Articles for tag: Lena Wood

A Special Name for Today

(For use Sunday, November 25) By Lena Wood Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, a day of exceptional online bargains. Nowadays you can do all your Christmas shopping from home, sitting on the couch in your robe, having coffee and scrambled eggs. No more “shop ’til you drop”; now you have the option to “plop and shop.” After buying presents for loved ones on Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday lets you enjoy another kind of generosity that carries no expectation of material return, a chance to experience a deep principle: Giving is better than receiving. So, what should we call today, the day

Count Your Many Blessings

By Lena Wood When asked what we’re thankful for, we usually start off with God, country, and family, then go on to things of less and less significance. Today, though, let’s start at the bottom, with the seemingly insignificant things, like . . . the color of the sky at sunrise, the sound of birds settling in for the night, the softness of a blanket. Look around. Are you wearing comfortable shoes? Do you have a little cash in your wallet? Are your friends and family here? Is there a roof over your head? Look within, to things you rarely

‘Thank You for Your Service’

By Lena Wood It’s a kind of tradition: When folks meet a veteran wearing a cap with the words World War II, Korea, or Vietnam, they often say, “Thank you for your service, Sir.” His response might be a quiet nod, a smile, or, “You’re welcome.”              Now, this is a true story, and let’s imagine it happened to you. It’s Veteran’s Day and a small, older man comes to your place of business. Occasionally you greet veterans with the traditional thanks, but other employees are doing the same today, and you don’t want to sound redundant. However, this little man’s

The Uttermost Banquet

By Lena Wood In mid-November the International Conference on Missions will meet in Cincinnati. Thousands will gather, as they have for 70 years. Friends will reconnect from all over the world. They might share an Italian meal at the hotel, a breakfast of French roast coffee and croissants, or an Asian feast at a Japanese steakhouse. Almost anywhere in the world nowadays you can partake of meals from . . . almost anywhere. If we were to have a fellowship meal here and each of you brought food from the farthest place you’d ever been, what kind of ethnic meal

Called, Challenged, Changed

Lena Wood has a lifelong passion for missions and writing. The result is a three-volume set of mission trip devotions and journals.     By Andy Rector  In 1970, a teenage Lena Wood sat on a plane with her sister and others bound for Japan. Never having flown before, she was terrified. What would happen on this trip into the unknown?  As it turns out, she fell in love with missions on that trip. Over the summer, she and her team sang and gave testimonies at camps, schools, churches, and even a leper colony.  “When we left,” she says. “I bawled.

Must-Haves for the Missions-Minded

By Mark A. Taylor Several resources remind me of Standard Publishing”s commitment to missions and a host of special opportunities for missions-minded visitors to this website. The first is actually a set of three books, mission trip devotions and journals by Lena Wood. Called (item 022501113) gives spiritual nourishment and assessment to older teens and adults preparing to go on a short-term missions trip. Challenged (022501213) helps the reader deal with the spiritual transformation he may experience while he”s on the mission trip. Changed (022501313) is the devotional journal to use once the traveler has returned home. How will he

Secret Link