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In the interest of living a life of legacy, it is always imperative that we keep our attention on the things that truly matter. Things like family, friends, and community are but a few of those things. We all have an invested interest in the continuation and in how well they flourish.  Every day is an opportunity to put forth the effort in securing and strengthening them. We have an invested interest. What we do in our day to day activities goes to how well we do this.

• Community: I have an invested interest in how well my community is. For in my community is where I live, raise my family, and share in the culture that is built. I cannot complain about what happens in the community, if I myself am disconnected from it. If I do not associate with the people within the community, I cannot voice my concerns with the issues that face it. If I desire to see a change in it. I must be willing to plug in.
• Friends: I have an invested interest in my friends. Seeing them faring well brings me as much pleasure as my own family. It is my desire that their lives are better for having known me. When they are down, I want to lift them up. I desire that no harm comes to them. When they struggle, there is a ripple effect and it rests upon me to ensure that I do what I can to stabilize them and reduce the impact of the imbalance.
• Family: My greatest interest is invested in my own family. For in my family is my ability to live beyond my own years. If I do not impart the values and morals that would make them strong, safe, vibrant and upright, it impacts every other investment I have. Through my family, my legacy is established.

If we forget those things that we truly have an invested interest in, we then face a legacy that is essentially empty and bankrupt.  Focus your time on the thing that truly matter in your life.  The one thing that you consistently hear from people who were on their deathbed is that they didn’t spend their time in ways that truly mattered most to them; time with family and loved ones and doing things that were truly life affirming.

If we just consider the things we truly value in life, we’ll find that investing time and energies to these things far and above anything are more rewarding to us than the other things that consume us.

QUESTION: How do you ensure that you are focused on your invested interests?

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It’s an amazing thing to think of certain things are designed.  Water, blood, money, electricity and air are all things that are uniquely designed with the intent to flow. If they aren’t flowing properly you have a major problem on your hands. As believers in Christ, we too are designed to flow. By flow, I am specifically speaking to our charge to build or advance the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. Christ is the Chief cornerstone of the Church that He himself said, “the gates of hell would not prevail” over. The Church is always to be moving in a direction that upsets every kingdom that is Anti- CHRIST. If we as Christians aren’t upsetting those kingdoms, we need to check our flow.

Like many of these earlier mentioned items, if we are not flowing as we should, then a problem is present. Water is meant to flow in a given direction. If water is not permitted to flow, it becomes stagnant, stale, polluted, filthy and diseased. If water does not flow, it becomes a breeding ground for death and even attracts pestilence.

The bible says that we are to resist the devil so that he will flee. That word resist doesn’t mean to turn in the other direction and run away when the enemy is right there in front of you. It means to put up an opposing force like an offensive lineman that is there to drive back the team against them. You gain yardage or ground when you put up a resistance to the opposing force.

Blood that doesn’t flow will harden. Blood that doesn’t flow begins to block, clot and clog in the veins and arteries. Blood that doesn’t flow is a cause for heart attacks and strokes. Blood that doesn’t flow increases pressure in the area where it should be flowing and will either cause swelling and inflammation, or it will cause other body parts to have to work and perform significantly harder just in order to do the same amount of work.

Blood is meant to flow so that oxygen and nutrients get carried throughout the body. If you aren’t flowing, who in the body have you cut off the necessary supply from? Blood is a source of life in the body. If you aren’t flowing, you are impeding the flow of life in the body. If you aren’t flowing, you are forcing others in the body to work harder than is necessary.

There used to be a saying, that 20% of the people do about 80% of the work. If you are among the 80% of the people, then you are draining the life out of the 20% that is working. If you aren’t flowing, you are creating pressure, swelling and inflammation within the body. Does it seem that there are those in the body that seem to be more stressed, more on edge, and get more heated, faster than you’ve ever known? Only the diseased gets satisfaction when blood does not flow as it should. Disease is strengthened and given license to infest, infect and infiltrate when blood does not flow as it should.

Money is meant to flow. That is why it is called currency. It should flow in and out fluidly. When money does not flow, the economy becomes stagnant, creating inflation, which results in stagflation, recession, depression, poverty and famine. Recession is an opposite flow from the way it should be moving. In sailing, it is often viewed that if you are not moving in a forward direction, then you aren’t simply standing still in the water; you are in fact moving in reverse, thus moving in a direction away from your intended destination. Are you the cause of a recession within the body? Are you the source of depression within the body? Is the body exhibiting signs of famine by your lack of flow?

Electricity is a powerful source of energy. Properly channeled and flowing in the right direction, electricity can power everything it is connected to. But when electricity is not permitted to have a proper flow it prevents the proper operation of everything and can even have explosive implications. Are you becoming the source of explosive and destructive things occurring within the body by not flowing as you should? Are you cutting others ability to function by not flowing and connecting where you are supposed to?

• Foreign Objects: The junk and dirt that clogs or blocks the natural flow. The air in an air conditioner such as in your home or car works at its peak efficiency when it has a clean filter. A clogged and congested filter, just like the lungs in your body will prevent air from flowing as it should.
• Clamps: These are especially designed to cut off flow, often as a temporary need, such as in the event of a doctor that performs a surgery. They use a clamp to prevent a loss of blood while working in a specific area. But if clamped too long, death can inevitably occur.

Do you have too many foreign objects that you have allowed to flow toward you, and now it is keeping you from flowing and being effective for the Kingdom? Has there been someone who has stopped your flow, and at one time it was beneficial to you, but now it’s killing you?

Check your flow! Find where the blockages are and remove them. Only then will you get back into your flow. Some suggestions for getting your flow back:

• Begin Your Day With God: Everyday it is a good idea to start out in communion with God. However you do it, either through prayer, meditation or reading scripture, get alone with God so that you can have clarity. Whatever troubles are before your or behind you, God will help you to see them as they truly are. Nothing is bigger than God.
• Order Your Day: Having order is critical to keeping a level head about you and enables you to structure yourself in such a way that things become manageable. There is nothing worse than losing yourself to the task that need to be accomplished and not knowing how to get it all done.
• Power of Positive Thinking: A simple change in perspective and thinking positively about them is half the battle in tackling your tasks.
• Power of Positive Actions: Small steps and small accomplishments are great set ups for doing bigger and better things. Start where you are and work up and things become more doable.
• Remove Distractions: It’s always a good idea to get away from the noises that make things hard. The noises of negative people, bad news, and things that unnecessarily monopolize your day must be put aside if you are to achieve anything.

QUESTION: When your flow is hindered, how do you get it back?

It is an amazing thing to think that from before God dispatched us into time, placing us in our mother’s womb; God prepared a place for us. If you look all the way back to the creation of the first man Adam, God prepared the place that would be his to have dominion over. God had prepared the entire earth with all that he would need to fulfill the call that God had put in him from even before he had been fashioned.

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What is so amazing is that God has done this same thing, not just for Adam, but for us all. He prepared a distinct place whereby we all can have dominion. That is such an amazing thing; when you think how Adam was just one man back then, and now there are somewhere between 6-7 billion people living today.

For us today, God prepares our mother’s womb to be able to carry us until the day we are to be born. But even more significantly, God prepares the very time that we are to be dispatched into. It is no coincidence that we live during the time that we live in. We are here with a specific God given purpose. God knew just when we’d be needed and what our specific and unique gifts and talents would mean for the time that we would be needed.

There is a multitude of things yet available for us. Even with all of the billions of people that do walk the face of the earth, God arranged it so that we could all have something to have dominion over. What has God prepared for you to have dominion over now that you are here? What is it that God has distinctly put in you to give you a place for you to rule, subdue, and replenish?

• Fish of the Sea: There are such amazing discoveries made every day simply because there are those who choose to seek out ways in which to rule and subdue all that is in the sea. From Marine Biologists to fishermen, to surfers and sailors on every coast, there is yet something that remains to be done. Are your gifts and talents suited for conquering this area?
• Birds of the Air:  Careful observations of the birds of the air made it possible for man to come up with many ways in which to rule the air. But don’t think for a minute that everything that can be done has been done.
• Animals: From shepherding to zoology, animals give us much to learn. We see many of our character traits through careful observation. Are you game for cattle rustling? Would you make a good veterinarian? Do you find fascination in wildlife preservation?
• The Land: One of the most prevailing things God gave us was the land. So many countless things have yet to be discovered, conquered and obtained. It is through exploration of the land that we trace our history, discover new cures for disease, and even find means to improve living situations. Have you been placed here to discover how to turn desolate places to plush gardens? Imagine the person who could turn a desert or wasteland into a vibrant and livable place for people to inhabit.
• Crawling Creatures:  While there are those who would never think to have anything to do with the creepy, creeping, crawling things of the earth, there are those who find great discoveries and enjoyment through dealing with these often neglected creatures.

Out of all the things that God said we are to have dominion over, the one thing that was not a part of that list was each other. Isn’t that amazing? God prepared all things for us to have dominion over, except one another. What is your prepared place? What has God established from before he dispatched you into this time and season? Find your prepared place. Make your mark. Leave your own special legacy.

QUESTION: Have you found your uniquely prepared place? What is it?

Every now and then, you may have heard someone say to you that you are a selfishperson. What you may not have heard however, is that from time to time, you need to be selfish. This comes as a shocker to most people because we are taught early in life that to be selfish is not to be desired; that it is I fact the worst of the worst traits you could possibly possess. So why then would someone like me go against the popular opinion and say that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes?

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I suppose I should clarify what I mean by being selfish. What I mean by selfish is that from time to time you must put yourself before others. There is a staunched difference between considering yourself first versus considering only yourself. To say “me first” indicates that you value yourself and that you know you have as much worth as those that are around you. To say “me only” however, says that I am all that matters; no one else.

Too often I run into people who are run down, beat up and worn out because they are so SELF-less. They so De-value themselves that they become worthless to themselves and those whom they put before them. They make themselves dead last in every area of life, so they end up unhappy, unhealthy, unfulfilled, and just completely undone.

I cannot take full credit for this realization. I have to admit that I began to see the reality of this a number of years ago as I read a book by Dr. Phil McGraw called Self Matters. If people truly knew their worth, they would find the value in putting themselves first.

I’ve mentioned before how on an airplane during the preflight announcements, the flight attendant goes over the instructions for what to do in the event of a loss of cabin pressure. They always state that you should “place the oxygen mask on yourself first, and then assist others on your row.” You cannot be of help to anyone if you yourself are incapacitated.

How much of a help am I to my family if I am sick? If I desire to be a charitable person, can I give support or assistance if I am in lack of any kind? How can I show love if I do not first love me? The bible says that a husband must love his wife even as he loves his own body. There has to come a time in which you say to yourself, “I have to make me a priority so that I can better serve others.” Even Christ had to get away from the crowd to pray so that he might be equipped to minister to them.

Love yourself enough to make YOU and priority. If you don’t value YOU, no one else will. Choose to be selfish sometimes. Say every once in a while, “Me First!” Kids do it all the time when they play. They get great joy and excitement out of it. And be honest with yourself; you know you do too.

QUESTION: How much more could you do for others if you were in a better position and place and able to do what you desire and long to do?

I’m constantly thinking about my life and the next generation. It’s partly because when I was young, my father died and I understand that life is short, so making the most out of the time we have becomes important. In the context of living a life of legacy, one thing I’m a firm believer in is not cursing the next generation. Some people have this notion that cursing is simply using profane or vulgar language. While this does fit the description, it does not put in perspective the entirety of what it means.

Words (Photo credit: sirwiseowl)

The bible says that the power of life and death lies within our tongues. Words have the ability to make or break us. As kids, we were taught that, “sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can never harm us.” The reality is that words can kill. Is it any wonder that God admonishes us to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angered? There are a number of ways in which we curse the next generation.

• Esteem Stealer: Too often we can be the very one to rob children of their esteem when we speak negatively of them. Whether it’s putting them down about their physical challenges or lack of talent, you can dramatically cripple a young person’s esteem through the things you say to them.
• Dream Killer: This is one of those things that can really destroy a young person who wants to go far. Often, it is because we never did what we dreamed was possible. Projecting your own failures or ability to pursue your dreams should be what motivates you to do all you can to see that their dreams don’t get dashed.
• Critic-Al: A major issue would definitely have to be being a critical person. We often do the greatest harm, calling ourselves giving “constructive” criticism. However, it can appear to a young person, that you are just being mean or that they can never measure up to your standards. Praise for what they do well goes a long way.

What’s worse is that we don’t just curse the next generation by what we say. We curse them by what we don’t say, as well as what we do and don’t do. If we are to truly bless the next generation with a legacy that leaves them better off than when we were with them, we have to make the proper deposits and investments into their lives. Time, money, praise, wisdom, values and virtues are but a few ways in which we do this. Commit to adding positive things to their lives and subtract the negative things from them.

QUESTION: How might you be able to leave a legacy that is free of the curse of the generation that came before you?

Do you ever remember as a kid being told by an adult or anyone, “Mind your business?” That was something I often heard growing up. The premise was, that what I was involving myself in I was not an invited participant in. It was often accompanied by the statement, “This is on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know.” There was a whole exclusivity about what was going on and I wasn’t included.

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As adults, we juggle so many things in our lives. We deal with our careers, our family, our friends, our homes and the community in which we live. The list goes on depending on how active we are and what responsibilities we choose to take on. But much like many sports figures today, we too see an ever increasing trend of people who fail to mind their business.

Mortgages, health care, elder and childcare, student loans, taxes, reports and deadlines are those things that become our business as adults. With so much vying for our attentions daily, we become easily distracted and neglectful of things that are truly our business, forgetting that the responsibilities we take on come with a price. Increased technology has us so plugged in to the distractions of gossip, and extracurricular activities and such that our focus is not on our own business.

• Don’t Substitute:
  • Expert Opinions and Advice for Your Own Due Diligence: Even the bible tells you to, “Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not be ashamed.” Too often people lose their shirts on investments and business dealings that so called experts advised them on. Yet, if you do the research, a majority of the advisors never took their own advice. How smart is that? You want to follow the advice of someone who actually does what they recommend. But more important, you want to do your own fact checking and research before you do anything.
  • With Quick Fixes and Short Cuts: As the old saying goes, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Get rich quick schemes and things that are supposed to get you to your dream goals “yesterday” rather than in a reasonable amount of time probably and most likely aren’t what they appear to be. Those short cuts more often than not lead to dead ends and cliffs you’ll fall off of.
  • Don’t Assume
    • Others are as Invested in You as You Are: You are your greatest advocate. When it comes to things like your health, finances, education and relationships, no one knows you like you know you. No one is going to care more than you about you than you. If you neglect yourself, then you are doing yourself a great disservice.
    • What Works Today Will Work Tomorrow: Rules and laws chance constantly. Things tend to go around in cycles, and often things change completely. With the advances in technology and the explosion of access to information rules and laws are changing to reflect it. Instability in the economy is changing things also. Don’t get stuck in what used to be. Open your mind to new possibilities and new realities.
    • Ignorance is Bliss: There is no such thing as ignorance of the law. The law is the law. Despite your ignorance of it, you are still held accountable to it. Laws are there to protect the innocent and to keep things fair, but if you are ignorant of those laws, they can bite you in your rear just as easily as if you had painted a “bite me” sign on it.

There used to also be the saying, “I have six months to mind my business and six months to leave yours alone.” So often, I read about the importance of having a good team or support system around you to help to make good decisions. It’s true. But no good king or business mogul leaves the decision making up to their team. The team is there to help, not replace you. You may well delegate some duties that may require it, but a good leader always keeps his or her eyes open and watches the watchers. Mind your business. If you even intend to leave a legacy to be followed, don’t let others mind it for you. You might just wake up one day to find that you have no business or your business is no longer in your control.

QUESTION: How do you ensure that you are minding your own business?

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The bible tells us that our bodies are a temple unto the Lord, in which He dwells. Yet, God does not appreciate a filthy temple.  There are many times when we realize this and make efforts to get our bodies in shape so that it looks just so. What we don’t realize however, is that too often, what we do is focus on the external instead of the internal. Jesus chastised the Pharisee for this practice. He said that the focus should be on the internal, since that is truly what defiles a person. How can you go about having a clean temple?

• Purify the Mind: The mind is a powerful tool. We use it every day without fail. Consciously and unconsciously, information is going into our minds. Messages are being transmitted at an astounding rate. It is being bombarded with negative messages that create blockages into our ability to perform at our peak and maximum efficiency, and to think at a level that we become all that we were created to be. Every once in a while, it becomes necessary to clear our minds by unplug from those sources. Meditation and prayer are but two ways to clear your mind of those negative thoughts. Sometimes it’s necessary to shut down electronic media. Whatever you do, there has to come a time when you get alone and away from distractions that will cloud your mind.
• Purify the Heart: King David prayed that God would create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. He realized that his heart was not always pure towards the things of God, even though God called him a man after His own heart. Yet that purification came through the process of lining up his will with that of God’s. When we choose to go after God’s will and ways of doing things, our will becomes His and it becomes righteous or in right relationship with God. Too often we can get caught up in what we want or desire in life and forget that God has a higher purpose and desire for us. But is we delight in what the Lord wants, what we want begin to line up with what He wants and He brings it to pass.
• Purify the Body: Since the body is the temple in which the spirit dwells, it’s only fitting that through fasting and proper health maintenance we do our part to keep it clean. If we are to be able to function at our best, just like our cars, we need to be periodically flushed and repaired. We work best when we are running on all cylinders. If we are weighed down with excess and unnecessary junk that clogs our bodies, than we are not giving God a vessel that will last as long as He needs it.

This is a time of year in which many people choose to get things in order. If you haven’t already made the decision to order yourself and cleanse your temple, don’t fret. Too often we feel that things like fasting and prayer, whether we are Christian or not, is just too much. What we don’t think or consider is who else is impacted by the decision to do it or not do it. The inconvenience of it is but for a moment, and the reward and benefits are far reaching and longer lasting. Consider it now. God wants the best out of you and the best in you. Give Him your best. Choose to keep the temple clean.

QUESTION: Why is there resistence to temple cleaning?

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Even if it’s not a matter of unfamiliar territory, anything that appears to get in the way of our plan or schedule, does become an inconvenience. The interesting thing is that God has a sense of humor in that His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than ours. God often orders and orchestrates things in such a way that it appears to us to be an inconvenience. But God always has a purpose; a method to what appears to be madness.

• To Validate and Affirm You: The legitimacy of Jesus’ birth had been questioned for years, and his authority had come into question time and time again. The inconvenience of leaving the side of God the Father, to redeem a people who would reject him would seem the ultimate of inconveniences to many. Yet, God validated His son and affirmed him as His son. God validates and affirms us when we face certain tests and trials. Our names get dragged through the mud. We get publicly shamed and embarrassed and accused at every turn. But God validates and affirms us.
• To Prune You for Growth: Like a rose bush or the grapes that grown on the vine, there must at some point in time come a pruning, in order to prepare us for growth and maturity.  If we are to flourish, we cannot allow ourselves to not produce what we were meant to produce. God will cut off or cut us off from those things that weigh us down or hinder our new growth from taking place. Old thoughts and paradigms, old friends and old ways get cut off so that God can set us up to produce in greater abundance.
• To Strip you for Enlargement: Often the inconveniences we face are the means by which God increases us. Job was an upright man by God’s own account. But He allowed Satan to tempt Job. He lost his children and his wealth and nearly all his friends. But when it was over, he was stripped down to nearly nothing, but he was restored two-fold.
• To Refocus You on His Priority: It’s so easy to lose sight on what is important. Sometimes the inconvenience comes so that we refocus our minds on what really matters in life. Often we can get too caught up on us and our own lives that we forget there are others who are words off than us. Hurricane Katrina and other national disasters helped to refocus us on the things that matter most. Sometimes it’s coming close to our own death that does it, while it may be something entirely different for some others. God tends to get it done because so much is riding on it.
• To Build You for Your Next Move: Your inconvenience may come to build you up to go to your next big thing. Your stamina, strength and endurance are often necessary. Where God needs you at a certain point in time, you need that inconvenience to make sure you have what is needed to get you over the hump.
• To Set You Up to Be a Blessing: I’ve often been in places not knowing how I got there or why. But I find out why after the fact. It’s those moments where I find that I’ve been a blessing to someone else, the inconvenience seems valueless.

You never truly know what is coming or who is going to be blessed by your seeming detour or hiccup in life. What I do know is this: the person at the end of your inconvenience may well be the one to cause you to be blessed beyond belief.

QUESTION: How rewarding do you find it after you realize what God did, in causing you a bit of an inconvenience?

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But repetition isn’t always a desired trait. There are times when repetition can get in the way of progress. There is a saying that goes, “Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over with the expectation of having a different result.” Repetition can be the cause of stagnation and even regression. Repetition can put you in a cycle of continual failure if you aren’t careful to take notice.

When Moses was leading the people of Israel on their exodus from Egypt to their promised land, God had given him instructions that would supply the people with water along their journey. The first time, God instructed Moses to strike the rock. However, there came another time when Moses was to provide water, but God instructed him to simply speak to the rock. But the people had angered Moses. In his frustration, Moses reverted back to what he knew first. He struck the rock.

This repeat action cost Moses and those of his generation from entering into the Promised Land. It took 40 years to grow up a generation of people who both neither held the memory of a slave mentality, nor were limited to the memories of their past experiences. So often we can become victims of our past successes that we want to live there or recreate them. They become tradition to us.

Many of the issues facing the US is a result of people still stuck in systems and thought processes that were for an age and time when it worked and even made sense. In the Industrial Age it made sense to go to school, then get a job, retire at 65 and live off the pension. Today in the Information Age, things are happening at such an accelerated pace that it is so easy to become obsolete before the ink has even dried on your diploma.

The financial decisions that are being made in families as well as a nation that once worked aren’t working, yet it is obvious that we are continuing in a cycle of repetition that is not bringing us out of the stagnant waters. Money is called currency for a reason. It is meant to flow. But it will only flow for those who will open themselves up to another level of thinking that works in the age in which we live.

• Mark Your Track Record: There is a saying that goes, “Those who fail to remember history will be condemned to repeat it.” It’s true. People tend to revert back to what they knew last, so if you can track your history to see what it is that you are doing, it is more likely that you’ll know when you are going in a vicious cycle.
• Look for New Avenues: The one thing that plagues young people in high school sports is that they often forsake the academics for the athletics, not knowing whether or not it will produce the results of a professional career in sports. And even if they do make it to professional status, longevity does not guarantee success or promising transition after their career is over. I always like having multiple options. In business they say that it’s never good to put all your eggs in one basket; that you should diversify. Having multiple streams of income gives you flexibility. If one thing should fall through, you still have others that will keep you afloat.
• Consult with Others: Sometimes it helps to have another set of eyes, ears and brain working. The bible even says that, “there is safety in the multitude of counselors.” Often there is an art to the challenges we face. Great leaders never make a decision without consulting a team, even if they decide that what they were thinking was the right thing. It gives them perspective.

As we are now into the second month of this year, you can see how you’ve done so far in these first five weeks and are able to compare it to the progress and plans you set for yourself. You’re able to note the differences between this year and last year. Did you already break your resolutions?  Have you veered off your strategic plan? Did you set goals which you keep telling yourself you will do with each new start of the year?

Break free of your repetitive notions and break stride by doing something fresh and different from what use to be. There is nothing worse than stale bread. God always wants us to have fresh manna. Pray that He will give you, “this day your daily bread.” Like Moses, God wants to show you he can do in, through and for you something great in a way you’ve never seen before.

QUESTION: What repetitive notions do you have that seem to constantly get in your way of you getting where you need or desire to be?