It's been hot minute since I've taken time to sit and "blog". You are sure in for a treat. 😂  I have a whole host of thought swirling around in my head and this may get a little wordy.  

 In the last 6 months or so I have been really thinking about what it means to leave a legacy.  We all leave a trail behind us.  Everyone we "do life" with has memories of us.  We have memories of them.  Family, friends, coworkers, community members and so on. We naturally leave an impression on those around us whether we are thinking about it or not.  This can be a positive or a negative, either way we leave behind something.  Our interactions leave an impression. 

  Our intentions are not always known to those around us.  As humans our intentions are not always pure. Our intentions are sometimes misguided. Sometime, though, out intentions are all that they should be. For the best good, not only for ourselves, but those around us.   Each choice we make builds who we are.  It tells of our character.  Shows if we are a person of integrity and grace or someone full of selfishness and malice. These traits & choices are seen & processed by others even when we don't realize it. 

  In the last months, I have thought about what a rich heritage and Godly inheritance my husband and I have come from. I have always been so grateful for the amazing parents and grandparents we have.  

  We are blessed to have been raised by faith filled men and women.  They chose to live their lives for Jesus.  Choosing to set aside the sabbath and keep it holy.  Being a part of the church body and being intentional with how they spent their time.   Weekly church attendance.  Helping with sewing, volunteering at local work projects, donations to local charities, taking meals to families struggling, visiting the sick, praying for those in crisis. The list really goes on and on. Choosing to love their neighbor as themselves and abide by the commands set before them in the bible.  Intentional. 

  My dad's side of the family is pretty quiet and laid back. When I think of my grandparents (who have both passed on into eternity)  I get this sense of calm. They were gentle and inviting. Handworkers.  Prayer warriors. They set aside time daily to bring their children, grandchildren, praises and struggles to the throne of grace. They studied the word of God together daily. They loved music.  Humming, singing and piano playing filled the quiet spaces in their home.  Singing praises to the king of kings and making beautiful harmony together was extra special to them.  Hymns that spoke of the mercies, grace and sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation.  They always reminded me (I'm sure all of their grandchildren) that no matter where I was or what I was doing, I was thought of, loved and prayed for. They loved when we dropped in and Grandma always had cookies in the freezer or bugles in the cupboard for such an occasion.  Playing games, putting together puzzles and memorizing things to keeping their minds sharp was important as well.  Intentional. 

  My mother's side looks a little different.  A little more rambunctious. They like to joke and tend to be a little more competitive.  Most of my memories of my grandpa are after he was diagnosed with lung disease.  He was on oxygen and required my grandma's care.  I think those years pushed him to press in to the heart of his heavenly father in a new way. To really learn to know God as a comforter.  To take time to remind each of us that this world is not our home.  He wasn't nearly as vocal as Grandma about his faith but I had several conversations with him that I will never ever forget. He knew Jesus in a personal way and was ready for his mansion in heaven.  He to, is now with Jesus is glory.  My grandma is still very much alive and well!  She has a saying for about everything.  She is an encourager.  A helper. A servant. She sings while she works and expects you to join right in. She loves to love people.  She is a hugger!  Friend or foe, you get a hug! She is a giver. She loves to bless and connect with those around her.  She knows not a stranger.  She is willing to ask hard questions and challenge those around her.  She seeks truth and make a point to share the gospel of Jesus.  Her heart is that all will see the glory of the savior!   Intentional. 

  My parents certainly have carried on this legacy well.  Befriending those that need connection and companionship. Caring for neighbors and friends in need. I would say that both of my parents have a servant heart.  They love to do for others. They look for ways to do this. Intentional.  

  My dad hosts a monthly men's breakfast at his machine shop. He feels a passion for men to stand and to be leaders. To encourage one another and walk with each other through life. He wants to give place for testimony of God goodness, provision and guidance to be shared.  He has been known to works on people's cars and lawn mowers (mine included).  In recent years he has started making wooden lawn nativities.  I know that he sells them but I think often he feels God moving him to give them as gifts to people he comes into contact with.  Intentional. 

  My mom is a woman of MANY talents. She caters (meals both large and small), bakes, sews, cuts hair, paints.  As a kid there were often people that would stop by for haircuts.  It wasn't uncommon for my dad to bring home pants, belonging to his coworkers, and my mom would patch or hem them. When I was in high school, there wasn't a home economics class, so my mom jumped right in to teaching.  It is very rare for her to say no.  If she isn't sure how to accomplish a task, she takes time to figure it out. Intentional. 

  My parents have taught us to see value where others might not. They love time together. Time set aside where the whole family is together.  This is when the music tradition is carried on.  My parents are both musically gifted.  My dad LOVES when we sing together. Mom enjoys it to but my dad LOVES it.   He will hear a new song and text it to my sisters and I.  His intention is to have us learn it so that we can sing it the next time we are together.  Intentional.

  They enjoy traveling to see friends and family.  They have banked many miles to Missouri and Florida over the years. Making time for others.  Making time to connect on a deeper level.  Intentional. 

    My husbands parents are much the same. Chose early on to dedicate their lives to the Lord and say yes to His will for their lives.  They are/were both nurses. My father-in-law is also a teacher and a pastor. They are parents to 8 children. Each one unique, chosen & cherished.  This was not just them having baby after baby rather they had a call on their life to be foster & adoptive parents. They have 3 children born to them and 5 that they have adopted. If you ask them they very much dislike making this distinction, they are all their children irregardless of how that came to be.  They had a desire to give a place of security to children who needed a family. For each one to know they had parents that loved them.  A place to belong.  This has been a blessing to me specifically in that my husband is one of the children that they fostered and later adopted.  If they would have said no to that call I might not have ever even met John. That is a terrible thought!  Intentional.

  My in-laws have lived here and there and all over the world.  They say yes when they hear God's call.  Teaching so many places. My father-in-law was my principal in high school.  He never knew how blessed he would be to eventually get to have me in his family forever. They were missionaries to Africa.  My father in-law would sit under the "healing tree".  Offering medical care to anyone that approached. My mother in law spends her days tending to the women that come into her life.  Finding ways to plug in and support and encourage in the every day happenings. She always sends cards. Birthday, anniversary, mother's & father's day.  Each one with an encouraging word or word of affirmation.  She thanks for me being just who I am.  She understands that no matter who you are or where you are in life a word of blessing makes a difference. Intentional.

The past 13 years we have been blessed to have them close home and always up for a drop in visit from our sons. Grandpa knows all the good fishing spots and the boys love that time of bonding!  Grandma know that they are always hungry and grandma's kitchen never disappoints. Intentional.  

  The hard choices are easy to see. You know they are tough as they come up.  They are the ones that we have to take time to kick around. Think about.  Pray over. The blessings that come from saying yes when we want to say no are not always as clear right out of the gate.  Maybe we don't even ever personally benefit ourselves or know how we have benefitted from them.   When we choose to say yes to a calling that feels like Mt. Everest it takes our faith one step deeper.  Intentional. 

  In the last week I was in a situation with a family that lives a very different life than I am used to.  Walking through an unexpected loss.  Realizing that the foundational, biblical truths I would cling to, if this had happened in my own family, could not be applied in their situation. They had chosen differently.  The legacy they came from and are leaving behind is/was nothing like what I know.  Nothing like I just spent the last 10 paragraphs talking about.   There was no peace.  No promise of a reunion glory. No Savior. Unintentionally bypassed eternity in heaven.

  I do not mean this to say, I know that state of anyone's heart. I am only saying I know the feeling of the atmosphere around me as I spent time with them.  The tone of the day. The comments of the family.   I can only pray that they felt the peace that only Jesus can give.  That they would see the fire of the Holy Spirit in us and they would want that in their own lives.  It made me reflect.  I started thinking of all I have been blessed with.  The heritage and legacy of faith I am so incredibly grateful to be born into.  That's not all though.  I have to be intentional. 

  Faith can be passed down but is not something that just happens to us.  Faith takes action and is a choice.  A walk. A relationship. From it we are changed. Challenged. Refined.  Sanctified.  Set apart.  If it weren't a choice it wouldn't set us free. Intentional  

  We all leave a legacy.  Leave a mark on this world.  Will your impact be a blessing or a hindrance?  

  My desire is to leave a legacy of Jesus. To be known as one that spoke truth in love that others will see the one I serve.  My intention is to always say yes to the call of my heavenly father.  The plans God has for me are so much greater than anything I could ever imagine for myself. I humbly say yes, I am your, lead me as you will. 

  Intentional.