Defining Your Faith Legacy

Note: A couple of items that are linked together. The poem was written more than a decade ago. The article? In recent years. - Glenn

I talked to my dad recently. It was a time of remembering. The double car garage built in 1975 for around $3,000. Times when we painted houses together. Times when we organized family stuff. The time when an wayward pig nearly caused me to roll my first pickup.

This phone call conversation was intended to wish my dad a happy birthday, but it became more. It had been five years since a major surgery. Fifty-four years since he and mom said their “I do's” (she went on ahead a few years back). He'd just celebrated 35 years with the county transportation department. The conversation obviously centered around the passing of years.

When I was growing up, my dad would be the first one out of bed. He would read his Bible and pray from 4-6 am. I didn't think this unusual. Didn't all dads do that?

It was my grandma's example that my dad followed. By Dad's own admission he only got up early because that's what his mom did. At some point the example became a habit, and the habit became a lifestyle, and the lifestyle become a new example.

Dad told me that there had been a lady who visited with his mom when he was young. His mother had not grown up in a Christian home. This is why the unknown lady was so important to our family story. At some point my grandmother believed and was saved.

In her imperfect way my grandmother shared the faith that was being nurtured within. My dad accepted Jesus and his journey with Jesus started earlier than his mom's.

My faith journey started earlier than his, but God used Dad's faith to influence my interest. The faith of my father was nurtured by his mother. Her faith was the result of a stranger's introduction to Jesus.

Today my own children are the recipients of an imperfect legacy that faithfully relies on the power of a good God. My dad told me he hopes the legacy goes on, “Forever.”

We each have generational curses and blessings that we pass on. Sometimes we inadvertently pass along baggage to our children they were never meant to carry. Sometimes they continue to carry that baggage to their grave. Sometimes we have blessings we can share, but refuse to do so. We may want our children to earn the blessing, hope for the blessing, and understand we believe we control the blessing.

We withhold what we could easily give and give what we should intentionally withhold.

Like anyone else I can look honestly at my dad and wish he were more of this or less of that, but he did provide blessings when he could. He withheld pain whenever he could. Some issues he just didn't know how to handle.

I'm not perfect so I can't expect him to be either. What remains is for me to take the best of my father's legacy and pass it on, break away from behaviors that weren't always helpful, and rely on God to fill in all the gaps, before, between, and beyond.

It was a great conversation with Dad. I like to have them often.

God is the author and finisher of each of our stories. Maybe it's time for you to let Him take control of the pen and help define your legacy not by where you came from, but because of who He's making you to be.

The Faith Legacy

Glenn Hascall

She was up before dawn

Reading candlelit page

Oft times she was cold

As a prayer battle raged

Her youngest boy, Gene

Observed his dear mother

Rising alone in the dark

For one reason and no other.

A spiritual-war-ravaged Bible

Lay spread on the table

Hiding God’s Word in her heart

As long as she was able

She never once asked

For her boy to adhere

To her morning ritual

No punishment - no fear

But the boy is now 70

And each day before dawn

He is filling his mind

As he has for so long

Treating God’s Word as precious

In the quiet of the day

Meeting God in prayer

With so much to say

Like grandma in times past

And like Dad just this morn

I too search God’s Word

Since the day I was re-born

I’m a recipient it seems

Of a wondrous faith legacy

And I’ll be a willing example

So, hopefully, my children see

And perhaps someday they’ll say

He was up before dawn

A lamp lit the page

Sometimes he was weary

As a prayer battle raged

He treated God’s Word as precious

In the quiet of the day

Meeting God in prayer

His life had so much to say.

Follow Hard – Fear Not

Every day people around the world face fears that may seem odd to you, but are absolutely real to them. Sometimes these fears are debilitating.

The fear of a catastrophic event might make it impossible to participate in almost all activities away from home - the one place they may feel safe.

There's a scientific name for the fear of everything (Panphobia). There are phobias related to the fear of sunlight, dirt, loud noises, darkness and almost any other thing you could name.

We know that angels often reminded humans to knock off that whole worrying thing. Someone has even said there are 365 times that we are told to “fear not” in the Bible – one for each day of the year. Actually, depending on the version of the Bible you use there are between 80-110 mentions of this phrase, but still, the reminders are important – every day.

Humans have always been pretty good at holding onto fear like a sword, but fear won't make us live longer lives, fear won't make us promotion worthy employees, fear is a contagious condition, and fear makes life seem like less of an adventure and more like a prison sentence.

We fear what we don't understand or that which makes us uncomfortable.

In certain situations fear induces a fight or flight reaction, which can be helpful in the short-term. This is true for soldiers in war, when we're confronted with real danger, or in protecting our families. But fear is a switch that needs to be shut off once the danger is over.

To remain in a place of high anxiety leads to stress related illness that will actually subtract days from your life. High blood pressure, heart disease, and stomach ulcers are all a byproduct of fear-based anxiety.

Fear attacks your health, but also your mind – and it's never attractive. When you become obsessed with fear you suddenly find yourself thinking of every relationship, activity, and dream in light of your fear. You refuse friendships because they might bring the thing you fear with them, or you're afraid they will be hurt because they might encounter your fear.

“Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.” Isaiah 41:10 (MSG)

God knows there are so many things we don't understand, but He does. God sees that we get stressed out about what we can't control, but He's in control. God hears our cries for help, and He says, “Fear not.”

You see when we try to control every circumstance we are intentionally telling God we don't think He's able to take care of us. If God can keep all the elements of our world working together to sustain life He is big enough to take care of every fear you could ever entertain. When you refuse to fear you have more time to really live the life God created you to live.

Someone once said that God was a bit like a GPS. If God tells you where to go and how to get there, but you get sidetracked, He will recalculate your route to get you back on track. However, fear always takes you on detours. You will face road hazards God never intended for you to face and the detour means you will have less time to embrace the plan God has always had for you. Follow hard – fear not.

Recalculating.

To Those Who Are Willing

No one wants to be over committed. I have had to adopt a policy of 'holy subtraction' throughout my life. If you're unfamiliar with the term it simply means that you look over your commitments, readjust priorities and subtract those things that don't allow you to keep reaching for God's best. The truth is none of things you let go of should ever contradict what God says in His Word. For instance you wouldn't abandon your family in order to go live alone on a mountain. You wouldn't give up reading God's Word in order to build a new deck.

When done correctly “Holy Subtraction” has the ability to simplify your life and let you do great things instead of settling for that which is only “good”.

Once upon a time I was asked to attend a high school event and videotape the performance. My immediate response was, “I'm certain you could find someone more qualified since I have never done this before.” I thought I was being gracious, even honest, but a subsequent email suggested otherwise, “We weren't looking for great qualification we were looking for someone willing.”

The end result? I filmed three nightly performances of Oklahoma (A musical in which I performed in high school). By the third night I was no longer just a willing individual, but one with more experience than I had just a few days earlier.

I think God will give us opportunity to help others even when the help needed falls outside our comfort zone. We may resist or respond, and we can be certain that whichever choice we make we will learn something. It could be about ourselves, it could be about others, or it could even be about something that will help us in other situations.

Because I love quotes I want to share one from George Herbert who died in 1633 (well before digital video cameras), “Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

You may have heard that God equips the called instead of always calling the equipped? Well, the evidence of this is often found when we see where God is working and go there. We jump into the situation with little more than a desire to do what we feel God is asking us to do. With each uncertain step we find that the things we need to complete the task become more accessible the longer we work.

Yet so often we are waiting for the 'just right' moment, although we may be very unsure what that moment looks like or how we will recognize it. We may have reasons to live in a sustained time of rest, and that may be the best choice, but sometimes the choice to do something is to simply start where you are and ask God for His best direction providing the lamp to the feet and a light for the path. One step, two steps, and a few more. With each forward movement we begin to find the trust we have in God grows because in each small step forward we trust His leadership, yearn for His voice, and sense there is adventure waiting – to those who are willing.

When The Going Gets Tough

Once upon a time I was a philatelist. That's a fancy name for a stamp collector. It all started innocently enough. I went to the five and dime store in town and bought a shiny new book that told me all about the postage stamps someone my age should own.

Whenever I got enough money I rode my bike ten blocks to the almost sacred shrine of the Ben Franklin store. I would toss my collection of coins on the counter and receive a small bag filled with stamps. They were all used and had cancellation marks on them, but at the time I didn't know they were less valuable. These stamps had been all over the country, and I was impressed. I was on a scavenger hunt and I needed to find every stamp in my book. I needed a complete collection. I filled many pages and had a truly impressive accumulation of leftover stamps.

Every few weeks I would enter the store with the bell over the door, walk past the mechanical horse that cost a dime to ride, up a small incline, past the goldfish, and there – just next to the marbles – more stamp collecting goodness.

The ladies who waited on me knew me by name. I'd like to think it was because I was such an ardent collector, but mostly it was because I grew up in a small town and pretty much everybody knew everybody else. Still I'd walk out with my stamps in an attempt to complete my collection.

I never did.

There's nothing that will do more to stomp on your dreams than roadblocks. I remember the first time I came home with my stamps and there were no new stamps to fill in the remaining blanks. I had tossed a couple of silver colored coins and a couple of coppers on the counter, ridden my bike to and from the store, and for what? Nothing.

It didn't take too many similar experiences to conclude that stamp collecting was a waste of my time. I transferred my energy to the skill required to make clackers work, watch the ebb and flow of my sister's lava lamp, explore the river, and read books that never once talked about stamp collecting.

When the going gets tough the average Joe goes walking. I did. God's Word says something about that, “Let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.“ Galatians 6:9-10 (MSG)

People have always been distracted by what's new and shiny. We can easily get off track. We are a people who can easily abandon a project when it's no longer easy or fun. Our stick-to-it-iveness can have less stick than a sticky note.

Maybe it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things whether or not I finished my stamp collecting, but there are plenty of things God wants me to stick to – even when it's hard – even when I see no benefit – even when I want to give up.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)