This year has flown by! You may remember, in December I host my “top 20 blog posts” where I repost some of my favorite posts from the previous year. (I invite you to choose your favorite. See below for details.) It’s a fun way to encourage and partner with other bloggers while presenting you with what I believe to be inspiring or challenging snippets of truth. Today Penny Zeller, an author of many books and magazines, challenges us to make our lives count.  Trudging through the day-to-day, life can appear to drag on, but truly it’s just a blip and tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. When it’s all said and done, what will  you leave behind?

What is Your Legacy by Penny Zeller

According to Webster’s Concise Dictionary, the word “legacy” means anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor.

Last summer at my grandpa Papa’s, funeral, I was asked to write a life sketch and speech in memory of him. As I began to work on the speech, I was convicted once again of the importance of the legacy we, as parents, leave behind for our children.

Papa had so many people who loved him. In writing my speech, I gave a lot of thought to legacies and what they mean.

According to an article by Dr. Greg Bourgond “at the end of a life-there are four possible legacies we can leave:

(1) No legacy, (2) a bad legacy, (3) a perishable legacy, or (4) a lasting Godly legacy in the lives in the others.”

Why is leaving a lasting Godly legacy important? What is a Godly legacy?

I once heard a quote from Austin L. Sorensen that went like this: “A child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.”

Wow, that’s a powerful thought and something we, as parents, should take very seriously.

How can a child find something of God in his or her father? For example, are daddy’s arms always open whenever there is a problem? Is daddy a refuge in times of trouble? Is he a shield from the bad day at school or the fight with a best friend? Is daddy loving, caring, and full of grace? Is he forgiving? Does he put the needs of others first? Is daddy someone his child can trust? Is he an encourager, is he patient, and kind? God is all of these things and these are just a few of the glimpses of God a child can see in her father. To see such things in her daddy helps her to see that God is all of those things and more, only to perfection.

Woodrow Kroll from Back to the Bible has compiled a great listing of some characteristics of a Godly man: He says that Godly Men are the leaders, protectors, and teachers in their homes. Godly men are worship leaders, disciplinarians, counselors, and encouragers in their homes.

Dads don’t realize how important they are in their children’s lives and this is just another testament to this fact. I can testify as Papa’s granddaughter that I saw him exhibit traits such as being a pillar of strength, protective, loving, and caring. He was a hard worker, provided for his family, and desired justice, yet not revenge.

When I consider Papa’s legacy, I am inspired to consider my own legacy that I am building in my children.

In the song “Legacy” by Nichole Nordeman, says she wants to leave a legacy, to be remebered as one who chose to love and pointed others to Christ.

When you reach the end of your life, will you have accepted the grace offered by the Lord Jesus Christ? Will God be saying to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant?”

Whether we are moms or dads, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, cousins, or grandparents, may we all leave behind a legacy that speaks of Christ and His saving grace that lives within us. As Dr. Greg Bourgond says, “live your life for an audience of One!”

Will you join me in prayer? Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of Papa. Thank You for the many years You gave him to us and thank You for allowing us to see glimpses of You in him. Lord, I pray today that we would all exhibit glimpses of You within us, whether to our children or to the stranger in the grocery store. Help us to be that salt and light that You have called us to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Sources: http://acomplete180.wordpress.com/2007/07/03/what-are-the-characteristics-of-a-godly-man/

http://www.christianedwarehouse.com/cep/webpage.cfm?&DID=6&WebPage_ID=100

http://www.christianlyricsonline.com/artists/nichole-nordeman/legacy.html

Bio: Penny Zeller is the author of several books and numerous magazine articles. She is also the author of the blog “A Day in the Life of a Wife, Mom, and Author” www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com where she also provides weekly doses of humor, along with devotionals, movie reviews from a Christian worldview, and interviews with some of her favorite author friends.

Penny is an active volunteer in her community, devoting her time to assisting and nurturing women and children into a closer relationship with Christ. Her passion is to use the gift of the written word that God has given her to glorify Him and to benefit His kingdom.

Hailee is Penny’s latest book and the final book in the series, which began with McKenzie and Kaydie in Montana Skies, her first series with Whitaker House. When she’s not writing, Penny enjoys spending time with her family and camping, hiking, canoeing, and playing volleyball. She and her husband reside in Wyoming with their two children.

Penny loves to hear from her readers at her website, www.pennyzeller.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennyzellerbooks

 Help determine which of my top 20 blog posts for 2011 will become the top three. To “cast a vote” simply leave a comment, FB share the post, or tweet it. At the end of the the month I’ll tally up every comment, tweet, and share and will reveal *your* favs!