A Legacy of Work
Faith@Work is a Navigators sponsored monthly luncheon for business women in Albuquerque, NM. Its mission is helping business and professional women live out their faith more intentionally in their workplaces. We do this through several different means:
• Presenting challenging messages each month from local practitioners who are learning how to live on purpose for God.
• Promoting, developing and implementing Bible Studies in the workplace for women across the city.
• Recruiting, training and utilizing volunteers in a variety of ways to reach out and connect with other business women each month at the luncheons.
Faith@Work Message, June 20, 2011; "A Legacy of Work" Albuquerque, NM
Speaker: Katie Tipton, high school senior
Legacy: to bequeath; leaving a blessing behind
• Presenting challenging messages each month from local practitioners who are learning how to live on purpose for God.
• Promoting, developing and implementing Bible Studies in the workplace for women across the city.
• Recruiting, training and utilizing volunteers in a variety of ways to reach out and connect with other business women each month at the luncheons.
Faith@Work Message, June 20, 2011; "A Legacy of Work" Albuquerque, NM
Speaker: Katie Tipton, high school senior
Legacy: to bequeath; leaving a blessing behind
"We all leave a legacy...the question is what kind will we leave?"
Katie Tipton has just graduated from high school. She has barely begun to carve her own legacy in this world, but she has an amazing example to follow: her great-grandmother, Reathel.
At our June luncheon, Katie shared the story of this amazing woman of faith, a farmer’s wife who understood that “work is not just a career; your work is what God has called you to do to serve Him.” According to Katie, Reathel didn’t strive to be a legacy; she just tried to live as God called her to live. Whether it was milking cows, chopping wood, feeding her family or doing laundry, she did it as for the Lord. If she needed motivation to work harder, she just read her Bible. At the end of her life, she considered herself “the most blessed person in the whole world”, because of her relationship with Christ. And that made an impact on a young girl two generations later.
For a school assignment this year, Katie wrote a speech about her great-grandmother. That speech took her to a regional competition where she won 3rd place, and it was the foundation of the message she shared with us. But Katie considers her greatest reward to be the lessons she has learned about leaving a legacy. She observed that women of faith who honor God well have five important character qualities:
1) A positive witness in their words and actions
2) A servant’s heart
3) A desire to do excellent work
4) Determination to fulfill God’s calling
5) Trust in the face of challenges
After hearing Katie share these character qualities, I was challenged to consider whether these are the kinds of things I’m leaving as a legacy for the generations to follow after me. When my grandchildren remember me will they know that I considered myself “the most blessed person in the whole world” simply for having the privilege of serving Jesus Christ? Will my legacy make a difference for the kingdom of God?
Katie Tipton has just graduated from high school. She has barely begun to carve her own legacy in this world, but she has an amazing example to follow: her great-grandmother, Reathel.
At our June luncheon, Katie shared the story of this amazing woman of faith, a farmer’s wife who understood that “work is not just a career; your work is what God has called you to do to serve Him.” According to Katie, Reathel didn’t strive to be a legacy; she just tried to live as God called her to live. Whether it was milking cows, chopping wood, feeding her family or doing laundry, she did it as for the Lord. If she needed motivation to work harder, she just read her Bible. At the end of her life, she considered herself “the most blessed person in the whole world”, because of her relationship with Christ. And that made an impact on a young girl two generations later.
For a school assignment this year, Katie wrote a speech about her great-grandmother. That speech took her to a regional competition where she won 3rd place, and it was the foundation of the message she shared with us. But Katie considers her greatest reward to be the lessons she has learned about leaving a legacy. She observed that women of faith who honor God well have five important character qualities:
1) A positive witness in their words and actions
2) A servant’s heart
3) A desire to do excellent work
4) Determination to fulfill God’s calling
5) Trust in the face of challenges
After hearing Katie share these character qualities, I was challenged to consider whether these are the kinds of things I’m leaving as a legacy for the generations to follow after me. When my grandchildren remember me will they know that I considered myself “the most blessed person in the whole world” simply for having the privilege of serving Jesus Christ? Will my legacy make a difference for the kingdom of God?
How about you?
