Living to Leave a Legacy (the story behind the design)

Welcome to Shari A. Miller ~ Living to Leave a Legacy!

I am so excited to announce the re-launching of what was Leaving A Legacy to,  Shari A. Miller ~ Living to Leave a Legacy.

As you can see the blog has gotten a face lift with a beautiful new blog design by, Tekeme Studios. I wanted to take a moment to share with you the story behind the design.

Photo Credit

The story that follows is an excerpt of a talk that I gave at our church for a Mother’s Day tea a few years ago.

In one form or another, we are all affected by the individuals in our past. For some of us we have been fortunate enough to have individuals in our past that have left us with a Godly legacy, which reflects how we live our lives today.

Two very important people in my legacy were two individuals  I never met, my great grandfather and grandmother, Harry and Jessie Pearl Cole.

They married on Christmas Eve of 1901. Harry and Jessie started life with very meager beginnings. They believed so much in the church that they sold their wedding rings to help pay for the building of God’s kingdom.

Many hours were worked long into the night as kerosene lanterns cast enough light for my great grandfather to pound nails into the boards that slowly became their new church. They had no salary from the church and relied only on faith in the Lord and odd jobs to get by.

In 1931, my great grandfather’s church held a two week revival meeting. It was on the way home from this revival meeting that my great grandfather was killed in a car/train accident.

Now, my great grandmother had a lot of choices to make at this time. Many of the merchants told her that she did not have to pay her husband’s debts, but she insisted that his debts were her debts. Right before my great grandfather passed they had just purchased life insurance paying $1.00 into each plan. This in turn paid out $3,000 for my great grandmother to cover their debts. Her belief in doing what was right was rewarded as the Lord provided for her needs even during times of sorrow.

I have always admired my great grandparents faith and determination to follow the Lord wherever He led. It has inspired and strengthened me on my journey through life.  It’s because of their legacy that I have been challenged to be mindful of the legacy that I’ll leave to those around me. When you receive a stage IV breast cancer diagnosis, your time on earth becomes uncertain. Time can slip through our fingers like sand, and I’m fully aware that each day the Lord gives us it not to be wasted, but rather lived with intention and purpose.

Through this blog, I want to inspire you to, “Live to Leave a Legacy” to your family and friends. I want to encourage you in your walk with the Lord and remind you that God is with you every step of the way. I also want to share with you my journey as a stage IV breast cancer patient, and how God has never left me through this uncertain time.

When I told this story to George Weis, of Tekeme Studios, he was able to bring the heart of Shari A. Miller, Living to Leave a Legacy, to life.

Now, when the Lord lays words upon my heart to write, I feel like I am coming to a home away from home, with my great grandparents watching on.

I pray that you’ll feel blessed while you’re here, and encouraged to go forward on your day to day journey, knowing that God is by your side.

In honor of this re-launching I want to invite you back this week, for a series of five giveaways. I want to treat you during this Christmas season, and say thank you for walking along side me on this journey of life.

Until tomorrow…

All for Him,