How the initial blog story ends…

At the start of this long blog post, the plan was to write something relatively short. And as the eldest child of the initial story walked into the woods, several forks in the path took her the long way around to the watering hole much like this post did.

At some point, her instincts kicked in and let her know that she was in grave danger. She had been taught at home to kneel and pray. So, in the dark, she got on her knees and asked God for protection. What she didn’t know was that her family at that very moment was also on their knees praying and several other villagers barely out of sight were watching her movements.

As she started her prayer, she heard a weird rustling sound followed by a muffled grunt with dimmed whimpers. After her prayer, she felt rejuvenated and kept her journey. After getting water, she took a different route back home to her anxiously waiting parents.

The next day, the village was abuzz with great chatter. The few villagers who had followed her were the top hunters of the area. They had laid traps to catch the lion on the prowl who had been killing many stranded villagers at night. Also, being they didn’t like Christians, they hadn’t minded if that family accidently ran into a trap also.

The town was now buzzing about how the girl got on her knees just as the lion had vaulted to devour her. How did she know to pray? What propelled her in that moment to stop and kneel. How come her parents were doing the same at that very time, as the villagers were also spying on the family.

It goes without saying that much conversation took place and many grew curious about the faith of this family.

It often is just something as simple as two or three gathering together in the name of Jesus to make miraculous things happen.

No matter what’s going on in your world, no matter what you think about this post, one thing to bring home is this… there is power in the collective.

What is this Collective?

From the simplest definition of two or more people coming together to create value to the most metaphysical complexity of the Divine joining humanity to create a sum greater than human… collectively more gets done than solo. Hence the power of collective bargaining, collective rallies, votes, leverage, you name it.

In the last series of blog posts, the concept of the mastermind was touched on. Families should not face life alone. They can benefit from having moments of teaming up with other families to help reach their goals.

It can be teaming up to share childcare burdens, carpooling, prayer warrior duties, playdates, brainstorming best coupon strategies, and many more ideas. There is power in sharing collectively.

In the sermon, the main point driven home is that it took a small number of people, 300 to be exact, to work together under the Lord’s direction to overcome a massive military might.

In a world where everyone is out for themselves and many decks are stacked against you, your family will greatly benefit in unity of purpose so that all efforts from the few in the family works in concert to yield massive results.

Be encouraged to start that family dialog. It won’t be easy initially. It may be laughed at, scorned, rejected. It’s ok. Keep slowly patiently working towards opening that communication line. Seek help and support of others for advice and leadership to help open up that line of communication. When that momentum starts, it will get easier with time. Eventually, there will be a safe place to speak and unify the family towards a common vision.

This blog hopes to inspire families to experience a slice of heaven on earth. Any family that wants that slice of heaven on earth. Church families, biological families, reconstructed families, adoptive families, any number of familial arrangements.

Where two or three are gathered… there is power in that collective… that’s amplified by the presence of the Lord when He’s asked to join in that gathering.