“In my book, success is succession.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime (p. 154). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Mark right before this thought says, “I thank God for memory. Without it, we’d have to relearn everything, every day. It’s our ability to remember the past that enables us to imagine the future. And that’s the point of remembering His faithfulness, isn’t it? It fuels our future tense faith.” And then he says, “In my book, success is succession.”

He then continues, “If your influence ends with you, it wasn’t worth your time and effort. Your life is a dead end. But if you influence the next generation, you won’t just enter eternity when you die. You will live on in the lives of those you leave behind. That’s what spiritual fathering and mothering is all about— leaving a legacy of wisdom that is inherited by the next generation.”

We build memories every single day. Now some of them will be negative but hopefully most of them will be positive. But no matter what they are they will influence someone around you, especially your family.

Do you realize that your kids had no choice as to who their dad or mom is? They came into this world because of you and of course God also had a hand in it. How you react to life every day will influence the way your kids will react to life. God has given those kids to you to take care of, to nurture, to train, to show them what love is and to introduce them to God. How are you doing?

I am now a grandparent and I too still have the task of influencing another generation. Am I grumpy all the time? Am I always discouraged and despondent? Do I live with hope? Am I kind? Do they want to be around me? Am I fun? Do they know they are special and that they are loved? Do I strive to be with them? Do I show them how God has made a difference and is still making a difference in my life?

Influence. It is not something that you retire from.

Maybe you don’t have any kids around you. But there are kids and people out there who need what you have to give if you are following Christ’s way of loving and living. God has given his love to you so you can love others. It doesn’t end with you. Success is succession. Let’s continue what He started?

So how is your influence going?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog