by Andy Wood on January 26, 2010
Our granddaughter, Laura Kate, with Elmo’s help, is learning about holes. The square hole, the round hole. The star-shaped hole, the rectangle hole. She’s learning to put the square piece in the square hole, and Elmo tells her how awesome she is.
At 20 months, that’s pretty good. Before long, she will graduate from Elmo and his octogons and stars. And she will discover new holes to fill. Deeper holes. One downright abyss. And many more complex shapes.
Who Said That?
There’s this quote that’s been ascribed to all kinds of people over the years. I’ve heard that Billy Graham said it. Then Augustine. Or maybe C. S. Lewis. But most popularly, Blaise Pascal. The quote reads, [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 31, 2009
Every baby enters this world reaching out or up.
Instinctively, we crave knowing that if we reach, somebody will come to pick us up.
Babies grow up, but this desire never leaves.
We learn to mask it, but the question remains.
Many of us learn to be the ones who pick up and hold. But inevitably, even for pastors and nurses, parents and life-nannies, life takes us back to that First Question: If I hold up my arms, will somebody – ANYBODY – pick me up?
Be the “yes” to somebody’s First Question. Tomorrow, it may be you who’s doing the reaching.
by Andy Wood on January 22, 2009
This is about the difference between creeds and deeds. Action and diction. Your words and your walk.
I’m assuming if you’re reading this that you want to be known and respected as a man or woman of truth. That may be a big assumption, of course, since it’s possible that you went to bed last night with the happy memory of somebody you conned.
But if you’re a believer, God has placed a desire in your heart to please Him, and truth is one of the things that does that. So is love. So it’s no surprise that the Bible describes spiritual maturity as the fine art of “speaking the truth in love.”
And it is a fine art. What do you do when words and wishes collide? What do you say when your honest thoughts and feelings aren’t very loving?
Years ago I was sitting in a therapy group, where a couple of people were talking about their “inner child” and their “inner adolescent.” It was a poignant discussion by some people who were sincerely seeking healing and growth. But I couldn’t help but think, “My problem isn’t my inner child, or my inner adolescent. My problem is with my inner jackass.”
I figured it would be better to stay quiet. Love? Maybe. Self-protection? No doubt about it. I said it best when I said nothing at all.
The greatest love tends to show up in the fewest words. [click to continue…]
