A living eulogy

Imagine if you could hear your eulogy while you were still alive? Imagine if you realized what people really appreciated in you before you were dead? Would it change
the way you lived?

We've been away in Idyll Wild for a few days with our elders and wives. A generous man gave us use of his home which has almost 360 degree views of this stunning part of the world. It's been a very rich time of comeraderie and clarity in the midst of ridiculous beauty. One of the questions we talked around was, "If culture is more caught than taught, then what cultures are being caught from this team?"
One of them we're wanting to grow, to the point of becoming contagious, is risk.

I'm aware of God's risky entrusting to us of a message, a people and a mission.
He's not satisfied with maintenance. He expects a return on His investment and there is great reward for our return. (Luke 19) This means very intentional, and risky investment on our part.

I've found that there is a great connection between a culture of risk and a culture of encouragement. This is not insincere flattery. Rather, it's faith-filled urging in areas where goodness could and should become greatness.

So we found ourselves doing an exercise along these lines, which may sound morbid to you, but was poignant and helpful to us. We wrote and read eulogies for each other. Random names pulled out of a hat meant you had to find ways to give a tribute to a person's life while they and everyone else got to listen. Although it was deeply emotional, it wasn't sentimental. It was profoundly empowering. These were the areas in which people saw God's grace at work in us. These were our areas of intentional investment for a greater return and reward.

I think it's worth giving tribute to people's lives before they die.
It empowers them to live with more risk and die with less regret.