To have a multi-generational vision, there must be a few, essential things in place.

1) You must already have—or plan to have—children, because without them there is no generation to follow in your footsteps. (This is a given, wouldn’t you agree?) 2) You must teach your children vision, lest it die. 3) You should have a true desire to see your children and your grandchildren supercede your level of “success”. I am not just talking financially, but as a child of God. 4) You must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We must place our trust in Him if we are ever to expect our vision to become reality. Plain & simple.

Now I’ll briefly expand on list above.

Item #1 is a no brainer.

It is impossible to have a multi-generational vision without children being involved. Unfortunately, many people today consider children a “burden”, instead of what they truly are: blessings! Personally, I consider debt to be a burden, don’t you? But many people have it backwards. In fact, those same people will go so far as to reject blessings (children), but APPLY for curses (debt). Psalm 127:4-5 states “As arrows are in hand of a mighty man; so are children of thy youth. Happy is man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with enemies in gate.” Wow! Picture that!

Item #2 is very important. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Tip: In other words, they need to spend time with you learning various multi-generational tasks and beliefs. Teach them of those who came before them in history who kept faith. (Hebrews Chapter 11 is a great place to start.)

I believe that #3 and #4 go hand in hand. By having a personal relationship with Jesus and seeking His will for our lives, I truly believe this desire to see future generations succeed us will come.

There are many organizations and ministries that offer wonderful resources on this life-changing topic. My favorite (and one that I recommend every parent or future parent check out) is Vision Forum Ministries - http://www.visionforumministries.org.

Doug Phillips, founder of Vision Forum, is a leader in field of providing timely tools men need today to train their children, so that they might have a multi generational vision for their families.

To sum up: seek God’s will for your life.

Create a vision for your family. It won’t be easiest road you’ve ever traveled down, but rewards will be far-reaching!

I will close with this quote from Matthew 7:14: “Because strait is gate and narrow is way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

When our children are in high school, they begin to form new friendships, and start going out on weekends. We worry about so many things during this time, and rightfully so. With drugs and alcohol abuse at an all time high, it is a frightening time for parents. While we must be diligent in keeping lines of communication open, we must also remember that our children need some privacy too. As much as we wish they would tell us everything, fact is, they will not. We have to respect that. All we can really do is let them know that we are there for them, no matter what.

When time does come that our children marry or graduate from high school and leave for college, it can be difficult to deal with emotions that we feel. We try to hide our sadness from others because these events in a child’s life are supposed to be happy occasions. While we are happy for our children, we are also feeling a deep sense of loss. We have to remember that these feelings are perfectly normal, and not be afraid to seek out comfort from friends and family.

Even though this time in a mother's life can be a difficult time, it can also be a time of refreshing and a time for new beginnings. It can be a time of reflection, and a time to rejoice for a job well done.

Did you ever have dreams that you put on back burner, and said to yourself, "Maybe when kids are grown?" Now is time to bring those dreams out, brush them off, and move forward. Maybe you had always thought about going back to school or starting a business. Whatever it is, know that it is never to late. Remember, Moses was 80 years old when he led Israelites out of Egypt.

Ever wanted to try your hand at painting? Or maybe you always wanted to start writing. Maybe now is a good time to start a journal. What are you particularly good at? Turn it into an extra source of income. There are many things that you can do to alleviate feelings of sadness and loneliness.

I am reminded of verse in Ecclesiastes 3:4, which says, " A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." Let this be your time to laugh and your time to dance.