My Father’s Legacy

Lessons my father taught me have left a lasting impression on my life.  I may not have gotten them right the first, second or sometimes even the third time around but a do over in my father’s book is OK.  He used to teach my three brothers and I that if you don’t get it right the first time you get back up, dust yourself off and try again.  You keep getting back up until you get it right. 

Growing up on the farm I remember the time my dad put me on my first pony.  I wasn’t very old at the time.  The pony jumped up and down a little bit and I fell off.  I didn’t get hurt, my father was there to make sure of that, but just the same I cried.  I cried because I did not want to get back on that pony.  My dad just smiled, picked me back up, dusted me off and put me back in the saddle again.  I didn’t fair any better the next few times I tried but I went away with a valuable lesson that day that stayed with me for the rest of my life.  When I was a little older I was still to small to crawl up on the horses myself so I would sneak carrots out of my mother’s garden, climb a tree in the pasture and coax some of them over.   When one got close enough I would hop on its back and there we would go off to the rodeo.  I’ve been thrown off, knocked off and rubbed off a horse more times than I can count.  I was once thrown off onto our barbed wire fence and when I came to the house cut up and bleeding I thought I was going to be in loads hot water with mom.  She took it better than I thought she would as she doctored me up.  My poor mother put up with a lot of my cowboy antics and had the patients of Job with me.  I did eventually learn to ride though I still carry some of the scars I received while gaining the skills.  I was not going to quit until I did. 

The main theme in my blog has been about making choices and hopefully making the right ones.  Many of us pick up some emotional scars along the way but unlike the physical ones these scars are not as easily seen and sometimes take longer to heal.  We do not always get it right the first time around and occasionally stumble or fall flat on our faces.  This is not the end and we are not down and out unless we choose to stay there.  Let’s say you have a dream or a vision of something that you would very much like to accomplish in your life.

 

You should ask yourself these questions:

·         Is it a meaningful venture?

·         Is it worth the sacrifice?

·         Will it help make me a better person?

·         Does it help others meet their needs?

·         Does the outcome have merit?

This involves stepping outside of yourself and giving an honest assessment of what you are about to do.  Now it’s decision time.  Something may be telling you – what if I fail?  Just remember that you never fail until you stop trying and if it is a worthwhile dream then it is worth going after.  If you answered yes to the questions above then I think you have a worthwhile dream to pursue.

My heavenly father like my earthly father has taught me the difference between right and wrong but more important than knowing was doing what is right.  He taught me about integrity.  He taught me that integrity is something to be valued.  Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking.  No one can take your integrity from you but you can give it away.  If you have ever lost your integrity can you get it back?  I not only believe you can but I know you can.  Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Affect?  It states that, “There are generations yet unborn whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take today and tomorrow and the next day”.  I think the key word here is today.  Today is something we can take part in making a difference.  Today we can volunteer for a worthy cause.  Today we can we can talk with a senior that may feel alone and forgotten.  Today we can make contact with that friend or family member that we keep putting off. Today you can begin mending fences of broken relationships that were once thought to be lost.  I believe that the actions we choose to take today will leave a lasting legacy for your family and for future generations.  Today is never too late to recognize a wrong and make it right.  What will your legacy be?

Have a blessed day!

Terry Earp         

New Beginnings

 New Beginnings

Here we are again starting out a new year.  Do you find yourself reflecting, as I do, on the past twelve months and contemplating the promise of the New Year?   This has always been a time for reflection for me along with the anticipation and the promise that the coming year will bring.  I believe that this will be the best year yet.  I know that the news of the economy may be telling us a different story with higher gas prices, high unemployment, foreclosures on the rise and the stock market being on a rollercoaster ride.  My wife and I also took a big hit like most everyone else did.  What are we going to do?  We can either throw up our hands and give in to the doom and gloom of the economical forecasts or we can set our own course and blaze a new trail.  I am not suggesting that we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that our financial system isn’t in a bit of a mess right now but we do not have to get caught up in its undertow.  We do not have to let this economy define our future and our families’ wellbeing.  When I sometimes feel that things are hopeless and heading south real fast I think of what my parents had to endure during the Great Depression.    They were not wealthy by anyone’s standards and both came from humble beginnings yet they managed to make it through one of the most difficult economical periods in our country’s history.  My parents worked when ever they could find it but at the same time they worked at becoming self-sufficient entrepreneurs by starting and operating their own businesses.  They found a need and carved out their very own niche.   They started out with nothing but a dream.  Their dream became a reality and they did very well for themselves.   The poet Carl Sandburg once wrote, “Nothing happens but first a dream.”  Sometimes in the wind of change we find new direction.  Perhaps this is the time to chart a new course for a new beginning.  All we need is a dream and the courage to try something new.  Keep in mind that courage does not always come on us like a roaring lion.  Often time’s courage is that gentle whisper in the evening saying we’ll try again tomorrow with a new day filled with all new opportunities.  The only things that stand in our way of what we want in our lives is the will and the courage to try something new along with the faith to believe in our dreams.   

Have a blessed year,

Terry