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What do you want written about you when the work is done? · Unsilenced with Blanket Fort Hope

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  Speaker 1: I would like to ask a question today that I
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  Speaker 1: want you to really let sit with you. What do
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  Speaker 1: you want written about you when your work is done?
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  Speaker 1: Not what's on your resume, but what you want your
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  Speaker 1: friends and your family and the people around you to say.
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  Speaker 1: What do you want written about you when this is
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  Speaker 1: all over? What is your legacy? My name is Alexa Likas-James,
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  Speaker 1: and I am the CEO and founder of Blanket Fort Hope.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Kim Eshago.
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  Speaker 2: I'm the Executive Director of Programs for Blanket Fort Hope.
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  Speaker 1: So today we're going to be talking about legacy, about time,
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  Speaker 1: and what it means to build something that outlasts you.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fort. Somewhere in your city, a child
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  Speaker 1: is being sold, and the people doing it are counting
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  Speaker 1: on your silence. This is unsilenced, the voices trafficking, tried
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  Speaker 1: to erase. A Blanket Fort Hope podcast. I'm Alexa James.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm Kim Meshaco.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fort. So, Kim, when I think about legacy,
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  Speaker 1: I think about three questions. Okay. Okay. What do you
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  Speaker 1: want to leave your family? What do you want to
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  Speaker 1: leave the world? And what is the footprint that I'm
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  Speaker 1: making around me? And is this the one that I
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  Speaker 1: actually want to make? Is this the footprint that I
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  Speaker 1: want to make? You know, in our generation, this is
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  Speaker 1: from Psalms, it says commands that you work to one
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  Speaker 1: another so they can tell of your mighty acts. And
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  Speaker 1: I think it's really the older that I get. I
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  Speaker 1: don't know if you feel that way or not, but,
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  Speaker 1: you know, what I leave this legacy, I mean, mainly
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  Speaker 1: like with your family, you know, we have a new baby.
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  Speaker 1: And so I think when I look at that new baby,
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, And I look at my kids and they're
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  Speaker 1: getting older. I'm starting to think about what I want
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  Speaker 1: to leave them. What will I leave them more than
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  Speaker 1: just being a mother or a nonprofit leader? And I
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  Speaker 1: think that when one generation commends your work to another,
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  Speaker 1: that means what you build. Is that what that means
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  Speaker 1: to you?
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  Speaker 2: Exactly. What you've built, what they've remembered about you, what
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  Speaker 2: has lived on after you physically left their presence.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. What did you pour into?
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 1: What was your sacrifice? What did you do every day?
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  Speaker 1: And will that stop with me? And it moves forward.
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  Speaker 1: Is it going to be told? Is it going to
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  Speaker 1: be passed on? Is it going to be something that's good?
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  Speaker 1: Is it going to be something that's bad? Is it
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  Speaker 1: going to be holy? Those things, those are important questions. And, and,
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  Speaker 1: I think the most important question underneath all of this
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  Speaker 1: is still, what are you passing on?
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: What are you passing on? I think it's important. A
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  Speaker 1: legacy is not something to me that's automatic. Do you
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  Speaker 1: think it is?
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  Speaker 2: It is not automatic. It is something that you have
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  Speaker 2: to be attentional about. It's consistency. It's what you've planned for.
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  Speaker 2: It's not going to happen automatically.
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  Speaker 1: It's day by day.
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  Speaker 2: It's day by day.
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  Speaker 1: If you use the word intentional.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: I think also it's a decision.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: That we make. That's right. And I know intentional means that.
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  Speaker 1: But sometimes days it's like I feel like I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to have to make a decision today to walk this
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  Speaker 1: way because I don't feel like it.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: If I act the way I felt sometimes, I would.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a decision.
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  Speaker 1: It's a decision.
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  Speaker 2: Every single day.
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  Speaker 1: Because. Long before anyone is watching and long before anyone
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  Speaker 1: is writing anything down about you, God knows.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: He knows. So you better know that somebody is watching
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  Speaker 1: you now.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: Because there's always somebody. Legacy is not what happens at
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  Speaker 1: the end. It's something that you choose right now. And
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  Speaker 1: I tell people, you don't only live once. That's when
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  Speaker 1: you hear people say that. You live twice. You better
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  Speaker 1: know that. You live here on this earth, and then
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  Speaker 1: you've got an eternity.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: So when I leave this earth... I want what I've
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  Speaker 1: done here to count there. That's what we're working for,
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  Speaker 1: is for that. And that means community. It means relationship.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: It means all those things. And for my family, I
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  Speaker 1: want to leave faith. Amen.
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  Speaker 2: I want my.
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  Speaker 1: Children and the people closest to me to be able
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  Speaker 1: to say that she was the real thing.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: And I pretty much am. I tell you all the time,
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  Speaker 1: what you see, how many you see here.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly right. What you see is what you get.
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  Speaker 1: And it's not always pretty.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: It's not perfect, but it's just.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. I love to play games of cards. I don't
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  Speaker 1: like to play games of life. And I'm not good
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  Speaker 1: at it. People might think so, but I know myself.
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  Speaker 1: I would tell on myself and I wouldn't even mean to.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I don't want my faith to be a performance.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. I want it.
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  Speaker 1: To be the engine of everything that I do.
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  Speaker 2: Everything.
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  Speaker 1: It's got to be the engine, right? That's right.
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  Speaker 2: It has got to be what causes you to move
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  Speaker 2: and breathe and act every single day. And like you said,
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  Speaker 2: it's got to be that choice every single day. Yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I agree.
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  Speaker 1: I had to move over. Sorry, podcast people. So I
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  Speaker 1: think that for the world, for this mission, I want
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  Speaker 1: to leave something that does not need me to survive.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: And that's kind of scary for me sometimes. I know
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  Speaker 1: we've talked about this. Yes. And it shouldn't be, and
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  Speaker 1: I don't even really know why it is. But you
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  Speaker 1: have this thing that you've built and you've prayed. It's
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  Speaker 1: like your children that you've prayed over and these children
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  Speaker 1: that we serve. The legacy that we leave, and I
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  Speaker 1: know y'all keep hearing me talk about the ripple effect
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  Speaker 1: or synergy, the synergy of things. But that's just the truth.
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  Speaker 1: Every life that we have the opportunity effect, we are
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  Speaker 1: going to be held accountable for. And I take that very,
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  Speaker 1: very seriously. We're not just accountable for our own children,
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  Speaker 1: but the people that we serve. And if we choose
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  Speaker 1: to walk in a mission with our Father, we better
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  Speaker 1: know that we're going to be accountable. And that's not
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  Speaker 1: a bad thing. I'm not saying that to scare anybody. Actually,
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  Speaker 1: it's freeing to me. Because I know if I'm doing
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  Speaker 1: it myself and I mess up, it's on me. But
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  Speaker 1: if I'm doing it and God messes up, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to be like, well, Jesus, what do I have?
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  Speaker 2: It is going to work out in your favor. That's
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  Speaker 2: exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: So tell me for you.
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  Speaker 2: Legacy means, like you said, I really want to highlight that,
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  Speaker 2: is faith. That's something that I want to share with
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  Speaker 2: my children. That's something, and not just my children, my
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  Speaker 2: children's children and my community. I want to pass that down.
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  Speaker 2: I want to be a witness and an example. Also,
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  Speaker 2: I'm just thinking about this song when I was a
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  Speaker 2: little girl. I don't remember all the words, but I
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  Speaker 2: do remember it saying, if I can help somebody, then
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  Speaker 2: my living will not be in vain.
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  Speaker 1: It goes back to the dream.
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  Speaker 2: It goes back to the dream. And so when I
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  Speaker 2: think about legacy and I think about this opportunity that
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  Speaker 2: God has given me to work with children and to
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  Speaker 2: work with families, one of the legacies for me will
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  Speaker 2: be these lives where individuals have lived some very difficult times.
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  Speaker 2: They have, yeah. And I've had the awesome opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: work with them. And as they wake up and as
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  Speaker 2: they make a decision every day to face the challenges
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  Speaker 2: that they have to face every day, that I get
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  Speaker 2: to participate in that.
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  Speaker 1: That's right, you get to.
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  Speaker 2: And as they heal and as they go out into
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  Speaker 2: the world and as they become who God has created
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  Speaker 2: them to be, that legacy lives on.
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  Speaker 1: A piece of that legacy is going with them.
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  Speaker 2: That piece of that legacy is going with them. And
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  Speaker 2: then they're going to meet and they're going to pass
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  Speaker 2: on You know, and there are things that they're going
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  Speaker 2: to learn about, you know, that they're going to teach
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  Speaker 2: their own children. You know, it's going to impact them,
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  Speaker 2: but then it's going to impact generations on. So I
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  Speaker 2: think my legacy is the faith and being able to
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  Speaker 2: help somebody, you know, along life's journey.
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of cool to think about that.
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  Speaker 2: It's beyond me.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, that the people, our kids and their kids, and
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  Speaker 1: we talk about even breaking generational curses. And we, and
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  Speaker 1: that's the way I look at it, that's my job
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  Speaker 1: to do now. It wasn't somebody else's.
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  Speaker 2: It's mine.
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  Speaker 1: It's my job to do that now. And those children
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  Speaker 1: that we're serving.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: Can you imagine their kids and their kids, Kim? You
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  Speaker 1: said something one time that I thought was so impactful,
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  Speaker 1: like with your kids, and I hope you don't mind
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  Speaker 1: me sharing this. If I do, I guess I'll find
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  Speaker 1: out after the podcast. Oops. You looked at probably all
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  Speaker 1: of your children and you said, do you have an
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  Speaker 1: A brain or do you have a B brain? And
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  Speaker 1: it's all about sometimes how we speak. It's what we
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  Speaker 1: expect of our family and our children. If we expect less,
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  Speaker 1: that's what we're going to get.
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  Speaker 2: That's what we're going to get. And calling forth what
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  Speaker 2: you know God has placed within a person.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. They're bent.
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  Speaker 2: They're bent. It goes back to that bent, calling that forward.
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  Speaker 2: And sometimes I've been in places where I didn't see
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  Speaker 2: my value or my worth or some strength that God
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  Speaker 2: has given me. And there were people in my life
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  Speaker 2: that we think about, you know, our grandmothers, our mothers,
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  Speaker 2: our aunties and our uncles, you know, teachers, where they
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  Speaker 2: speak life into you.
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  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
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  Speaker 2: And life keeps going long after they pass on. It does.
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  Speaker 1: You don't forget.
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  Speaker 2: And to me, that's legacy. And like you said, it
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  Speaker 2: is intentional. It's purposeful. And I don't believe you can
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  Speaker 2: leave a legacy without interacting with the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: You absolutely cannot.
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  Speaker 2: It takes that interdependence and that working together with the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit to impact any piece of work that you're doing,
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  Speaker 2: any human being that you're working with, to leave a
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  Speaker 2: piece of yourself.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and it goes back, and I want to share
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  Speaker 1: this with our audience, to remember that the same Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit that we have. And so we have all
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  Speaker 1: those tools inside of us. Yes. I told my grandson
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  Speaker 1: just recently, and I share it because of the look
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  Speaker 1: on his face. I'm getting ready to move, and we've
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  Speaker 1: decided that he's decided he wants to help. And he
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  Speaker 1: kind of has gotten this business idea in his head.
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  Speaker 1: He's been doing all summer long. And so I told him,
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  Speaker 1: I said, okay, I'm going to hire you to be
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  Speaker 1: the manager of the move. I said, and then you
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  Speaker 1: can hire your people at half of what I pay you.
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  Speaker 1: And I said, but here are the expectations. And I
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  Speaker 1: saw him go from just this to, Okay.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: I said, can you, you feel like you can manage this?
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  Speaker 1: That means not hitting the walls, wrapping the furniture. It's
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  Speaker 1: just little things that we're planning and our kids, but
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  Speaker 1: he went to this big, you could see him just
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  Speaker 1: raise up like, I'll be the manager of the move
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  Speaker 1: and I'm going to hire two of my friends and
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  Speaker 1: they're going to get half of what I, I said,
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  Speaker 1: that's what happens when you're the manager, but that means
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  Speaker 1: you've got to step it up.
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  Speaker 2: That excellent, that legacy of excellence, that excellent, that legacy
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  Speaker 2: of stewardship, You know, and so many things that we've
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  Speaker 2: talked about before, but it's calling forth what God has
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  Speaker 2: already placed there. It's our job. It is our job.
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  Speaker 1: It is not my job to do this.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly.
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  Speaker 1: That's God's job.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah. That's exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: And I think I want to, you know, I'd like
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  Speaker 1: to give everybody a tool today that changed the way
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  Speaker 1: I lead. Yeah. And it's called The Legacy Letters, inspired
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  Speaker 1: by Chris Hodges. And I just loved reading those. And
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  Speaker 1: it's an exercise to do. And when I heard him
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  Speaker 1: say this, I was like, ugh. To write your own obituary.
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  Speaker 2: Huh.
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  Speaker 1: I know. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, I hadn't done it yet. I'm like, I
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  Speaker 1: don't think so. Because I'm going to be like, well,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: she did this wrong. She did that wrong. But honestly,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: not morbid.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: Not anything morbid and not in despair. Yes. But with intention.
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  Speaker 1: I don't mean like go down this road of luck. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm dying for me. Just, you know, really think about.
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  Speaker 1: And when I really thought about that, I thought, I
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  Speaker 1: need to think about what I would want that to say.
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  Speaker 1: Like truly.
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  Speaker 2: You know, wouldn't it be interesting, wouldn't it be great
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  Speaker 2: to write your obituary? And when we're here no longer,
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  Speaker 2: you know, maybe someone's going through our things, trying to prepare,
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  Speaker 2: and they pull it out, and they see it.
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  Speaker 1: I love that, Kim.
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  Speaker 2: And they say, wow.
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  Speaker 1: My kids would go, no, she did write her own obituary.
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  Speaker 1: Of course she did.
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  Speaker 2: This is how she lived her life. You know, the
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  Speaker 2: people that know you most intimately being able.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: To say, As long as I don't text it is
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: what Nicholas would tell me because mom, he said, I
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  Speaker 1: have to still decipher your text. I'm like, I know
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  Speaker 1: my brain's three steps ahead. And it's kind of like
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  Speaker 1: that in my writing. I guess I better type it
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: and then have you look over it. I'll give it
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  Speaker 1: to Hannah and have me let Alexa.
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  Speaker 2: What in the world are you doing?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. So I sit down and write it out. And
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  Speaker 1: in as much detail as you can, this is what
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  Speaker 1: he says, what you would want said about you when
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  Speaker 1: your life is over. What did you build? What did
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  Speaker 1: you leave? So who did you grow? We can't forget
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  Speaker 1: about that. I was always taught when I went to
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: Highlands College, this was very impactful. You've learned it growing up,
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  Speaker 1: but I think when I was there, they talked about
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  Speaker 1: this a lot, that you should always have somebody over
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  Speaker 1: you that mentors you and then somebody under you that
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  Speaker 1: you mentor. And so you're growing and then you're giving back.
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  Speaker 1: And again, that goes back to your, that God dropped
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  Speaker 1: that dream because I grow so much when I'm helping somebody.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: Because I feel like I'm being used.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: And we need to feel that way. So don't be
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: afraid of it. You know, what changed because you were here?
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  Speaker 1: What did the people who loved you most say about
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  Speaker 1: you when no one else was watching? I think about
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  Speaker 1: that sometimes. I'm thinking, even if I'm talking to my
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: sister or anybody, I'm thinking, if this got out on
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  Speaker 1: the outside, how would people respond?
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I think about the words I'm using and
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  Speaker 1: how I'm saying it, even to them, because... I don't
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: know how to exist in two different worlds because I
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  Speaker 1: would tell on myself. I just don't know how to
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  Speaker 1: do that. I can't be one person here and another
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: person there. Now, obviously, when you're meeting new people, you
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  Speaker 1: put on the ring.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, yes.
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  Speaker 1: But I'm still innately the mess that I am at home.
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  Speaker 2: It's like character. And who are you? Whether you're with
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  Speaker 2: a few people or by yourself or whether you're in
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  Speaker 2: a crowd. Where people really know who you are.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that most of the time there's a
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  Speaker 1: gap between the legacy we want and the life we're
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  Speaker 1: actually living. And if you haven't read that book, The
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  Speaker 1: Legacy Letters, it's so good. It's a great book. It
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  Speaker 1: really is by Chris Hodges. It changed the way I
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  Speaker 1: thought about In some ways, because that's a real thing.
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  Speaker 1: And I wish I would have done this when I
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: was earlier in life, like really think about that legacy.
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  Speaker 1: And when I started this exercise, it did change my priorities.
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  Speaker 2: How did it change? What did you notice?
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so that when you were walking something out or
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: you're asking or you're growing kids and grandkids, how... What
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: you're teaching them is the legacy that you're leaving. It's
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: not just what you're doing. So my priority was make
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: sure every day that even with the grandson or the
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: kids that I've said something biblical to them and reminded
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  Speaker 1: them who they are in Jesus and not the world.
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  Speaker 1: And remember for them to operate and how Jesus will
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  Speaker 1: want them to. And also with kids. A grandson who
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: now has a girlfriend. I reminded him even, like, you're
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the man in this relationship. It's your job to protect her.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: And we went through all the things. And, of course,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: he was turning red. I didn't get too deep into them. But,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: you know, so I think your priorities change in the
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: way that you want them to really deeply want them
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: to know how you think and how you feel because
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: you are born again in Christ Jesus. And not just
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: living it out because, you know, you get redundant in
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: your life.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: You go to the walk, you go to church, you
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: go to Bible study, you go to work. But I'm
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: trying to now speak more things to them. I'm trying
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: to speak more truth. I think I always have done that.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: I've just been more intentional about how it's said.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: I've tried to be more intentional about decisions I make.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Was it kind? Was I doing it just because I
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: didn't want to do it anymore? It was too much
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: work when somebody might need something. So little things like
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: that I've tried to tweak.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: I'm already, my personality is to give and to love,
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: but sometimes you don't do that right.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: That is true. And something you just said is really important.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: You basically said, check your motives.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: Check your motives.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Why am I doing this?
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: See, that's why I have Kim, because she has all
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: the right words.
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: You know, it's like, check your motives with yourself. You know,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: ask yourself. Why am I doing this? Why am I
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: doing this?
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Am I doing it when nobody else is looking or
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: am I doing it so I can get a good job?
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: Because that's not what we, that will end, that will
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: end quick. That goes away. What we want is the
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: legacy that's going to keep going. I really, truly, when,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: I don't want people to remember who we are, Kim,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: like in the scheme of Blanket Fort Hope. I want
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: them to remember who God is.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: That's it. Yes.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Because if they remember me, we've got a problem.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: We have a huge problem. When I think about what
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: God has done, I'm applying it to Blanket Fort Hope
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: right now. If it's not all about him, it's a
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: shame because he's done so very much that is worth it.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: actually sharing and talking about and leaving behind. And I
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: believe we have an opportunity to just participate in it.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: And we've got choices, you know, we, we've gotten in,
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: you know, a little bit of my story and I
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: know a little bit of yours too, but I mean,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: life was tough as a kid. You know, we had, um, very,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: very sick by their hot dogs and just a lot
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: of different things that happened. And there were choices along
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: the way that I had to make. I didn't do
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: them perfectly. But I could choose to be a victim
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: or I could choose not to be. And I think
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: we have those choices always to do that. And I
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: don't do them. I don't want anybody to hear either
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: one of us do any of this perfectly. There are
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: days I go home and I'm like, yada, yada, yada, Alexa, yada, yada.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: What was I thinking?
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like Ricky Ricardo on Lucy. Like, Lucy,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: what are you doing? And that's okay. That's why we
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: have to go back to Jesus.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: That's right. And lean and depend on him. Yeah.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: So going back to the legacy is, I think that
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: we do this exercise and we figure out, like you said,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: what surprised me, what didn't. There was a lot that
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: surprised me. Was I spending a lot of time on
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: things that were urgent but weren't actually important? And yes,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: I can do that. Sometimes... It's because I need to
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: accomplish something. That's my personality too. I need to have
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: a goal to accomplish. And I might work in the
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: urgency on something that really was not that important. Like
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: packing a suitcase or building a house. Or did I
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: buy the furniture?
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: No, I didn't.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Now what are we going to do? That's not urgent.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: In the grand scheme and you look back on life. Yeah.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: Does it matter in the end?
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: Does it matter in the end? And I think the
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: legacy letter made that gap. impossible for me to ignore.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: And I want it to be something my kids can't ignore.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Because I want them to be thinking about that now,
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: the words they choose, the places that they go, the
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: staff that we serve, the kids that we serve. We
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: want to be model that. But we also want to
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: model that we're not perfect. People need to say, I'm sorry.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: And I always want to be a person that says,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: I messed up. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: Forgive me. Yes.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Forgive me. Because none of us are perfect. And I
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: think when we model that, it makes everything.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: More attainable for people. That's right.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: I think it changed the way I was willing to
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: say no. I think some of those no's were hard
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: for me. Really, really hard because I don't like to
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: say no sometimes. Just because they were good things.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was the right thing for you to do.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: That's right. I mean, because you've heard me talk a
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: lot about, like, I wished it really has always bothered me.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: And you've been one of my best cheerleaders about this.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: It bothered me that I did not get a degree
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: in social work or that I wasn't good enough to
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: do this because I didn't know how to do those things.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I'll say I knew how to get people in there
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: to help me do those things. That's right. And so
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: I think we have to put those things aside and
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: not stay in those things so that we can say
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: yes to the right things. Because I could get caught
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: up in that.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: I even thought about going back to school again. I'm like,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: but why? Why do I do that? Then it's going
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: to stop me from doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: I have you and I have the other. You know
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: what I mean?
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: And then you can walk in the calling and in
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: the lane that God has placed you in. for his purpose.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: We have to live in the strengths that he's given you. Yes.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: You know, but that has been a battle for me.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: And if anybody else is out there like me, and
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I'm sure there's a lot of us, you know, people that,
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: you know, we're looking to try to please, or the
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: world says you're supposed to be this instead of that.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Because if I operated in what the world thought I
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: should be, I would not be doing this. I'd be
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: in development with FedEx Kinkos, or I would be in
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: clear channel, or I'd be behind a camera somewhere doing something. Um,
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: And I would have been happy enough, but I wouldn't
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: have been in my calling. That's right. And so I
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: would have known that. And I think that we have to,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: that's what it's meant by being in a time-oriented living,
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: is to accept and to grow in what God has
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: given you and try to put all those other things
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: like I should have been, I wish I would have been,
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Because God is going to get you to the place
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: that he wants you to be if you will allow
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: him to do it, or he's going to find somebody
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: else to do it.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: We can take the road that is hard, or we
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: can take the road that God wants us to take.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: And I have not through many breaks. I wish I
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: wouldn't have. Yeah, I really have. It's on my head
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: so hard. So what matters first is teach us to
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: number our days according to Psalms 9012, that we may
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: gain a heart of wisdom. So we have to number
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: our days, not to count down to the end. I
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: don't want to constantly be looking.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: I used to.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: That's another thing. I'd be like, I've got to finish
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: this goal, and that way I can start another one.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: So I was constantly in that.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: I've got this done. Now I can move here.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: That's not how it works. To live with a kind, intentional,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: that only comes with when you understand that time is
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: finite and that every day is a gift of stewardship.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: And it is.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: It's finite, Kim.
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: What do you got to say to that?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: You know, this episode is helping me, you know, because
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: we need to stop sometimes and think about our time
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: and our purpose. And if we're truly walking in our
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: calling and walking in our strengths and what we're leaving behind.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: And you said something earlier, you said, I wish I
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: had done this when I was younger.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: You know, and I think when you when you get
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: to the point that you understand something this important, the
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: thought is, man, I wish I would have done this
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: 10 or 15 years ago. But the truth is, we
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: have it right at the right time. That is the truth.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: That is the truth. And so now you're thinking about,
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: am I walking in my calling? Am I saying and
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: doing what Christ would do when I'm talking and living
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: with my family and my grandchildren and the people that
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: I work with? Am I being the true person that
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: I'm called to be? And do I have a respect
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: for the fact that my days are numbered?
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: And that I have to make a choice every day
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: to consistently show up the way Christ has called me
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: to be. And it makes you just sit and think.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: And I think every now and then it's a good
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: reflection for me to have. And I would I would
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: say for all of us to have. For all of
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: us to have, yeah. It helps to recenter us. It does.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: And make sure that we are reflecting, you know, Christ.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: And it's really so much easier to do. It's not hard.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: I used to think you've got to have this ritual. No.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: We really don't. Sometimes it can just be throughout the day.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: And it's okay. That's right. You've got to know who,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: you know, I know my personality. And I know how
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I best operate.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Now, it took me a lot of years to understand,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: but get to know yourself and how God wants you
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: to operate and live out that with Him and His Word.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: So let's take a little bit of a detour and
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: talk about building something that outlasts you because some of us,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: everybody listening here today, might have a legacy they want
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: to build and it might feel impossible. The door's closed.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: I should have done it a long time ago. The
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: people that were supposed to believe in me didn't. I failed.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: I didn't go to school. I did this. The dream
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: has been rejected more times than you can count. And
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: I want you to know this dream of Blanket Fort
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Hope was rejected more times than I can count. More
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: times than I can count. I've been excluded. I've been
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: pushed out. I've been told that I was stupid. I've
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: been told this is not going to work. You don't
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: know what you're doing. You can't be a part of
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: our group. You can't be a part of this group.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: You've lost your mind. I agree with them. I have.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: But what I want, and I know everybody knows this,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: but I want to say it again because I just
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: love this stuff. And I want you to hear some
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: names because it made me feel better. It really did.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: We know Michael Jordan was cut from his high school
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: basketball team. Yes, we do. Is that not the craziest thing?
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: High school basketball.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: And you think.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Late in life, girl, for sports.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: Late in life.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Can you believe somebody told him no?
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: No, exactly.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: He couldn't even play. But he kept on doing it.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. Did you know that?
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: I did not know that.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: I didn't either, but I found it because I wanted
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: some good stuff to say. But can you imagine Winston Churchill?
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: I cannot. And these are people that we say are successful.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Yes, and smart. Yes. There is no success without failure.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: That's right. There's just not. Dr. Seuss, his first children's
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: book was rejected by 30 publishers. And he's one of
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: my favorite. Oh, the places we can go.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: And now we have Dr. Seuss Day.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Yes. Yes. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: for like imagination. Imagination.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: And having no good ideas.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: Imagine that. No pun intended. Albert Einstein, PhD dissertation rejected
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: by the University of Bern as an irrelevant and fanciful.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: I mean, I can't even imagine Albert Einstein having anything fanciful.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Can you?
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: I cannot even imagine that. I can hear me. Irrelevant.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: And irrelevant.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Irrelevant, yeah. So get some of that stuff.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: You know, 30 publishers telling Dr. Seuss that he was
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: not a good children's book author. a newspaper editor telling
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Walt Disney what he told him. And we're sitting here
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: thousands of years later reading their names in history books
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: and building organizations in their honor. Not thousands, but there
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: is no, there's no should not be in your ending.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: It just shouldn't be. It's really just your preparation.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: It really is because it's what molds you and strengthens
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: you into who you are. I'm a lot tougher now.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: Somebody can look at me now and say, you're just stupid,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: and I'd be like, okay. Well, I may be, but.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: But God doesn't think so.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: And so they mold you. They toughen you up. They
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: get you in the direction that you're supposed to go
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: to build the things. Because who would have thought an 8,000-square-foot
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: beautiful home, We're about to build out 12 more with stables.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: We have this great team that God has built. 11
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: years ago, everybody said no.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: And that's a good point. It's not just people that
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: are told.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: No.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: Organizations can be told no. Blanket Fort Hope has been
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: told no. And what I've watched you do, you know,
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: especially as I've come on board Blanket Fort Hope and
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: walked beside you, um, is that you treat every no
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: as redirection. I'm thinking about a situation where a particular,
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: I think, vendor told us no to a certain price
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: that they had promised before. And I remember you going
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: to your office, grabbing your purse that very moment and said,
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: I'm going to turn this around.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: And I did.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: And you did. That is not what God told me.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: That is not what they're going to do.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: And not only turn that around, and got the price
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: we were initially quoted. But you also brought on some
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: people that said, your passion and your belief on this
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: has made us want to join and be a part
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: of it too.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: I love that. That's God.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: That is so God.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: That's that tenacity.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: That is that tenacity. So we've got to remember that
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: being told no is not a verdict.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: No.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: Especially when you know God has told you something and
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: called you to something.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: Don't ever let it be a verdict.
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: Yes. And you cannot let someone else's inability to see
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: your vision.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's good, Kim.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: You cannot allow that.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: That's so good.
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: Then to take root in your life.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: I want you to say that one more time because
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: it's so important, and I think that's what hindered me
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: so many times.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: You cannot allow someone else's inability to see your vision
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: detour you or stop you.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: That's so good. And we cannot.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: The calling is still the calling.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: And so keep building and keep moving forward.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: That's right. No matter what the no's are, just stay
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: the course, stay in God's word. Because too many organizations
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: and too many ministries are built around a personality instead
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: of a purpose, I think. And when the personality leaves,
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: everything collapses.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: I've seen that.
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: And that's not what we want at Blanket Fort Hope.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: We want everybody to walk into their calling and say,
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: I say this all the time, we don't have balance
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: without our toes. You hear me say that often. And
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: it's the same with the body of Christ. It's the
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: same in that office that even like the event at
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: the Hoover Country Club, it took that whole team to
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: pull that off. This podcast is taken four people to
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: pull this off and more really behind the scenes.
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: And everybody in their specific role that they're called to.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we cannot, at Blanket Fort Hope, we are building
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: toward the day, I hope, when the mission does not
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: need me or you to survive. That is right. It's
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: a sad thought, but that is the goal. That should
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: always be the goal in our family. It should be
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: the goal in what we're doing because that is the legacy.
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: That's legacy. That's legacy. You have built, you have prepared.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: you have mentored, and you have actually passed on.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: That means investing in people.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: That's what that means, Kim.
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: That's exactly right.
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: It means investing in people, not just in programs, but
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: in people. And we want to grow people. And I
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: have always, thank the Lord He has given, this is
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: from Him, is that I want people by me That
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: are better at what I do than I am. Because
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: I'm not always going to be there. And I know
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: that God gave me the piece that I'm supposed to do. And,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: you know, at some point in my life, that could
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: have intimidated me. to have people around me because most
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: of the people around me at Blanket Forward Hope, a
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: lot of the people are very high level educated and
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: they're great at what they do. But that was not
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: the part that I had. And I think if we
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: can walk in that and quit being competitive with each other,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: but invest and grow leaders and do your part in
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: growing those people, I think there's freedom in that.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: And you've said, you know, a couple of times during
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: the podcast that You know, maybe you didn't have a
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: particular degree or whatever, but even in my role, you
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: have mentored me. You know, you have. You have mentored
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: me in so many ways in my faith, just in
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: being confident, you know, trusting in God, you know, investing
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: in people, and seeing people outside of the workplace.
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: I know for a fact that you pray for your staff.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: I do.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: You pray for their children and you pray for their families.
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: And those are the things that God gave you to
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: build and support this team. Yes. You know, those are
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: some of the things. I know there's many, many others,
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: you know, but God doesn't require us to have anything
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: except what he's given us or where he's guided us
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: for the role that he has for us.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: And that's a beautiful thing when you can live in that. Exactly. But, again,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: that's why you need legacy. That's why you need people
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: around you that can remind you of things and how
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: we do things, how we build strong advocates, how we
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: build teams, even our family to be advocates even for
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: their own selves.
• 35:12
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: Not just missions but their own selves and to understand
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: the mission deeply enough to articulate it, to define it.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: to extend it into spaces that I will never reach.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: You know, when we're talking to a thousand people, we
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: have then put it into a space that you and
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: I will never reach because those 25 people are not
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: in our circle, but they're in their circle. And so
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: that's why even with legacy, when we leave it with
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: our three kids, the grandchildren, and then it goes into
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: their friends, you know, it just has that, again, that
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: serendipity ripple effect that it has. And we want to
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: grow people, not just programs. That's right. That's what we
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: want to do. So it means everything because when someone
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: believes in us enough, like you have believed in me.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: And like you have believed in me.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: Then that's what happens.
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: That's exactly what happens.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: So now, Kim, you had here a piece here that
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: I think you want to talk about when you look
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: at your team.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. When I look at my team, you know,
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: I just... I love seeing the people that are on
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: the team, their goals, their visions, whether that's the staff,
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: the house parents, and pouring into them every single day.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: And they pour into me as well every single day.
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: And I think about who I'm investing in, who's going
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: to carry on the programs when I'm no longer carrying
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: on the programs. Right. even wanting to be, you know,
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: we're about to receive our first young ladies into the program.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: So exciting, I can't even believe it.
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: And when I started, you know, I'm looking for a
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: house parent, looking for individuals to come into the home
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: and to take over, you know, creating this culture that
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: we want in the home of where this is a
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: family setting. And what God ultimately did is made me
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: understand that I'm not just writing policies and I'm not
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: just writing procedures, but I'm going to have a very
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: strong presence in that home to make sure the legacy
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: of the culture that we won't pass down is solidified
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: in that home. And so he didn't just call me
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: to write procedures and policies. He also called me to
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: make sure. And that wasn't an awakening. That was a
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: huge awakening. That wasn't the plan, but that was God's plan.
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: That wasn't my plan, but that was his plan. And
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: his plans will prevail. His plans are perfect. I remember
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: you going, no. And his plans will prevail. So legacy
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: is not just what you build. It's who you build. Yes.
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: It is who you build, just like you said. And
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: Passing on. Yes.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: To where you lead. That's the true measureship of leadership
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: right there.
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: Yes, that God's work is still sustained.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: That it continues.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: That is the true measure. Yes. That is the true
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: measure right there, what you just said.
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: We want to leave a generation of advocates who know
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: that this work matters, who have been trained and equipped
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: and sent, who will carry these children's stories into places
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: that you and I will never go. Yes. That is
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: what I want my legacy to be. That is what
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: I'm building toward here with Blanket Fort Hope, but also
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: with my family.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: I want my.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Legacy to go deep into the generations of my mom,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: my yaya, my aunt, my sister. She believed and trusted
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: the Lord God with all of her heart, so much
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: so that she stepped out into this, and he protected her.
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: They get to see what he's doing because they know
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: I can't.
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: So they know God is at work. Yes.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: So I think we leave people with a legacy challenge.
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: I think we should.
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: Write a legacy letter this week, even if it's just
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: one page. I think we identify one person in our
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: organization or our life that we are intentionally or need
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: to intentionally grow and help. Look at your calendar for
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: the last week and does it reflect your actual priorities? Wow.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: I know. Does it actually reflect our priorities? Are we
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: just living in a mundane day to day or do
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: we intentionally prioritize our legacy? I think that's so important.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: If I stepped away tomorrow, would it continue or would
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: it collapse? And I believe with all of my heart
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: it would continue. There's no doubt in my mind. And
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: name one thing you're building. I think we all need
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: to be to name one thing we're building that's bigger
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: than us because that's where it keeps us.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: On our knees. And I want to add just one
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: more thing.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: Please do.
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: The children we serve are part of someone's legacy. Someone
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: has prayed for those children. We know for a fact
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: those children have been prayed over. Someone has fought for
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: those children. We know that to be a fact. Someone
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: has built this organization so there would be a place
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: for these children, a safe place for these children to land.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: Every good thing that we build, every person that we
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: invest in, every hard yes and every necessary no.
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 40:36
  Speaker 2: Like you said before, it ripples further than we will
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: ever be able to see. Yes. And so we should
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: not ever underestimate that. What we're leaving behind.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: Amen.
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: You know, and one generation commends your works to another.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: It's what you said earlier.
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: Yes. It's what you said earlier. Yes.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: You know, what will they say? We have to build
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: it now while we still have time. Yeah. I am
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: Alexa Likas-James.
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: And I'm Kim Meshago.
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: This is Unsilenced, the voices that trafficking tried to erase.
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: Write your legacy letter. Share this episode. Join us again
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: for the next episode on The Fort.
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: See you soon.
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: If you or someone you know needs help, call or
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: text the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Available 24
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: hours a day, seven days a week. To learn more
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: about Blanket Fort Hope, visit BlanketForthHope.org. Together, we can make
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: sure no voice goes unheard.