Leave a Legacy

So the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. (Psalm 78:6-7 New Living Translation ).

When my grandmother passed away, some of the family wanted things to remember her by. My cousin was given her wedding ring, my aunt, her button collection. Others claimed dishes, furniture, knickknacks, and the list goes on. I only wanted one thing. I asked for her Bible. To me, that represented everything she would want me to remember. 

I have perused through that Bible, remembering how it lay, fully open on her lap as she napped in her rocker after reading her daily verses. I am now keenly drawn to the passages that are marked. I can thumb through her Bible and get a sneak peek of the things that were important to her by the words she boldly underlined. I read the importance of repentance, water baptism in Jesus Name (Acts 4:12), and the infilling of the Holy Ghost by the evidence of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:38-39), because those scriptures are carefully underlined and easy to spot. I’ve been able to easily locate the prayerful scriptures in Psalms that were her heart throb: 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust (Psalm 91:1-2). 

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2).

What a joy it has been to be able to tap into the same spirit that captured my Grandma’s heart by reading her Bible. Her legacy lives on in my life. She taught me through her action, and more importantly through her devotion to God’s Word.

The Word claims boldly to be alive, and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12 - which is also underlined in Grandma’s bible, of course). This scripture tells us that God’s Word is able to cut away sinful things from the very depths of our lives, even down to bare bones where thoughts and intents of our hearts linger. 

This Word is that is alive, and powerful truly is His words to us. It is more powerful than our own words. When we speak His words, things happen. People are changed. When we pray His words, the demons tremble. The New King James translation of the Bible say it like this: “For the Word of God is living and powerful…” His Word is beating and breathing just as if He were standing beside us, breathing life into our dead hearts. 

My grandmother taught me many things. However, the most important words she left behind were not her own. She left another One’s words…God’s Word! His Word speaks into my life daily.

If we are looking for ways to de-clutter our lives and give our children and grandchildren something to remember us by at the same time, why not pull out those old Bibles we no longer use?  The ones that we have marked up with important notes and precious underlined scriptures. Why not share them with our children and grandchildren now? This is a legacy we can pass down in the present, while we have time to see the results of our eternal legacy.

Take a moment and read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in the New Living Translation.

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

I feel monumentally blessed to have the privilege of a godly grandmother. Her legacy lives on in my life. I am  determined to pass the beautiful heritage my grandmother left me.  I don’t want to be the one to break the link! I will passionately pass this precious truth on to my children. I will do my best to influence my grandchildren and great grandchildren to love God and put Him first in their lives. 

It is my greatest desire to leave a lasting legacy to the generations that follow. I will pass down the most valued treasure of truth down to my children.

I want to make sure they know that the preparations for eternity are much more important than the preparations for a career or monetary gain and propriety.

I want to leave them The Word of God. A legacy that will prepare them for eternity.

Gayla Baughman

January 22, 2024

A Miracle Tool

When my first Granddaughter was little we took a lot of pictures. I took pictures of her eating. I took pictures of her sleeping. I took pictures of her laughing. I took pictures of her with her mommy, my daughter. I took pictures of her with her papa. We even got a few pictures of her with her Gammy….yours truly. 

Needless to say, one of my favorite pictures of her is when I was holding her and her mommy was the photographer. She was very attentive to what mommy was doing, so the picture was a beautiful shot of my little granddaughter looking straight into the camera. Poof! It was a perfect shot! At least I thought so until I enlarged it to put it as a desktop background on my computer. That’s when I noticed a blemish as big as Dallas on my forehead!

I had this new program on my computer that lets you touch up pictures. It is a little miracle tool! It is called a clone stamp. It allows you to pick up the color from a perfect area and replace the imperfect area. What a miracle tool! So that’s what I did. I took that blemish right off my forehead. You would never know it was ever there! Isn’t that neat? Something to make blemishes disappear!

I have bigger blemishes on my life; blemishes that have not only hurt me, but hurt other people. Blemishes on my heart are permanent scars of the sins that I chose. Things that hurt my family, my friends, and most of all my God. I could never do anything to make those ugly sins disappear. 

But you know what, there is a miracle tool! It is the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood is a clone stamp. It takes the precious crimson blood and makes us white as snow. You know why it turns our hearts white rather than red? Because his blood was sinless. It was pure. It was the only blood that could wash us clean.

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The Value of Friendship

 

Potter's Hands

Have you ever felt so alone that even God seemed an eternity away? Have you experienced the pain of the moment so intense that you couldn't breathe? Some say the Potter's wheel is a very painful place. It is a place of breaking, re-breaking, molding and making. This does not happen without some discomfort. But we had not counted on the pain! Let me encourage you today. If you are on the Potter's wheel today, the wheel that God is in control of, remember this one thing: The hands that are around you, holding you close, are the very hands that are molding you. He will hold you in the midst of your pain. Relax today and put your trust in Him. He knows what He's doing.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is very special ’tis true

And should be celebrated all year through.

Taking the time to be thankful is good

For every day, for clothing and food.

When the turkey is gone and there’s just empty plates,

We stuffed ourselves and ate and ate.

Family and friends joined in with glee,

And the time was as special as it could be.

When it’s finally time to trim the tree,

Put up the wreaths and garland green,

String the twinkling lights up high,

Nativities, angels, and stars shine bright.

Remembering why our Savior came

Makes us thankful once again, 

When Jesus was born our savior and king

That’s what makes true Thanksgiving.

                                                Gayla Baughman

He is More Than Enough!

Leaving a Legacy

"Leaving a Legacy is more than a book title, a novel idea, or a good cause; it is an imperative of passion that must consume us. It is a driving desire birthed in our hearts by the Spirit and the Word. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). Our children are more than our offspring. They are a mission field to evangelize, a spiritual estate to establish, and the fulfillment of our faith that will extend beyond our demise. 

Read with an open heart and a ready mind to embrace the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Even if you have no children you can leave a legacy of faith in the youth of a new generation. The church is in good hands and our legacy will live on, fulfilling the purpose of God’s plan. Establish your heritage, leave a legacy, and build up the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. "

Terry R. Baughman

November 2015

This is an excerpt from the forward in my newest book "Leaving a Legacy" I'm very excited about the message in this book. We must be intentional about what we are leaving to the generation following us. One person on a social network said, "We don't have a choice whether we leave a legacy or not. The choice is what kind of legacy are we going to leave?" How true this is and it is time for us at any age to give serious thought to the impact we are making on those who will follow our lead. I challenge you to get this book today and start intentionally working on Leaving a Legacy to those you have an influence on.

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