Silent Watcher

We had a great time at the marriage seminar this weekend. We picked up a lot of cool ideas, nothing ground breaking. But there was a lot of information that kind of pricked us into thinking about habits we’ve made that aren’t necessarily the best. One of the biggest ideas that this weekend encouraged was the idea of leaving a legacy. I think that it’s easy to over-look the importance of leaving a legacy. However it’s one of the noblest things that I can think of to do.
Look at the families that grow in mediocrity, not just spiritually but also emotionally, mentally, and financially. Most of us can especially look at our own families that we grew up in and see some things that we wished we’d grown up with. Does that mean that our families were failures? Absolutely not, but it means that once we can see those mistakes we can improve on them.
There are a couple of things that we’ve looked that that we would like our children to be able to grow up with. Well, actually more than a couple.

Spiritual Heritage
Salvation
Biblical Knowledge/morals/ethics
Doctrinal foundation
Ethics/Character

Finances
The concepts of Building wealth
Inheritance when WE die
College paid for

Socially
Be able to relate well with all ages
Be confident and composed
Stylish in how they look and speak
Able to step outside “the norms”
Never let anyone look down on them
Yet be a servant enough to serve (warrior servant)
Confident in their sexuality (a real man and a real woman)

Mentally/ Emotionally
Able to Handle stress
Able to focus and concentrate
Able to learn quickly
Smart and capable
Organized
Emotionally stable and thoughtful of others

Attitudes
Charismatic and able to lead
Gentle and humble- able to follow
Optimistic but tempered with reality
Brave, Able to work through fears

High expectations right? Is it possible for a parent to set the bar too high? I think that the important thing to remember is that the children follow the parents’ leadership. As A parent we first need to become what we want our children to be… that sets our own bar high and it gives us a personal reason to set our personal expectations higher… to build a legacy…
If we use our own lives, we have maybe… 50 more years to be active if the Lord blesses us? If we leverage our lives and raise great children… they will raise great children as well and so on so forth… it leverages greatness into our family tree and it leaves a legacy that will reach far beyond my own lifetime…