A Team Week 124: #whatsyourlegacychallenge

As I mentioned in my previous post we attended the funeral for our dear friend Mike Hryshkanych in the Upper Peninsula on the Sunday evening before this week began.  On Monday, we headed back home to start the new week, but unfortunately it didn't start out very well.  Instead, Asher and I both woke up that morning with the flu and rode the entire way home later that day feeling quite miserable and exhausted.  Thankfully though the week got better after that.  By Tuesday morning both of us were feeling much better and were able to continue on with our typical schedule, and the boys were thrilled to wake up to snow on the ground after playing in the snow at Grandma and Papa's house and then returning home to find bare ground.

Happy to shovel the driveway...if only this would continue into their teenage years!

On my drive in to work on Tuesday, I cried.  I thought more of the life of Mike and the song Legacy continued to play in my mind.  I was already thinking that I wanted to do something special for the month of February.  January was such a rough month full of sickness, frustration, grumpiness, etc.  I was sick of seeing the negativity on Facebook and was thinking of challenging people to put nothing but positive posts on Facebook for the "Love Month".  As I thought more about Mike and his legacy though, I realized that I needed to take the challenge further than that.  On Tuesday I decided to take on a What's Your Legacy Challenge for the month.  During Mike's funeral, everyone kept talking about how he showed love to others and made everyone feel nothing but loved.  They also talked about how he cherished his wife and rose to the responsibility of fathering his children along with his devotion to being in the Word and faithfully praying daily.  As I thought of this I realized that my legacy included several parts, so I decided to challenge myself to #belikemike throughout this month by praying, being in the word and showing others love every day in hopes that it would become second nature.  I want to live a life that points my children, family, friends and everyone I meet to Christ.  When it is time for my own funeral/life celebration I want others to say the same things about me, that I was faithful, prayerful, loving and devoted to the Word of God.  I want others to see Christ in me and thereby see their need for Christ.

"Ever since we celebrated the incredible life of Mike Hryshkanych, I cannot stop thinking about the legacy he left behind, the thousands of lives he touched, and what my own legacy will look like. I will be the first to admit that I can be apathetic, discouraging, frustrating, impatient, unfriendly, unpleasant, disloyal, disagreeable, tactless, selfish (etc., etc.), but I do NOT want any of that to be my legacy. Rather I wish to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...a life that honors my Savior Jesus Christ...a life that points my family, friends and everyone I meet to my Creator. 

With today the start of "The Love Month", I am beginning a challenge to myself to be in prayer, be in The Word and do some act of love and kindness EVERY DAY this month in hopes that it will quickly become second nature. I want to leave a Legacy behind that changes the world and brings people to Christ, and I encourage you to join me. Facebook can be a discouraging, unloving, depressing place but together we can change that! Even if you don't have the same beliefs as me, please take on the challenge and see what God can do! Will you join me? Please feel free to share this and include these hashtags to light up Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/EveryDayLife, and light a spark in this dark world!"

So, I made the commitment and on Wednesday February began.  I selected a bible reading plan on my phone to follow and woke up excited to start the journey.  I started the month by showing love to my littles along with another commitment...to fill their bedroom doors with hearts explaining all the reasons I love each of them.

Day 1: Loving on my littles ❤ #whatsyourlegacychallenge #belikemike

On day two (Thursday), I challenged myself to show love outside my household, and that has continued to be my challenge as the month has gone on.  For someone that spends almost every waking moment either at work (with only 3 other people) or with my boys this is difficult.  My prayer is for God to not only give me the opportunities but to also open my eyes to them so that I can take advantage of them.  It is a difficult and ongoing challenge, but I am up for it!

Day 2. Lord, please show me opportunities to show Your love to others today. #belikemike #whatsyourlegacychallenge

On Saturday, it was Day 4 of the challenge.  I woke up and opened up the bible app on my phone.  These words jumped off the page screen to me: "There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!” You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." -Psalm 4:6-8.  With the election and now new president, the past year has been one of anxiety, discouragement, discord, and fear for many, thus this morning these verses spoke to my heart.

With the Lord's encouragement and reminder that He gives us hope and is the source of our joy, I continued on in my day and we began our weekend together by heading to Lake Geneva to meet my brother and his family for the Winterfest.

My favorite snow sculpture...Space Monkey! :)

Avery, Caleb, Asher, Hudson, Eric & Micah playing on the climbable snow sculptures...A Giant Ice Cream Cone.

Hudson

Hello!

:P

Climb Every Mountain

Meeting a Yeti

Asher was shy of the Yeti and refused to participate in a picture.

When we were finished looking at the Winterfest snow sculptures (& frozen from the brutal wind) we headed over to Potbelly for lunch.

Life with Boys...lots of them!

After lunch at Potbelly, we headed back to our van and then back home.  The fresh air and bitter wind must have wore us all out because all four of us headed to our beds to take naps and we all slept for almost three hours!!  That evening, Eric headed out to run some errands while the boys and I stayed home.  At one point I was trying to get some things accomplished in the office and sitting in my desk chair when Asher started pulling me around with a string.  Avery and I pretended he was a horse pulling our carriage and although they both enjoyed this idea, Asher quickly got another idea and it changed into Avery and I being a boat driver and spotter while Asher water-skied behind us.  This kept us quite entertained for a decent amount of time until Daddy came home.  :)

Video: Waterskiing

On Sunday, we finished up the week (& the first week of the #whatsyourlegacychallenge) with a quiet day at home.  There was nothing really specific that took place other than this little incident at lunch, so I will leave you with this...

Life with a 2 year old:
Me: Avery you haven't eaten any of the food you asked for for lunch. Eat your lunch
Avery: No!
Me: Yes! Eat your lunch
Avery: No. Done. Downstairs (to play)
Me: Avery good boys eat their lunch. Are you a good boy or a naughty boy?
Avery: No!
Me: Are you a naughty boy?
Avery: Yeah! (As he gets down from the table)