I hated Ann Finch.
Three times she sent me to the principal’s office, and two of those times I emerged with a butt-on-fire.
One time she made me stay after school in an Ann-imposed detention. I lied to my mother and told her I needed to stay late because of band. When she picked me up, who should be walking out of the building but Miss Finch? She tattled on me, and then it was double trouble.
Once I ended the grading period with an 89.4 average. She gave me a “B” for the quarter. One lousy stinking tenth of a point! Too bad. She wouldn’t budge.
I liked Ann Finch.
Probably for the wrong reasons, but I liked her nonetheless. She was so easy to pick on. [click to continue…]
I want to take you to a place where, frankly, we aren’t invited. For just a minute, let’s be one of “those” people we often gripe about – those rubberneckers on the highway, who seem fascinated with somebody else’s messes.
In this case, we’re creeping up to a closed bedroom door, where on the other side, we can hear muffled sobs.
A man’s sobs.
A few days ago, somebody from home had rocked his world. The news was bad, and every ounce of optimism he once had was crushed.
You should have been here yesterday. He was really blubbering then. And he will be again tomorrow. Fasting, too. And praying. Lots of praying.
But as he cries and prays and cries and fasts and cries some more, something happens. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on October 28, 2009
in Ability, Consumers, Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance
Today I give up my small ambitions.
I will give thanks for the pleasures God has designed for me to enjoy,
But no longer will I allow my life to be driven by the pursuit of pleasure.
I will no longer sacrifice joy on the altar of happiness.
I will never again measure my success by my ability to escape pain.
Today I give up my small ambitions.
I will give thanks for the material blessings God entrusts to me,
But no longer will I associate money with happiness.
Never again will I believe the lie that gain is godliness,
Or that my worth is measured by what I own.
From this day forward, I will use things and love people,
Not the other way around.
Today I give up my small ambitions.
I will give thanks to God for the ways
I can be a blessing to others.
I will accept with humility
The words of gratitude and honor I receive from others.
But I will never again live to please other men.
Today I choose to get off the pedestal,
Knowing that I don’t have to live in the gutter to do so.
I will find my honor in being no more than a man,
But no less than a child of God.
Today I give up my small ambitions.
And instead, I reach for the stars.
I will spend my life in pursuit of my God-given destiny.
By His grace I will fulfill the purpose for which
I was created and redeemed by Christ.
By His love I will touch the lives of those He died for.
And by His power
I will span the breech between time and eternity.
From this day forward,
I will seek dreams as big as the heart of my God
And visions as great as the need of this world.
And though through human failure
I may never see all those dreams come true,
When I stand to face my Lord and my God,
I pray He will see a heart determined to do exploits for His glory.
Vision hurts.
Don’t believe me? Try dreaming about something that is exciting and important to you, only to be disappointed. But the alternative to vision isn’t much better. Instead of dreaming, you could play it safe. Be complacent. Wish for nothing and hit it every time.
Doesn’t sound like much of a choice, does it? Heartache or boredom. Tightrope with no net or treadmill with no hope. How do you make peace with your dreams? How do you keep from hating the whole process? How can you avoid “optiphobia” – the fear of vision?
Start with a little perspective. [click to continue…]
There are two places from which to dream – a place of frustration, or a place of contentment. Each has its own perspective and advantages.
Dreaming from a place of frustration is necessary, because without it, nothing would ever change. Dreaming from a place of contentment is necessary, because without it, nothing would ever remain rooted where it should be.
Dreaming from a place of frustration arms us with hope. Dreaming from a place of contentment coils us in faith.
Dreaming from a place of frustration helps define our boundaries. Dreaming from a place of contentment helps raise our standards. [click to continue…]
It’s time to dream again.
And in doing so, I will not content myself with yesterday’s progress.
I have seen my share of victories; I’ve won some battles, and maybe even a war or two.
But there are new victories to be won, and yesterday’s dreams will never achieve them.
When my greatest challenges are boredom and fatigue, I will rest in the womb of a new vision, and call forth even greater measures of faith and courage.
It’s time to dream again.
And in doing so, I will see beyond the road blocks and crashes. [click to continue…]
And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul (1 Samuel 20:17).
To give yourself willingly to meet another’s needs…
To protect God’s gifts and work in his life…
To risk being misunderstood, even by family, for her benefit…
To see in him, and invest in, the greatness of his destiny…
To show kindness, even to her children and beyond…
To see the hand and life of God as your ultimate bond…
THESE are the ways of a lifetime friend.
THIS is the heart of the soul mate.
(Reconciling Your Dreams with God’s Plan)
Once upon a time, a young man had a dream – a prophetic dream. He dreamed that he had two homes, his own boat, and would travel internationally and be a blessing to many people. This could only mean one thing! Obviously God was calling him into the business world, where he would make a lot of money and use his wealth to make the world a better place.
After seeking some counsel and getting confirmation that he was headed in the right direction, he changed his college major to business and prepared for a life of benevolent wealth management.
Then he met her. [click to continue…]
Have a dream? A vision of what could be, if only…? Do you have a vision of something greater to come, which you passionately long for? This past Saturday night, on what was as much a holiday weekend in Thailand as it was in the U.S., a visionary, passionate Christian leader taught me a priceless lesson about how God brings vision to reality. Here’s how I described it, straight out of my journal.
Saturday night Dui and his wife Gift invited us to join them for what he called a home Bible study. Pastor Preecha and Nit joined us as well. When the van came to pick us up, it was already loaded with an army of others – Dui’s father and stepmother, brother and sister-in-law, and a couple of kids. As we made our way, we stopped at a roadside chicken roaster’s stand, where a woman had five cooked chickens on a rotissarie. Gift picked the best looking one, the middle one, and the lady whacked it off and gave it to her. That, Dui said, was going to be our dinner. [click to continue…]
It all started with an idea in the mind of a four-year-old. Cassie certainly wasn’t the first kid to set up shop as a lemonade business. But she’d read about it or seen it on some cartoon or something, and she was inspired.
We were living in Birmingham. Corner lot, pretty busy street. But that didn’t deter Miss Entrepreneur and her twin sister. They were out to make some money, and had just been given a sure-fire way to do it.
What do you say to a born dreamer, with stars in her eyes, and a plan for making her dreams come true?
“Okay.”
You say, “Okay.”
That’s what Mamma said, and she went about helping the twins prepare for their first business venture. There was a table to set up, a sign to make, and, of course, a pitcher of lemonade and cooler of ice to prepare.
And there were the pigtails. I’ll never forget the pigtails. [click to continue…]
