Derek's Mission

By Derek Cladek

In August of 2006, Steven and I had the opportunity to visit the nation of Uganda. Over the past two decades Uganda has beenstruck by war and a growing problem of Aids, resulting in over 2 millionorphans across the whole nation. We wereconnected to Uganda by aministry called World Outreach Ministry Foundation; they have been establishedin Ugandafor over two-decades now.

ThroughW.O.M.F., we were able to visit orphanages and schools to meet with thechildren and talk with them, pass out school supplies and even play soccer withsometimes hundreds of kids on a field. We even got to visit some prisons, we passed out soap, food, drinks, andclothing, a lot of the prisoners get sick because they have none of thesethings, and some of these people were thrown into prison for very smalloffenses. With W.O.M.F. we also had theopportunity to visit Rwanda, which if you have not heard is still recoveringfrom one of the most brutal genocides that ever took place, in fact a few weeksbefore we arrived they just recovered 500 more bodies, and it has been about 15years since the genocide happened. Wewere able to visit some memorials and the Hotel Rwanda.

We were both very privileged to visit Africa, and through our visit we wished we could somehow affect Africa the way it affected us.  The problem with Africa  right now is that the money is not getting to the right hands.  A lot of times you might hear that a celebrity has donated millions of dollars to prevent AIDS, but the people rarely et to see a dime of it, because the governments and wealthy are hoarding all the money for themselves. This is why we wish to raise money through our business at Ultimate Fitness Gear to not only go back someday, but also to start a few orphanages to feed the funds to the right people, to the foundations that actually make a difference.  We have dreams that our business will be successful so that we can help as much as possible.  Our business is dedicated to good health and an active lifestyle; our main product is P90X although we have a variety of workout routines like Hip Hop Abs and Slim In 6

Derek is a Legacy Dad reader and is committed to advancing God's work especially in Africa.  Please check out his site at Ultimate Fitness Gear - for all your fitness needs.  the P90X product was featured on Legacy Dad earlier this summer. 

 


God Men

I ran into this website the other day and I really like what they are talking about.  Check out this little video clip.   

Here is what their site says: 

Welcome to GodMen, where you'll  find power, honesty, courage and your tribe of brothers.

Wehave committed to see what would happen if, for one day, our faith andits struggles would be discussed with absolute honesty, transparencyand openness - not sugar coated or framed in church language butinstead spoken in frankness and maturity. The GodMen event creates anenvironment familiar with and conducive to the way men are madecomfortable and the unique way men interact.

We are unique in that we provide audience-speaker dialogue andinteraction in order to teach men how to shoulder each others’ burdens,never to be alone again. Our ultimate desire is to encourage men toleave committed to daily acts of courage, guiding them into a new andfresh journey. Does this resonate with you and your search for meaningand truth? Then you are of our tribe - come walk with us and bring yourunique life experience and perspective to our journey.

                    We don't want you....we need you.

Sounds like their are right up the Legacy Dad alley...

Check out their whole site at God Men

 

The Ultimate Gift

I got an advertisement from Christianbooks about a week ago about this movie called  "The Ultimate Gift."  I read the preview and it sounded a lot like what I am trying to do here at Legacy Dad: 

Guide my children through a series of "tests" to learn true values
Teach them practical life skills
Raise their awareness on important issues
Develop a strong faith and biblical morals as the foundation in their life
And pass on a legacy to them in the future.  Monetary and Spiritual

So I pre-ordered this DVD and we watched it the other night.  I was completely blown away, this is one of the best movies of the year and I am recommending it to everyone.  Buy it or go out and rent it. 

Watch the trailer and then check out the book and all the other tools on their website:

The Ultimate Gift.com

The Legacy You Want to Give

Parents can evaluate how well they're passing on a spiritual legacy to their children by answering these questions

by  J. Otis Ledbetter and Kurt Bruner

Weall have good and bad parts to the legacy we have inherited. The key isto move forward from here. For some, taking a closer look at the legacythey’ve been given helps them assess the legacy they want to pass on.After considering your past, here are some practical tips for thefuture:

Decide what you’ll keep: You probablyhave things you received that are wonderful and need to be kept andpassed on. Other things may need to be thrown out. Or, perhaps you havea weak legacy that needs strengthening.

Whatever you received,you can now intentionally pass along the good. This isn’t always easy.If you saw hypocrisy in your parents’ lives, you may be tempted tothrow everything out even though much of what your parents modeled wasgood. Don’t. That would be like burning down the house to get rid ofsome bugs.

Realize that God can redeem even the “bad stuff” in your legacy.Unfortunately many of us have parts of our legacy that are weak or evenawful. Maybe one of your parents was an alcoholic or abusive or didn’tprovide the nurturing you needed. In today’s society, the stories ofsuch families are common. You may be asking, “How do I give something Ididn’t receive? Nobody modeled this stuff for me.”

Hope is notlost. Consider the story of Josiah from the Old Testament in the Bible.His father and grandfather were involved in many wicked things,including idol worship that threatened the entire nation. But after8-year-old Josiah became king of Judah, he reversed that trend. Hesought God and purged Judah of idols, repaired the temple and saved anation.

Like Josiah, you can choose which things in your legacyare no good and throw them away. It’s important to break the cycle ofhurt by leaving bad things behind and creating a new legacy. If youdon’t know God, this is a good time to introduce yourself. Legacies arenot easily broken and always benefit from His guidance.

Chart anew course as you begin a positive legacy for yourself and those youlove. Research suggests that most fathers will parent the way they wereparented. That means only a minority of fathers will change theirparenting style — even if their parenting is wrong! Today, you can takepositive steps to design a new heritage for yourself and your family.

Emotional Legacy Evaluation

Answereach question by circling the number that best reflects the legacy youhave received from your parents. Then add up your score.

1. When you walked into your house, what was your feeling?

  1. Dread
  2. Tension
  3. Chaos
  4. Stability
  5. Calm
  6. Warmth

2. Which word best describes the tone of your home?

  1. Hateful
  2. Angry
  3. Sad
  4. Serious
  5. Relaxed
  6. Fun

3. What was the message of your family life?

  1. You are worthless.
  2. You are a burden.
  3. You are okay.
  4. You are respected.
  5. You are important.
  6. You are the greatest.

4. Which word best describes the "fragrance" of your home life?

  1. Repulsive
  2. Rotten
  3. Unpleasant
  4. Sterile
  5. Fresh
  6. Sweet

5. Which was most frequent in your home?

  1. An intense fight
  2. The silent treatment
  3. Detached apathy
  4. A strong disagreement
  5. A kind word
  6. An affectionate hug

Results:

Above 24 = Strong emotional legacy

19 - 24 = Healthy legacy

14 - 18 = Mixed legacy - good and bad elements

10 - 13 = Weak emotional legacy

Below 10 = Damaged emotional legacy

Social Legacy Evaluation

Answereach question by circling the number that best reflects the legacy youhave received from your parents. Then add up your score.

1. Which words most closely resemble the social tone of your family?

  1. Cruel and abusive
  2. Cutting sarcasm
  3. Chaotic and distant
  4. Noncommunicative but stable
  5. Secure with open communication
  6. Loving and fun

2. What was the message of your home life with regard to relationships?

  1. "Step on others to get your way."
  2. "Hurt them if they hurt you."
  3. "Demand your rights."
  4. "Mind your own business."
  5. "Treat others with respect."
  6. "Put others before yourself."

3. How were rules set and enforced in your home?

  1. Independent of relationship
  2. In reaction to parental stress
  3. Dictatorially
  4. Inconsistently
  5. Out of concern for my well-being
  6. In the context of a loving relationship

4. Which word best characterizes the tone of communication in your home?

  1. Shouting
  2. Manipulation
  3. Confusing
  4. Clear
  5. Constructive
  6. Courteous

5. How did your family deal with wrong behavior?

  1. Subtle reinforcement
  2. Accepted in the name of love
  3. Guilt trip
  4. Severe punishment
  5. Discussion
  6. Loving, firm discipline

Results:

Above 24 = Strong social legacy

19 - 24 = Healthy legacy

14 - 18 = Mixed legacy — good and bad elements

10 - 13 = Weak social legacy

Below 10 = Damaged social legacy

Spiritual Legacy Evaluation

Answereach question by circling the number that best reflects the legacy youhave received from your parents. Then add up your score.

1. To what degree were spiritual principles incorporated into daily family life?

  1. Never
  2. Rarely
  3. Sometimes
  4. Frequently
  5. Almost always
  6. Consistently

2. Which word captures the tone of how you learned to view/relate to God?

  1. Absent
  2. Adversarial
  3. Fearful
  4. Casual
  5. Solemn
  6. Intimate

3. How would you summarize your family’s level of participation in spiritual activities?

  1. Nonexistent
  2. Rare
  3. Occasional
  4. Regimental
  5. Active
  6. Enthusiastic

4. How were spiritual discussions applied in your home?

  1. They weren't
  2. To control
  3. To manipulate
  4. To teach
  5. To influence
  6. To reinforce

5. What was the perspective in your home regarding moral absolutes?

  1. If it feels good, do it!
  2. There are no absolutes.
  3. Let your heart guide you.
  4. Dogmatic legalism
  5. Moderate conservatism
  6. Clear boundaries

Results:

Above 24 = Strong spiritual legacy

19 - 24 = Healthy legacy

14 - 18 = Mixed legacy — good and bad elements

10 - 13 = Weak spiritual legacy

Below 10 = Damaged spiritual legacy

Reposted from Focus on the Family

Family Legacies

by  J. Otis Ledbetter and Kurt Bruner

Nomatter who we are, where we live, or what our goals may be, we all haveone thing in common: a heritage. That is, a social, emotional andspiritual legacy passed on from parent to child. Every one of us ispassed a heritage, lives out a heritage, and gives a heritage to ourfamily. It’s not an option. Parents always pass to their children alegacy … good, bad or some of both.

A spiritual, emotional andsocial legacy is like a three-stranded cord. Individually, each strandcannot hold much weight. But wrapped together, they are strong. That’swhy passing on a positive, affirming legacy is so important and why anegative legacy can be so destructive. The good news is that you, withGod’s help, can decide to pass a positive legacy on to your childrenwhether you received one or not.

Today, if we don’t intentionallypass a legacy consistent with our beliefs to our children, our culturewill pass along its own, often leading to a negative end. It isimportant to remember that passing on a spiritual, emotional and sociallegacy is a process, not an event. As parents, we are responsible forthe process. God is responsible for the product. We cannot do God’sjob, and He won’t do ours.

The Emotional Legacy

Inorder to prosper, our children need an enduring sense of security andstability nurtured in an environment of safety and love.

The Social Legacy

Toreally succeed in life, our children need to learn more than managementtechniques, accounting, reading, writing and geometry. They need tolearn the fine art of relating to people. If they learn how to relatewell to others, they’ll have an edge in the game of life.

The Spiritual Legacy

TheSpiritual Legacy is overlooked by many, but that’s a mistake. Asspiritual beings, we adopt attitudes and beliefs about spiritualmatters from one source or another. As parents, we need to take theinitiative and present our faith to our children.

The Emotional Legacy

Sadly,many of us struggle to overcome a negative emotional legacy thathinders our ability to cope with the inevitable struggles of life. Butimagine yourself giving warm family memories to your child. You cancreate an atmosphere that provides a child’s fragile spirit with thenourishment and support needed for healthy emotional growth. It willrequire time and consistency to develop a sense of emotional wholeness,but the rewards are great.

A strong emotional legacy:

  • Provides a safe environment in which deep emotional roots can grow.
  • Fosters confidence through stability.
  • Conveys a tone of trusting support.
  • Nurtures a strong sense of positive identity.
  • Creates a “resting place” for the soul.
  • Demonstrates unconditional love.

Whichcharacteristics would you like to build into the legacy you pass alongto your children? Even if you don’t hit the exact mark, setting up theright target is an important first step.

The Social Legacy

Inorder to prosper, our children need to gain the insights and socialskills necessary to cultivate healthy, stable relationships. Aschildren mature, they must learn to relate to family members, teachers,peers and friends. Eventually they must learn to relate to coworkersand many other types of people such as salespeople, bankers, mechanicsand bosses.

Nowhere can appropriate social interaction andrelationships be demonstrated more effectively than in the home. Athome you learned — and your children will learn — lessons aboutrespect, courtesy, love and involvement. Our modeling as parents playsa key role in passing on a strong social legacy.

Key building blocks of children’s social legacy include:

  • Respect, beginning with themselves and working out to other people.
  • Responsibility,fostered by respect for themselves, that is cultivated by assigningchildren duties within the family, making them accountable for theiractions, and giving them room to make wrong choices once in a while.
  • Unconditionallove and acceptance by their parents, combined with conditionalacceptance when the parents discipline for bad behavior or actions.
  • The setting of social boundaries concerning how to relate to God, authority, peers, the environment and siblings.
  • Rules that are given within a loving relationship

The Spiritual Legacy

Parentswho successfully pass along a spiritual legacy to their children modeland reinforce the unseen realities of the godly life. We must recognizethat passing a spiritual legacy means more than encouraging ourchildren to attend church, as important as that is. The church is thereto support parents in raising their children but it cannot do theraising; only parents can.

The same principle applies tospiritual matters. Parents are primary in spiritual upbringing, notsecondary. This is especially true when considering that children,particularly young children, perceive God the way they perceive theirparents. If their parents are loving, affirming, forgiving and yetstrong in what they believe, children will think of God that way. He issomeone who cares, who is principled and who loves them above all else.

Hereare five things you do that predict whether your children will receivethe spiritual legacy a Christian parent desires. Do you:

  1. Acknowledgeand reinforce spiritual realities? Do your children know, for example,that Jesus loves everyone? That God is personal, loving and willforgive us?
  2. View God as a personal, caring being who is to be loved and respected?
  3. Make spiritual activities a routine part of life?
  4. Clarify timeless truth — what’s right and wrong?
  5. Incorporate spiritual principles into everyday living

Reposted from Focus on the Family

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