Our guest today on the Everyday Faith Podcast is Jeff Zaugg. You may remember him from our interview a few months back on pursuing new passions with God and how Jesus led his family cross-country on an RV road trip! Jeff is the founder of DadAwesome, a ministry that equips dads to lead and love their kids like our Heavenly Father, who is awesome and attentive. Jeff is also the founder of Fathers For The Fatherless, a movement that mobilizes men through endurance challenges to raise money for fatherless children across the globe. You’re going to love our episode today on generational health, generational blessing, and how to leave a legacy.
Generational Blessing through Generational Discipleship
“Share fresh Jesus stories” - John Eldridge
One of Jeff's favorite teachers always says, “Share fresh Jesus stories”. Because of this, Jeff loves to keep Jesus at the center by sharing fresh Jesus stories with everyone he meets. Sharing testimonies and faith stories is one of the main ways that the Gospel has spread throughout the world, from ancient times to today! On the podcast, Jeff shared a story with us about how he was able to share Jesus stories with a new family in his area.
As a Floridian, Jeff loves to surf. His wife and daughters are also avid surfers who love to spend time in the water. While on the beach, they love to share about Jesus and tell others how He’s changed their lives. Over time, they’ve grown close with a family who also loves surfing. Through sharing fresh Jesus stories about what God is up to in their lives, this family became curious about God. Shortly after, this family started going to the Zaugg's church to discover who Jesus really is.
On one Friday morning, Jeff’s daughters began to pray for this family's son and daughter to meet Jesus and give their hearts to Him. On that following Sunday, Jeff and his wife were both needed to sub in as leaders in the kids' ministry. Miraculously, both the son and the daughter of the surfing family were in the room! At the end of the lesson, Jeff invited anyone who wanted to know more about giving their lives to Jesus to come up to him.
Both the sister and the brother gave their lives to Jesus that morning at church! A short time after this, the church hosted a Sunday ocean baptism. During this baptism, both the kids and the parents wanted to be baptized!
Jesus is incredible! This whole family is now saved and sharing the love of Jesus with others. You can be just like them as you learn to live out your faith. One of our four pillars at the Everyday Faith podcast is to start with belief. As you do so, you can embrace your mission, commit to obedience, and pursue community in your walk with Christ, just like this surfing family did!
If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your heart yet, today is your day! Start with belief by heading to our page on salvation and receive Jesus as Lord today: This is For You!
How to Create Generational Blessing
Creating generational blessing can look like sharing Jesus stories and engaging in generational discipleship, but it also looks like moving from "me" to "we". In our individualistic culture, we tend to idealize kids leaving for college, getting married, and being independent as soon as possible. However, this isn’t actually found in the Bible. Family and community are essential in the Bible.
The Bible is full of legacy and generational thinking. In the Bible, mothers and fathers used to prepare to bless their children for the long haul, thinking in advance of how they can help their children financially, spiritually, and practically, so that their generations may be blessed. Here are some simple ways that Jeff and his wife are incorporating generational blessing into their plans:
1. Intentional savings: One of the easiest ways to create generational blessings is to be generationally minded when it comes to saving. Jeff is intentional in saving money each month for his daughters' futures. More so than just saving for their future car, Jeff is thinking about saving for their college costs, a vehicle, their weddings, and even how to bless their future sons-in-law.
Feeling overwhelmed by money? Learn how to incorporate scriptures to bless your finances and achieve financial health: 10 Bible Verses for When You’re Under Financial Stress
2. Create an atmosphere of safety: Jeff is intentional in making his daughters feel like they’re an integral part of the family, versus being just a child in the family. Generational blessing sometimes looks like creating generational safety. Jeff shared this thought during our interview that helps summarize being a family of safety:
“What if we were the safest, most trustworthy, most loving, and most prayerful? So, there’s an automatic, ‘I run home!’ if our children need anything!"
Immersing yourself in the love of God is one of the easiest ways to feel safe, grow in your connection with God, and become a more present parent. Learn more in our blog: 15 Bible Verses About God Loving You No Matter What
3. Adjust your thinking to ‘think longer’ and further out: Growing in generational blessing looks like changing your mindset from a Western, individualistic point of view to a Biblical, generational point of view. If you were to study Jewish families or people in Israel, assets of wealth are higher in those who live with a worldview of generational connectedness and generational mindedness.
Do you feel stuck when it comes to your family line? Learn more about generational patterns and how to achieve generational health: What Are Generational Curses in the Bible?
4. Speak openly about your dreams to your children: One of the ways Jeff encourages his children to think generationally is to let them in on the dreams he has for their family. For example, Jeff has drawn out maps of a future prayer room for their property, a pontoon boat for exploring, and even an auxiliary dwelling unit for the girls, so they know they have a place to move when they get married. Even though these dreams aren’t attainable for Jeff today, there’s incredible value in showing his family the generational blessings he plans to give them.
Related post: How to Help Your Kids Share Their Faith
5. Establish generationally minded micro-practices: A micro-practice is something that is little, that you do often, that has a ripple effect through your life. For example, choosing to put your phone down at 5 PM each night, so that you can be present and intentional with your family, is a great way to create generational health and generational blessing.
While financial stewardship and leaving an inheritance for our children tend to be the main ways we think about generational blessing, we only have so much time here on earth. Your presence, love, encouragement, and wisdom are essential to blessing your children and changing your family tree through the generational blessing of being available.
Learn more about self-control and how to create new, generationally minded micro-habits: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Self-Control? 15 Bible Verses for Self-Control
6. Pray big prayers: Are you praying for your children's future spouses? Are you praying for their future businesses? Are you praying that God would ignite the spiritual gifts in their lives? Praying big, faith filled prayers over your children is an incredible way to create generational blessings in your family line.
Learn more about prayer and how to grow in this spiritual discipline to create generational blessing in our FREE e-book: Let’s Talk About Prayer: Simple Steps to Connect with God
Forgiveness as a Pathway to Create Generational Blessing
In the Bible, Jesus talked about forgiveness a lot. For many, forgiveness is one of the most difficult things about following Jesus. As Christians, forgiveness becomes a way of living as we learn to love our enemies as ourselves and forgive those who have hurt us (Colossians 3:13, Matthew 6:14-15). During our interview with Jeff, we learned how forgiveness is also a pathway to create generational blessings in your family tree.
In Jeff's story, his relationship with his father was difficult and layered. When his father passed, Jeff chose to write a letter to his dad on the back of a large rock. After his father's funeral, Jeff swam into a middle of a lake with the rock and let the rock sink to the bottom. When he swam back to shore, Jeff felt like a different person, lighter, happier, and free. He remembers praying to God,
“The things on the flipside of this rock are not my portion. I choose to release forgiveness and blessing!”
Even though it can be difficult sometimes, forgiveness is essential to spiritual health, familial health, and generational blessing. Forgiveness is as simple as letting God know, "I choose to release forgiveness to this person." Keep on practicing forgiveness as a way to create generational blessing in your marriage and family.
Bible Verses for Generational Blessing
As you’re searching the scriptures for how to create generational blessings and generational health, you've probably read this classic Bible verse for generational blessing from the book of Deuteronomy. It reads:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live - Deuteronomy 30:19
The simplest way to create generational blessing and generational health is to follow what the Bible says about wealth and to submit your plans and your family to the Lord. When you dream with God and focus on following His ways, things naturally fall into place!
Without vision, the people perish. - Proverbs 29:18
Another Bible verse about generational blessing comes from Proverbs 29. Without vision, it’s impossible to think generationally. Jeff encourages our readers to think generationally by setting aside some time to write out a 30-year plan for their life. Can you think 30 years a head into the future? If it’s difficult to think that far ahead, try breaking it down into smaller goals and think 5 to 10 years ahead into the future.
What do you want your life to look like? What are your priorities? How can you honor the Lord with your wealth and steward your finances for your children’s, children's, children? If you’re feeling extra visionary, you can dream of the generational blessings you want to have ready by your 80th birthday party! You can ask God to give you vision for your family, your friends, and how to leave a legacy. Ask God to give you sight to think further ahead to create generational blessing.
Conclusion
As you journey with Jesus to bring generational blessing to your family, remember that it doesn’t start with a perfect plan—it begins with a “yes” to Jesus every day. The Bible lays out strategy for generational blessings, but through prayer, you can fine-tune a plan for you and your family. Now is the time to keep dreaming with God, praying big prayers over your family line, and taking small, simple steps of stewardship, generosity, and establishing generationally minded micro-habits that will bless God and those around you! As you choose to stay present to your family, just like Jeff does, you'll start to see the fruit of thinking generationally. You may not see the full impact of your choice to create generational blessings on this side of heaven, but God is with you and proud of each decision you’re making to bless and build up your family line for the kingdom of God.
