From the monthly archives:

August 2008

16001 Crosses

by Andy Wood on August 14, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity,LV Cycle,LV Stories

Neville Davidson

Neville Davidson

Somewhere, sometime, somebody left a simple, small, cedar cross as an anonymous gift for someone they’d never meet.

Sometime later, on a spiritual retreat, a broken, blind, and deeply depressed man received that cross, and his life was changed.  Now mine has been, too, because of how that man chose to rise from the depths of his pain.  I’d like to share his story; Neville Davidson is a LifeVestor.

If you see the glass as half-empty, Neville has gotten a raw deal.  Born in Warrenton, a small town between Liverpool and Manchester in the UK, his childhood memories are dotted with the sound of German bombs, forced relocation of himself and his siblings for their safety, and unceasing danger during World War II.  Later, at age 26, Neville was told his wife had terminal bronchial pneumonia, and would have to move to a warm, dry climate.  He considered an offer to move to Australia.  But his sister had married an American GI, and moved to Lubbock, Texas.  Neville chose family, and literally had to uproot his own household and start his life over in a place where he knew virtually no one.  A few years later, his marriage dissolved.

Neville married Jenny, his wife today, in 1971.  Just five years later, he developed a disease in one of his eyes, and lost his sight in that eye.  In 1984, he completely lost the sight in his other eye.  Neville’s world literally and figuratively became completely dark. [click to continue…]

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So how’d the reaping go yesterday?  How many times did you find yourself “serving” or servicing a decision you had made days, weeks or months earlier?  OR, how many times did you find yourself being served by the good consequences of a decision?

I just got an email about yet another family that has been ripped apart because of a series of addictive choices by a husband/father.  That makes five I’ve dealt with the last couple of weeks.  The hopeful news is, this man’s past does not dictate his future.  But it certainly has determined his present.

Meanwhile, in “Finantasy Land,” you don’t hear much talk about financial freedom these days.  Other than economic politics, about the only thing you hear is, “Hey, good news!  They’re having a sale at the gas station.  Unleaded is down to $3.56 a gallon!”  But I digress….

Wouldn’t it be good to know that you could simply, decisively establish a course that will add value to your future, either here, there, or in the air?  What if there was a way to cut through the clutter and confusion, the knee-jerk pleasure seeking and sidewalk philosophy, and find a True North – a pathway that actually leads to a future of freedom?

There may be.
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(A Turning Point Story)

Pam was 15 and pregnant.  Somehow, in the wake of some poor choices, however, she made a good one.  Pam decided not to get an abortion, and a young man – an all-star outfielder in his high school – lives today because of that decision.  But Pam’s decision was costly, because her family didn’t approve.  Pam needed a place to go.  So at a time when our own children were four and two, Pregnant Pam came to live with us.

We helped arrange a private adoption, and the time came for Pam’s baby to be born.  Robin was committed to walking with Pam through all of this, so she stayed at the hospital with her, and I kept the little ones at home.  Having been through all of this together, the kids and I were excited about seeing Pam’s baby.  So we planned a little trek up to Medical Center East in Birmingham.

Being something of a hospital veteran, I decided on this Saturday to go in through the Emergency Room.  I herded my little brood through the waiting room, through the double doors, and into the elevator.  After a delightful visit, we reversed the process – into the elevator, back through the double doors, breezing through the ER waiting room.  The kids were walking ahead of me, self-assured and chattering away.  They marched through the exit doors and started down the sidewalk toward the car.

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I make my living with words.  Because of that, like a great cook always on the lookout for new recipes, it’s always fun to me to hear of a new way of expressing ideas.  Sometimes it’s clever and revealing; at other times it’s just dang funny.

More than anything else, however, having an updated arsenal of new vocab can give you lots of cool points at places where people gather to talk about stuff – places like water coolers, school gyms, or church foyers.

So in a humble attempt to help you exude coolness and impressiveness in your conversations, here are a few words you can toss into your next conversation.  Of course, as with any new or strenuous activity, we at LifeVesting suggest you consult with a physician.  Or at least practice in a mirror.

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Skip CarayI was going to write a piece about words today; guess I’ll have to do that next week.  Today it’s more about a wordsmith, and a great sense of loss.

It’s hard to put into words the significance of losing a public figure whose work or life has touched yours – an individual who became something of a fixture in your life.

That’s who Skip Caray was to me.  He was a legend and an institution, and legetutions aren’t supposed to die.  But people do.

I never met the legendary broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves.  But he met me – again and again, first through radio, then through a cable channel humbly self-named The Superstation.  Skip became a companion who, like so many other broadcasters in the 20th century, made the national pastime interesting, fun, and so incredibly human.

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What if you could completely reframe situations or people by seeing them with a different perspective?

What if you could turn jerks into friends, or at least into sympathetic partners?

What if you could gain new courage and confidence in any situation you faced by seeing with a different set of lenses?

What if you could be greatly used by God to make a profound difference in other people’s lives, simply by a change in perspective?

You can.

Why did God say, “My thoughts are not your thoughts?”  Was it to rub it in, or to reach out?

Just thinking…

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House Fortress 2Tense Truth:  God promises a life of genuine security for His children.  But those who seek security by hiding behind what is “safe” have no security at all.  Security only comes as a result of bold obedience and courageous faith.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Want to experience real security?  Live dangerously.  Seriously.

No, I don’t mean being a reckless gambler.  But I do mean living with purposeful boldness and courageous faith.

Who was the guy who talked about the Lord being his shepherd, or who said with such confidence,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalm 27:1)?

It was David, the giant killer.  A simple look at his life, especially the younger years, reveals a life constantly protected, and amazingly powerful.  A closer look also reveals that he seemed to skip from one dangerous situation to the next.  He didn’t always go looking for trouble, but he never backed down from it, either.

Contrast that with somebody who so focuses on risk avoidance that they never really live.  Like the guy (true story) who left California to avoid earthquakes and settled in Ohio – where his house was promptly leveled by a tornado.  Or the wealthy Australian who foresaw global trouble brewing in the 1930s and decided to move to a safe place.  So he settled on a tiny island called Guadalcanal!

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CrownIt was one of the most significant turning points in Israel’s history.  A day when elders behaved like spoiled children – deciding what they wanted, then fitting the problem to their solution.  A day that set their course for hundreds of years.  An event that, prompted by fear and ambition, abandoned the character and calling of a nation.  And yet, compared to other great events in the family-nation’s remarkable history, this day is seldom remembered.

In a time when influence was wielded by men and women who knew and walked with God, Israel’s leaders wanted more.

They wanted to be like everybody else.

“Give us a king,” they said.

Samuel didn’t like it, and took it personally.  “Relax,” God says.  “They’re rejecting Me, not you.  But now you know how I feel.”

Human nature tends to swing between two extremes:

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The VOMOS Club

by Andy Wood on August 4, 2008

in 100 Words,Gamblers,LV Alter-egos

Sign

Some things should just be obvious.

Coffee cup contents are hot.

Sleeping pills may cause drowsiness.

People with peanut allergies shouldn’t open a bag or jar with the word “peanut” on it.

Microwave ovens aren’t designed to dry wet pets.

Silly Putty shouldn’t be used as ear plugs.

Unfortunately, what’s obvious to most, passes right by the VOMOS club (and we’ve all had a membership card in that one at some time).

And before you think somebody’s nuts for stating the obvious, remember, this is America.  We sue people here.  Shamelessly.  Once they dislodge the pointed fence from our colon.

(VOMOS – “Victim of my own stupidity”)

(Photo by  aikisenshi)

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(This is a piece I wrote a few years ago after meditating on 1 Corinthians 15:10.  It amazed me how quickly the words came, and it always seems to get a surprising (to me) response.  I recently received a very nice note about it from someone I’ve never met.  Since I’m traveling today, I thought I’d share it with you.  I hope it’s an encouragement.  And, of course, if you are encouraged by it, I would be encouraged if you would encourage somebody else with it by clicking “Share This” below.  Most of all, I hope you can say it’s your testimony, too.)

A Product of Grace

by Andy Wood

 

I am a product of grace.

No measure of performance could ever achieve in a lifetime

what the grace of God performed in an instant.

No failure to perform could erase

what the Spirit of God has completed for all of eternity.

 

I am a product of grace.

No nod of any human’s approval could compare with the fulfillment, the joy,

the wonder of knowing my Heavenly Father has turned His face toward me.

No amount of mortal rejection can change the fact that my Lord God

has made me accepted in the Beloved.

 

I am a product of grace.

No sin of the past, no matter how grave,

can resist the transforming power of a Risen Lord.

No future failure can change the fact that I am an heir of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ.

 

I am a product of grace.

No situation, no pain, no frustration can rob me of my hope.

No force without or within can deny or change the fact that I am a new creation in Christ -

that every old thing is passed away and everything has become new.

 

I am a product of grace.

And grace never sleeps.  It never gets tired or weak, old or crippled.

It’s as new as the sunrise, and as powerful today as it was the first Easter.

Grace is my testimony and I its trophy.  There is never a time when grace is not

covering my sin or revealing me as God’s work of art.

 

I am a product of grace.  And I have a story to tell.

Once I was lost, but now I’m found.

Marvelous!

Once I was blind, but now I see.

Infinite!

Once I was afraid, now I am at peace.

Matchless!

I am what I am.  That’s grace.

But I am not yet what I will be.  That, too, is grace.

Oh, how amazing!

Grace.

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