Welcome to “How You Living?” a transformative podcast featuring best-selling author, inspirational speaker and minister, Dr. Rick Rigsby—and, now, Dr. Rick.
(00:23): Hello friends. Thanks so much for joining me today. I wanna talk to you about treasures. I'm speaking about family treasures. Something passed down from previous generations. The treasure I'm talking about is synonymous with heirloom or inheritance something significant, something of Supreme value to the recipient, something we cherish or prize curiously. I wanted to know what the most common treasures were that people pass down. According to legacy.com. Here are some of the most common jewelry time pieces, houses, land furniture, cars, and boats, guns letters, diary, scrapbooks quilts, collectibles artwork, musical instruments.
Of course the Bible and other books, Cedar chest hope, chest steamer, trunks, clothing, especially wedding dresses. And of course, military collections represent just some of the most common heirlooms. My wife and I have four grown sons. They're just absolutely great young men. I'm a bit biased. However, when I was younger, it would bother me when one of my sons would say in my presence, Hey dad, one day, I want that watch.
(01:37): Or Hey dad, make sure I get that car. They weren't mean spirited, but the comments always reminded me of my own mortality. Isn't it funny how we change over time? These days I am a proud senior citizen, but I'm still not crazy about those comments, but I do find myself thinking more and more these days about what I would like to pass on. What are the treasures that I want my children to and grandchildren to inherit. I think it's part age.
And I also think it's part reminiscing about my own parents. They've been gone for a while. I miss them each and every day. But when I think about the treasures, they passed on money. Can't buy those simple heirlooms and yet the artifacts are priceless. I remember the 1970s television at com Sanford and son with comedic brilliance. Red Fox played the role of Fred G Sanford, that freewheeling junk dealer with his business conveniently located in the front yard.
(02:36): I loved this show and Fred was fond of telling his TV son Lamont, quote, one man's junk is another man's treasure. I believe this speaks directly to the theme of my podcast. Not all treasures are shiny or massive or pricey yet. They are priceless. You know, I didn't come from a family of financial wealth, like many. I came from very humble beginnings. The fact is we were poor something. I actually did not realize until I got to college that's because we had a roof over our heads and we always had food eat and every day was exciting. It was fun. It was adventurous whether we were playing little league or going to Cub scout and meetings or watching the San Francisco giants at candlestick park or having a picnic under the golden gate bridge, we had a great childhood. We had a blast and mom and dad did a great job.
(03:30): Sheltering us from the realities of financial struggle. When I think about the family treasures passed down to me, I of blown away with the simplicity and yet the unsurpassed value that each artifact represents. I wanna share with you a few of my most cherished treasures that came from my folks. Let me start with recipes, huh? That's right. Recipes. Could you believe that? Listen to this story, I recall be a child and my folks were visiting relatives and my uncle ed was on his deathbed. And as the story goes, my mom and dad get back in the car after visiting him. And my mother tells this story about how uncle ed just gave her his favorite niece, his famous barbecue sauce recipe that barbecue you sauce by the way is killer. But I always found that odd. That was his legacy, a barbecue sauce recipe, friends.
(04:27): I am so glad that was uncle Ed's legacy to my mom. And so my mom passes that barbecue sauce recipe onto me and leaves out one key ingredient for me to figure out, come on. Somebody my had had created over the years, this unbelievable macaroni and cheese. And when he passed the recipe onto me, he left out one key ingredient. I can't tell you how much fun we have. Especially during the holidays, watching our children try to cook these dishes. Of course, I had the Lee about one key ingredient. Every time I pass along that treasure, we have a lot of fun with these dishes and I'm just reminded so much of my mom and dad around the table, just laughing and telling stories and eating great food and having a great time grateful for the treasure of recipes. How about stories? Ours is a family, just like many families where the histories have been passed down.
(05:33): Orally little was recorded. Little was written down the stories, however, are simply priceless. Whether it's the story about my uncle ed passing on the barbecue sauce recipe to my mother or a story that I hated as a child. I couldn't stand this story. And I can't even believe I'm sharing this story with you. And the only reason that I am is because today it's one of the most cherish treasures I have. Let me explain on the rare time, when we'd complain about what toy we did not receive for Christmas, my father would tell the same old, sad, tired story. The story always left us though, convicted and grateful. My dad was born in 1920 in Texas. I'll spare you all the details. Save several paragraphs and get down to the main point. I can hear my dad's voice right now. Ricky Christmas was so special when I was a child, regardless of how bad the weather, my father would go hunt for food and whatever he trapped or shot was what we ate for Christmas dinner.
(06:47): My three sisters would share one, do one doll. There was never any fighting or arguing among them. And then me and my brothers would get an apple or an orange. Sometimes both. We were all together. We had each other, we had food on the table and a roof over our heads. It was a great day. And we were so grateful in. I hated that story as a kid, but today as a father and a grandfather, that story is among my most cherished treasures. The legendary Judy Garland once said, quote, the greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye, but found by the heart. Here's another treasure that my mom and dad passed to me music. When I was a kid, I had to listen to whatever my parents listened to. I didn't buy my first 45 record until 1965. If I recall it was James Brown's, Papa's got a brand new bag.
(07:50): Come on somebody a few years later, I saved up another 45 cents to buy a second 45. It was Beatles. Hello, goodbye. On the other side of the 45, the song I am the walrus, but the reality is this. Prior to being able to afford my own 40 fives, I spent the first several years of my life listening to and developing the love for whatever my parents were playing. Now, my folks loved the blues. They loved muddy waters, John Lee. They loved BB king and to this day. So do I. My folks loved jazz. Jazz played in our house all the time. I'm talking about jazz greats miles Davis, Charlie Parker on Cole, train, duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong. My mother loved this piano player called Jimmy Smith. I guess he was actually an Oregon player because his nickname was the Oregon grinder. My dad's favorite junior Walker and the Allstar, their favorites became my favorites.
(09:00): And I have many of those albums today actually stored in the very same stereo that my mom and dad bought at the Firestone tire store back in 1964. By the way, when you purchased a stereo back in 1964 from Firestone, you also received a free album and I still have that. Julie Andrews, favorite Christmas Carol's volume five album presented by Firestone. My boys grew up on the Jacksons earth, wind and fire. The Commodores, Stevie wonder Marvin gay and to see our children and grandchildren. Now listen to the music we grew up with is priceless. I can't explain what it's like to get in one of their cars and hear Lionel Richie singing easy like Sunday morning, the next treasure, the fourth treasure from my mom and dad, their faith in my home life centered on the Bible. And it centered around a lot of church activities.
(10:09): You see friends, we were taught to love, not judge. We, we were taught that everyone is worthy of dignity. We were taught that it's better to give than to receive. We were taught to love our neighbor as ourselves, and that was carried out. I can't tell you how many times my mother and father would have us go check on the neighbors. I can't tell you how many times my mom and dad would cook something, cook more than we needed on purpose so that we could take a portion of our dinner to a neighbor. That's just the way it was. You looked out for your neighbor. Now just think about some of these treasures. I've mentioned recipes, stories, music, faith, and they seem real simple and they are. But trust me, these treasures are enduring. They're pro precious. They're priceless. Hey friends. I discovered a treasure a few years ago.
(11:03): That may be my favorite. You see it combines the heirlooms from my parents and a keepsake from my first wife. I called this treasure in empty closet and a tattered Bible. Let me explain. I'm not sure. I agree with the adage quote. He who ends up with the most toys wins in quote. I'd rather have what I refer to as an empty closet, an empty closet. My parents taught me the value of dying empty, and that's what I want to do. I want to die empty. In other words, I want to fully give myself in every single endeavor, holding nothing back every day of my life. Friends as a pastor, I've done my share of funerals and, and Memorial services. And there's a finality. When you see a casket for me, it's a subtle reminder that this present day is a gift. So why not go for it?
(12:04): Why not exhaust yourself? Especially in the area of encouraging others, of helping others in empty closet. My of folks taught me to focus on simplicity, not extreme. They taught me to focus on what you have as opposed to what you lack. They taught me to discover joy and hope regardless of the season. Everything else in the closet is useless without hope and joy and peace of mind. My mother and father went to bed every night with a clear conscious and a heart filled with gratitude. When they passed away, they died empty yet. They had fulfilling extraordinary lives. Why they lived to make life better for others. They started with their family. It extended to their neighborhood and it impacted our community. My mom and dad died empty. What a great way to die. I think the greatest heirloom I possess is an old tattered Bible.
(13:10): While, while my folks shared their faith and taught me how to empty that closet of clutter, to not focus on things that don't amount to a hill of beings, that tattered Bible stays by my side to this very day, it belonged to my first wife, Trina, her old Bible is raggedy. It's yellow. The pages are coming out. The is peeling off. Her Bible is tattered. It was British preacher, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, who said on one occasion, a tattered Bible is evidence of a life that is not in the margins of that Bible. I discovered after her passing a diary of her thoughts and feelings through all the ups and downs of life, especially the last six years when she battled breast cancer. Let me read the passage and a note that is most significant. Now I want you to keep in mind that my first wife Trina wrote this during the most intense part of battle for her life.
(14:17): Probably a couple of months before she passed away. First, the passage Philippians three 10, the apostle Paul wrote that I may know Christ the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering in the margin of her Bible right next to that path, Trina simply, and unwitingly wrote my purpose for living. In other words, my purpose for living is to know Christ. You know, these days, I think often of the treasures I'll leave behind. And while material things have their value, while material things really do have their place, I'd rather leave my children and grandchildren with recipes passed down for, from generations stories, reflecting the rich history of our family, a love of that. Both celebrates and comforts and a steadfast faith in God, a faith that endures for all times, I will share these cherished treasures, but I think the greatest treasure I can leave, my family is a husband and a father and a poppy who lived his life with an empty closet and a tattered Bible that my friend would reflect my greatest accomplishment and the most precious of all treasures to pass on to the next generation of Rigsby.Well, that's gonna do it for this episode until we meet again. This is Dr. Rick asking the most important question I can ask how you're living.
Are you ready to make an impact in your world right now? Do you want to stop existing and start living your best life right now? Dr. Rick wants to give you the first chapter of his bestselling book, “Lessons from a Third Grade Dropout”, absolutely free. Just go to www.RickRigsby.com/FreeGift to get the print or audiobook right now.
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