LEGACY

My mentor and friend, John Maxwell writes a lot about “legacy”.   In life, as we get older, we all reflect on our future and what we leave behind, and what is before.  John had his “wake-up” call when he had a heart attack at the young age of 51.  I got a wake-up call when in 2005 I was diagnosed with cancer.  I think about legacy every day now.

I was once again aroused in my thinking last night – when my wife’s father, Dave McNeilly received his heavenly promotion.  We were at his side when he took that last breath – at the age of 86.  What a precious man of faith and conviction.  He has impacted so many people over the years.  He is the father of two children, proud grandfather of five grandkids who adore him – and great-grandpa to twelve kids, who think he’s the greatest!  Pictured above is the youngest great-grandchild (# 12) – my granddaughter, Vera Victoria Railey, age one. When I look at that picture, I know that even though she may not remember all about him – she will be impacted by his influence in the family.

He is leaving an awesome legacy – every child, grandchild, and great-grandchild has a rich Christian heritage.  Dave was such a strong man of faith and so many people felt his influence. He never knew a stranger and was accepting of everyone, making them know how much he cared for them.  He was an inspiration to all, and was a mentor to many.

Dave is leaving his legacy.  Think about who is following you! What will your legacy be?

REFLECTION

Driving along the highway the other day, I was listening to the audio book of John Maxwell’s classic, The 15 Laws of Growth.  Over and over John kept talking about the power of thoughtful reflection.  He made statements that said, in effect, “experience is not the best teacher…. reflective experience is.”  As I thought about this, I was conscience-stricken by the fact that many times I have attended seminars, read good books, heard fantastic speakers, then never took the time to stop and “reflect”.

We all are aware of the idea of reflection.  We’ve seen the awe-inspiring views of scenery reflected on the water.  We daily look at the reflection of ourselves in the mirror.  Where would we be without the mirror?  How would we prepare ourselves for each day without the reflection of who we are staring back at us?

But for a moment – let’s think about the other kind of reflection – the kind where we think about what we’ve learned, heard, or read – where we think about the experiences we have gone through.

One of my favorite Bible passages says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable n your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalms 19:14).  There’s that word “meditate” or “reflect upon”.  

I’m not talking about some mindless transcendental meditation.  Even Confucius stated, “Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.”

Doing a word study on that Hebrew word for “meditate,” you’ll find definitions such as, “ruminate, roll over in the mind, analyze, study, imagine, muse, mutter, and groanings”.    To those who are familiar with cows and sheep – ruminate means the same as ‘chewing the cud’ – the process of a double digestion of food.

In life, we all have so much information flowing into our minds and lives – so many experiences – so many voices being heard.  How do you learn?  How do you apply what you’ve heard?  What do you need to apply, and what do you need to ignore?

We’ve heard the expressions, ‘head knowledge’ and ‘heart knowledge’ – how does information get from head to heart?  -     REFLECTION

John Maxwell talks about a “thinking chair” – a quite place where he goes to reflect and think.  We all need to do more reflecting – more mediation – more rumination.

If you want to change your life – change your future – change your family – start with some reflective thinking.  All actions are based in our thoughts.  Go to the source of your actions – think better – think and learn – and change for the better