Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Living a Legacy Life with Sue Donaldson

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I have an online friend I would like for you to meet.  But before I introduce her, I want to remind you that the giveaway for the amazing Quest Q and A Study Bible is still open.  Just scroll down and over to the right to subscribe and you’re entered to win!  I’ll announce right here next week!  And now…it’s an honor to acquaint you with Sue Donaldson, who blogs and podcasts at welcomeheart.com on hospitality, relationships and building the kingdom of God – one cup of coffee or homemade coffee cake at a time.  She also speaks and writes for women like us.  Women who want to make a difference with what they have been given.

 

Sue recently posted this verse on her website:  Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 NLT  With it she launched a conversation I want to be a part of.  How do we live a legacy life?  How do we make our lives count for more than just today?  Can we bring glory to God and enrich the lives of those we come in contact with?  Maybe even long after we are gone?  Sue teaches us that we can by first, loving God and investing in His Word; and second by caring for and expending ourselves for other people.  

 

I asked this mentor to answer some questions of her own choosing about how she is making her life count.  I think she has much to teach us:

  1.  What legacy do you want to pass down to those you know and love?  Sue:  That God is real and can be counted on.  So much of what kids hear nowadays is antithetical to God’s existence, much less the call to abandon our lives to the only One worth living for.  That’s the main thing:  that [others] know that God can be depended upon, that God will love and forgive and strengthen and sustain and that this world and all its troubles are just a small part of their lives.  Next I want to show them that following Jesus and inviting others to Him – strangers included – is the greatest joy.  And that [my children’s] friends are always welcome in our home.  
  2. How are you currently doing that?  Sue:  Well, the only way is to keep trusting God myself.  So that those closest to me see a true faith – not only a Sunday/church-going faith.  When things get frantic or worrisome or hard, to tell them I’m frantic and worried, but giving whatever it is over to God for His safe-keeping.  I also spend the first part of each day in the Word and prayer.  For being such a spontaneous person, this part is locked in.  All grace.  Also, our home is an open home though imperfect, and the kids know it and have begun to emulate a generous spirit and heart for others.  And I feel compelled to meet with younger women, and they seem to like it.  Even if it’s just coffee – to bring other older believers together with younger women is fruitful, fun and simple.  I’m intentional in my guest lists and in my questions around the table to get the conversation to a deeper level quickly.  Everyone’s busy, but we all need a place where we can share our hearts and be blessed by hearing others’ journeys of faith.  I don’t always know what to do to live a legacy life, so I go back to the basics:  love God.  Love others as myself.  And do the next thing.  Which may be laundry.  
  3. What changes did you have to make or obstacles did you need to overcome to make that happen?  Sue:  I had to stop comparing myself to other believers who seem to have it all together and continue to trust that God is working while I’m praying even when I don’t see it.  It’s called faith for a reason, as hard as it is sometimes.  It’s far too easy to live life in the short-form rather than the long view of eternity.  So that’s an ongoing obstacle that I’m working on overcoming.  Another obstacle [I have] is wanting to control the outcomes of events (and people!).  The older I get, the easier it is to let things go as I experience God’s work and peace.  I think parenting is the best lesson in learning to trust God (and I thought it was singleness!).  Marriage is right up there with them both.  I married an opposite.  And sometimes that makes eternity quite appealing!  
  4. What wisdom would you like to share with my audience on making our lives count for something beyond ourselves?  Sue:  Make this your every day to-do list:  #1 – relate well with God.  #2 – everything else.  Find a devotional tool that works for you.  Choose Face to Face by Kenneth Boa (found here and here) if you haven’t read it – scripture written in the first person, meant to be read in 5 minutes a day.  Lastly, take a leap to invite people over.  Hospitality is a simple way to live a legacy life because you’re investing in people – never a waste of time.  If it’s challenging for you, check out my resources.  

Sue added:  I want to live an “appetizer life.”  So when others are around I provide a taste of what it’s like to belong to God.  An appetizer is to whet the appetite – to give a person hope that the best is yet to be.  Jesus is the main course.  How we live is the best apologetic.  I want to leave a legacy which makes others hungry for God:  A mind of peace amidst a complicated day; a heart of joy and laughter in spite of circumstances; a word of hope for those who forget the truth; a hand to serve others more than myself; a table to fill – inviting those who come my way be they stranger, friend or family; a life of faith – that God is in the heavens and in my heart, and in His time all’s right with the world.  

 

Take a look at these verses to learn more about this passion Sue has for Jesus and for others:

Psalm 34:8

Colossians 3:1,2

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Ephesians 4:1

Then jump over to welcomeheart.com to read blog posts or listen to podcast episodes that will spur you on to love and good deeds.  Every time I visit her site I leave encouraged to be more intentional in my relationship with God and others.

 

What about you?  Have you given any thought to the legacy you want your life to be?  If so, what are you currently doing to let your life speak?  Comment below to continue the conversation.

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of sharing it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!

 

And look up these great writers I link up with every week:

InstaEncouragements, Literacy Musing Mondays, Hello…Monday,

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

BloggerClubUK, Tea and Word Tuesday, Purposeful Faith,

GraceFull Tuesday Link-Up, Hearth and Soul Link Party,

Let’s Have Coffee, Welcome Wednesday, Recharge Wednesday,

Worth Beyond Rubies, #TellHisStory Link Up, Porch Stories,

Encouraging Word Wednesday, Tune In Thursday,

Stories of Hope, Moments of Hope, IHeart Verse Link Party,

Legacy Link Up, Fresh Market Friday, Feature Friday Time,

Friendship Friday Blog Hop, Faith on Fire, Traffic Jam Weekend,

Faith ‘n Friends, Dancing with Jesus, Grace & Truth, Booknificent

Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

Just the Way We Are

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Photo by Marks of Mana on Unsplash

Last week as I walked into church with my family, I saw my daughter Shelby make a beeline for an older lady who recently began attending service by herself.  We introduced ourselves to her several weeks before and made sure in the following weeks to look for her and chat her up.  This particular morning she was sitting right inside the door and, in her special way, Shelby greeted and hugged her.  A few minutes later as our new friend made her way into the sanctuary, she passed us this note.  It’s a little difficult to read so I will translate:  To Shelby:  Shelby I love you and every day we live I thank God for the privilege to know you and your parents.  May God continue to bless us.  Love you, Florence.

 

This Sunday-go-to-meeting Shelby greeted a sweet family of little people with hugs and high fives.  They have always felt a kinship with her for being different.  We then sat down to worship beside a friend I met in the chemotherapy treatment room two years ago.  She now attends our church and sits with us every Sunday.  As Shelby laid her head on Miss Jeanette’s shoulder and settled in for a long snuggle, Jeanette smiled and I cried.  I barely held myself together as I contemplated how kind God is to give a severely developmentally challenged teenager such a sweet and important ministry.

 

As the drums and guitars of the praise music filled the room, I felt gratitude swell in my heart with the volume.  And I thought about my own service in this body of believers.  Over our 12 or so years of involvement, I’ve greeted at the door, written name tags, co-lead a life group, acted as web host for the online service and refilled the note cards in the backs of the pews.  But the last couple of years I’ve struggled to find my niche.  I longed to actually use gifts and talents God has given me as opposed to being a warm and willing body.  I believed the chores I’d done before added value, but wanted more.  I think I’ve documented here before that I am all but allergic to working with children.  The times when I bit the bullet and stepped into a classroom, I may have broken out in hives.  And yet it seemed I only ever heard about a need for more hands in the children and youth ministries.  I attended meetings about a couple of other things, but nothing fit.

 

Without a place to serve and being “between” life groups, I started to feel pretty disconnected from church.  I knew God wasn’t leading us to move on because our teen was, and is, sooooo plugged into the youth ministry and even serves in the children’s area faithfully (maybe I could learn something from her).  And yet, for a time church was so painful for me that I asked my husband if we could come in late and slip out quickly so we wouldn’t have to talk to anyone!

 

But a few weeks ago, someone invited me into a weekly gathering of women.  And we had an opportunity to share an extra vehicle with a family in need.  Then the women’s minister introduced me to a young mom of a baby girl with special needs.  She placed my hand in hers and said, “She wants someone who understands to walk with her.”  And I am.  Gladly.  Then the youth minister called me to tell me that another mom is facing a health crisis.  When he asked her how the church could come alongside her, she said, “You can tell Lauren.”  And just like that I’m serving within the body – supporting other believers in a body I love.  I may not be joining a ministry with a name and a budget, but I’m passionate about friendship and I’m getting to do friendship with intention.  Purpose.  Community.  Church.  For my daughter and for me.  Just the way we are.

 

To be honest, a couple of years ago I struggled to feel like God was kind to me.  A first for me, for sure.  And my life is still far from perfect.  In fact, we have so many loved ones facing hard, hard things right now that my daily prayers feel heavy.  But the responsibility to love them well keeps me going.  And though the world is broken, God is moving.  And I’ll never get over the fact that He uses someone as messy and faithless as me.  And He uses a 14 year old blonde haired beauty with a natural singing talent and a heart to invite.  He also uses a retail manager who does EVERYTHING with the utmost integrity.  And He uses a 19 year old who thinks like a two year old and wears her heart on her sleeve.  It’s the kindest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a]faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  Romans 12:4-8 NIV

 

 

 

 

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