LIFE - Leave an Impact For Eternity

This past Monday, we announced our plan for celebrating David’s 1st birthday, and we asked you to join us in remembering David’s life by giving LIFE to others. Since this is somewhat of an abstract idea, we thought it might be helpful to offer some suggestions on how you can participate.

Colossians 3:12-14 seems like a worthy guide. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

When we, as believers, “put on” this type of life, we are inviting the world around us to live a new way, an eternal way. The invitation is not to embrace a new ethic but to embrace Jesus that offers this new life (Col 3:1). So, in celebration of David’s 1st Annual LIFE Day, our goal is to “put on” this kingdom of God mindset so that we might leave an eternal impact.

Compassionate hearts - Visit with those in your community who are often overlooked (widow, elderly, sick children, single moms) and perform an act of love that shows the compassionate heart of Christ. Or make a donation to an organization that supports those who are underprivileged.

Kindness - Do something kind for someone from whom you do not expect to receive anything in return. This is especially effective when you show love to someone who is different from you (politically, ethnically, socio-economically).

Humility - We all have people in our lives that we struggle with in some way to show that we are better than or superior to in ability, intellect, etc. Go to this person and serve him or her. Lay down your competitive drive and give this person a compliment or ask him or her to teach you something.

Meekness - Provide a gentle response when an angry one could easily be justified. In the workplace or at home, when another person provokes you to anger, respond in love. When a required task is met with resistance by others, pause, breathe, and handle the situation with meekness.

Patience - Sit with someone longer than you normally would. Turn off your phone, set aside the task list, and just sit with a friend or family member without thinking of the next step.

Bearing with one another – Call or write someone who has been suffering and pray for them in the form of verbal or written communication (don’t just say you are going to pray for them). Especially remember those who suffered some sort of pain 6+ months ago because many of them have been forgotten by the majority...be the minority.

Forgiving each other - Do you know how much you have been given forgiven? Set down your pride and choose to forgive someone who has wronged you or hurt you. Let go of your anger and decide that that person does not “owe” you anymore.

If you have already thought of something that is completely different from this list, then that is great too! Or if you have some creative ideas on how to celebrate David’s birthday, we encourage you to share them with all of us by leaving a comment on this post. We look forward to celebrating with each of you as we endeavor to Leave an Impact For Eternity.

David Nathaniel LIFE Day

March 1, 2011

First Annual David Nathaniel
LIFE (Leave an Impact for Eternity) Day

Ok, so here's the deal. Many of you have asked how you can remember David Nathaniel with us on his first birthday. Well, I am so excited to tell you exactly how you can do that! On Tuesday, March 1, our family will be remembering David by doing acts of LIFE (leaving an impact for eternity). We felt this was the perfect way for us to continue the legacy of David Nathaniel's small but powerful life.

Many of you have walked this journey with us in amazing ways, and we wanted a way to include each of YOU in David's birthday celebration. So what better way to celebrate together than to have a day of LIFE in David's honor? Here are the details on how you can participate:

1. Sometime around David's birthday (March 1st), do something to leave an impact for eternity (LIFE). It can be for a stranger, a friend, a family member, etc. You can do one thing, or several things. The more the merrier. For some ideas, click here.

2. If you want to, take a picture of your or your family's act of LIFE.

3. Come back to this blog and leave us a comment letting us know how you celebrated David's birthday with us (tell us about your act of LIFE). You can also email me with your act of LIFE (and picture, if you have it).

That's it! A few days after David's LIFE celebration, I will post a summary of all the acts of LIFE that our family did, as well as your acts of LIFE. I am so excited to celebrate David's birthday in this way with each of you!

We would love it if you would help us spread the word about our LIFE celebration day. You can copy our invitation at the top of this post and put it on your blog, or link this page to your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. Please know how much it means to us each and every time you let us know that you remember the life of our precious son, David Nathaniel.