S4 Ep. 6: Generational Unity - Passing the Baton Well

In this powerful episode of Faithfully Invested, Allen and Stacy Jo open their hearts and invite you into a conversation that matters deeply to every family, every leader, and every follower of Christ: Generational Unity and Passing the Baton Well.

Whether you’re leading a business, a ministry, a family, or simply navigating your own personal walk with the Lord, this episode will help you understand what it really looks like to steward legacy through humility, reconciliation, mentorship, and Kingdom-centered purpose.

Allen and Stacy Jo share personal stories from their own blended family journey—raising four adult children, working alongside their daughters in business, healing from the messiness of the past, and learning how daily choices shape generational impact. You’ll hear raw honesty, biblical wisdom, practical encouragement, and powerful reminders that legacy isn’t what we leave to our children—it’s what we leave in them.

Inside this episode you’ll hear about:
 • The beauty of reconciliation between generations
 • Why humility and listening matter more than ever
 • How to mentor without controlling
 • What it takes to pass the baton well in business and family
 • Why God’s vision is always generational
 • How faith is caught more than taught
 • The power of speaking life and breaking old patterns
 • Why legacy requires releasing, receiving, and running your race with intention

If you’re navigating the tension between “how it was done” and “how it’s done now,” this episode will speak life into your home, your leadership, and your legacy.

Be encouraged. Be challenged. Be strengthened.
And remember — when we invest in His Kingdom, He brings the increase.

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Transcript

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Are you ready to build a life, business and legacy that truly lasts? Welcome to Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne, where Faith meets real talk. Biblical wisdom meets everyday life and leadership meets laughter. Together we will uncover God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission, helping faith-driven leaders invest in what matters most. Each episode, we explore biblical wisdom, have real conversations, and of course, have some fun along the way because let's be real. Walking in faith is an adventure. It sure is. So pull up a seat, grab your coffee or your sweet tea, and join us as we steward our callings with intention, because when we invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase. Welcome back to Faithfully Invested. I am Stacy Jo, and I am, I'm not Stacy Jo. I'm Allen. No, thank you. You are Allen. That's an A. Two Ls and an N. Right? Right. Not the A LAN. That's just wrong. Right. Anyway, sorry guys. Anyhow, today we are leaning into a topic that speaks to legacy leadership and the heart of the kingdom. We're talking about generation, generational unity and passing the baton. Well, yeah, you gotta pass it. Well, yeah.'cause if you're not passing it well, you know, you're dropping it, you're dropping it. That's it. You know, I've dropped a few batons in my time, but, uh, anyways, are we all this conversation Yeah. It's not the drop in of the baton, it's how well we pick it back up and run. That's right, that's right. Um, the con this conversation matters to us personally. Um,'cause. As I, I was, I was inserted, uh, about midway through the, the kids youth. And, uh, even as I was, you know, we, we've done our best, uh, through challenging circumstances to raise four kids who are all grown now. Uh, one daughter lives outta state, uh, our son. Uh, is in the Navy in Washington state, and, uh, two of our daughters live here, uh, and work alongside Stacy Jo and, uh, Freedom Support Solutions and the Association of Christian Business Women. Very successful businesses. Well, just to clarify, all of our girls work with me, but one just works part-time and works remotely from outta state. Right. But, but that dynamic brings. Both joy and challenges. So when you work with your adult kids, you're not just building a business, you're actually shaping a legacy. And we've learned that passing the baton isn't a one-time event. It's a daily choice to lead with humility and live with a loving perspective. Yeah, a daily choice, I think really key. A daily choice key. That's the key there. We gotta, yeah, for sure. We gotta choose, uh. Choose love daily, choose. Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, gotta follow Christ Daily. That's right. And that, that's, uh, that's what it really comes down to. Uh, it's about realizing God's vision. Uh, it's always generational. His, his, uh, what he starts with one of us, he intends to continue through the next generation and, and so on and so forth. And a great place to start. Just about anywhere, but a great, uh, so, but we're gonna start here. Mm-hmm. Uh, is gratitude. Yeah, gratitude's always a great place to start. Um, our umbrella company, grateful Hearts. Yeah. Uh, man, I'm telling you that, uh, a Grateful Heart is, uh, is a great place to start from. It does so gratitude is it, uh, regardless of our circumstances, we all have something to be grateful for. Psalmss 100: 5-6 declares for us to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts would praise. I give thanks to him. Bless his name. For the Lord is good. Yeah. His loving kindness is everlasting and is faithful and he, he is faithful to all generations. How many generations? All generations. Generations. Yeah. You know the Hebrew, uh. A Hebrew word for that means all. All. Yeah. Yeah. Not some. All generations. All generations moving on. Yeah. I think every leader eventually comes to that moment of awareness where they're like, this can't end with me. Yeah. And as Christ followers, our families are a wholly responsibility, and we must steward that well. And regardless of whether they work for you or not. Yeah. But we must steward it. Well, you're either gonna come to the awareness or you're gonna come to the awkwardness. Very good. You know, so that's so true's. You gotta be aware. Mm-hmm. And, uh, if we, if you wanna pass it on, and quite honestly, I, I dropped the ball early on more times than I care to mention, you know? And, uh, and that's all right.'cause it's, mm-hmm. Uh, it was, it was highly challenging back then. I was highly challenging back then. And, uh. Uh, those circumstances affected our kids' identity, uh, and relationship with the Lord. However, um. He informed me. He, he's informed us, uh, through prayer as we do, we, I mean, y'all pray for your kids, right? You pray over your kids, and, uh, and if, and if you don't pray for your kids, yeah. Pray for your kids.'cause through prayer, uh, over, over time, he's informed us that he has'em all and they all will return to him. Mm-hmm. Uh, so we stand on his declared rhema word. Um, people might be like, what's a rhema word? Right. Uh, the rhema word first, the, the, uh, the logos word is, is the Bible. God's written word is the logos word, uh, and the rhema word, it's, it's R-H-E-M-A. And the rhema word is as we pray. Uh, and in this case, as we pray over and for our children, the word that we get back from the spirit, uh, is that, uh, that's the rhema word, the, the information, the truth mm-hmm. That we receive from the Holy Spirit, uh, in our quiet time. Uh, it's what he says. Uh, in our prayer.'cause as we, we, as we pray, uh, with, uh, as we pray, we, it's not just requests, you know? Right. It's not just speaking. Uh, the greater part of communication, uh, is, is listening. Mm-hmm. And communication is key to relationship. So if we're, if we're gonna have a strong relationship with the Lord, um. Not only should we speak less, we should listen more. Mm-hmm. And as we're listening, what he says to us as, as, as, yeah. As we're listening is that's the Rhema word. Yeah. Uh, I hope that makes sense. Right. Um, yeah. So, uh, so through the Rhema word, he said that they're, uh, all of her kids are, are returning to him. Yes. They, they've had challenges, uh. Won't go into the challenges, uh, but Right. You know, they, they kinda rode our coattails and kind of mm-hmm. Kind of went through the motions and kind of, uh, just. They rode, uh, rode the wave of our faith, right? Which was, uh, quite honestly, back in those days was, was, uh, growing and, uh, sketchy at the time. My, at least mine was, I, I can speak to that. I was, I was in and out and I like to, I, I, I don't like to say, but I have said, uh, in those days as I was, uh, coming out of addiction, uh, was, uh, I sprinkled a little Jesus on my otherwise drunken existence. Uh, so it was, it was challenging, but. Uh, he has, uh, informed us. The, the, the Lord's informed us that, uh, they're all coming back. They're back. He's got'em all. Uh, because we, we don't ever lose our salvation. Right. We don't lose our salvation. So, and, and if someone told you that you lose your salvation, then pack your step and get out of there.'cause that's a lie. Uh, we don't lose our salvation. So, but we started to witness them coming back. Yeah. In, yeah. And that's a, that was a blessing. It was an absolute joy to witness them. Yeah. Coming back into their own relationship mm-hmm. With God, uh, as each one of them, uh, stepped into their own callings in his timing, not our timing. You know, we want everything now. You know, bring'em back now, Lord. How about it? Right. You know? Uh, so, but it's so cool to watch him come back and, uh, and be healed and be reconciled and, uh. Just move into their own callings in his timing. Mm-hmm. And, um, only, it's only because of him, uh, that they think differently. They lead differently than than ever before because they believe and that's it. That's it. They believe and they walk in his love. Therefore, they carry transformed hearts. For his kingdom. Yeah. And that's, and that's the beauty of generational unity. It's not about duplication, but it's actually about impartation. Yeah. And the greatest service that we can do for any of our kids is to display the love of the father through Jesus. Right. You know, we believe that it is true for kids of any age that what they take away from our home is more caught than taught. It's proven. Yeah. And lead. So just lead in love always. It's the best thing you can do. Lead in love. Lead in love. Yeah. Absolutely. And we've learned this through many life lessons and, uh, how many of you know that, uh, our greatest life lessons are learned from our greatest mistakes? Yeah, me. I know. Truth, truth. Um, but through it all, um, I've mentioned this before, I, I've dropped a lot of balls, but, um, I also learned that it's not the falling down that defines me. It's not the, that's right. Any of us. It's not the falling down that defines any of us. It's, it's how we get back up and who we follow or who we decide to follow. And that that's what defines us. Oftentimes forward progress is releasing the lie. We gotta, we gotta release the lie so we can receive the truth and as we release the lie. Uh, that success, uh, one of, one of the biggest lies we gotta release is that, that success equals control. Oh, right. Yeah. Uh, yeah. That's a lot that there might be a challenge if, if we're trying to control the situation.'cause regardless of what we think we're, we're not in control. Mm-hmm. Uh, God's always, always has been, always will be in control. And I, I don't believe that that true success ever means perfection, but. That through the trials that our kids witness our perseverant faith as an example, so that they'll go forward, uh, and they'll thrive without our constant direction. Uh, but, but that they would, that, that they would see how we have come to rely on the Holy Spirit's direction so that they will, uh. Be inspired or like, like you mentioned, they, they will have caught that more. More. Yeah. There's more caught than taught and so they will consistently rely on the Holy Spirit's direction. And we, we appreciate, uh, just about ev not just about everything, everything the Apostle Paul, uh, wrote and uh, his encouragement in Romans 5:3-5 says, uh, that, that hope must ensue through tribulations, uh, knowing that tribulation brings perseverance and perseverance. Proven character and proven character. Hope and, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within the hearts. Through the Holy Spirit that he's given us. So let our kids see this in us. Yeah. That's it. That's, that's a legacy Worth leaving. That's a legacy. Let if, if they only ever see Christ in us, you know that's enough. Amen. Yeah. Legacy isn't measured by what we leave to our children, but it's measured by what we leave in them and it's. The faith they've seen, tested, it's the forgiveness that they've watched lived out, and they've seen a lot of forgiveness here. Our kids have seen a lot of forgiveness, and I bet if you ask them, they would tell you over the course of the last 10 years. It's been a lot, a lot, a lot. But it's also the love that has remained. Through it all that speaks the loudest, and I think sometimes we forget that the story God is writing through our family isn't about perfection, but it's actually about redemption. Mm-hmm. That's good. Yeah. I mean, every season, every scar, every turnaround has purpose. When it's surrendered to him, when we give it to him, when we lay it down at his feet, he can use it for good. And when our kids see that, when they begin to understand that in their own walk with him, they become to understand that their walk, their own walk with the Lord isn't about striving, but it's about abiding with him. And that's when true transformation begins. And that's when generational faith really can take root. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Every generation. Uh, every generation has tension between, you know, how it was done and, and how it's currently done. Uh, fortunately, our, our creator father God, remains the same through generations. The author of Hebrews, um, really nails down generational legacy, uh, regardless of time or circumstances. He writes, remember who led you, uh, who spoke the word of God to you? And consider the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for whatever forever. Yeah. We all most likely wanna leave a legacy, uh, that extends through generation. And I'll tell you this, Jesus Christ is that legacy. Yes. Yes, he absolutely is. And you know, Psalms 145:3-4 says, great as the Lord. And highly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. Yeah. One generation shall commend your work to another and shall declare your mighty acts. And God expects movement. He expects communication of his truth between generations. So how are you allowing him to work through you? How does your faith shine through to your kids and others around you? That's a good, those are a couple good questions to reflect on. I was just gonna say, those are some pretty good questions, lady. We need to reflect on'em. Yeah. Put those in the show notes. They'll be in the show notes. Right. How are you allowing him to work through you? Yeah. How does your faith. Shine through to your kids and the others around you. Yeah. Oftentimes older generations feel unheard and younger generations feel underestimated. Yeah. And, and in all of this, the enemy thrives and, and the deafening silence between the two generations. And that si mm-hmm. That silence creates isolation that drives a wedge between the generations. Uh, but it doesn't have to be like that. It doesn't have to be this way. Did you know that your family's enemy. Only has the sway that you, that you allow him to have. That's right. The enemy of our, of our soul, Satan, he only has the sway that you allow him to have. And, and also since we're on some dig, you knows, did you know that Jesus. Stripped Satan of all authority at the cross, and more so when he walked outta that tomb, three days later, he stripped Satan of all authority. Did you know that Jesus was given the, the word clearly states in the word that Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth from the Father. Do you know that? What? Do you know what he gave? What, what, what he did with all that authority? He gave it to his believing followers. He gave it to his disciples, saysso in Luke's gospel. He, he shares his authority given to him from the father. Uh, and, and, and. Everywhere in heaven and on earth. He's got it all. He's, he's got all the authority and he's like, I'm gonna give it to you. His believing followers. Not everyone. Not everyone that says a, a prayer. Not everyone who just says, uh, you know, we have to. We have to be following Jesus. We have to be honoring the Lord. Uh, and a, a believing follower means that, that we are denying ourselves. We're picking up our cross and we're following Jesus. We're a disciple. His, he gave He, this is noted to his first century disciple. So are you a 21st century disciple? Are you a believing follower of Jesus? Christ because in Luke, he says, behold. I have given you all authority. I have given you the authority to, to trample on snakes and scorpions, and that's, uh, figurative language for the demonic. He's given us authority to stand against all the power of the enemy, and he says that nothing will harm you. So if you're gonna stand on a truth, embrace his authority, and I would encourage you stand on the truth, not a truth, not a subjective truth, but the objective truth, the capital T truth, the JC truth, Jesus Christ. And embrace his authority and stand firm between your family and the enemy who seeks to divide you. Speak truth, believe truth. Are you with him? Wow. You're like wound up. Are you with him? I love it. Yeah. You know, unfortunately though the wedge that you mentioned happens more often than it should. It does. You know, in business, older leaders clinging to the control. Out of fear of aging out maybe. Right. Or, you know, not having, not things being done the way that they want them to be done. Right. And the new generation can rush into burnout and frustration, and both of them then lose sight of the proper stewardship that requires God first. Right? So based on our experience when he is out in front. Relations are vastly more productive. Yeah. We gotta ask ourselves, who's really in control? Who's really in control, and we have to yield to his realization. Absolutely. Absolutely. Whether it's in family or business, um, we'll always do best to yield to him. Yeah. That's, that's the, the, he's really hit me with that word, uh, not just the latter part of this year. Yield. I think that was really your word for the year, this year. Yeah. Was yield. Yield. Yeah. Yeah. If, if I, if I don't do anything else, I, I must yield, we must yield to his principles and precepts. We must yield to, to his ways.'cause his ways are always higher and greater than our own. You know, and so, so yield, we gotta yield to him in all that we do and all that we say, and, and, and all in our, in our fam family and our parenting and our business practices. Uh, and these days it's easy to get distracted. Yeah. It's easy to not yield. Uh, that takes focus. We gotta keep our eyes fixed on them. Uh, if we get tangled up in the liar's distraction, we can find ourself trying to manage adult children instead of mentoring them. If we mentor them, we don't need to manage them when they grow up. Or we see adult children re rejecting potential mentorship over resentment, uh, from past neglect or worse abandonment. Hmm. This, this, uh, abandonment. This gets me pretty wound up. I know it does. Uh, sadly, fathers, um, in this country are abdicating their responsibilities. That bears a disgusting, a disgusting statistic of 80%. Eight out 10 dads walk away from their kids. Mm, mm-hmm. Yeah. That gets him rolling. Yeah. Yeah. This is not, it gets him rolling. This is not, this is not any sort of legacy to leave men. Wake up, stand up and stand firm and, and raise your kids. Yeah. Be a dad, not just a father. Don't be a donor. Be a father. Ooh, moving on. Zing. Sorry. Not sorry. Uh, 80 percent's a ridiculous, uh mm-hmm. Generational thing. Uh, a ridiculous statistic. It is. Um, but this didn't happen overnight. It's a, it's a generational challenge. Uh, this is what happens when we allow society to take God, uh, uh, from our foundation in Christ. Uh, he there. They rejected the, uh, the stone, the cornerstone. The cornerstone. They have rejected the cornerstone. Mm-hmm. And, and we need, and this is a result that 80%, eight outta 10 dads walking away, uh, uh, an epidemic of fatherlessness. Uh, and, and whatever else. Uh, I don't want to get on a, on a complaining tyrant, uh, or, um, whatever a diatribe. Diatribe. That's it. Yeah. Uh, but you know, this is what happens when you take God outta things. It is, um, this is what happens when you remove Christ as the cornerstone of our in, in our foundation, because he is the foundation. He is the cornerstone. And, and for builders, you, you put that cornerstone up, you pour the foundation, you put the cornerstone up first, and then you build from that and it's level and plum. Yeah. You know, he's the cornerstone. So what do we do here? You know, we're, we're off kilter. Mm-hmm. As a society, we can return to him, we can repent and people get freaked out by Repent. Oh, repent. Right. Uh, repentance is nothing more than than changing our mind and making that 100 degree, a 180 degree turnaround to follow Jesus. To make him the Lord of our life. James puts it simply that we must humble ourselves before the Lord and he will lift us up. Yeah, and humility. I'd rather be lifted up by the Lord and try to elevate myself Sure. That that doesn't, that doesn't work too well. And it's built on pride and, and pride comes before the fall. Mm-hmm. A better way is, is humility that leads us to forgiveness and mm-hmm. And, uh. And reconciliation. Yeah. And I, I, I mean, who doesn't need that? Right? Who doesn't need forgiveness and reconciliation? I just wanna go back to repent for a minute because repent means taking it. I mean, you said making the 180, but you also have to take it to the Lord and you have to be like, Lord, I am sorry. Yeah, I amm, sorry. And I'm not going to do this again. I'm going to make that 180. That's it. That's it. That, that's saying it, it is more than sorry, but what, what Christ said is See that you are, he's he, yeah. He told, uh, see that you're healed. Mm-hmm. Uh, now go and sin no more. Right. Right. And, uh, and that, that's, and that's, and that takes humility. And humility is the bridge to reconciliation. It is. So unity between generations, you know, requires courage and. And the curiosity to curiosity to ask, you know, what can I learn from them instead of how can I outperform them or how can I prove them wrong? Right. And I've seen that time and time again in business and, and you know, other places that I've worked and it's one thing that I have wanted to carry into Freedom Support Solutions and ACBW with not that sort of attitude. Yeah. Because it's not about that. I do have something to learn from my daughters. You know, they have ideas and, and they have good ideas. Yeah. And I, the difference between that is what fuels our ambition, you know? Is it pride or is it humility? Is it resentment or is it reconciliation? Yeah. And I want it to be humility and reconciliation. Absolutely. You know, absolutely. I, I'll go on to say that, you know, through the years we've walked through a lot as a family. A lot again, a lot, a lot. And we've, you know, we've had seasons of distance. We've had healing. And a lot of grace. A lot of grace. And we've learned firsthand. Hold on. Hold on, babe. Grace. Grace, yeah. And we've learned firsthand that. You know, reconciliation is always possible when we lean into God's ministry of reconciliation. Now having our daughters working alongside me at Freedom Support Solutions and ACBW, I find myself really in a new and a beautiful season of mentoring them in business while still being mom. Right. And I'm, I'm still, you know, keeping that bound, trying to keep that boundary line because, you know. Sometimes off business hours, I can start bringing up business. But I have to say, you know, when they came to me and, and they, and they put me online, they're like, mom, they do, it's not, it's not time to talk business. Hey, it's family time. And I'm like, ah, you know what? You're right. You're right. It's not. So I've been trying to get a whole lot better at that. But they, like yesterday they came to me and said, Hey mom, you wanna get a breakfast? It was a Saturday. Mm-hmm. And it wasn't a workday. They weren't asking to go out and, you know, talk about business. They just wanted to spend time with me. Right. Although we did end up talking about business so that we could, I could pay for it, but I said, if we can have like a little business meeting here, then, you know, even though we had, we had mom daughter time too, but you know, it was good that the business could pay for it and they didn't have to, and I didn't have to, but, you know, but it stretches me in the best ways, having them working with me. But here's the truth, it's only through the reconciling work of Jesus that I'm even able to lead. To love and to guide them. Right. And to to, to, as they see how you allow how you are stretched. Yeah. They see how they must be stretched as well. Mm-hmm. And, and that willingness Yeah. Flows. And it's such, it's such a gift to see reconciliation, not just restore relationships, but also strengthen the legacy that we're building as, as a family. Yeah. Uh, and for me, you know, witnessing the, uh, the challenges of our past and how our, our, our family's faith and our love and our forgiveness empowers our lives together is nothing short of God's brilliance. Yeah. It's nothing short of God's brilliance. He's, he's seen us through a lot and I. I think that we've, uh, no. I know that we've seen each other at our worst, uh, but I've also witnessed each other's faith that brought us to today. Being stronger for the trials. You know, he, he who knows out there, who understands out there that we, we go through, we're gonna, challenges don't end. You know, it, it's one challenge after another and the, the question isn't. Why me? The question is, what are you showing me here, Lord? What, what's the teachable moment in this challenge? And, and the teachable moment in the, in the current challenge, uh, gets us to the other side of that challenge and prepares us for the next challenge on down the line. Yeah. So, so we've grown through our trials, uh, so that we continue to persevere into and through the next trial, uh, together. He's really brought us together. And that's what it's all about, learning through the mess so that we can teach others how he saw us through the mess. Yeah. That without, without the mess. There's no message there. There's a little old, uh, right adage or recovery adage without the mess, there's no message. And there's been some messes here. Um, and I, I would just, and without the test, there's no testimony. There's no testimony. Right, right. So I would take it to. To Proverbs, you know, they didn't call Solomon the wisest one of all time, and, and he was challenged too, man. Get in the word man. Solomon wasn't perfect, but he knew enough when, when the a when when he was asked what he wanted from the Lord, he, uh, he asked for wisdom. And, and he and he, there is a legacy. He's passed that wisdom onto us. And right now we're gonna pull it from Proverbs 3:5-6, which simply says, trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge. Him and he will make your paths straight. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Faith stretches us all and empowers us to grow together. Yeah. I learned that growth doesn't happen in our comfort zones. Did you know that? Faith, you know, yeah. Growth does not really happen in our comfort zones. It happens in the stretch, and if we're not being stretched, we're not growing, and sometimes that's fucked. And sometimes they're stretching, meaning my daughter's stretching. Or you can put it in perspective of any children, um, requires my silence. And that's hard. But it required my silence as we hoped, and we trusted in God's timing, not in my timing. You know, like we said before, you know, we want things now, you know, but his hope doesn't ever disappoint. And his timing is always right on time. That's a, that's a, and what's more is that these, uh, these fine ladies are now as, as we've grown together, as they've been mentored. Well, um. Through all the reconciliation. They are currently driven Christian business, women mm-hmm. Who add fresh creativity, new systemic opportunities and ideas that have strengthened the company for sure. It is brilliant. Yeah. To I just brilliant to observe. Mm-hmm. Um, that's what generate, that's generational partnership and action. Uh, and uh, under. Under and in his authority by and in the name of Jesus Christ. And what I love about, um, and, and it sounds cliche to some and, and whatever on cliche, and, and I get a little bothered by cliche sometimes, but this, but what my point is here is that, that you and the girls have absolutely made, uh. Jesus Christ, the CEO of Freedom Support Solutions and American, or, uh, I wanna always say American Christian Business Women Association. We are American Christian business women, but it's association of Christian business women. Right. He is the CEO. He's, he's the COO. He, he's the mm-hmm. He is the, the alpha, the omega. Yeah. You know, and you know, it's humbling though, because as parents we admittedly. Face planted often through the years. Yeah. You know that. Yeah. That, yeah. That's face planning. Yeah. And, but through it all, I mean, God's grace is more sufficient and has seen us through to today where we, where we can now all believe that the best is yet to come. Yeah. And it's humbling to have trusted God, to build us to hear. So that we can trust him from here to stretch us, to keep building his purpose, to leave in our daughter's hands. Yeah. Yeah. I was, uh, I mean, and maybe even in our son's hands, who knows what he's gonna do after the Navy. I mean, who knows? Hard to tell him, but. He is, they're all pretty special. Yeah. Not pretty special. They're all super special. They are. Uh, but I, the, I remember hearing our, our, some of our original marriage mentors, Dick and Brenda Smith. Mm-hmm. And the, uh, I remember being in, uh, just being really in, in the, in the challenge and, and, uh, as faith was growing and, and Dick is like, the best is yet to come, and I'd be like, mm-hmm. Whatever dude. And, but, and now, now I'm that guy. The best is yet to come. And we, and we believe it. I don't say it. So yeah. So that's what we tell our, our, our friends, our brothers and sisters in recovery, uh, on the life speaking declarations'cause. That's what he was doing. That's what the word says. It says, the best is yet to come. As we trust in Jesus, the the best is yet to come. He has, uh, the abundant life for us more than we could ever ask or imagine. Uh, and, uh, so we, we encourage our friends or brothers and sisters to, if you don't, if you don't believe that biblical. Uh, life speaking declaration. Mm-hmm. Speak it out anyway. That's right. Be speak it out over yourselves and others. Speak it, put it on your mirrors, put it on your dashboard. Put it on your refrigerator and keep saying it. Mm-hmm. Until it comes true.'cause I'm telling you what I was adverse to. The best is yet to come, but I would tell you right here, right now, we're living it. Mm-hmm. And the best is yet to come. Yeah. All right. Do you believe it? Yeah. So. It's, uh, it's been great to, uh, to watch'em grow and to that, and, and, and that they believe the best is yet to come. Yeah. Uh, so my question is, is, um, who do you, who do you look up to? Who's mentoring you?'cause we all need mentors, right? We all need mentors.'cause you know, the, the. The older needs to mentor the younger, uh,'cause the younger's got passion. But passion without wisdom burns out quick, you know? And, uh, so we hope that, uh, when, when you're answering the question, who are you mentoring or who are you being mentored by? We hope that your answer first and foremost is Jesus Christ. Right?'cause he, there is one person, uh, one. Well person, the God man. Mm-hmm. The cool thing about Jesus is he's 200% right. He was a hundred. He was a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God. Yeah. Uh, so he's the only one ever who won't steer you wrong. That's right. He'll never let you down. That's right. You know, generational reconciliation requires us to release and receive. We must release the past lies, and we talk about this in unbound all the time. You know, releasing the past lies and turmoil so that we can receive his truth and embrace our forward facing freedom together. And just the same passing the baton requires us to release and receive. Our generation must release, we have to release. What we've learned. Yeah. To the next. And the next must respectfully receive their proven wisdom so that they can carry on generation to generation to generation. That's it. That's it. So we got, that's what Legacy's all about. It is. That's what Legacy's all about. So we got five Kingdom principles. We always. As we're winding down, we always have some solutions that we like to leave you with. And we got five today. Yeah. And, and the first one is honor Must flow both ways. Absolutely. Honor is absolutely essential. It isn't earned. It is given. And we must honor God first and as he leads us. When we honor him first, he will lead us to honor others through our generation, which opens the door for his generational blessings, right? We have to honor up and we have to honor down, and we have to honor all around. That's it. That's it. Up, down, all around, right? And honoring God first. I, uh, that's, that's. It's key first. It is key. Mm-hmm. You know, honor means respectful acknowledgement. Mm-hmm. Honor recognizes that each one of us are created in God's image. Let me say that again. Honor. When we honor someone, we recognize that every one of us, whether you believe it or not, the truth is that we are created in his image. Yeah. And in such reverence. Uh, the older generation blesses the younger publicly, while the younger generation honors the older privately and consistently for sure. Our second one is communication must be intentional. You know, generational unity dies in assumptions, so we have to talk and I mean, really talk. And in our family and business meetings, we've learned to pause and ask, tell me what you've heard. Not just, did you hear me right, but tell me what you heard instead of assuming clarity. Yeah. Yeah. Did you hear me? Did you hear me? Did you hear me? That's that, that's a little, that can be, uh, um. All right. Can be, anyway. I don't know what I was gonna say though. Okay. Disregard. Um, so disrespectful. Perhaps it could be disrespectful. No confrontational con. Oh yes, there you go. Confrontational. Could be confrontational. Yeah. But, uh, but tell me what you heard. Right. You know,'cause sometimes, and, and that, that sometimes between you and I, sometimes something I'll say, you know, I, I thought it was clear, but, you know, you responded differently than I expected. And I'm like, ah. What, how did you understand that? And vice versa too, you know? So it's important. That's a great question to add. Tell me what you heard. Yeah. Yeah. So, so we, we've learned over, over time and also another lesson from, from my man Dick Smith. You know, he told me he got two ears and one mouth for a reason, so we can listen twice as much as as we speak, right? And we've learned over time. Uh, and, and business and, and, and at home. That, that listening is the better part of communication. Uh, it's so important for us to listen without defensiveness. You know, I like back to Solomon. Solomon 18:13 says, you mean Proverbs 18:13? Did I say, what'd I say? You said Solomon. Solomon, Solomon. 18:13. He wrote it right? What's the matter with that? Jack? Uh, pro proverbs, Solomon's Proverbs 18:13 says to answer before listening is folly and shame. Mm. Yeah. So don't do that. Don't be that guy. Generational listening takes discipline. Uh, and it builds trust over the long run. Right. And we want the long run. Yeah. As from one generation to the next. So. Yeah. And our third would be empowerment. Must replace control. So you can't say you trust someone and micromanage them. And this has been a pet peeve of mine for many, many, many years as an employee. You know, coming, I wasn't always, I, I was always an entrepreneur from the time I was 10 years old, but I wasn't always like the. I wasn't always, you know, I didn't, I wasn't always the boss. Right. Right. That's what I'm trying to say. Right. Spit it out later. I, I was working for other people and it drove me crazy. You, you tell me that you want me to do something and you trust me to do it, but then you, you're trying to micromanage me and keep me under your thumb. Right. You can't say you trust someone and micromanage them. There's absolutely no faith in that. Yeah. Uh, let them try, right? Let them lead and maybe even let them make a few mistakes. Sure. But be there to field their questions. But if you're gonna actually trust someone to do something, let them do it. And that's how wisdom and solid build a solid business. Um. Relations are formed. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's why, uh, I do so well in the position I'm in now is that I'm not micromanaged. Right. Uh, they, this is what the, this is what the position requires. Uh, do that. Yeah. And, and I mean, if you're not doing that, if I'm not doing that, I expect to be called out on it. Yeah. But there's, there's, there's no not doing that here. Wouldn't you say though, that the generation prior to ours, like. They, they were huge at micromanaging on micro, and I know there are still some now too, but Yeah. But I would say that generation, oh, I've been micromanaged. Yeah. You know, and, uh, yeah. So, and it's not ever pleasant. No. So it's not no faith there. Right. But, uh, so I th what I think there is that, uh, control protects comfort. Mm, that's very true. Yeah. But empowerment produces capacity, and that's what we're looking for. Whoa. Can you say that again? Yeah. And, uh, only if you promise to put it in the show notes. Anyway, it'll be in the show notes. Control protects comfort, control, protect. She's turning the, turning it up on me. Right. Control protects comfort while empowerment. Produces capacity. And capacity is what multiplies legacy. Oh, that's really good. Yeah. Write that down. Yeah. You can quote scripture all day. Oh, but well, let me, I wanna, and we do mo most days. Yeah. There's nothing wrong with that, but, but faith must be lived out, not just taught. Yeah. So that's number four. Faith must be lived out, not just taught. Because if you're quoting scripture all day, every day, your children and your teams are learning more from how you handle conflict. Yeah. Than from what you post online. Right. So we can, you know, we can tell you, it goes back to the old adage, do what I say, not as I do. Yeah. Don't you know, which I used to get. Don't, don't be. That guy used to get told to. Um, but. It's gonna, it goes back to more being caught than taught. Yeah. Isn't that that do, as I say, not as I do. Isn't that like the, uh, uh, a definition of hypocrisy? Yeah. I, I would say so. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Don't be that guy. Right? All right. Yeah. Don't be that person. So, so, uh, our kids need to see our humility. Mm-hmm. Right? Pride's rampant. Mm-hmm. So I think our, our kids, our next generation, our coworkers, each other, uh, we need to exhibit that humility, uh, in our, in our repentance. We can't, we cannot shy away from repentance. Repentance, uh, for Christian should, I mean, we're, we're not perfect. Mm-hmm. He, he doesn't make us perfect. He just reconciles us before the father. Yes. Uh, and as we, uh. As we walk, we will fall, but when we get back up, we, we, we must repent on that. Mm-hmm. Which is, uh, which is Lord. I apologize for that, and I'm not gonna do that no more. I'm gonna, I'm gonna make that turn. I'm gonna release that. Uh, thank you for forgiving me. Uh, and, uh, and we're gonna, I'm gonna walk this way now. Yeah. All right. It's a lesson learned, right? And, uh, and a realignment. Uh, they should see that they, they, they need to see the humility and repentance. Mm-hmm. Uh, they need to see consistency in our devotion. Uh, this genera, the next generation needs to see the gratitude for our blessings. Oh yeah. Gratitude is huge. Gratitude changes perspective nearly instantly. Mm-hmm. You know, and if you're not, if you're not expressing gratitude, uh, then I would encourage you to sit down and write three things that you're grateful for. Yeah.'cause everybody's got something, right. Uh. Because they're gonna remember that far longer than they're gonna remember a sermon. Right. You know, or just throwing out scripture without explanation, you know? Or, or if we're throwing out scripture and we're not actually living it, man, there's some hypocrisy. Right. And that'll be, that'll be caught. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, and we don't want that. But, um, anyway. Yeah. Caught more caught than taught. So, yeah. I mean, when faith is modeled. It not mandated. Yeah. It transfers really well. Yeah, I know. I remember my mom said, and it, and it just popped in my head. Mom used to say, a Alec actions speak louder than words. Absolutely. Yeah. And I'm like, all day, every day. Okay. All day, every day. Yeah. The fifth one is purpose must stay kingdom centered. Kingdom centered. Kingdom centered, my goodness. Absolutely. You know, every generation wrestles with this, uh, the temptation to make it about my legacy instead of. His legacy. Yeah. But, uh, kingdom there as we, as Christians, we're to advance the kingdom or to build a kingdom or to, to, uh, come into agreement for the kingdom. Uh, so it's never about keeping our name, uh, alive. It's about lifting his name high. Amen. Uh, again, uh, we gotta humble ourselves before the Lord. Are you, are you tired of that verse yet? Because here it comes again. We gotta humble ourselves before the Lord and he will exalt us. He will lift us up and. I think I said this before, I'd rather be lifted, uh, lifted up by the Lord than lifted up by myself or someone else. Right. We gotta be, gotta be aware of that flattery, you know, and the battle. That's a, that can be deception. Yeah. And it can build pride and. It's always important to remember that pride comes before the fall anywhere in scripture. Pride doesn't bear a ne, it always bears a negative connotation. Yeah. And it, and it, and it's, you know, from Psalms to Proverbs to, to James Pride comes before the fall. Yeah. And when we, but when we align on his purpose. Style differences, stop dividing us. So the old generation brings wisdom that guards the mission and the younger brings innovation that carry it forward. And I can tell you that firsthand for me, um, that when I allowed them to bring the innovation, it brought unity. Yeah. Because they've got great ideas. Don't just count the ideas that they have. Yeah. You may not go with everything that they have. But at least hear them out and hear what their thoughts are. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. They, uh, and I think we can look at our daughters and realize that they're carrying things that I once prayed for. Yeah, that's cool. They, they're carrying influence. They're carrying impact. They're carrying opportunity. And, but it's all happening because of their unique expression. Absolutely. And that's what legacy's all about abs. Yeah, for sure. That's legacy. Mm-hmm. That's saying well done. Yeah. And, uh, let's keep moving.'cause the work, the, the work and the legacy builds, you know, and we, and it, and it moves forward. It's like we mentioned in, in the beginning of this. Uh, episode is that he, uh, we built it with this generation and to generation. To generation to generation. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and we've done, we've done well, you've done really well here. Yeah. And they're doing really well. It's like, it's, uh, watching God's, uh. Answer, answering prayers, uh, through someone else's obedience. Yeah. You've been obedient and, uh, and I've, I've, I've heard your prayers. I've watched your prayers and, uh, and you've been, you've been obedient to what, how he's instructed you. And it, it's just watching all that come to fruition, it's pretty sweet. Well, it's a reminder that legacy doesn't just live in bloodlines. It lives in every person that we've poured into. Yeah. In our teams, not all of our, not all of my employees are. Not all of my employees are my children. Right. Um, so it pours out into our teams, into our clients, into our community, and each one represents a piece of the baton that God has asked us to carry. Yeah. And you might drop the baton, but I think maybe you said earlier, it's not, it's not how many times you drop the baton. It's how many times. How many times it up, you pick it back up and run. That's right. Run. You know, and, uh. Run the race before us. Mm-hmm. You know, and, uh, yeah. Yeah. It's not how we, it's not, yeah. It's not the fall that defines us, it's how we get back up and keep moving forward. Yeah. And who we follow, uh, through the race that defines us. Mm-hmm. So maybe you're listening today, um, and you say, I don't have kids. Yeah. So we would ask you, do you have influence. Where's your influence at? Uh, there's always someone that's watching your faith and learning from your consistency or your inconsistency. Mm-hmm. So who's your next generation? Yeah. So let's talk about what it looks like in practice. I mean, maybe you're a business owner like me. Um, start by inviting your younger team members into the why behind what you do. Make sure they know the why behind what you do, and don't just assign tasks, but actually share the vision that you have so that they can roll with that vision as they move forward. Yeah, sure. And the team needs to know the vision. Yeah, absolutely. And if you're a parent of adult children, do your very best. To resist the urge to consist to correct every decision they make. Uh, it's important to pray more and advise less, and always encourage and love them right where they are. Hmm. Encourage them through the trials. Love them through the trials, uh, for who they are, uh, because. Every one of us is made in God's image. Mm-hmm. Uh, and it's important to understand that, that God's still writing our story and he's still writing their story as well. Yeah. And you're a part of that story. That's right. And if you're the younger generation, take initiative and be intentional. Don't, don't wait to be invited. Don't wait until someone asks you to do something. Step up to the plate and say, Hey, why don't I take care of that for you? I love it when one of the girls says. Hey, let me take care of that for you. Yeah. Because I have so much on my plate, and you never know what a blessing that's going to be to someone. So, so don't wait to be invited. Um, ask questions. Honor, honor the sacrifices that built what you're stepping into, because trust me, there were sacrifices that were. To build that business and that humility, it opens doors faster than ambition ever will. Yeah, absolutely. And what about ministry? If you're in ministry, be intentional about mentorship. Legacy doesn't happen at the pulpit. It happens in the hallway. Uh, when somebody older takes time and they pause long enough to pour wisdom into. That younger generation. Exactly. That's, that's how we build legacy. Exactly. Legacy isn't just about a few moments. It's about a lifestyle of teaching, trusting and testifying. Mm-hmm. And I, I, I think there's a good parallel here with Elijah and Eisha. Oh yeah. Uh, uh what a mentorship that was right. Elijah knew how to mentor and Yeah. Elijah and Elisha and, uh. Yeah, it was, uh, I, uh, I think that, um, yeah, they, uh, that was powerful. Uh, when Elijah. As, as the, uh, he was a powerful prophet. Mm-hmm. Uh, he didn't wait until, uh, his final breath to pour into. Right. Elijah, he invited him to walk beside him. Uh, he, uh, he invited him to witness, to learn and to grow with him. Yeah. Beside, and, and Jesus did the same thing, right. Uh, with, I mean, he, they did life together. Right. That. Yeah. And that proximity created preparation. Yeah. So when the mantle fell, finally fell, Elisha was ready. Not because of a ing, not because of one moment, not because it was, oh, okay. That's, that time has come for the mantle to fall. Mm-hmm. But it's because of the consistent mentorship. That he received. Absolutely. And we can't expect a double portion impact without a double portion investment. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. So Unity Unity's costly. Uh, but the harvest that it produces is generational for sure. So if you're listening right now and you're realizing that there's maybe a relationship that needs mending, perhaps it's between generation gen generations in your family, or maybe it's in your team, ask the Lord to show you where pride or fear has created distance, because you can be guaranteed. It's one of those two pride and fear, and they go hand in hand. They do. They do. And then we'd encourage you to take one humble step. Mm-hmm. Humility over pride. Every time. Be the first you make the phone call, you send the text, you set the meeting. Yeah. Legacy always starts with reconciliation. Is there someone you need to reconcile with today? Make that call. Yeah. Because when we humble ourselves, God restores relations between generations. You know, maybe it's a child that has gone away. Maybe it's a team member who's disappointed with what's happening in business right now with them, but he removes the wedge and he heals what distance has damaged. It's powerful when you humble yourself and allow God to make that restoration. Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's recap here. We got five recap points. Yeah. And they're really good. So grab your paper, write'em down unless you're driving and don't do that. Just come back and listen later. Don't be that guy, right? Or gal. Uh, so, uh, or. Our, uh, wrap up points is that every generation has something to give and something to receive. Yes. And honor builds bridges where age gaps create divides, right? And legacy is built when faith is lived and passed to our next generation. Our fourth one is empowerment sustains what Control destroys. Big one. That's a big one. Big one. They're all good. But I really like that one. Yeah. Uh, the baton of faith. Uh, five. Last but not least, the baton of faith is passed through reconciliation and relationships. Yeah. And, and reconciliation is, there will be disagreements, but, and, and if we're gonna have solid, uh, family and business relationships, there must be reconciliation. Yeah. So as we close down, as we're wrapping up today, let's, let's take a moment. Just take a moment with us and, and picture the people who invested in you, who, the, your parents, your pastors, your mentors, your teachers, you know who they are. They're, they're, they're right there at the forefront, right, right there at your prefrontal cortex, right? They're, they're right there. Uh, you, you see'em? Now, now, now, picture the people that you are called to invest next and. The people who invested in you and who you will invest in. That's the flow of Kingdom legacy. Right. And it doesn't require perfection. It only requires faithfulness. Yeah. So be willing to receive, to release, and to run your leg of the race with excellence. Absolutely. Because when one generation finishes well, the next begins stronger. Yes. So. Let's be found faithful, not only in what we build, but in how we pass it on. Yeah. Passing that baton to the next generation. So if this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend. Share it with someone that you know may need to hear what? Hear this, right? Share it with your children. Share it with absolutely your team members. Whoever the Lord leads you to share it with, share it with them, and don't forget to subscribe. That's right. And remember. Yep. Go ahead babe. When we invest in the kingdom, we can trust and believe that he will bring the increase. Every time. Every time. God bless. Take care. Drive safely. God bless. Thanks for joining us on Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo, if today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you see your calling more clearly, don't keep it to yourself. That's right. Share it with a friend. Leave a five star review and keep leaning into God's blueprint for your life, your leadership, and your legacy. So until next time, remember, when you invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase.