Gift of Being There…

It’s one of the most common prayer requests you’ll hear, especially for someone who’s going though “the stuff.”  The theology is a little strange, because somebody’s asking God to do what He is already doing.  But we all sort of know what it means:  “Lord, be with them during this time.”  We’re asking God to give someone else the Gift of Being There.

I can’t think of a more God-like expression of generosity, grace, and love than what some people call “the ministry of presence.”   [click to continue…]

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The Veteran

by Andy Wood on November 12, 2010

in LV Stories

I showed up at the gym yesterday, ready to tangle again with Jacobs Ladder, its newest chamber of horrors, among other things.  Just as I hit the sidewalk, I passed an older couple getting out of their car.  “Older” as in mid-to-late sixties, I suppose.

There was something different about him.  Maybe it was that he moved with a straighter, more invigorated gait than other men his age.  Maybe it was the intentionally-tight silver buzz haircut.  Maybe it was the black Army t-shirt he wore – something similar to the one pictured here.

“Stop,” said that little voice inside my head.  (You have one too… you may want to pay more attention.)

A bit out of character for me in places like this, I paused to ask:  “Are you a veteran?”

His already-alert face lit up as he helped his wife to the curb.  “Yes, I am,” he smiled. [click to continue…]

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Storming the Gates of Loneliness

by Andy Wood on October 11, 2010

in Esteem, Life Currency, Love

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” (Carl Jung) 

In an eastern hospital years ago, a group of medical students were doing a pediatric rotation.   As they worked with these hospitalized kids each day, they noticed that the patients responded with great joy to one particular med student.  Nobody could figure out why.  So they talked one of their cohort members into doing a little spying. 

The observer followed him around all day and discovered nothing.  Finally that night, the mystery was solved when the young doctor made his last round. [click to continue…]

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Playing to the Standard

by Andy Wood on September 27, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Gamblers, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Protecting Your Investment, Time

Halftime, Durham, North Carolina.  The Duke Blue Devils have just scored the first touchdown that top-ranked Alabama has surrendered in two-and-a-half games. 

Not exactly a moment to panic, however.  Alabama leads at the half, 45-13.

Cue the halftime interview with Coach Nick Saban.  “Coach,” Sideline Babe says, “Were you upset about giving up your first touchdown of the season?”

“I don’t care about the touchdown,” Saban replies.  “I’ve just been talking to our guys about playing to a standard.”

Fast-forward one week.  Halftime again.  This time, nobody wearing white and crimson was strutting to the locker room.  The defending national champions are trailing a very strong Arkansas Razorbacks team in Fayetteville 17-7, and it’s no fluke.  These Hogs are good, and Bama’s looking rough.

Somebody… not namin’ names here… but somebody woke somebody up.  Final Score:  Alabama 24, Arkansas 20.

After the game, Coach Nick had this to say:

“I want them to remember what it’s like not playing the way you’re capable of playing, not playing with the intensity and focus you need to have. We have a standard we want to play to, we want to play to it all the time. We certainly didn’t get that done in the first half.”

Another Clock is Counting Down

Football is not the only place where the clock is ticking toward zero.  [click to continue…]

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Passing Sighs of the Longing Heart

by Andy Wood on September 10, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Waiting

I still miss her sometimes.  Pity I’m so busy I don’t miss her more.  For me it’s mostly in passing sighs… Like now.  (-From my journal a couple of days ago, referring to my mother, who died earlier this year.)

Heard any sermons on longing lately?

I doubt it.

In spite of the fact that it’s such a common experience, and one that is treated a surprising number of times in the Bible, “Dealing with Longing” doesn’t typically generate offerings, baptisms, or slick series brochures from the local worship establishment.

And yet it’s there… right in plain sight.  The Bible’s own version of “Miss You Like Crazy.”

Paul wrote those wild child Corinthians a pretty dress-you-down letter (we call it 1 Corinthians).  Their response?  They turned their hearts, and longed to see Paul.  His reply?  Same thing.  [click to continue…]

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All Loves Excelling

by Andy Wood on September 2, 2010

in Life Currency, Love

The morning sun comes calling a bit later here because of where we sit in the time zone.  But even here in a West Texas version of suburbia, it can be a glorious reminder of the comfort and love of its Creator. 

I realize that most of us, Christians included, live in awe of the Grand Gesture – those spectacular moments in time that define a life, a love, a generation.  After all, nobody ever made a movie about taking out the trash.  And we don’t have to look very far to find that in the Lord.  The cross of Jesus will forever stand as God’s Grand Gesture.

But it’s in the daily expressions of faithfulness and regular reminders of His care that God’s love is most personally experienced.  If, of course, we take the time to notice.  To listen.  To watch.

And so this morning, like most mornings, that’s what I’m doing.  [click to continue…]

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The Buoyant Heart

by Andy Wood on August 23, 2010

in Ability, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Waiting

“Sure I may be tuckered, and I may give out, but I won’t give IN!”  (Molly Brown, from “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) 

We spend a lot of time thinking about sinking. 

In the mental and spiritual circles I travel in, we focus a lot on discouragement, sadness, grief and such.  The most-read article I have written this year is titled, “The Sinking Soul.”

And for good reason.  We live in a broken world.  Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted.  A significant part of the New Testament was written to people who face severe, mind-numbing hostility and pain.  And left to our own devices, the devil has sinking souls for breakfast.

But maybe it’s time for a different look.  [click to continue…]

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Choosing Your Mistakes: Something I Need to Say Before I Die

by Andy Wood on April 22, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Legacy, Tense Truths, Time

In the course of this short year so far, I have been reminded suddenly, and sometimes rudely, how short life can be, and how there are no guarantees of the things or people we tend to take for granted in this world.

I have also been reminded that life is filled with the potential to make mistakes.  Sometimes those mistakes arise out of misguided values.  Sometimes out of boneheaded stubbornness.  Sometimes mistakes arise out of good things taken too far in self-serving directions.  Often those mistakes come when we lose our sense of balance.

I’ve thought a lot lately about how short life is, and frankly, sometimes how much shorter that I wish it could be.  Hillsong United’s “Soon” sure sounds appealing: [click to continue…]

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