Last night I was in the dream “washing” machine. Dream after dream. Thought after thought. These are three that I thought were relevant.
1-The first dream I found myself avoiding those who had evil thoughts for my life. In my possession, I had the secrets of a world to come on a 9” floppy disk. (Upon waking my first thought, was my grandson’s digital watch holds more information!) “Detrimental truths” of the goodness of the Lord were upon it. The realities of Christ described. Continue reading Three Dreams July 26th 2013→
Yesterday my wife came home at 6:50. In the car was the last stuff we were pulling from the house.
Today at 3PM, our home goes to auction. If you are interested in the long version, I posted that yesterday. Or you can visit the Facebook page to visit pics, etc..
Bottom line we did all that we knew how to do. Right up to the final “bell.”
If I learned one thing in the last five years there are a lot of good people in the world. Many who are content and willing to call me their friend.
There are a lot who took the opportunity as well to lie, steal and cheat while Tina and I went through this season of our life. Bless you!
This week my son came alongside to help out. Thanks Tyler! A friend Matt joined as well as various family. Over the years my friend Mike showed up , along with Joel and Robin to help out. My friend Dave from Barre and his crew. The folks from Village who joined in. And so many more.
There is a freedom that comes at 3. My best efforts will never have been in “vain.” Someone had a dream about me and the freedom that comes with this. I simply believe. (A balloon was tethered, but this week it was set free to travel.)
It is funny, last night I was thinking about the last winter I was working on the house. I was up there by myself, working on the second floor. The next thing I knew or remember I was laying on the cement below with blood on me, the ground and the snow. No recollection of anything. Called my wife to pick me up. She wanted to take me to the hospital. I said, “no Thanksgiving is tomorrow.” She was not impressed. I had a lovely weekend despite the headaches and headed to the ER on Monday. The sacrifice? Nothing compared to others.
So, the clock stops ticking today for us in Springfield. New life, new season.
Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner. Walt Disney
The Lord has really put the thought process of legacy in my heart over the years. When I spoke on Sunday, I talked about it some. When I looked at the destruction of my home, I was again brought back to the thought of legacy. And earlier this week I wrote about legacy.
Last night after prayer at Village I went in and watched the worship team in their practice. The best part for me was to watch two young girls join the worship team in preparation for this weekend. One may be 10 years old and the other is younger. One of the worship leaders sat in a chair behind them to instruct them and give them encouragement.
To me that is the epitome of what I am talking about. A real mentor will be behind the scene. A true parent will be coaching, instructing their child in preparation for their own adult life.
So, I was encouraged to come home and find this post by a friend, Lynn Hiles.
Parents if you want to be your child’s friend now you will have to be there parent later. If you will be there parent now you can be there friend later. The Kingdom does not come from the White House it comes from your house. I am still a firm believer in the power of family and local church. The kingdom is the organic result.
There is a shirt that says “Parenting is not for cowards.” How true. If you are going to be a good parent you will have to get involved in your children; good, bad and ugly. The same is true for legacy. 25 year olds…in 10 years, if you are not already, you will most likely, be married, settled somewhere with a career going forward. You will not be doing what you are doing now. My question is will you begin to put yourself out of a job? In church, you may be a worship leader or a Sunday school teacher. Who are you bringing alongside as your replacement? In social life, you may coach or instruct young people. Who is your mentoree? Mentoring is part of having a destiny.
One of the reasons I get frustrated with the “destiny” talk is because to accomplish something you often need to leave something. Too often folks are caught up in the “me” and not the “them.” While a church leader can replace the worship leader or the Sunday school teacher who may leave, seeing the legacy of your good works and your investment, flawlessly moving to another, enhances not only their lives but is enriching yours. It is the stuff destiny is made out of.
I have seen the difficulties of flawed mentoring and coaching models. In the world they are often people placed in lives, but the church has the ability to embrace the family idea. It is always a good time to come alongside.
As I watched my friend Heather, coaching last night during worship, I thought that really is the picture on so many levels. She moved down to their level. Getting eye to eye (One of the greatest photography difficulties I have seen over the years is the person shooting down on a child. Get down to their level. Kneel, crawl or lie down. You will be amazed!) meant she could see them and they could see her. She sat behind them helping them along the way. The long term goal is for you to no longer be visible in so many areas. Seated, giving them their turn, their opportunity.
I love reading about legacy and all that it entails. Over the years a couple of my spiritual dads sowed the works of John Maxwell into my life. If you are interested in truly building a legacy whether in the church, business or personal, you may be interested in starting here
Live life with intent and the idea that everything you choose is and will be important. Not everyone will accept what you have to offer, but I assure you thee is the young man or woman, who identifies with you on some level.
“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” Shannon L. Elder
(The recent loss of my home has forced me to look further into legacy and destiny.)
Everyone wants a destiny. Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. It’s hard to have a destiny until you believe you have a legacy. When we see the legacy thinking pattern of the Father, we begin to drill down to release those coming. God wants to participate in your destiny. Destiny apart from legacy is a self-centered, individualized trip. The world’s best businesses are operational with the belief that you “put yourself out of a job.”
It is more than a delegated handoff where you build without investment, just to build. Inheritance fades away as we spend it but a legacy lives on after we die. It perpetuates. Inheritance activity may or may not pay off but legacy activity becomes accomplishment. You have built something into peoples’ lives that is substantial. We are building for a “forever.”
I am passionate about destiny and legacy. I had written destiny and legacy were tied together. Last night a good friend said to me, I did not go far “enough.” He said that integrity is important in the “equation.”. In thinking about it I agree. A parent who makes promises and never keeps them, just to “kick the can down the road,” will lose value and possibly relationship with the child who comes to believe that they cannot keep a promise. “Promise little, deliver plenty” is a business principle that would go a long way in the day to day understanding of legacy.
Integrity-The Important Component
When talking about legacy, your integrity in the following will be important.
Keep promises
Practice what you “preach”
Build with purpose
Development a relationship founded on love
Do not build for what you may derive out of it.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Biblical Destiny Is Communicated To People by God
Biblical destiny is not a person’s good idea
1. Destiny doesn’t originate from within us. It is not generated by our desires or ideas. For example: I thought in When I was ordained things would be a certain way and “counted” on that. At this juncture I would say, that was not my destiny though I was content to do it forever. When Tina and I married I thought we would never leave the town we were married in. Within two years we moved across the state.
2. None of these ideas were wrong in themselves / none of them were bad desires / it’s just not what destiny is all about.
3. Example: Moses had to learn the same thing: Explain / raised in Egypt until 40 / great idea to deliver Israel – Another good idea gone bad!
• Destiny doesn’t originate from within us.
Is. 55:8 “…My ways are far beyond anything you can imagine…” (NLT)
God is the communicator of destiny
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 78:4
Legacy-The Leaving With Another
God has eternity in mind. Everything we do is not for a moment but for eternity. It should be an inter-generational transfer until Jesus come.
We want to build not just an inheritance but a legacy. It is said you can either give your child a fish or you can teach him how to fish. An inheritance is leaving them a fish. A legacy is leaving behind the knowledge of how to fish.
This means we have to put values into their lives, an infrastructure. They can eat up the inheritance but they cannot expend the legacy if we have imparted unto them.
God desires that we leave a legacy and not just an inheritance.
Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children: but the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
Proverbs 20:21, “An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers. Proverbs 17:6
1. It’s never too early to start thinking about leaving a legacy. 2. You don’t have to be perfect to leave a legacy of faith. 3. Like most worthwhile endeavors, leaving a legacy is like sowing seeds.
Release
There comes a time to say to a son or a daughter “this is your time.” Your position moves from “parent” to prayerful support. Too often we see talented, anointed people held back so that a parent can continue to receive the limelight. God is jealous for His people. He may decide to remove them. Freedom is a powerful word and concept, but one needs to understand it is the essence of empowerment and change. Too often we love freedom in our own life and deny it on a level with others.
How old do you have to be to build legacy? If you are willing to live in the realm of integrity and willing to pursue the destiny God laid out and recognize the value of the body, you can pretty much start at any age. Who can you mentor? Who can you value? Sowing into another’s destiny accomplishes and often accelerates yours. I am not talking about the “mutual” adoration club, where “you are so good.” “Thanks! So are you!” I am talking about developing a lifestyle of serving with integrity, sowing into an upcoming generation and seeing it as God’s heart.
Examine your priorities. God wants to leave a legacy in your life. He wants to put value in your life. He wants to put something that is forever in your life.
Anyone who has recollection of the newly married phase or perhaps had or has a teenager has an understanding of the language barrier. The words and their meaning you believe they have is not always what your spouse or teenage son is talking about. I understand, as I have been there on both counts. I came upon another language barrier rather quickly when I became a believer, a follower of Christ. I saw a language, even words I knew, with entirely new meaning, new thought process.
I do remember thinking, whatever happened to English?
My mom was an educator. For 35 years she taught English and history. I learned to play scrabble and do crosswords at an early age. I read dictionaries and encyclopedias (I know, what the heck are they?) in my quest for word knowledge.. But let me say, that words help, language studies help, but communication is the winning game.
If I do not understand your occasional word, I am able to look it up. But if I do not understand your language or your message, your communication is wasted on me. (I will not bemoan the language of text or some of the most awful hieroglyphic messages I have received.)
The other day one of the points I shared is the need for communication and the relevancy of speech. A manual on how to repair a cassette tape is wonderful history (Usually by using a pencil.) but it has no impact on the generation before us. My best efforts at sharing a message or a thought process can be lost if my listener or audience has no clue about what I am speaking about.
At the end of the day, I suspect it will be less about language and more about heart. I believe it will be more about understanding and communication. Not all communication is verbal, but for most people it is helpful.
So, the question belies itself. Do people know what you are talking about? We frequently hear communication is a two way street. I agree with that, but if you are the initiator of a conversation or the speaker to an audience and they have no clue about what you are talking about, you have lost an important opportunity.
I encourage you to give credence to the question, what language are you speaking? Be willing to accept the fact that not everyone “gets what you are saying.” It is less of a problem in the world while more of a problem at home or with friends. Be willing to make the change if necessary.
Proverbs 12:18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
I never awoke from the dream, but somehow slipped into the next phase. The first dream was as follows.
A man who I never saw came into my home (Not my actual home.) and was robbing me at gunpoint. He had broken the peace I felt. Knowing family members were asleep, I let him move me through the house as I suspect he was readying to either tie me up or strike me, to knock me out. As we approached our large living room, he asked me for my television. The television was behind large cabinet doors. I said, I do not have one, yet someone left the corner door open to the large cabinet. He saw the screen and said, “that is not mine. It is a friend’s.” I was not lying for I knew that the TV did not belong to me in the dream. I was not sure who it belonged to in the dream, but I knew it was not mine. His remark was “whatever” as he shoved me out of the room.
Somehow the dream shifted to another place of dream. I do not recollect any of that. I think it is because it was “gone.”
When I awoke and began to view the dream, I realized my vision has not been my “vision” but what I see the Lord saying. “Not my will but yours be done.” Why was the vision in a cabinet? I believe because it was precious. It was a very large “flat screen” TV, completely different than anything I own (My TV is probably 10-12 years old, possibly weighs more than I do and was given to me!) or would possibly ever own. The house was a big beautiful home where everything was white. Along a body of water with lots of light and lots of space. It actually is something I would choose.
Is my vision the Lord’s? Am I letting His vision be the guiding light in my life? Do I receive the Lord’s vision as precious? Do I treasure it?
The house? The fact that it offered rest, peace and light are important.
The thief? Clearly if our vision can be stolen, scripture tells us the people perish. He does not need to steal our life, just remove our vision.
In my own life I have done a lot of things that were me. I want to be sure that what I do in this season, will be valuable and help others.
Protect the vision the Lord has placed in your life. It is important to the legacy you build, the family that comes. Be aware that there are many things that will come that will cause you to doubt, to forget, to steal.
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I was sleeping and then I wasn’t. I felt as if I was to get up and do something. It is 11:30 at night. And then I began to see it. The transition. And then I saw this. The HERO’S JOURNEY. What? What is that?
Do not despise community to preserve your weirdness or pet doctrine. Community is where we are fitly joined together… sometimes with dynamite and bulldozers required. It is hard to learn honor in a vacuum.Continue reading The Need For Healthy Strong Church Community→
Being a prophet is something like putting out a new car color.
Recently, in the community I live in I see a lot of weird green cars by a Korean manufacturer Kia. Part of me jokes and says, “can you imagine being a marketing guy for a car company and saying let’s pick a really ugly color and see how long before it hits.” Continue reading Marketing Life To The Majority→
Over the week of Vacation Bible School we had the opportunity to see an area of hospitality put into action. That area was putting a sizable quantity of food out for hungry young children and keeping everything running. Continue reading Hospitality-It is not about you→
