Legacy

By Gloria Russell

Legacy was written from a sincere concern for believers who desire to grow spiritually. In many cases pressures of this life have crowded out the supernatural, abundant life Jesus came to give. It’s not too late! In one moment of time one can repent – turn to God and ask His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit who lives within you will begin to show you what it means to walk in the Spirit and not flesh. He will guide you into the truth of who you are in Christ Jesus and empower you to change. This is the legacy of every true believer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665520997

Gloria Russell

Gloria Russell and her husband Clifford, live in beautiful East Texas. They have four grown children, two sons-in-law, four grandsons, six granddaughters, and six great-grandchildren. Gloria is a respected Bible teacher and founder/director of Gloria Russell Children’s Ministry, an outreach to elementary school children. She leads this missionary organization of approximately eighty volunteers, organizing after-school Bible clubs, called Circle Club, and a children’s camp known as Victory Camp Colmesneil.

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© 2021 Gloria Russell. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  04/09/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-2077-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-2099-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021906217

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NLT

Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com

Legacy – Anything handed down from, or as from, an ancestor. Webster

O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalm 16: 5, 6 NKJV

Every gift (legacy) God freely gives us is good and perfect… James 1:17 TPT

CONTENTS

Chapter One Legacy of Family

Chapter Two Legacy of Purpose

Chapter Three Legacy of Salvation

Chapter Four Legacy of Truth

Chapter Five Legacy of Faith

Chapter Six Legacy of The Church

Chapter Seven Legacy of Security

Chapter Eight Legacy of Values

Chapter Nine Legacy of Joy

Chapter Ten Legacy of An Overcomer

Chapter Eleven Legacy of a Blessed Life

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 NKJV

CHAPTER ONE

Legacy of Family

H AVE YOU EVER WONDERED why you were born into your particular family? I’m sure we’ve all asked that question. The answer is simple—God’s design. The answer is also complex. It seems our Heavenly Father had to pull a lot of strings to make sure you are in your place…the right parents, the exact location, perfect timing, etc. Every day of your life is already planned out. He is there, loving you all the way. God’s plan for your life is perfect and you are uniquely His very own child. Everything about your life is known to God and all things are factored into His perfect plan. Our God does not make mistakes and human error doesn’t stop His plans.

My husband, Russ, and I met in Galveston, Texas during the 50’s. His parents moved from Missouri to find work to provide for their family of five. After my parent’s divorce Daddy moved to San Antonio to work for the V.A. and mother left our home in East Texas and went south ending up in Galveston working as the head bookkeeper of Henke & Pelot Supermarket. Daddy took Phil, my baby brother to live with him and eventually my only sister, Barbara and I went to live with Mother. Broken home! Broken hearts!

On the first day of school Clifford Russell walked into 8th grade home room at Lovenburg Junior High, located behind the famous Guido’s Restaurant in Galveston. I told one of my friends, He is mine. Phyllis replied, Not if I meet him first. However, she underestimated the determination of a country girl from East Texas. My two friends, Joyce Wytovak and Jeanette Hillman were my partners in crime. They would secretly talk to Russ about me and come tell me everything that was said. Soon after he and I had our first date, the class hayride. Right then and there I told Mother Clifford Dewayne Russell was the kind of person I wanted to marry. I never said that about any of the other boys I dated. I think she was so pleased that I could make such a wise choice that from then on, as far as mother was concerned Russ was the one for me.

I wish I could say the rest is history but that wouldn’t be quite true. I had a ton of baggage during those mixed up years that I could not or was not willing to lay down.

The Russell family was very close-knit and Russ, being the oldest son of three, seemed very strong and stable to this deeply troubled young girl. Most every night Mr. & Mrs. Russell would take their sons with them to a club out on West Beach where she would dance late into the night with her four dance partners. There was no room for outsiders. This meant I was never invited.

After the class hayride Russ and I had some great times together. We double dated for games of miniature golf with Phyllis Kuhn’s and her date, rode the old wooden roller coaster on East Beach, enjoyed school dances in the gym, went to the carnival on the Boulevard, and after Russ got his first car we often went to the drive-in movie. Russ would pick me up for school each morning on Ave. R and often bring me home before he went to work at Star Drugstore on Broadway St.

In spite of all the great times I had during those teen years of the 50’s, Mother and I fought constantly. I couldn’t get over the fact that she left us and refused to come back in spite of all the pressure put on her. In my mind she was completely to blame for the break-up of our home and if she would just get back together with Daddy everything would be alright. When this didn’t work I thought if I could go back home to my old school with elementary school friends that would fix everything. Boy was I in for another surprise. In the 10th grade I moved back to my grandmother, Mama Susie’s, to finish High School. Russ quit school that year and joined the Navy. Graduating a year early I went on to Draughon’s Business College in San Antonio, and my first secretarial job at Frederick Refrigeration Co.

One day Mrs. Russell ran into Mother in the store where she worked and they exchanged our addresses. Soon Russ and I began corresponding. I moved back to Galveston and went to work for Lykes Brothers Steamship Co. Russ was still the strong, stable guy I met in Jr. High but now he wore the uniform of the U.S. Navy. I was still the same messed up girl dressed up in a suit and high heeled shoes. Somehow love prevailed. (The amazing thing is, I was a back-slidden Christian and Russ didn’t receive Christ until several years after we were married). My spiritual condition didn’t help our relationship, but God was still in control and His grace was at work on our behalf. We did not begin to grow spiritually until our fourth child was conceived.

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