"The next Great Depression?

What a time to be living...I cant remember a time in my life where I have heard so much bad news in such a short period of time. There are so many people struggling in our country. Job loss, debt, and forclosure has touched every American in some form or another. Will these struggles be something we discuss with our grandchildren, just like our grandparents discussed the "great depression" with us?

The great depression impacted the American people in a lot of ways. Certainly it impacted people negatively, from a financial standpoint, but what about the positives? The great depression taught people that God and family were the most important things. The GD taught people how to spend(Cash-no credit), how to save and how to prepare for tomorrow.

Did Americans simply forget about how hard those times were? I think so...What else could explain our current financial state? I want to make sure that I am teaching my children about the significance about what is going on around them. I want to teach them that their relationship with their God and their family is more important than the things they acquire. I want teach them to save, and to use cash. Times are tough, but what can we learn from them? Just a thought.

Roll up your sleeves people...

Just spent 2 days with my children, my wife was on hiatus...Needless to say, I am glad she is back. The time with my children was awesome, but very challenging. I got a glimpse of what life would be like as a single dad. It's much harder to focus on the positive impact I should have on my kids, when I'm just trying to get through the day. I did however enjoy my special time with them, but know the power of a parenting partnership and how much children benefit from a mom and a dad under one roof. Legacy is not always about some reflective state out in nature, sometimes it's about rolling up your sleeves and being the dad that you need to be. Cooking a meal, doing bath time, cleaning up and giving plenty of hugs and kisses in the process.

Investing to Legacy

It struck me the other day that legacy is similar to investing...How could one draw this conclusion? In thinking about this, several other questions went through my mind. Why do I do the things that I do? How much of what I do is for me, versus for someone else? What provides me with the greatest fulfillment and satisfaction? Could a person pass an intentionally positive legacy if that person was all consumed with his or her self? You can see where I'm going with this...

Back to the investing thing... I think leaving and passing a good legacy is about investing in the lives of others. Perhaps this goes without saying, but God has clearly instructed us to put other people above ourselves. Invest in others and pass a legacy worth passing!

A slice of the good life

The last day of our hunt was cold and windy, but the sun was shining and the views of the prairie were stunning. Tyler and I were walking alone and away from our group. It was a very surreal experience for me. I feel as though I am entering into a different phase of my life. I am beginning to appreciate my son on a different level as we enjoy the same interests. I am finding it extremely fulfilling to pass the things that I love, on to him. I wonder if this is how God feels about me? Does He feel the intense satisfaction and joy when I accept the things He passes to me?
The hunt itself was less than mediocre, which is why we call it hunting and not killing...But, the ever increasing bond with my new hunting buddy was strengthened by the time we shared in the field. The talks we had, the hours driving, and the time spent with close friends. Funny thing was, I didn't even think about business....Tyler and I got a slice of the good life on this trip, we were blessed.

Legacy of a Sportsman

So, why is it important to be intentional about passing on your legacy as a sportsman? You love the outdoors. It is your passion. It is where we feel alive. Is it important to somehow capture all of the adventures and emotions and somehow express them to the generations that will follow us? The miles you have walked through the woods, and the depths you have floated on your favorite lakes or the ripples you have counted on the river and all of the memories that those events encompass. Is it important to capture all of the thoughts and conversations that you have while spending countless hours with those people that you love?

What were some of the most memorable camp fire discussions you had? What made your belly laugh so hard, that you felt like you were drowning with no air? How much emotional healing have you had over the years by smelling the sweet aroma of the morning mist; Or watching a breath taking sunset beyond the horizon, as you and you son sit on a rock. You spend both quality time and quantity of time in the field.

How many hours in the car swapping stories, eating beef jerky(as if eating beef jerky somehow brings us closer to nature) and anticipating the hunting or fishing experience in which you were about to embark? This is where you lose yourself and find yourself, all at the same time. Things become clear and less complicated. This is where you connect with your friends and family. This is where some of the most important lessons in life were learned and now taught. The field and what you learned from it, is your legacy.

We first have to give definition to what legacy is, and legacy is about teaching others about the life experiences that you have. You were taught how to shoot a gun, or how to cast a line, look for game on the side of a shady ridge. How to clean a shotgun, tie a fly, load ammo. You were taught the skill of holding in that sneeze and staying still when that big buck was just out of range. You were taught how to fight the urge to sleep later, but instead to get up and get the “worm” (remember the “early bird” saying?)

Legacy is about passing values to those that are most important to us. The honesty of passing on a questionable shot, or avoiding the temptation to fish with two rods instead of one, even though you know no one else will know. It’s about passing convictions, and it’s about seeing those things blossom in the lives of those that you love. Legacy is about your present past and your future working together to impact to the lives of your children and your children’s children. So what lessons are taught while you are hunting and fishing?

· You’re teaching the beauty and the care for the creation that you’re enjoying.
· You’re teaching respect for animals and other people.
· You’re teaching integrity of the sportsman in general and what your values are.
· You’re teaching safety and readiness.
· You’re teaching how to focus under pressure

This concept of legacy brought new meaning to me the first time my son shot his first bird out of the air at age 9. I was dancing around with my gun in the air like I had just won the lottery. Something inside of me had been stirred unlike anything I had ever experienced. He and I celebrated, laughed and to this day still retell the story of what happed on that late September afternoon. What occurred during that hunt that was beyond special. It was more than memorable. I don’t want to lose this experience. I want my son’s grandchildren to know about the day he shot his first dove. The hunt itself had a higher meaning. It wasn’t about filling my limit, or outdoing my hunting comrades. It was about investing my life in the life of my son.

Legacy brought new meaning to me the first time my 6 year old daughter caught her first trout. As she reeled in that 8-inch stocker, my life changed forever. We bonded in a way that was not possible before that fish. As we sat hand in hand on the edge of that pond, waiting for the next unlucky little “tyke” to eat the morsel on the end of her line, I was at peace as a dad. My role for that moment, was complete.

Isn’t it interesting that we are discussing the change that Legacy, and passing things on in the future has a way of changing our lives for the better, today? Legacy is not just about the future, it is about being who we were created to be, today.

Those with children and grandchildren have stories of their own, special stories. It would be such a shame to lose those stories. Every sportsman should do whatever possible to preserve this unique tool that we have to teach the generations that will follow about the importance of being a sportsman and passing on their traits through a sportsman legacy.

Intentional Legacy Now!

There is a process to Legacy. Legacy itself is not a destination. Legacy is a consideration of the future, but it deeply involves the present and the past. God can use legacy to heal your past and make you more effective for His kingdom in the future. God calls us to disciple our families, and what is one of the products of that discipleship? It's an intentional legacy that is left for others to see and experience.

Why is legacy important to me today? God is going to use legacy to heal the wounds that we have. We all have wounds, and we all need healing for those wounds. I believe it is very difficult to be open to God's will for your life for the future when you haven't reconciled God's will for your past. What has hurt you in the past? What circumstances occurred that you cannot explain? Why are you unsettled when you look at certain historical events that took place in your life?

I am discovering that my legacy involves my past as much as it does my future. The generations that follow me will want to know about me. they will want to know my struggles, but more importantly how I dealt with those struggles and how God used those struggles to draw me closer to Him. I believe God will use my past to teach me about Him, but He will use those things to impact the lives of those yet to come. Romans 8:28 " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose".

Sold out...To what?

Why is legacy capturing my thoughts these days? I am thinking that God is some way whispering to me that there are things in this life that are just not as important as I thought. I have spent so much time pursuing an illusion. The closer I get to that illusion, the oasis in the desert, the farther I am away from it. In other words its unattainable. As a believer in Jesus Christ , I will never be completely satisfied with what life has to offer without Him. My thirst will never be quenched by drinking from the well of the world.

I am thinking more about how my life in Christ will impact those around me. I am specifically interested in how I will pass my values to my children and their children, and their children. Perhaps I have finally given in to the fact that I will not be a Kennedy or a Rockefeller, and the inheritance that my kids will receive will have nothing to do with money. Good thing!

I am listening more to what God would have me do.. I have often told God that I am going this direction, and I fully expect Him rain down His blessings upon me, as I pursue my own agenda. I bought into the "Blessing candy machine" philosophy. Pop in a couple of requests and out comes a pretty packaged blessing, just like I asked. Maybe it doesn't work that way. How do I totally surrender to what God has for my life and the lives of my children? Is it about living the good life and getting the blessings we ask for, or is it about simply being with and knowing God no matter what circumstances we are in?

I have been sold out to the "prosperity" doctrine for too long. If I do the right things, act the right way, pray more, do my devotions, read my bible, sin less, work harder, go to church more often, give more, then God will grant my every wish. The genie will come out of the bible and fulfill me to my hearts content. So why am I not always content? Can I really control God this way? Does this formulaic approach really work? Have I cracked the code? If I simply do these things, will I get what I want?

God wants me in relationship with Him. He never promised me life was going to be easy, no matter what I do. The good life concept is not some sort of deal we make with God in order to get what we want. We cannot manipulate God, and if we are arrogant enough to believe we can, then we deserve to live life in the fog of despair and discouragement.

In short, legacy is a perspective for me. It's a lens I am looking through at every area of my life. It affects everything. Is my legacy the money or things, I leave behind in memory of some distant generation? Or is legacy God's footprint in my life, lived for His glory, to teach His future generations about Him? Legacy isn't about us, it's about Him. Something to think about...