Only One Life: How a Woman’s Every Day Shapes an Eternal Legacy

Meet Hobby Lobby Mother-Daughter Duo Jackie Green & Lauren Green McAfee

Jackie Green and her daughter Lauren Green McAfee know a thing or two about legacies. Green’s husband, Steve, is the President of Hobby Lobby, a multi-billion-dollar art and crafts store, and she is also the co-founder of Museum of the Bible. McAfee, also the granddaughter of David Green the founder or Hobby Lobby, serves as their Corporate Ambassador. But this mother-daughter duo isn’t focusing on financial legacy to leave, but rather an eternal legacy with a new book they wrote together titled, Only One Life: How a Woman’s Every Day Shapes an Eternal Legacy.

Risen caught up with them to hear more about the past and present world-changing women they highlight as they examine twelve characteristics of legacy through profiling thirty-six women including women of the Bible, women of history, and women of today.

Interviewed for Risen Magazine

Risen Magazine: Why is legacy an important topic to the two of you, and what did it look like to write this book, Only One Life together?
Lauren Green McAfee: We’ve been blessed to just have a perspective of the significance of legacy as well as the encouragement that we each have a role in shaping an eternal legacy, which is the theme of this book; how women have an incredible potential for impacting eternal legacy. We, as believers and as Christians, believe that there are two things that are eternal; human souls, and God’s Word. So, whenever we think about legacy, we want to be investing in those things, because we know those will have eternal impact.

RM: Oftentimes when people hear the word legacy, they may immediately think of families with money, power, or some sort of influence, but there are many types of legacies that can be passed through generations. Share a little bit about what women can do in their day-to-day lives to build an eternal legacy.
Jackie Green: I’ve come across women all over the place and so many of them are desiring to do something influential and impactful, but they think they have to be qualified, or think maybe they haven’t arrived to the place in life where they can. We want to encourage them to take the time in their every day, busy lives, to be an encouragement, and work on legacy. So often, it is different for everyone. We feel like maybe as a mother, that we aren’t really making a difference. As a mom, our job is all encompassing. It’s twenty-four hours a day, every day, for the rest of our child’s life. There is opportunity every single day to build character and instill values. We think it’s very important to build biblical principles in that child’s life.

RM: In your book, you profiled 36 women and break it down into different types of legacies, whether that be courage, wisdom, tenacity, loyalty or faith. How did you come up with the twelve topics?
LM: We thought that these twelve stood out to us personally. They were traits that we want to be growing in and living out in our own lives.
JG: I think what helped us narrow it down too was that we had this list of women that we really respected and felt had powerful stories that were good for all of us to remember and recognize and they just naturally fit in with these twelve that we had chosen.

RM: Each of the topics features three women, a biblical, historical and current day.  Is there something that they all share that we could be implementing in our lives now?
JG: That’s one thing we want to encourage all women, is that these women didn’t think they were prepared or equipped. They were brave and bold and they drew on their faith to walk forward and do what they were led to do. As far as every single woman on the planet, we all have opportunity around us every single day. We want to encourage them to be introspective and figure out what else they could be doing. Asking, “Is God prompting me to do something different? How can I have a legacy plan and be more influential with the one life that I have?” None of us get a do over. We get one life, so that’s the inspiration that we hope to convey to others.

RM: Since we are talking about legacy, Lauren, what are a few things that are present in your life today that you can see are a direct correlation from your mom and the example that she has set?
LM: A love for scripture and a love for family are definitely values that I feel like I inherited from my mom. We constantly had the Bible as the center of our home. I remember memorizing scripture together with my mom and my siblings during the day when we were home schooled and grew up together. There was an authentic belief and faith in the Bible too that was not just something that my parents said was important, but they lived it out. They lived and breathed what the scripture taught. That’s an incredible legacy that I am so blessed to have from my mother and I hope to pass that on one day.