A Legacy of Service and a Link Up

One of the most valuable characteristics we can pass down to our children is a legacy of service. The way children are going to learn how to serve is by the example that we set for them. Having our hearts right with the Lord and following the instructions in God’s word is the best place to start.

“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:1-4

Our children need to know that God calls us to put the needs of others before our own, what better place for this foundaiton to be laid than right in their own home. It begins by teaching them how to serve. From little on, children can be following your every move as they work with you, learning how to clean, cook, do laundry and look out for the needs of others. They will mimic your actions, and have a sense of self worth as they are working along side you. Once they have an understanding of how to serve, then they can move onto the actual doing. Encourage them with positive reinforcement as they start out with small tasks. Remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, what matters is their heart is in the place right and that they are learning. Here are a few ideas to help your children look beyond themselves and onto the needs of others.

1. Create a special “just because day” for dad. Have the children make a banner for him, telling him how special he is. Have them help you make his favorite meal, and honor him for everything he does for the family.
2. Doing chores for one another, just because.
3. Teach them to be respectful by holding the door open for others, and letting ladies go first.
4. Teach them the art of actually listening during a conversation and not interrupting when someone is speaking.
5. Invite friends over for dinner. Have your children help you prepare the house and meal before they arrive. Teach your children, to welcome the guests when they arrive and take their coats.
6. Create a game out of serving. Write down different family members names on strips of paper and place them in a jar, draw names once a week. The name that gets drawn is your secret family member for the week. See how many acts of kindness you can do for that person without getting caught. At the end of the week each family member tries to guess who helped them that week.

What are some ways that you teach your children to serve others? Please share in the comment section below.

 
Now it’s time for a link up party !



The purpose of Leaving A Legacy is three fold. It’s mission is to challenge it’s readers to work on leaving Godly legacies for their children, to be a place of encouragement for its readers, as well as sharing my journey as a cancer survivor. You can link up your posts that deal with leaving a legacy and ones that offer encouragement to the community.

This link up will be happening every Thursday at Leaving a Legacy. Please tell your friends, and join us on this journey of leaving a Godly legacy for future generations!

• To link up go to the sidebar and get the code for the Legacy Leaver Thursdays button, right click and “save as” on the code and then upload it into your post. Or you can provide a direct link somewhere in your post linking back here. That way other bloggers can join in too!
• Then copy and paste the direct link from your post, (not your blog url), into the linky tool below.
• In order to create an encouraging community here, please take a moment to visit the person in front of you. Thank you!

For those of you that link up throughout the month, I will be choosing a “featured blogger”, for the following month. The featured blogger will be someone who actively participates in the link up, and who’s posts have really touched the community. They will receive free advertising for their blog on my sidebar for that month, and also be allowed to submit one approved guest post during that month.

August’s featured blogger is Deidra from The Middle. She has a way of writing that will really challenge you and grow your spirit. Please take a moment to stop by and visit her wonderful blog!

**Keep in mind that this link up is only for posts that share how to leave a legacy for your children, or posts that offer encouragement to the community. Any other posts that do not fall somewhat within these guidelines will be removed. Thank you.** 

I hope you have felt encouraged while visiting Leaving A Legacy. You can get additional updates that are not posted on the blog by connecting with us through Facebook and Twitter. You can also subscribe to Leaving A Legacy and have the latest posts delivered right to your email . 

Many Blessings~

Linking to: 
Thought Provoking Thursday
Denis in Bloom

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