GENDADS

THERE ARE SOME MISSIONS IN LIFE THAT GOD SUPERINTENDS MORE CLOSELY

It’s 0400. Back in my world-changing youth, this was a frequent wakeup time. Flying off the carrier, 0600 was good launch time; hour for briefing, hour for “warming up” 18,000 pounds of thrust for a predawn mission. Later, 0400 or so, was the continuation of my world-changing compulsions in ministry or missions. Something to write, someone to call in another time zone, a document to finish…all that stuff.

Today it’s simpler. My life and the sage points I’ve acquired (most accidentally), still cares for and prays for God’s work in His world. He still uses me here and there doing the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Wanna know my focus now? Sure you do. My LEGACY.

Well, it’s actually not MY legacy. That sounds so ME-ish. Yet, it does feed my deepest desire to be significant and to leave something behind of greater value. With Prostate Cancer advancing (slowly, I’m happy to say), “finishing well” has a clearer ring; a clarion call, so to speak.

No, I honestly now feel “called” (that’s God’s quiet voice speaking) to focus my life and spend my heart on my legacy. Spelled out, that means my wife, my daughter and soninlaw, my almost six grandchildren. Is that a spent, retired, and doting grandfather? Yes and no. At the Bema (that’s where Jesus sits on the judges bench at the end of life’s race and hands out medals, ribbons, or small “Attaboy” notes), I’ll get notes and ribbons for my world-changingness. What I want, honestly–I really do want this–are just a couple of medals (bronze would be fine, gold is what I’m after). In my mind’s eye they say “Well Done Faithful Father“.

This is a good jumping off place. I have given this day to get the Introduction of GENERATIONAL FATHERING. It’s a book ten years in the living, five of those in note-taking. A “Gen Dad” is a father who knows his divine assignment is never rescinded. Fathers and grandfathers, inlaws and step included, team up to bring the value of both generations to improve the guiding of the newest generation, one that will transfer legacy, in turn, to ensuring generations. I’ll be letting you in on some of the pieces as the book moves onward. But, maybe I’ll sleep in ’til 0600.

Time to I’m halting this post here for the devasting news of Japan’s tsunami. Caught it on Tweetdeck. Flipping on Fox News. Time to pray, not write. Ten of our friends are on a cruise in Mexico. Many of my life-long friends are along the CA coast. This looks like a day more given to watching and praying, maybe not so much writing.

HOW ABOUT YOU…IS YOUR MISSION CLEAR?  You willing to get up at 0400 to execute it?