This coming Sunday will be Senior Adult day at our church. We will have a different structure to the service and everything will be pointed toward recognizing our older generations.
I will be preaching on the importance of leaving a legacy. I plan on addressing both the senior crowd and the younger crowd.
If you are over 60, I’ll be asking for your input tomorrow but for today, if you are younger than 60 years old, I need your help. If you are like me, there are many, many people who have played an integral part in your life. Take some time today to think about those folks.
As you think about the generations ahead of you, who has made an impact on your life and how have they been able to affect you in such strong ways?
Just leave your comment here or email me at bhill33@me.com.
I look forward to reading your comments – they just might show up on Sunday.
Be blessed today!
Clay in the Hands 
Gosh, Brian! There are so many! Janet Walker allowed me to begin teaching an adult class in a housing project when I had just come to Christ at age 18 in my hometown of Macon, GA. M. P. Belding prayed so intently that many times as a child I opened my eyes to see if Jesus were physically in the sanctuary. Roland Elder and Russell Brown took me to make ministry, evangelistic, and hospital visits while I was at Georgia College. Charlie Watts spured me on to more love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24) within the Royal Ambassador group, encouraging me to complete the highest honor and level that Royal Ambassadors could earn in the late 1960’s. And then their are God’s heroes in every church that I’ve served on the vocational ministry staff: Gorrell Motsinger Bodenheimer in Winston-Salem, NC; Lawrence Marvin Williams III and Ray Eslinger in Ooltewah, TN; Rene’ Beaver in Mobile; and Paul Levering here in Cullman, AL. God has always surrounded me with a GREAT crowd of witnesses! Too many to tell. Jim O’Dillon
Hi Brian
As I started my journey into manhood I crossed paths with a man by the name of Alan Jenkins we called him “Pappy”. An ol’ welder from the shipyards on the east coast during WWII. I met him when I lived in Oklahoma City. I had just graduated from a welding school and thought a lot of myself. My first encounter with Pappy, I was working for a oil derrick manufacturing firm,as a welder, and I delivered some parts to his shop. He asked if i was a welder? i told him i just graduated form school could rod, mig, & tig weld. to which he said if you want to learn to weld come see me. Kind of flew all over me, but I went to see him.
In my 2 yrs working with Alan i learned much more than welding. he taught me about life. things a parent can’t teach a child, sometimes it has to come from a different source. for me it was Pappy.
he could eyeball something and tell if it was square without using what he called an “idiot stick” tape measure and proved it to me on several occasions. He told me when he hired me he would cure some of my bad habits, chewing tobacco, and cursing. he did. he told me i had words in my mouth he would not hold in his hand. then told me why swearing was bad in the eyes of the lord. the chewing tobacco he just waited till i had a juicy chew and patted me on the back. a little harder than usual. I yakked for awhile and if i smell Levi Garrett to this day i would start all over.
He had all kinds of sayings i use to this day like;
they shot daddy can’t along time ago.
there is always time to do it again, but never time to do it right the first time.
aint nothin to it but do it
He is also the one that told me i was wasting my time welding my calling was somewhere else helping people. that i needed to go back to school. i don’t know how he knew this, but after being a paramedic for 20 years, i just wish i could tell him Thank You! When i went back to Oklahoma some years back the shop was gone and no one knew the where a bouts of Pappy. I do! he told me several times he would live till at least 95 years old or if lucky 115. then go be with his savior and Lord Jesus Christ! A Good Man a very Good Man!
Pat,
Thanks much for sharing! These are awesome words!