LifeVesting » Time

Every Day, Remember…

Andy Wood — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:07:01 +0000

(Sort-of-random thoughts at 30,000 feet with a lot of free time on my hands…)

It takes minutes to make paper fly; to build something capable of carrying you long distances takes months, and a lot of helpful, smart people. The same is true with your important dreams – and your character.

You were created with the language of Forever in your heart, and nothing else will satisfy.

“I will” spoken with resolve has power, but your resolve will be tested and the limits of your willpower will be exposed.

You were not born with the wisdom and capacity to wait, but wisdom and reward waits for those who learn to.

God created the world for you, not you for the world – but He does hold you accountable for leaving it better than you found it.

A thousand opportunities dance before those whose eyes are open to see them. Ten thousand chances pass by those too lost in fear or consuming to notice them.

Summers are God’s way of showing that you don’t have to be in a classroom to learn.

I just saw a man express his gratitude by giving up his first class seat to a woman… who happened to be wearing a United States Army uniform. I wonder how I can say thank-you to somebody today.

I will always respect the one who can wait (there’s that word again) with discipline, but then decisively act with courage.

I’m not so sure that God has a plan for you so much as God has a plan period and invites you to participate joyfully in it… Or bruise yourself on it.

Till you’re actually looking death – yours or someone else’s – in the face, it’s wise to hold your claims and criticisms loosely and humbly.

Even in a techno-driven, knowledge-drunk world, it’s still important to know who’s got my back and who’s standing beside me.

Till you’re actually looking death – yours or someone else’s – in the face, it’s wise to live with passion and abandon.

Till I’m touching the face of my Beloved, this world will never quite feel like home.

You and I may hear the exact same audio data, but filtered through our unique experiences, beliefs, imaginations, loves, and expectations, the song we hear can be radically different.

Whether you cry in desperation or you sigh with satisfaction, your God-only-wise knows your cries and your sighs before they ever make a sound.

Here in the world of the humans, our greatest craving – and greatest fear - is to be truly known.

My arms may offer fleeting encouragement, but His arms really are everlasting and strong.

God’s promises and truth work everywhere and anywhere, for anyone, including you.

Wander from the truth if you want; truth is still truth. Anywhere you go you will either align yourself to it or burn yourself on it.

Every day, remember three things: You. Are. Loved.

I don’t know how I discovered it at such a young age, but a long, long time ago I realized that you are who you are because of the people who love you.

So whose identity is being forged by the love you show (or fail to show)?

In your heart – your meditations, your passions, your desires, and your spirit – lies the DNA of your future. The biblical word for that is “wellspring.”

Believe what you will and a rudder for your life direction is turned.

I often find it necessary to adjust or reverse the rudder in my heart by changing or challenging what I believe.

If you want to have some good clean fun, when you’re on a plane and the flight attendant is doing the safety demonstration, holler out “and breathe normally” after every phrase. S/he will think this is very clever and funny; don’t ask me how I know.

Nobody says “forevermore” anymore. We’re too caught up in “forever more” (yes, there is a difference).

I’ll wait for Who or what is important to me; to wait upon the Lord is an expression of worship because you are saying to the Father, “Your control of the plan is more important than my control of the clock.”

You will know what makes someone tick (or what ticks them off) by what they give away their moments, money, and meditation to. The hours in a day, the currency in an account, and the focused thoughts in a mind and heart all become reflections of the values and personalities of their holders.

One thing you may not want to announce to the passengers if you’re the pilot: ”Ladies and gentlemen, we’re waiting a few minutes at the gate because we have a fuel leak in engine number one. This is normal on the first flight of the day.” Said the guy sitting by me, “Now what he tell us that for?”

One thing you may have difficulty explaining if you are a flight attendant or airline anything: ”Ladies and gentlemen, we will charge you $50.00 for each of the bags you check, but if you overload the plane with your luggage, we’ll delay takeoff and then check it for free.”

The time will come when all those who know Christ will live in a perfect world, prepared for them by the Lord Jesus Himself. Until then, there will always be [fill in your own blank here or just use one of mine...] airports, meaningless bowl games, traffic lights, receipts, and football fans who are jealous of the SEC.

There is no unity like that which grows out of shared love – and that includes intimacy with God. When all I can do is bring my concerns, joys, longings and heartbreaks for those I love to Him, I discover again that He loves them more than I do, and I experience an intimacy with Him I wouldn’t have any other way.

The beauty of any journey, beyond the journey itself, is knowing that someone – or Someone – is waiting to greet you at the journey’s end.

When all is done that can be done then you’ll find that God is just getting started.

Whether you find me here or I see you there or we meet somewhere in-between, let’s vow to be found sowing the seeds of tomorrow and expecting a harvest of eternity.

Look for me in a discouraged, dispirited crowd, and as God is my helper, you’ll never have to look for very long. I’ll be the one gently insisting that the end of the story has yet to be told about you (or me) yet.

When you begin to run, whether it is out of fear or desperation, excitement or anticipation, make sure you’re running toward your Heavenly Father… Or back to Him.

If I must give God time, I want my waiting to be with arms outstretched, heart expecting, faith enflamed, and love alive. Impatient as I can be, I fear that I won’t do that well. But however fleeting or faulty my faith or performance, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”

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Passing Shadows

Andy Wood — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:33:53 +0000

Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them;

mere mortals, that you pay attention to us?

We are like a puff of wind;

our days are like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:3-4).

As this shadow passes across another year, what’s obvious on the playground becomes clearer in life: the further away from that initial push, the shorter the passes are.

So…

You can pretend the shadow doesn’t exist…

Search for temporary, artificial pushes…

Surrender to futility and fatality.

Or…

You can embrace the shadow with childlike wonder…

Knowing that all shadows – including this life – are silhouettes of something real.

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Give the Lonely a Reason to Believe

Andy Wood — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:18:32 +0000

I will give the lonely a reason to believe in companionship again.

And in so doing, I will banish loneliness from my own heart forever.

-from The Encourager’s Creed

Somewhere near you is an Eeyore in Tigger’s clothing. They’re bouncy, flouncy, trouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun on the outside. But on the inside they’re desperately alone and resigned to eating thistles. And you can make a difference.

There is somebody not far away who is adored for all they do and have to offer. They have no shortage of attention, compliments, and outright praise. Yet for all the attention and admiration they receive, they are profoundly lonely. Why? Because while many people are amazed by them, nobody seems to understand them. But you can.

It’s the chameleon of the emotional world. It blends seamlessly into any environment, and play-acts with the best of the cons. It can empower anybody to be hysterically funny in order to disguise the depression and isolation. It can offer wisdom or encouragement or insight to anybody else, but receives precious little in return. It can mimic the language of the spiritual, with talk of solitude and prayer and hearing God – yet all the while it disguises a relational wasteland. But you can (and should) break through all that.

Loneliness. Ever since Eve and her husband were evicted from their first home, something in us has ached with a longing for companionship and deep connection. We want to know we are searched (understood) thoroughly, known intimately, and loved unconditionally. We look for it in a lot of places – in marriage, in sexual encounters, in church world, in friendships, and in popularity, just to name a few. But despite the finest of intentions, no one human on the planet can fill the tank left empty in the wake of our Fall from God. And that’s violently discouraging. But you can help.

Like a small leak that sinks a big ship over time, loneliness can go undetected for long periods. All the while, the lower decks of our emotional world are taking on more than we were meant to handle. And they fill our minds with words like “nobody,” “worthless,” and “alone.” But you can be the reason the lonely choose to believe again. To reach up and out again. To connect again.

If you’re tempted to write this off as a dispatch to the really gifted people or an idea for somebody else’s job description, think again. Encouragement is everybody’s opportunity and everybody’s job. You may not be the answer to everybody’s loneliness, but you are the answer to somebody’s. The words “one another” fly off the pages of the Bible too often to be aimed at specialists or professionals. You qualify.

Walk through the stories of Christ’s appearances after His resurrection. In one, he sends Mary back with a message for the disciples – “Meet me in Galilee.” To a group of people on the way to Emmaus, He shows up as a traveling companion. To the disciples He cooks fish for breakfast after they’ve fished all night and caught nothing. I find it interesting that before He ever sent them on a mission, He showed up to confront the loneliness inherent in their sorrow. Now He sends us to do the same. Here are some ways to get started:

1. Initiate contact.

If loneliness made people logical, then when they felt lonely, they would pick up the phone, write the email, or knock on the door. But loneliness can make people stupid. Or at least push them further into a cave of their own making. If you want to make somebody believe in companionship again, you need to be the one initiating the companionship. Establish a connection with them. Call them out. Don’t take no for an answer. One day it may be you on the receiving end of that.

2. Listen to understand.

The greatest need of a lonely person is to feel understood on a deep level. And they’ll never believe you understand them if you never give them a chance to tell their story. Listen. Long. Hard. Focused. Not to formulate your sage answers. Not to think of a clever reply. Not to identify which Bible verse to give them. Listen to enter into their world on a soul level… how they think, how they feel, what they want. It doesn’t matter if you approve or not. What matters is whether they feel safe enough to let you enter their world, and they’ll never do it if you don’t shut up and listen. There’ll be time to talk later.

3. Lengthen your time horizon.

You’re probably more bound to a do-it-now culture than you care to admit. Most of us want to approach somebody else’s problem like we approach a vending machine. Let’s find a few bottled words of advice or canned feelgood, apply generously, and fix the problem. But if you want to truly make the lonely believe in companionship again, you must first be a companion. And companionship is a marathon, not a 15-minute segment with Doctor You. Loneliness doesn’t show up overnight, and it won’t go away overnight.

4. Widen your schedule.

Yeah, I know life gets busy. I know you hate interruptions. I know that all those text messages and emails you get are vitally important, and you have stuff to do. But if while you’re saying, “I’m here for you, Buddy,” your nonverbal communication is saying, “I don’t have time,” then the message you are sending is, “My body is here but my heart and head are somewhere else.” Be interruptible. Be willing to make time for somebody else in need.

5. Acknowledge your limitations.

Please don’t miss what I said earlier. No one human on the planet can fill the tank left empty in the wake of our Fall from God. Your love for the lonely will want to prove me wrong. You’ll be tempted to try to fix it. Hear me: You can’t be God for them. You can offer His love, extend His grace, demonstrate His power, and display His life. But you can’t fill the hole in somebody else’s heart. That’s His job. Your job is to give new courage to someone to reach out in faith to Him. And for the lonely, the way to do that is to show them that there really is a love that will not let them go – and you have it.

+++++++

In all of this, you have yet to (necessarily) say the first word. Just listen. Just be there. The strange irony in dealing with loneliness – yours or somebody else’s – is that words are always optional. Well-chosen, they’re nice. But sometimes the best thing you can say is nothing at all – just demonstrate again and again… “I am here for you.”

Time and eternity await the verdict of how many people were just about to quit until they connected with you. Who knows how many lives you can touch, just by showing up and staying? Just by being there. Please… give the lonely a reason to believe in companionship again. When you do, you truly will banish loneliness from your own heart… forever.

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The Soul-Anchoring Moment

Andy Wood — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:26:18 +0000

It takes time and intention, this Soul-Anchoring Moment,

And a willingness to wait for those fleeting experiences

That are tomorrow’s soul roots.

(Did I mention a willingness to wait?)

A Soul-Anchoring Moment…

Maybe it’s the possibility of holding all of your scattered grandchildren in one day.

Or a chance to hear again the sounds common to your birthplace

And sigh with satisfaction at the most trivial and most special of memories.

Maybe it’s a chance to wander through yesterday’s woods

Or boldly go toward compelling new visions…

To remember those who were planters of forever in our hearts,

Or to love familiar faces with fresh expressions of delight…

To believe again today

What you know in your heart from yesterday

And wait for in faith tomorrow…

This is the Soul-Anchoring Moment.

Time will relentlessly tick away the hours and days

In mindless busyness and ungrateful haste,

Until you intentionally come away again to that extended place of quiet rest –

Near to the heart of God –

Until you return to those places of spirit and soul

Where you find again your ability

To run and not be weary…

This is the Soul-Anchoring Moment.

It takes time-grounded faith in a forever-faithful God, this Soul-Anchoring Moment,

And a willingness to wait for a thousand sunsets if need be

For new vision, strength, and courage.

(Did I mention a willingness to wait?)

But the nourished roots and buoyed wings are so worth the wait.

Touching heart-to-Heart in mercy,

And sharing soul-to-Whole in truth…

This is the deep sigh of the satisfied heart…

This is the Soul-Anchoring Moment.

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How to Find Your Driving Force

Andy Wood — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:34:37 +0000

Remember when you wanted that whatever-it-was from Santa Claus? Or your employer? Or your spouse or parents or educators or whoever… only to get it and be disappointed?

Remember when you thought, “If I could just make this amount of money, I would be content?” And you did… and you weren’t?

Remember the time you dreamed and dreamed and dreamed some more about a meaningful goal and were disappointed? But it didn’t keep you from dreaming some more?

Remember when you didn’t have your health or didn’t have any money or didn’t have anybody and it was all you could think about? Then when health or wealth or somebody showed up, it only served to point out something else you don’t have – and now all you think about is that?

All these and more are examples of something that stirs us, motivates us, alarms us or moves us in a certain direction, but never quite allows us to rest once we get where we think we’re going.

I’m talking about your Driving Force, and yes, you have one. Maybe more than one.

You Driving Force is your dream maker. It’s your prime mover. In the poetic sense, it’s what gets you out of bed in the morning (unless your driving force IS the bed, then you have some real problems).

Your Driving Force is often the answer to questions like:

Why did you react like that?
Why can’t you get that off you mind?
Why don’t you just quit?

It goes by other names. My favorite is “treasure.” As in “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Your Driving Force makes you uncomfortable, restless – even a bit unhappy until you pursue whatever direction it is taking you. But here’s where it gets tricky. We’re a pretty complex bunch, especially where motives or emotions are involved. And we don’t always know what that direction is. Or what the Driving Force actually is. We just know that it’s, well, driving.

So sometimes we get it wrong. And sometimes getting it wrong can be costly, if not disastrous. You can lose a lot of time, money, and relationships chasing something you think is your Driving Force, only to find yourself deceived and devastated.

Raise your hand if you’re thinking something like this right now: “Hmphh. My Driving Force is Jesus.”

I see that hand. And another. And another. And you there, in the back. Yes. There are hands everywhere.

Oh. Sorry… where was I?

Maybe your Driving Force is Jesus, and maybe it isn’t. Or without picking on you too much or hiring an investigator to follow you around, maybe it’s a really mixed bag. The big question is, How can you know? And how can you keep from being deceived?

Here are six ways you can trace your treasure:

1. Check your checkbook.

Your Driving Force may not be money, but it sure controls it. Which explains why a guy with an arsenal in his den and bedroom and closet just has to buy that new rifle. Or why if your power gets cut off, you’ll stop what you’re doing and fix the problem however you can. You don’t have unlimited money. So over the long haul, you’ll spend what you have (or what you think you’re going to have) on what matters most to you. That also explains why you don’t spend money in certain situations.

Go ahead and try to worm out of that if you want to. But no less than Jesus Christ Himself said that your heart and treasure were linked.

2. Listen to what you say.

Jesus again: “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Know why you’re willing to bore people to tears with tales of your grandchildren (mine are awesome and you can just get over it)? They’re important to you. That’s also why people criticize and joke and preach and encourage and whine. They’re declaring the contents of their hearts. Out of the abundance of the heart people tell stories, express love, take God’s name in vain, or yell at people that can’t hear them in traffic.

If you’re really brave, have someone secretly record you at various points throughout the day. Watch for patterns. Listen for the Driving Force.

3. Think about your thoughts.

Who or what do you wish for? Plan for? Obsess over? Who do you miss? Despise? Vow to get even with? Who or what fascinates you? Frightens you? Look for the shadows of the Driving Force there. When Paul told the Philippians that every time he thought of them he thanked his God, and couldn’t wait to see them again, that was the language of the Driving Force. When the psalmist said that he was thirsty for God like a deer pants for the water brooks, that, too, is Driving Force language.

Your treasure is whatever controls or dominates the thoughts of your heart. That could be a problem to solve, a relationship to heal, a dream to fulfill, or a debt or bill to pay. The fact that you dwell on it says something about your Driving Force.

4. Analyze what occupies your time.

In Ephesians 5:16, Paul warns us to “redeem the time, for the days are evil.” You and I have different amounts of money or talent. But we have the same time budget. And how you spend your time reflects the Driving Force of your heart. When you say, “I don’t have time,” that’s the same as saying, “This isn’t important to me.” On the other hand, the working, the waiting, the meeting, the connecting are all expressions of commitment and priority.

And yes, it’s quite possible that computer solitaire is more important to you than family or friends. Or that Facebook is more important than face time. Or work success is more important than marriage success. It’s all about the Driving Force.

5. Heed what you hold on to.

Jesus once compared the kingdom of heaven to a treasure (there’s that word again), hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides the treasure, and for the sheer joy of it, sells all he has and buys the field (Matthew 13:44). The treasure hunter wouldn’t give up that find for anything. Why? The Driving Force in him that valued the treasure.

How about you? What gets you defensive or protective? What do refuse to give up? What or who do you cling to, even while you’re giving up other important things or people? You’ll find the Driving Force there on some scale. It may be small-scale (picture my coffee in the morning) or the level of a life calling. Doesn’t matter. When Jacob said to the angel, “I will not let you go until you bless me,” and his wife said to Jacob, “Give me children or I die!” that is gut level Driving Force material.

6. Examine your emotions.

Especially the ones that surprise you with how strong they are. Your Driving Force will use feelings more than any other natural source to move you to action. Pay attention to anger, desire, joy, tears, and excitement. Those are the most common handles your Driving Force will use to spur you on.

You get excited about the things you treasure. You weep over the things you treasure. If it doesn’t affect you emotionally, chances are, you don’t love it very much.

You may discover after a little soul searching that the force that’s driving you is stronger, healthier, more powerful than you thought. Or, you may discover that your Driving Force(s) is selfish, powerless, or even ungodly. If so, I have good news: If you don’t like your Driving Force, You can always change it. In a future post, I’ll show you how.

Until then, I can’t stress the importance enough of knowing what yours is. Take the time. Do some heart searching. You’ll find a lot of wisdom and passion on the other side of it.

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The Telltale Sign of a Good Parent

Andy Wood — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:57:16 +0000

(The Further Adventures of Eugene Davis, Sophomore Christian)

“I’ve found it!”

I looked up from my desk to see the beaming face of Eugene Davis, my favorite sophomore Christian. Eugene had been following Christ less than two years, but had shown considerable growth during that period.

Trouble was, he knew it.

His zeal for new knowledge was refreshing. But his impatience with others and the seriousness with which he took himself could be annoying.

“Must be another evangelism gimmick,” I thought to myself as I asked politely, “Found what?”

“I’ve found THE sign of a good parent.”

Now I had learned not to be surprised at anything that came from Eugene’s mind, and since I had recently started teaching a class in effective parenting, he succeeded in getting my attention. I thought I had heard them all – unconditional love, “I messages,” eye contact, firm discipline, etc. – but no conference or seminary class had ever prepared me for this.

“Dirty knees,” he said with enthusiasm.

The expression on my face must have questioned whether Eugene had just fallen off the turnip truck.

“No, I’m serious!” he continued. “You can tell a good parent from a mediocre one by the amount of time he spends on his knees.”

“Well, I’d certainly go along with that,” I said in my best pastoral voice. “Like I’ve said many times, there is no higher calling than the call to pray.”

“Yes, but there’s more to it than that. When you take the time to get on your knees, you see the world from a whole new perspective – that of your child.”

“That’s pretty good,” I thought aloud. “What you’re saying is that a good parent is one who can see things from his or her child’s point of view.”

“That’s right. And I’ll tell you another thing. Show me a mom or dad with dirty knees, and I’ll show you one who has been playing with their kids. My kids have decided that if I’m on my knees, for whatever reason, it’s time to play. Yesterday I was on the floor looking under the bed for a shoe I had lost. Next thing I know, my three-year-old is jumping on my back.”

By this time, I was writing all this down. Eugene went on.

“Kneeling is also a sign of humility. If there’s one thing I think I can do that my dad couldn’t, it’s apologize. My parents’ generation must have thought they couldn’t make mistakes, and that if they did, that they shouldn’t admit it.”

“It doesn’t warp your kids for them to know that you are human,” I added. “This is good stuff, Eugene.”

“There’s one more thing. Have you ever tried to walk on your knees?”

“Well, I don’t make a habit of it. I make better time on my feet.”

“Exactly,” he said, proud of himself. “Maybe if we spent more time on our knees, we wouldn’t always be hurrying our kids along and wishing they were older. We would then have the time to enjoy them at every age.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I share this with my Parenting class this week,” I said, actually impressed. But honestly, what captured my attention the most was the way those simple concepts applied to me, then as a parent and now as a grandparent. What my children and grandchildren need is very different than some of the things I tend to focus on. And now that our kids are all parents or parents-to-be, even now as adults they need adult-sized versions of the same thing.

They need to see my knees are dirty.

My children and grandchildren need my faithful prayer. My understanding. My time. They need to know that I’m human, and that I know what to do when I fail. And whatever their age, they need a Daddy or Papa they can laugh and play with.

I stayed seated until Eugene had gone. I didn’t want him to see how clean my knees were!

I smiled to myself as the door closed behind him. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for ol’ Eugene to move up to the junior class.

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The Lovely Moment

Andy Wood — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:09:27 +0000

One of Friday's Lovely Moments -Cohen's first haircut, and I got to BE the front-row seat.

Nobody has to convince you that life is busy and blazes by at the speed of, well, life. Expressions like, “Where did all the time go?” are the stuff of every-day conversation.

Sometimes that can feel painfully lonely as we emerge from the grindstone and wonder where everybody went.

Sometimes that can feel out of control as we are swept away by the rhythm and melody of somebody else’s music.

And yet…

Even in the craziness, the busyness, and the where’d-it-all-go, life has a way of presenting what Roger Breland calls a Lovely Moment – those experiences where even if for a brief pause, life seems to come up for air and fill your heart.

Sometimes the Lovely Moment arrives in the form of a long-anticipated event, like your wedding day, graduation, or the birth of a child or grandchild.

Sometimes the Lovely Moment comes as a complete surprise, when suddenly you realize how full your heart is because of a special memory, a future conversation played out in your mind, the joyful news of a friend, or a reminder somehow that you’re being thought of.

The Lovely Moment can be an elusive thing, but only because we’re too busy, too wounded, too stressed, or too blinded to open our eyes and see them. The truth is, Lovely Moments are in abundant supply…

When you find a connecting point, and you’re reminded that those passing feelings of loneliness do not mean you’re actually alone – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you have the opportunity to touch another life with the comfort that they don’t have to be afraid – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you’re given the opportunity to imagine – or give someone else the capacity to dream – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you’re interrupted by the ordinary-made-extraordinary – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When joys are doubled and sorrows are halved by the presence and love of someone else – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you can be a bit of a rebel and break the artificial rules of the perennially correct – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you discover someone you can truly trust, or when you earn the trust of another so that they feel completely safe with you – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When your life is arrested by one of those “watch what I can do” moments from God – a dazzling sunset, a magnificent sunrise, tiny fingers curled around yours – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you’re invited to rise above the din and distractions of time-bound living and breathe the rarified air of forever – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you feel in the gaze of God that He has released His heart to you – as if for a fleeting second that you’re the only person on the planet that matters – that’s a Lovely Moment.

When you find yourself delighted with the realization that you’ve waited your whole life for this (whatever “this” is), and it was worth the wait – that’s a Lovely Moment.

My prayer for you is not that you would experience those Lovely Moments. It’s that when they are happening all around you, you would take the time to breathe with them. Dance with them. Embrace them.

And by all means… offer them to others.

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Two Questions to Start Each Day

Andy Wood — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:01:34 +0000

(Time Leadership, Part 2)

What kept Jesus on the cross?

That’s been the subject of many a sermon or song. And the answer is always the same, ranging somewhere between the ugliness of our sin and the beauty of His love.

You know He could have come down, don’t you? When He was mocked and taunted, Jesus could have called a legion of angels and put an end to the whole shebang.

But He didn’t. So what kept Him there?

Hint: the answer to the question is not, “love.”

Want to try again? Read the following verses from Hebrews 12:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Lately that phrase has been ringing over and over in my spirit… “who for the joy set before Him…”

What kept Jesus on the cross? We often say it was love, and doubtless, He loved the world. But this verse says something different. Love may have sent Jesus to the cross, but joy kept Him there.

On the cross.

Joy!

He endured the unspeakable agony of the cross… for the joy.

He dissed the shame associated with the cross… for the joy.

Wow. That must have been some kind of joy.

And it was.

Now Jesus is presented to every believer as the model of how to endure this marathon called the Christian life. “Look to Jesus,” the author of Hebrews says. So let’s take a look.

The Race

In the verses that follow, the author of Hebrews makes it clear that this is a race for the long haul. It takes discipline.

In the previous chapter, he has thoroughly dealt with faith.

So get this… Your beliefs and confidence in God lead you to the starting line of a race, of which Jesus is the author and finisher. But what keeps you running is the same thing that kept Jesus on the cross – the joy set before you.

Know why people become exhausted and quit? They lose sight of the joy.

Know why they get distracted or consumed with trivia? They lose sight of the joy.

Know why runners stumble and fall? They lose sight of the joy.

The Stages

This marathon is a lifetime event. But it’s broken down in to much smaller time units. And time is ultimately where I’m going.

In the previous post I mentioned the huge difference between managing time and leading it. I want to show you a simple, but potentially revolutionary way to approach these 24-hour divisions of the marathon we’re in.

We know from third grade science that God designed three specific time units: years, days, and seasons. He added months and weeks later; they are also useful. Our focus is going to be on days, but you can take the same ideas and apply them to weeks, months, seasons, or years.

Every day you have the opportunity to run with endurance the race that is set before you. And that day is divided up into hours and minutes. Most likely in our culture and your life, it’s also divided into lists of things that have to be accomplished.

But what guides the list? The urgent? The stressful? Pleasure? Routine? Pleasing other people? Pay attention to how you answer this. Whatever guides your task-making and relationship-building is, in essence, your life coach. It may not be the Author and Finisher of your faith (Jesus), but it is the framer of your life.

No wonder it’s easy to get discouraged or exhausted or distracted.

A Different Way

What if every day we asked, before the Lord, What is the joy that is set before me today?

Could you answer that for today?

In other words, assuming this day went perfectly from a time-stewardship perspective, when you get to the end of this day’s stage of the race, and you run into the arms of your Coach, where will you find the joy? Remember, joy is NOT a feeling. It is a choice, based on awareness of the presence of God and on relationships.

One more question: What feelings, or state, will accompany the joy? Feelings of productivity or accomplishment? A state of intimacy or closeness with others? Feelings of relief from having resolved some issue? Feelings of satisfaction from a job well-done?

Those two questions, faithfully addressed, can make the subtle shift in your life from being a time manager to being a time leader.

Why All This Talk about Joy and Feelings?

If joy could enable the Son of God to endure the cross, something tells me it’s a powerful motivator and an often-untapped power source. Probably the best example from our experience is that of a woman giving birth. She endures the pain of labor for the joy set before her in the form of a baby boy or girl.

Remember, joy is in the presence. It’s in relationships.

Feelings? They are a completely different matter. But you can be just as intentional about them.

Perhaps you have spent a huge part of your life ignoring, disregarding, or underestimating the role that feelings play in the larger scope of your life. After all, I think it’s written somewhere in the Official Guy Code: Feelings are for girls and sissies.

Added to that, many Western Christians, as they grow, seem to develop a deep suspicion of emotions as barometers of anything spiritual. I get that.

But think about the most significant goals in your life. Don’t they have some sort of emotional connection?

Want to make more money? Does that have anything to do with sniffing pieces of colored rag with pictures of dead notables on it? Hardly. Keep digging, and you’ll find that what you want is the feelings that more money will provide.
Want to lose weight? Why? “To be healthier.” Why? However many times you address that, ultimately it will take you to a feeling. I want to feel more attractive. I want to feel more energy. I want to feel less pain. I want to feel more confident that I will live longer.
Want to read through the Bible this year? Why? Curiosity? Growth? Accomplishment? Every one of those and more has an emotional component.
Want to finish that degree? Why? Don’t answer that by telling me what you want to accomplish or what advantages a degree holds. What are the feelings behind that?

I completely understand that feelings, powered by flesh, lead to dangerous territory. But powered by Spirit, they also lead you to higher ground in every dimension of your life.

Applying the Two Questions

I am writing this on a Friday morning. Here is something of what the last week has looked like for me. Remember, these are questions for the start of the day, not necessarily how I wound up.

Friday: Joy Set Before Me – Nearness to those I love. Desired Feeling(s) – Creative satisfaction.

Saturday: Joy – Finishing the “races” I’m running in a way that pleases the Lord. Desired Feeling(s) – Exhilaration.

Sunday: Joy – Fellowship with other believers. Feeling(s) – Satisfaction, usefulness.

Monday: Joy – Spiritual strength and wisdom. Feelings(s) – Energized by progress.

Tuesday: Joy – Clean hands and a pure heart. Feeling(s) – Peaceful.

Wednesday: Joy – Expectancy (from the Lord). Feelings(s) – Free, Amazed.

Thursday: Joy – Delighting in a God of Abundance. Feelings(s) – Creative satisfaction/flow, gratitude.

Your Turn

Today or tomorrow, when you’re at the virtual starting line of your day, ask these two questions:

1. What is the joy set before me today? Remember that joy is relational, so the answer to that will have something to do with relationships with God or others.

2. What do I want to feel at the end of this day? Try to limit your answer to one or two feelings.

I am crazy enough to believe that once you offer the questions to the Lord and your own spirit, the answers will come easily and quickly.

Once you identify the joy set before you and the feeling(s), then identify what you have to do to get there. Your race may be over some rocky, treacherous terrain. It may be through a delightful valley. It may be through unspeakable pain. But at the end of the day, joy is set before you! Joy accompanied by one or two other feelings or states.

Now it’s time to run.

This is time leadership. Time management is for the details left behind.

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Don’t Just Manage Your Time – Lead It!

Andy Wood — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:56:30 +0000

You can accomplish every task set before you, live your life as a model of get-it-doneness, and die with a clean desk… and a completely unfulfilled life.

It’s possible to check off every box on your to-do list today, yet go to sleep tonight completely joyless… only to do it all over again tomorrow.

You may be the one everybody calls for help with prioritizing, streamlining, simplifying and ordering, only for your phone to grow cold when it’s hang-out time.

I think I may have found the problem… and the solution.

Get out of time management.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit too strong. Let me try again… Don’t just manage your time. Lead it.

There’s a huge difference between the two. In the next post I’m going to show you two questions that can revolutionize how you approach your day. I started doing this about six weeks ago, and I can’t begin to describe the difference it continues to make in my days when I do it. But first, I want to show you the difference between being a time manager and being a time leader.

Imagine a Dinner Party

Imagine that you have invited your 10 favorite people in the world – regardless of who they are or were – to a dinner party. Miraculously, they all accepted and will arrive at 7:00 sharp. You look forward to the heart-pumping excitement, the satisfaction of entertaining such special people, the delight you will feel in engaging them in conversation, and the joy you will experience in offering these people something of yourself.

(Side note: If hospitality stresses you out, don’t just imagine… pretend. Let’s assume you’re on an unlimited budget and you’re paying for all the details to be done.)

Everything goes pretty much according to plan. While there are one or two surprises, you are completely satisfied, as are your guests, with the experience. After everyone has said good-bye, you return to the scene to clean up. You organize and store the leftovers, you clear the table, you wash the dishes, you put up any stray ingredients from preparing the meal.

From a time perspective, time leadership is what you do in preparing for the guests and the joy of that experience. Time management is what you do with the leftovers.

And millions of people are living frustrated or joyless because day in and day out, all they ever do is chase leftovers.

Time Management vs. Time Leadership

What does it mean to go beyond managing time to actually leading it? Look at it this way:

Time management is about accomplishing activities. Time leadership is about fulfilling purpose.
Time management is about mastering routines. Time leadership is about mastering relationships.
Time management provides order. Time leadership provides vision.
Time management establishes consistency. Time leadership establishes movement.
Time management is built on limitations (there is only so much time in the day). Time leadership is built on re-thinking what is possible.
Time management is passionless, and involves little emotional involvement. Time leadership is passionate, and harnesses the power of emotions.
Time management is reactionary, particularly to problems, interruptions and “time wasters.” Time leadership is proactive, particularly with regard to possibilities, ideas, and people.
Time management limits choices in the name of focus and efficiency. Time leadership expands choices in the name of excellence and fulfillment.

Don’t Throw That To-Do List Away Just Yet

Just as there is a place for management in organizational life, there is a place for management of your time.

But it’s not first place.

And just as there is a need for meetings, schedules, and processes wherever you work, efficiency adds value to your schedule as well.

But some things are more valuable. And time leadership is all about that – building your schedule around the precious, then the precise.

All This Grew Out of Pain and Frustration

I wasn’t inspired, but tired. Recently I made a list – not of things to do, but of open projects. Each project has its own list… and off the top of my head, I counted 23 open projects!

Nuts.

Here’s a peek inside my journal from a few weeks ago (you’ll be able to tell it was early December):

This morning becomes an inefficient black hole into which my day slips. This week I have been awful – AWFUL – at managing time and getting school [grading] work done. I have been too easily interruptible and at times unmotivated. Plus, I was also playing catch-up from the holiday trip. Now I’m thinking about how hard it’s going to be to write in the series about Christmas, remembering what a labor it was last December.

I did decorate the front yard, spend two hours in the grocery store, attend meetings, babysit Cohen, catch up the checkbook and pay bills this past week. Still, I feel like I’ve been in mental slow motion. Don’t know if it is fatigue, being on cold medicine and semi-sick, being on the diet, or all the above. But it is what it is, and I need to fix it. So today the theme, besides “get it done,” is to look for new ways to manage (or lead) my time.

Out of that frustration, on that particular day, I “stumbled” into a simple question that changed my focus and energy entirely, and produced the most extraordinary day. Simply put, the Lord began showing me how to lead time. Since then I have unpacked some new understanding as the Lord has continued the “stumble upon” process. I’ll share some of that in the next post. But for today, I want to share with you the question that changed it all.

Before You Decide What to Do…

…decide how to feel.

Seriously?

Yep.

Here, in very slow motion, is how the conversation went with the Lord.

“Lord, I feel like I’m in mental slow motion.”

“How do you want to feel?”

“Excited. Productive. Grateful. Energized.”

“Okay. Fast forward to the end of your day. How do you want to feel at 8:00 tonight?”

(Pause)

“I want to feel proud of myself because of what I got done.”

“Okay. Now what would you have to do in order to feel proud of yourself?”

“Finishing up grading. Back patio cleaned off and blown for leaves and dust. Finish putting up the yard decorations or put the case back in the garage, which means buying new stakes to hold them down. Changing the tire on my truck so we don’t look like the Clampetts outside… maybe even getting the tire fixed.”

“Okay then…” (Pause here to feel a wise, caring smile from God).

Hey, I never claimed this was deep. In fact, it was profoundly simple. But here’s the point: I would have approached my day completely differently had I not asked a question about (of all things) feelings.

I Dare You to Try It.

There’s more, and I’ll get to that later. But for today or tomorrow, I dare you to ask, “At the end of this day, how do I want to feel?” Then build your schedule around what it would take to feel that way.

Maybe you want to feel intimate. Maybe productive. Maybe the good kind of tired because you’ve given your all to something. Maybe financially peaceful. Maybe in harmony with key people in your life. The possibilities are endless.

Oh, and for the record… at the end of that day, I felt really proud of myself (in the good sense). And on top of that, I felt energized. Grateful. Productive.

And yes, very excited.

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The Waiting List

Andy Wood — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:08:32 +0000

This is a season of Death-By-To-Do-List. The quiet pause, lethargy, and feeding frenzy of the holidays are followed by the jump-started, resolution-driven frenzy of the New Year. So this morning I started my journaling by listing one or two things I still haven’t done this week. And the one or two became six or seven.

“I swear, I’ll die by checklist overload,” I wrote.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s missing in our life planning. It’s so easy to get lost in the whirlwind of the frenetic or even the focus of the goal-directed that we neglect some of the most significant parts of the plan.

Like waiting.

I’m all about making mission statements that lead to goals lists that lead to action steps toward making those goals and mission a reality. I get it. I completely understand that if you aren’t taking massive action in the direction of your dreams you are probably kissing some of them good-bye.

How do you respond, however, when the dream or passion is completely authentic, but there is literally nothing you can do about it today – at least in outward to-do-list fashion? How do you keep the important, important, when it’s not front-and-center in your appointment book?

Ever think of making a “To-Wait” list?

A To-Wait list is a collection of passions, people, issues or dreams that are front-and-center in your heart, even when you’re consumed with other things. If nothing else, these are things to pray for, or to hold before the Lord in a spirit of trust and expectancy. Sometimes they’re the sighs of a yearning heart that refuses to give up hope. Sometimes they are a bold declaration of faith that what you see is not what you will get.

Regardless of your past disappointments, detours, or dead ends, what does your heart continue to hold onto? What is the expectation you can’t shake, or the belief you can’t just walk away from? Put that on your To-Wait list. The very fact that your heart holds onto the dream may well be a sign that the expectation is valid – and the only thing missing for now is the waiting.

Your patience is a declaration of worth and an expression of love. To wait on the Lord is to love Him. To wait on a prodigal adult child to return is a declaration of his or her worth in your eyes. Your endurance of the disappointments, setbacks, rejection, or days of no news at all – all of that makes a statement of the hopes and dreams, cases and causes that mean the most to you.

Opportunity waits for no one. But some opportunities are only available to the one who gives God time to work, but remains ready. Waiting is anything but passive. It means attending and expecting, even when there is nothing else to do but attend and expect. But what if today that very thing you have prayed for repeatedly were suddenly presented to you? Would you be ready? Would you be grateful? Or would you be too busy nursing your wounds or giving up to even notice?

“Until” is a powerful word.

Sometimes it’s a declaration of hope. Sometimes it’s a statement of frustration. Sometimes it’s an acknowledgement that life or work moves onward in anticipation. But ultimately “until” is a statement of expectancy and importance. And that’s what goes on your To-Wait list. What do you keep on asking the Lord for, until? What vision do you keep in front of you for your life, your family, or your organization, until?

I’m not talking about random fantasies or isolated events it would be nice to see. I’m talking about things or people or issues you won’t give up on. Jacob, of Bible fame, wrestled and connived and manipulated and prayed and limped and mourned – and waited and waited and waited – all for this thing he called “the Blessing.” The bad news: sometimes in the waiting seasons he didn’t wait well, and made quite a few enemies. The good news: He died a blessed man. The important lesson: Even if it had taken forever, Jacob would have died waiting.

God reserves promises for those who don’t toss away their confidence. Who like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the rest “all died without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance” (Hebrews 11:13). Regardless of the apparent randomness of the wandering, irrespective of the ache of waiting, they rested in the faithfulness of a God who keeps His promises and fulfills His purposes. That’s what a To-Wait list is for. It’s a pen-and-paper way of holding on to the faithfulness of God.

“Hurry up and do” has it place. But so does “hold on and wait.” And before you experience death-by-checklist, I thought it would be good to remind you… One day the baby will come. One day the hurt will ease. One day (maybe not until heaven, but nevertheless…) the reunion will happen. One day the prayer will be heard. And one day that sigh of longing will become a sigh of satisfaction. Until then… we wait. So make the list… and check it twice. Some things are worth it.