What do you want your legacy to look like?
Sunday through Wednesday of this week I was able to take a brief trip out to California for my great-grandmother's funeral. She was an amazing woman who lived a full 94 years! During my time there I was given the privilege to share at her memorial service. Preparing for that allowed me to reflect on the (direct and indirect) impact she on my life.
As I think about ways to raise my children, and guide them in faith as they grow older, I hope that I always remember the example that my great-grandma was to her family. She consistently modeled grace and wisdom every single day. She faithfully lifted her family up in prayer, and, without fail, generously gave to those in need. Her daughter (my grandma) and her granddaughter (my mom) were both heavily influenced by the faith she lived out every day. As I look at their lives, and think about how I want to be remembered in the future, I hope that my faith in Jesus is marked by as much love and authenticity as my great-grandma’s faith was. Quite simply, it can be summed up in one word: genuine. It wasn’t fake. It wasn’t something she did just to appear spiritual. Her faith was real simply because she loved and cherished her relationship with Jesus.
These past few days were definitely a time of celebration! I was glad to be a part of it and see family I don't get to see that often. But, it also was definitely a time of reflection -- and a time for me to take a step back and reflect on the legacy that my G.G. left during the 94 years she spent here on earth. Will mine look the same? Probably not... but I want my desire to be the same: to love and cherish Jesus to the fullest every single day I have on here on earth!
Thursday’s Tremendous Ten :: 9.2.10
Well, I'm back from a brief trip to California (post about that tomorrow). To hold you over, here's some Twnuggets for you. Can I say that -- twnuggets? Can't you just add "tw" to whatever you want and Twitterize the word? Anyway...
Weekly Hit List #28
Hey everyone! Here are some of my top recommended links of the past two weeks (from the blogs that I subscribe to):
FAITH:
- "Detours to the destination" - loved this from Steven Furtick.
- Craig Groeschel on planning - wow, never thought to re-shift thinking this way.
- Challenging post from Tim Stevens on 'failing is so sexy'. Another good post on reshifting the way we look at things.
- Anne Rice did a Q&A with Christianity Today. Here Facebook statement was a while ago, but I found this interesting.
- Sarah Cunningham writes for the Q Blog on a Christian response to the issue surrounding the "Ground Zero Mosque".
- As a father to two girls (albeit young girls), this was an interesting post for me - Pete Wilson on "Monitoring Modesty".
- Waiting on the Lord - some thoughts from the Relevant Blog. Thoughts?
- Solid insights on Luke 15 / the Prodigal Son from Kevin DeShazo. Dig in!
- Interesting article from WSJ, "The Perils of Hipster Christianity and Why Young Evangelicals Reject Churches That Try To Be Cool." Long title, but thought-provoking read.
- The WSJ was a well-read article this week, here are some responses from Maurilio Amorim and Tyler Braun.
OTHER:
- Jon Foreman had a great post in the Huffington Post, using a garden as an analogy.
- Great thoughts from Seth Godin about resilience and slow change.
- Not a Jets fan for sure, but loved this piece on Laveranues Coles.
- As a Dawg fan, I always get excited this time of year. But, reading this about our QB-Aaron Murray got me even more pumped.
I hope that you, like me, were encouraged/challenged by each of these!
Dustin
Thursday’s Tremendous Ten :: 8.26.10
This has quickly become the weekly post I look forward to sharing the most. Why? Because I love screen-shotting my computer and cropping tweets into nice, usable images:
I Got My Baby Back!
Jen and Olivia got back in town yesterday afternoon from their 6-day trip to visit family in Denver. They had a great time! We'll post pictures and videos soon about both our adventures (their trip to Denver, and me and Soph's time at home) within the next few days.
By the way, the above picture was taken by our favorite photographer in ATL (he did our wedding 5+ years ago). We were at a friend's wedding and they happened to be shooting it. He pulled us aside and got a nice shot of us. 
New Music: B.Reith
I first met Brian on a missions trip to Amsterdam when I was in college, and it was then when I was first introduced to his music. Our teams came together and did ministry together for a week. It was great time--and also introduced me to his first demo of tracks. Fresh stuff, for sure. That was 2003. Here we are 7 years later, and he's got to get all signed up with Tobymac's label and all. But really, you should check out his newest album, "Now is Not Forever"... its excellent.
Below is the first single off his latest album, "The Comeback Kid":
Thursday’s Tremendous Ten :: 8.19.10
The top tweets of the week... according to yours truly:
Denver-bound!
This afternoon Jen and Olivia are flying out to Denver to visit her Grandmother and Aunt (and family). These things tend to hit me slowly, but as I'm sitting here right now I'm realizing that I'm going to miss them a lot! They'll be gone for almost a week. So, for the next 6 days it's just me and Sophia. I try to keep myself busy, so I'm gathering a list of things for us to do (especially this weekend). So far, here's the plan:
Tonight: We're heading to the Braves game. Should be fun!
Thursday: No plans, she'll be with the grandparents and I'll probably go golfing (I know, selfish me-time).
Friday: Playground at the outlet mall, then to the candy shop to get an Icee. Maybe a movie rental afterwards.
Saturday: DeKalb Peachtree Airport aviation park, lunch somewhere inside the perimeter, Riverside Splash Park in Roswell.
Sunday: Church, nap (yes, this is on the schedule), small group, then dinner somewhere in Cumming.
Monday: Sophia will be with Grandparents #2, so unsure what Monday night plans will look like just yet.
Tuesday: We'll go to the airport to pick up the girls!
I know that that she'll enjoy the trip with Mommy!