(A Turning Point Story)
A few years ago I was Birmingham, Alabama at lunch time, so I decided to eat at a favorite restaurant there. I had been to this place quite a few times, and had always enjoyed the food and service there.
Until this time.
The host (a new guy) sat me at the table, and informed me that my server would soon be there to take my “quick lunch” order. So I looked over the menu.
No server.
I closed the menu (a popular hint).
No server.
I thought about memorizing the menu before the server got there. I could have succeeded.
I was sitting close enough to the front door to see the host who seated me. I looked plaintively at him, and he returned to ask if my server had come. Gasp! He hadn’t? He’ll be here in a couple of minutes. [click to continue…]
Oh, my Father, I enter into Your presence in the name of Jesus to express my eternal gratitude to you.
Thank You for ACCESS – the unfathomable privilege of entering directly into Your presence.
Thank You for BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE – those wonderful growth experiences that look at first like obstacles or curses.
Thank You for CHILDREN – for the ways they remind us that You are big, life is good, and pleasing You isn’t all that complicated.
Thank You for DREAMERS – those who saw the possibilities when no one else did, and who risked failure to make their dreams come true.
Thank You for EXAMPLES – for people who are just as willing to practice as they are to preach. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on November 25, 2008
in 100 Words
There are two ways to say, “Thank you” – thanksgiving by sight, and thanksgiving by faith.
One counts the blessings; one anticipates them.
One traces the path with hindsight; the other blazes the path with foresight.
One leads gently to humility; one calls boldly to expect.
One looks back and connects the dots; the other looks ahead and creates a destiny.
No one expects a “thank you” before the gift is received.
Precisely.
That’s why thanksgiving by faith wields such power. While sight recognizes our many blessings, faith lays hold of a covenant-keeping God.
Give thanks…
By sight.
By faith.
Emma Thompson drops by our church from time to time. And yesterday, she prophesied.
No, not the actress. Emma and her twin sister Annie are the eight-year-old daughters of my friend and our communications pastor, Todd.
So get the scene. Our entire church foyer/fellowship area is covered with Christmas decorations. We’re getting ready for a big night of volunteers showing up to decorate the building for the holidays. The office staff is scattered out into the various rooms that have their names on the door. And in comes Todd, Emma and Annie bouncing behind.
Mary, our receptionist, is friendly territory for the twins. She often visits with them while they’re waiting for their dad to finish a meeting or project. She’s also learned that it’s good to offer them something to do to occupy them on days they don’t have homework or something.
Emma is loaded with questions. What’s all this? What are they going to do with it? When? The usual 8-year-old excited kind of stuff. Laughing and chattering away.
Mary says to Annie and her sister, “I have something y’all can do to help us.”
(Okay, get ready, here it comes…) [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on November 19, 2008
in 100 Words
Here is a place where stress is absent.
Where the phone never rings, and babies never cry.
Here is a place where neatness, order, and predictability reign.
A safe place, where seldom is heard a discouraging word.
Here is a place where the “ground is level.”
Where there is no prejudice or pride.
Here is a place that remains unimpacted by the news or political scene.
Where nobody cares if you’re liberal, conservative, or anarchist.
Here is a place where there is no life.
Anywhere else, it can get pretty messy.
But God – and life – are often in the mess.
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…]
Okay, all you fans of the amazing possibilities of humans left to their own ideas, it’s time for another edition of Hanukkah Hams! In case you missed previous episodes, a Hanukkah Ham was named after this, uh, “creative” marketing idea last year.
With all the gloom, doom, and sleepless nights about the economy, I thought maybe we could use a little financial inspiration.
Couldn’t find any, so this is what you get instead…
One of the fundamental truths of the New Testament is that money is “coined personality.” That is, people can see the “real you” in the ways you respond to and handle money. If you’re generous with your finances, you’ll be generous with other parts of your life as well. Same is true if you’re careless, stingy, unorganized, etc. This raises some interesting questions about some or organizations. If money is coined personality, we may have a few problems!
A couple of years ago, I walked into a local bank, started writing a check, and told the teller in my best deadpan voice that I needed $30 worth of Federal Reserve notes. He actually asked another teller, “Do we have Federal Reserve notes here?” “Ya mean, money?” she asked.
Last month a man in Warren, Michigan figured the best way to get a little extra cash for the holidays was to strong arm somebody and steal theirs. [click to continue…]
Took a trip past Oprah a couple of years ago. She was interviewing Russian figure skater Tatiana Totmianina and her partner, Maxim Marinin. Oprah showed a tape of the world-renowned skating champions in which Maxim, as he lifted Tatiana into the air, lost his grip. Tatiana crashed face-first on the ice. It was horrific – all three times I saw it.
In case you missed it, here’s a video montage of her career, including the face plant in Pittsburgh:
Tatiana suffered a concussion but amazingly was back on the ice 12 days later.
“How hard was it for you to get back on the ice just 12 days after that?” Oprah asked her.
“Well, it was very hard,” Tatiana replied. “In the hospital when I woke up, I just realized how serious it was because all my life and career could be over… I wanted to get back on the ice right away because I have been skating since 4 years old. It’s my life.”
Amazing story, but when I heard that last statement, I must confess, I kicked into “preacher mode.” [click to continue…]
You’ll want to read this story… because it’s yours in some way.
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
What do you do when you’ve done everything you know to do? What do you do when your tried-and-true system, which has worked before, doesn’t work this time? How do you respond when God makes a promise and you’ve seen it fulfilled – but this time it doesn’t seem to be “working?”
Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
They’ll laugh when they read this, but I sometimes call Kaye and Mark, whom I love very much, Barbie and Ken. From a distance, they have a storybook life that looks like an 8×10 glossy. Kaye was a Baylor Beauty; Mark was a quarterback/safety for Frank Broyles’ University of Arkansas football teams. They married, settled in Little Rock, and had four beautiful children.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Mark and Kaye weren’t just church wallflowers. [click to continue…]
From a sign in Chicago.
I’m fairly certain more people turn right looking for North Avenue than they stay straight or turn left.
Why?
Because the mind can’t focus on the opposite of an idea.
People tend to go in the direction of your arrows (your example), not the direction of your words.
They gravitate toward what you tell them to avoid, unless you actually point them in a better direction.
They become what you criticize or fear or hate or warn against or dread.
What you say is communication; that’s important.
Where you point is leadership. That is vital.
(Photo by Andy Sernovitz)
