Posts tagged as:

Christmas

My 2011 Christmas Prayer for You

by Andy Wood on December 25, 2011

in Five LV Laws,Principle of Abundance

Wherever you are and whoever your companions this Christmas, wherever your sojourns take you in the coming year, I pray that as you follow hard after Christ, that all your ways be merry and bright…

I pray that you rediscover the glorious freedom that comes in the way of surrender, and that in yielding yourself to Him, you are offering the most significant Christmas gift ever.

I pray that as you embrace the way of worship, you discover new forms, new joys, new expressions and new offerings of honor, reverence and delight in Him as the Dearest of affections. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

What Did You Say Was That Baby’s Name?

by Andy Wood on December 23, 2011

in Uncategorized

Our family came back to the pick-a-name zone recently.  And that always comes with a reminder.  Despite our best intentions and denials, we here in the West look at names for the most part as that – names.  Something to holler to pick your kid out in a crowd. Something of a heritage to carry along to the next generation.  Something to give meaning when we want it to.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much just a name.

Not so in the place where Jesus was born.  A person’s name was a reflection of his or her character, calling, and destiny.  And when their character, calling and destiny changed, so did their name.

That brings me to the first Christmas.  When the coming of Jesus was prophesied and announced, God was doing more than sending heavenly birth announcements.  He was declaring identity and revealing character.  And what Jesus was born to be, He still is.

In twelve different ways before and during the birth of that baby, God was saying to the world, “I love you.” And this Christmas, He’s still declaring it. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

The 12 Joys of Christmas

by Andy Wood on December 22, 2011

in Five LV Laws,Insight,Life Currency,Principle of Eternity

Joy.  It’s probably the most common word associated with Christmas.  You see it on the faces of every witness and every participant.  Though it was expressed very differently, every single character in the drama that was the birth of Jesus experienced profound joy.

Maybe that’s why we try to go back and relive the story every year.  Maybe that’s why we do the children’s pageants, exchange the gifts, and pull families (best we can) back together for Christmas.  Maybe we’re in search of the joy that can be so elusive.

The details of the coming of Jesus – and those who experienced it – point the way to how you can I can experience a joy that’s timeless, and doesn’t depend on the circumstances or the calendar.  Here’s a sampling of the 12 Joys of Christmas that are yours to experience year-round. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Rush and Hush

by Andy Wood on December 20, 2011

in Tense Truths

‘Tis the season to rush and hush.  Hurry up and wait.  Get rowdy, then reflective.

Yep, it’s Christmas.  Number 54 for me; you do your own math.  And without fail, the previous 53 brought the same curious mixture of busy-ness and stillness.  No reason to expect anything different this year.  Not sure I’d want to if I could.

No doubt about it, we’re in a hurry.  Rush to the shopping center.  Rush to the party (ahem, “fellowship”).  Rush to the gift wrap. Rush to the country to see Grandma.  Rush to do the normal stuff like school and work and church so we can rush to some other activity.  We’re in such a hurry for Christmas, my Thanksgiving turkey got run over by a reindeer!

All the while we keep on fussing about being so busy and hurried.  But I’ve decided the hustle is as traditional as visions of sugarplums and lights on the trees. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

How Mrs. Mays Got Her Four-Year-Olds to Listen

by Andy Wood on December 9, 2011

in Enlarging Your Capacity,Five LV Laws,Leadership,Life Currency,LV Cycle,Principle of Increase,Turning Points,Words

Jackie Mays was a legend.  Maybe not everywhere, but certainly in some of the circles we roamed in when our kids were small.  And to a couple of four-year-old twin girls, Mrs. Mays was larger than life.

Sending your kids off to school for the first time is a big adjustment.  Especially when they’re your oldest, and they’re the ripe old age of four.  Enter Mrs. Mays.  Not only was she a faithful member of our church in Birmingham, she was one of the K-4 teachers at Grace Christian School.  And a legendary gift she was, to both parents and their little darlings.

“Daddy, Mrs. Mays says…”

“Daddy, that’s not how Mrs. Mays…”

In Mrs. Mays’ class they learned the basics of reading and writing and that other “r.”  They learned the pledges and the Star-Spangled Banner. (Cassie used to come home with that wistful, “I just love America.”)  They learned to love God’s word, and learned the gospel and about heaven and hell and the price Jesus paid to snatch us from the one to take us to the other.  And they had fun learning it all.

There were no assistants, aides, or volunteers.  Just one amazing woman and a room full of four-year-olds, who most days sat mesmerized or did what was expected.

I want to tell you one of her not-so-secret secrets. [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

Someone Out There Still Believes

by Andy Wood on November 21, 2011

in Five LV Laws,Following Your Passion,Leadership,LV Cycle,Principle of Eternity

When the Son of man comes will he find faith on the earth?

-Jesus Christ (Luke 18:8)

Welcome to the waterdown season.

Welcome to the days when we’re thankful, but not really sure Who to thank.

Where we count our blessings, but choke on the Name of the Blesser.

Welcome to the days where we deck the halls and hang the balls,

And sing wistful songs about traffic jams and bells and chestnuts.

When the world becomes a Winter Wonderland without a Wonderful Counselor –

And seeks peace on earth without the Prince of Peace.

But I’m not whining or pining away for the days of Rockwell or Currier and Ives,

Because God has always had a remnant of believing hearts and transformed lives.

And I’m still hopeful and expectant that in the city sidewalks or crowded stores,

In festive churches or feastful tables, someone out there still believes. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

My Christmas Prayer for You

by Andy Wood on December 25, 2010

in Five LV Laws,LV Cycle,Principle of Abundance,Waiting

Wherever you may find yourself this Christmas – in prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, laughter or tears, togetherness or solitude – I pray that you will experience the same sense of wonder, gratitude, and grace (and more) that I have found. 

I pray that in the midst of all you call blessings, you experience the beauty of knowing the miracle of being loved in this life – deeply, fully, completely…

That the evening shadows and stars remind you of the one star that mattered most and the Spirit behind it, guiding those who sought Jesus to discover His presence, and to miss Herod’s schemes…

That as heaven and nature sing of the glory of God, the mountains you face only serve as reminders that they are no match for the love He has shown you in His coming and His care…

That Jesus, our Emmanuel, would manifest His faithful awareness and presence and the miracle that takes place when God and sinners are reconciled in love and grace…

That whether you hear His voice in a prayer or a song, a promise or a still small voice, that you would truly hear it – and that as He sings over you, you would taste and see that the Lord is good,  His mercy everlasting, and His truth endures forever to you and yours…

That joyfully and triumphantly, you would live in anticipation and adoration of the Word of the Father who appeared in flesh, and that you would not for one moment miss the opportunity to invest your life in what He is still doing today…

That in the silence of the night or the newness and glory of the morning, you would experience again and again the coming of the King – with the promise that the One who lit the sky once will split the sky when He comes again to claim you…

That the nearness and tender care of the Lord Jesus would carry you through the seasons of loss and the memories of those you miss this Christmas season…

And that the Carpenter’s son who built a bridge of goodness and light will find you waiting, however long it takes, for the day He returns.

Merry Christmas!

{ 1 comment }

The Last Story

by Andy Wood on December 23, 2010

in Five LV Laws,Life Currency,Love,Principle of Freedom

(The Twelve Ways of Christmas, Part 12 – The Way of Revelation)

It had been months since Dylan Jackson made the trek to Lynwood Nursing Home to see his grandmother.  Even longer since they’d had an intelligible conversation.  Once they’d been close, as he had been with both grandmothers.  One had died when Dylan was 10 years old.  Dylan promised himself he’d stay as close as possible to the other as they both got older.

Time and Alzheimer’s had other ideas.

When Helen Jackson first entered Lynwood, she could still recognize her grandson at times.  Now he was a 38-year-old stranger.  And Dylan had gotten a bit lost himself in a high-stress career and higher-stress home life.  But this would be the year he made some changes, beginning with family.  What better way to start than by taking his 14-year-old son Sean down Halls Mill Road to see Helen just before Christmas?

As he texted friends on his iPhone, his long hair hang-framing both sides of his face, Sean was anything but thrilled.

It had been an angry year for Sean Jackson.  Hurt and betrayed by his closest friends – the “Christians” at his church – then dumped by his girlfriend this summer, Sean had retreated to a world of virtual reality, virtual  “friends” and virtual silence.  Making matters worse, the fighting between his parents made him feel all the more alone.

Now his dad –suddenly Captain Cheerful – was taking him on a guilt trip for Christmas to see somebody who had no clue who he was.

Ho.  Ho.  Ho.  Let’s just get this over with. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

Amber Nazareth

by Andy Wood on December 20, 2010

in Life Currency,Love

(The 12 Ways of Christmas, Part 11 – The Way of Connection)

“I have connecting gate information here!”

Amber Amari knew something about making connections.  And no place connected more people and destinations than Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

“Dallas/Ft Worth? A33.  Richmond?  Gate B10.”

Amber had the printout for Delta Flight 2943, inbound from Newark, as she stood at Gate A5.  But she hardly had to refer to it.  She had a remarkable gift for remembering the complex array of gates, times, and final destinations of her assigned passenger manifests.

“Oklahoma City is B14…  You’re welcome, sir – Merry Christmas to you, too.”

Everyone else on 2943 was a connection-in-waiting.  But today Amber had a special assignment.  The last passenger to deplane – six-year-old Bradi Russo – would be her companion for the day.

“Charlotte?  B8.”

Amber was something of a specialist in making connections.  And nowhere did the 27-year-old Red Coat’s gifts shine more than in unique, delicate situations.

Bradi Russo was a unique situation.

And as the tentative little girl took the hand of the flight attendant and walked toward the gate, it was good to know, Amber Amari understood the concept of delicate. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

Merry Christmas From the iBand

by Andy Wood on December 18, 2010

in Uncategorized

Just because…

The North Point Folks have done it again, using just iPads and iPhones. Enjoy and share!

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries