From the monthly archives:

June 2010

Formula 432

by Andy Wood on June 29, 2010

in Uncategorized

(Forgiveness Laboratories, Inc. – Part 2)

In our last episode, we were left in a place called Forgiveness Laboratories, Inc. where Joe Jacobson, the owner and founder, was explaining some of their findings.  And he was about to share something about forgiveness that I had never seen before.  If you haven’t read the previous post, I would encourage you to do that first…

Joe said, “Our greatest discovery happened when we combined what we call Formula 432 with Element 118.”

 “Sounds very chemical,” I said.

“Aw, just lab talk,” Joe said with a smile.  “One of our guys used to be a youth pastor.”

“Say no more,” I said.

“Formula 432 is actually Ephesians 4:32.  We learned it as kids in church:

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

“I noticed that on the wall in your lobby,” I said.

“Then you probably also noticed Element 118 on the other wall,” said Joe.  It’s from Isaiah 1:18:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

“When our researchers combined these two truths, we made a breakthrough discovery about forgiveness.”

“What’s that?” I asked, intrigued. [click to continue…]

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I have to admit, I thought Joseph Jacobson was joking when he handed me his business card.  “Forgiveness Laboratories,” it said boldly.  The card identified Joe as the Director of Research. 

“Okay, I gotta ask…” I started.

“You want to know what a forgiveness laboratory is,” Joe anticipated.

“I’ll bet you hear that a lot.”

“Sure do,” Joe said with a smile.  “Why don’t you come by the lab for a visit sometime?”

So here I was, introducing myself to Gracie, the receptionist (yeah, I caught the irony in her name).

“I’m here to see Joe,” I started.  “Sorry I’m a little late.”

“We forgive you,” Gracie replied with a wry smile.  “I know… bad joke, but it comes with the territory.  Actually Joe is finishing up a couple of interviews and asked me to show you around.”

Gracie got up from her desk and shook my hand.  It was then that I first noticed that this charming, poised single mom was wearing a white lab coat. [click to continue…]

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“I feel like a man with three dollars in my pocket. Maybe a quart in my tank. And what astounds me is how quickly I think about spending what little I have. I get a little bit back in my soul and I start thinking about advancing the Kingdom. People that need my help. I get a little bit of God back in my tank and I start thinking about who I need to pray for.  Lord have mercy” (John Eldridge)

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Hi, I’m Andy, and I’m a fumaholic.

(All:  “Hi Andy!”)

I’m really glad to be here tonight to share my experience, strength and hope with you. The First Step says that “we admitted we were powerless over our fumaholism, and that our lives had become unmanageable.”  So tonight I thought I would share how my life got to that place.

I’d like to start with a couple of confessions… that is okay in a place like this, isn’t it?

(Room erupts with raucous laughter) [click to continue…]

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Get this scene…

It’s the long-shadow season… a late-October Saturday afternoon.  Alabama has just kicked off to Tennessee, and the rest of life has been put on hold.  I’ve got the snacks and drinks, recliner set to football position, and it’s a glorious day.

That’s when I hear it.  In those few seconds before the doorbell rings and the dogs go crazy, I hear the giggles of a gaggle of adolescents.

Two thoughts immediately flash by:

  • I am obviously not living in Dixie, because nobody in their right mind there would be roaming the streets when the Tide ‘n’ Vols are on TV.
  • I’m about to be scavenger hunted.

Sure enough, I open the door to a group of teenagers, and one of ‘em hands me a list.  “We’re on a scavenger hunt.  Do you have any of these things?”

Game on (while the other game is on pause). [click to continue…]

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Corie, Carrie, Cassie, and Kara on the Charles Bridge in Prague, 2005. All were back together again for Kara's wedding this weekend in Ft. Worth.

1.  Yes indeed, a washer and dryer will fit inside a conversion van if you take the middle seats out. 

2.  Driving said conversion van automatically lowers your driver’s IQ by about 30 points.

3.  Apparently I was right at home; Dallas/Ft. Worth was the host to an Idiot Drivers Convention this weekend.

4.  If a nighttime idiot driver in DFW makes you mad, it’s probably not a good idea to get behind him and turn on your bright lights.

5.  If you make a nighttime idiot driver in DFW mad by turning on your bright lights in his mirror, and he decides to retaliate… for 15 minutes… it’s probably best just to declare him the winner. [click to continue…]

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Sometimes when God wants to reveal His heart to us, He communicates with words.  But for folks like me, sometimes he has to draw a picture.  I thought since Father’s Day is approaching, I would give you a glimpse into the gallery of my soul and show you a master Artist at work. . . . 

The Bracelet

“Hold out your hand,” she said as I entered the room to kiss her good-night.  With that, my daughter interrupted momentarily my nightly bedtime routine.  “This is for you.” [click to continue…]

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The Incredible Worth of a Friend

by Andy Wood on June 15, 2010

in Esteem,Life Currency,Love

Rick was nice enough to drive me to the airport. Then drive BACK to the airport when I left my phone in his car. After, of course, taking his picture on my phone and setting it as my new wallpaper.

“What is the secret of your life?” asked Mrs. Browning of Charles Kingsley; “Tell me, that I may make mine beautiful too?”

He replied, “I had a friend.” (William C. Gannet)

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Last week I got an interesting email, informing me that there would be a breakfast meeting of the Mobile Mafia in Orlando for everybody who happened to be there for the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Mobile Mafia, aka Wolfepack, are a loosely-structured group of men in ministry who came up under the leadership of Fred Wolfe, who remains in every sense of the word our pastor, mentor, and father-in-the-ministry to this day.

“Have a nice time,” I thought, as I dismissed the email as irrelevant to me. I hadn’t been to a Southern Baptist Convention since 1994.

Immediately after that, I got another email from the same source – my friend Wayne.  [click to continue…]

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Mosaic

by Andy Wood on June 13, 2010

in 100 Words

We live in a broken world, but we don’t have to accept brokenness as the final answer. 

We are broken people, but our lives don’t have to be defined by the irreparable messes we’ve made or the grave wounds we carry.

In the hands of a Healer,

And the heart of an Artist,

We are more than a pile of useless pieces.

We are His work of art.

And in a stunning act of clarity and focus,

He chose…

Only…

To work…

With broken pieces.

But He insists that you entrust all the broken pieces of your life to Him.

(This beautiful glass mosaic is the art of Kelly Aloha, of Caloma, California.
Visit her studio on the river the next time you visit the Caloma Valley.)

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Leadership is generational 

Every great or good leader I have studied or known all had one thing in common:  Somebody saw their potential and called them out.  They had an authority figure or a prophet, an “evangelist” or a teacher/coach who handed them the reigns one day, or encouraged them to go out and find their own place of influence.

There comes a point at which every leader must see past his or her own headlights. [click to continue…]

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Jon Acuff recently shared the story of a coworker named Brian who had witnessed the death of a man in the gym a day before.  Apparently he had a heart attack, and nobody could help, except to vainly call 911.  Now a day later, the coworker was filled with regret and what-if scenarios. 

Twenty years ago, James’ life took a detour through some moral quicksand.  And though he can tell you in glowing terms today about the grace of God that lifted him out of the “miry clay” and “set his feet upon a rock,” sometimes the past comes blowing back in his face like a cold rain.  Even though he lives today as a forgiven man, at times he still finds himself on the Highway of Regret.

I can certainly relate to both of those scenarios – helpless situations and careless choices.  But the regrets that nag me the most have to do with unfinished business.   [click to continue…]

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