Week 34 - #Prepare “Innovate”

“Filling in the Gaps”

"Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! “ - Psalm 96:1

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2

A year ago I was in South Texas doing professional development for a group of teachers. In my presentation I showed them a video of the new gap campaign for back to school clothes for students.

The campaign involves a teacher from Memphis who stands outside his door each day and does a brief and unique individualized dance with each student as they enter the classroom.

Now I am quick to share after watching the clip together with whatever group I’m leading, making a full disclosure that I am not a “gap” teacher nor would that be a pretty site to witness! And, I also clearly state, that I do not expect any of them to be a clone “gap” teacher either, but I do tell them to just do “you” but to do “you” well, to the absolute fullest.

I don’t know about you, when I see something like that, rather than saying "that’s not me", it motivates me to not want to mimic, but ignites the opportunity clock inside of me, and I am moved to begin thinking of something even better!

Maybe it’s my competitive nature, asking "how can I still do me, but also take what I have experienced to a still deeper and more dynamic level?" Something authentic. Something maybe not ever done before, something innovative!

So this conversation continues with my teachers, as I ask them, "so if you’re not the gap teacher, what is it that you do or what is it that you’re going to do, so positively contagious, causing your students to never want to miss your class? Not even for a single moment!”

DADs, so how does all of this conversation relate to the matter at hand with the importance and significance of our concept of preparation and this week's topic of innovation?

Well it goes like this, if you have ever wondered why sometimes your kids, spouse, and others that we love begin to drift away at times could it be a wake up call to be today a little innovative in our daily active devotion routine?

Maybe they drift because we drift?

Maybe we need to focus on where they place levels of importance, versus wondering why they don’t show much interest in ours?

DADs, preparation for innovation can happen only when we seek those opportunities and then simply take the time to follow through.

Every day God provides for each of us opportunities and time to innovate something new! To literally sing a “new song,” as the scripture in Psalms96:1 says "Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!”

Are we singing a new song or just turning the page slowly?

DADs, you don’t have to be an entertainer, a dancer, or even a "high fiver!" But we can certainly choose to be innovative with the opportunities and time God grants us everyday to not necessarily be the “gap” dad but to "fill in" the “gaps” DADs, meeting the needs of those you love.

DADs, by all means do you, but do you like no one else can!

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2 ESV

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 “Innovate.” Next week we will consider how critical it is to prepare to “Defend."

Week 33 - #Prepare “Imagine”

“Find Your Peaceful Imagination"

Philippians 4:7

"Then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus."

I can never get over a child’s imagination, as I witness my two granddaughters play "Jurassic Park" with a plain brown box they both climb in and out of making dinosaur growls or watching them running through the house with clothes hangers as their bow and arrows, pretending to be Merida in the Disney movie Brave.

Imagination can be a powerful tool.

When my daughter decided that she was going to be a teacher while in college I immediately imagined the hundreds of students she would impact positively throughout teaching career.

And when my son, the architect, from seventh grade on knew he wanted to be an architect, I imagined him one day designing buildings standing the test of time, and acknowledged in every book of architecture.

How fun it is to imagine!

I often wonder when I was a young dad, and even today as a granddad, how much I have limited or stifled the imagination of those I love?

Why is it that as adults we allow our years to "push out" even our own childlike imagining, we once so easily displayed and possessed?

Maybe it’s because we become blinded by life’s struggles, and responsibilities? When we see and experience peril, we have no peace. No true peace.

Without peace, there is no time to imagine.

But DADs, perfect peace only comes from God.

If we wish to truly find peace, enabling us to fully imagine, then we must prepare to seek God first.

Paul knew this as he wrote to the first Christian church in Europe at Philippi, “then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

DADs, life is way too short to live it without imagination. Prepare to appreciate the imagination of others. Practice imagining better solutions for yourself. Cast, and pour your imagination into those you love.

DADs, let’s prepare to imagine God’s love and peace for us today. A love and peace even greater than two little granddaughters playing with empty boxes and hangers could ever imagine!

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 “Imagine.” Next week we will consider how critical it is to prepare to “Innovate."

Week 32 - #Prepare “Create”

“It’s Never Too Late To Create”

Genesis: 1:1-  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis: 1:27- "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Exodus 35:35- "He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers."

Proverbs 22:29- "Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank."

In our nonprofit we challenge men from Houston Texas, across the Atlantic to Mbale Uganda, to become “champions" for their families.

We want to create in every man, the heart of a champion, along with a desire to be known by others for their good works, elevating them as it says in Proverbs 22:29 to “serve before kings!”

In biblical times when you "stood before a king" to serve the king and his kingdom you were not simply there for a visit; you were there to do important work.
Our vision in this ministry is to remind every man that they too are here to "prepare to create" for doing important work!

DADs, remember you are not just here for a visit either! You were created to do important work as well. You were designed to create opportunities to share your God given talents and to make an impact along the way.

What is it that you’ve been thinking about for days, months, maybe even years, but yet to create?

Take time today to prepare to create space for what matters most.
Rest, relent, and reflect on your God given gifts. Rip open those gifts like it’s Christmas morning!

DADs, It’s never too late to prepare to create today!

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!

Week 31 - #Prepare “Dream”

“Are You A Dreamer?"

Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,"

Psalm 37:4-5: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

I am a firm believer that dreams can come true. And when they do, they are usually linked to an individual’s purpose and passion.

DADs…what do you dream about?

Unfortunately, in our world today, being considered a “dreamer" carries a negative connotation along with it. Being a dreamer gets a bad rap. Maybe because the dreamer’s dream, quite often becomes just that a dream that quickly fades away, left on a shelf with no pursuit.

I think the lack of follow through in our dreaming lies in the fact that in reality many of our dreams or ideas are not truly desires of our heart.

Zig Ziglar used to say, "to achieve a goal you must first have a dream" but determining which dreams truly matter takes some preparation and is a process.

He suggested that you make a list of all your dreams, as many as you can possibly think of, and then write them down on paper in one column, then leave it to “percolate" for 24 to 48 hours. A follow up step is to come back to it, and in the right column, write down why you want to "be, do or achieve" each specific dream. Ziglar says, if you can’t verbalize the “why” it is just a dream not worth seeking, and you are to then to eliminate it, and scratch it off.

Another reason, we fail to follow through with our dreams, can be because we don’t see our own value or ability to achieve it, so we don’t even try. In Ephesians 3:20: We are reminded that God created us and we are not to sell ourselves short. Paul wrote in his letter to the church, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

DADs, in so many ways, and in so many circumstances we get in our own way of our dreaming, stifling our own creativity, imagination, and innovation. And when we stifle ourselves, we are not the best version of us to give to others. One of my all time favorite quotes is from the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote, “what lies behind us and what lies before us, pales in comparison, to what lies within us.”

Dreams are so important, as long as we use them as a springboard into action. Action that spurs others on as well. Possibly even changing a generation.

DADs, if you choose to dream. And I hope you do...
if others call you a dreamer…and I hope they will...
remember the well cited scripture Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If you have a dream…and its "eternal" versus "external"…and you have been discerning its truth, then do as it says in

Psalm 37:4-5, to “take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

DADs…clear out the clutter…know you are His son…and keep dreaming the dreams driving you to action!

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 “Dream.” Next week we will consider how critical it is to prepare to “Create."