Week 51 - #Prepare - Collaborate

“And Then…”

Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Nehemiah 4:6 - So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Romans 12:4-5 - For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Rarely does a successful architect design and build a project on his or her own to completion.

The architect often creates the initial model or prototype, presents the work to the team of colleagues, “and then”…

the real dreaming begins!

DADs, in your professional and personal lives, are you open to “and then,” or have you already heard enough even before you walk in?

Have you turned on your “already always listening” mode where in your mind you have all the answers, or are you open to the potential of “and then” offering true collaboration?

Ken Blanchard has a saying, “All of us are smarter than any one of us.” We work in teams, whether that group is our family, our co-workers, or our community. If we want to accomplish anything significant we can’t do it alone.

DADs, how is it, we can find ourselves as the leader of our families, and in the boardroom thinking, “we alone must have all the answers?”

English poet John Donne, writing in the 17th century, famously wrote that “no man is an island,”comparing people to countries, and arguing for the interconnectedness of all people with God.

DADs, if in our hearts we believe in the statement, “no man is an island,” but yet our actions don’t align, then we become a living contradiction.

So how do we prepare for collaboration?

By first recognizing the talents we possess, then amplifying those gifts by surrounding ourselves with those in our lives sharing the vision, who unconditionally love us, and just want the opportunity to contribute.

So what are the possibilities, and what will happen when we allow others to “play” in this journey together?

Collaboration leads to dreaming. Dreaming leads to creativity. Creativity leads to innovation, and then, ultimately leads to engagement.

Engaged teams. Engaged workplaces. Engaged churches.

And then, most importantly, collaboration leads to engaged homes! As Proverbs 27:17 reminds us all, Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

DADs, let’s prepare for the opportunities for collaboration today.

And then…a whole new world will open up!

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“Collaborate." Next week we will consider how critical it is to prepare for considering how to “Empower" 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