Week 48 - #Prepare - Delivering the Goods!

"and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" - Matthew 6:13

"Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." - Job 29:12-13

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." - I Corinthians 15:3-4

deliver : to give results that are promised, expected, or desired

Why is it, no matter how old we are we can still get excited when we see the UPS truck on our street, just hoping the driver will stop at our house with a special delivery just for us?

There is something magical about getting a delivery, no matter a package or letter, big or small!

Even my dog Sienna gets excited every evening when I ask her if she wants to go to the mailbox with me.

Today as I’m writing this, I’m wondering with anticipation if the gifts I ordered online yesterday will be here in time for Christmas?

How contrary to the excitement when we are the ones receiving, compared to when we’re the ones doing the delivering. I wonder what would happen if our giving matched our receiving?

DADs, how is your delivery service? Do you deliver in the rain, sleet or snow? Through crisis and chaos at home?

At the height of the busyness, do you make what matters most your priority mail?

Or do you discover your “delivering” sometimes falls short of the customer’s expectations. Customers including your colleagues at work, and even more importantly your family at home?

Again, I ponder, why is it we have such high expectations like a kid on Christmas morning, receiving the long awaited presents, but sometimes fail to carry out those same expectations when we are the one to deliver?

When I think about our preparation to deliver I’m reminded of the maxim we were all taught as a child, “The Golden Rule.” The principle of treating others as one wants to be treated.

The most familiar version of the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

During this time of year when we are in the middle of the holiday season of giving and receiving, I especially like to reflect upon this scripture found in Job 29:12-13:

“Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."

Meditating on these words, not only prompts me to receive each day, as a new gift from God, but on the flip side, encourages me to approach my preparation daily to deliver, in such a way, that each receiving... “hearts sing with joy.”

Dads, what new approach do you need to prepare today, enabling you to "deliver the goods" which you have promised in a special way?

To God be the glory!

DADs “get in the game”…

Today is game day…and so is every day…

God gives you! So…C’mon Men Suit Up!

**Today we prepare to“Deliver" Next week we will consider how critical it is to prepare for considering how to “Collaborate" in our lives.

*For this new year of 2021, the combination of my age (understanding my own fragile mortality), this current and ongoing global pandemic, and most recently the personal loss I’ve experienced of one of my students, has amplified the need to land on one word...#Prepare.

In this "pursuit to prepare" I am determined to dedicate the 52 weeks of 2021 blogging every Week about one aspect of preparation God lays on my heart.

As mentioned in week 1, the word “prepare” means “to establish, fix, or apply.” It conveys the idea of deliberate effort over a prolonged period of time.