7 Heroes of Faith and the Power of Prayer in Their Lives

We pray because we want something to change in our lives. Every day, we are attacked by many different circumstances — financial insecurities, health problems, or even relationship issues.

Most of us find prayer “a remedy” to these problems. But what if the answer is different from what we expected?

That’s probably why God used many people in the Bible about prayers being answered. These faithful heroes begged God to intervene in their troubled lives, which He reasonably did.

As you read along, observe these two things:

The reason why that person prayed (intention and attitude)
How has God powerfully answered the prayer

And who knows? It may also change the way you pray and receive God’s answer.

The Heroes Who Prayed

Hannah

In Bible times, when a woman is barren, it brings deep shame to the family. This is because children are seen as God’s gift, and being infertile is a challenging situation.

Like Hannah, you may be in a position where everything is hopeless. You may have already questioned God why you feel that “deep shame”.

But, recorded in 1 Samuel 1:11 (NIV) is Hannah’s prayer of faith.

She said, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

As you see, Hannah already claimed that God would fulfill His promise in her life even before she was pregnant. Sure enough, Samuel went down in history as Israel’s greatest prophet.

Just like Hannah, you can manifest God’s promise in your life and let Him be God.

Daniel

Imagine being in a place where no one knows you, and you’re being kept as a slave. You might have questioned God and blamed Him for your circumstance.

But Daniel reacted otherwise.

He knew God and how to communicate with and listen to God. Also, he made God his Friend in a country where he knew no one. Daniel 2:27-28 (ESV) describes Daniel as one great man.

It says, Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:”

Daniel was successful because He gave God all the credit. And because of that, he became chief administrator of the whole Medo-Persian kingdom!

Daniel might have become proud and arrogant. But, he understood that he was just a servant in the hands of an omnipotent God.

And that understanding came from his personal connection with God through prayer.

Jairus

Let’s talk about something more serious—death.

Jairus had a dying daughter. According to Mark 5:23 (NIV), he pleaded earnestly with Jesus, saying, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”

All of us are desperate for healing, especially when it is our loved ones who are at stake. We tend to pray and bargain with God to heal them from whatever they’re suffering.

In this story of Jairus, maybe God is just testing our faith. His daughter already died before Jesus arrived at his home!

But Jesus had more than a cure in mind when He urged Jairus to believe. When Jesus entered the house, He resurrected the girl from the dead.

Jesus wants to go above and beyond our expectations—He wants to revive our faith!

Elisha

Have you ever been in a situation where you are responsible for something yet don’t know what to do next?

Elisha did. God gave Elisha prophetic skills and abilities, and these threatened the king. He sent a troop to encircle Elisha’s city and initiate an assault. This news caused Elisha’s servant to panic.

There may be moments when God entrusts us with something, and along with it are circumstances that can harm us.

Instead of panicking, Elisha told his servant. “Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16, NIV)

God answered Elisha’s prayer by blinding the opposing army. He then led his people out of the city.

You will also have the confidence to accomplish anything God asks of you. This is possible if we seek His protection surrounding us, knowing that our circumstances are blind to His might!

Joseph

The slave who turned into one of the best leaders in Egypt.

The Bible states that Joseph had a close relationship with God, and this is because of his prayer life. Because of this, even his master saw how close he was to God and found favor in him.

Genesis 39:2-4 (ESV) describes how Joseph is with his relationship with God.

It says, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.”

Because of his faithful prayer life, God used him to govern Egypt and deliver them out of famine.

You might relate to Joseph in a way. Your business is not doing good, you have failing grades at school, or a really good friend betrayed you.

Regardless of how bad your situation is, remember that the God who led Joseph from rags to riches will definitely give you a way out, too. Just pray.

David

David was known to be the man after God’s own heart. But, how did he become one?

What does his prayer life look like? David was just like any of us. He committed mistakes, and he admits that he has deeply sinned against God.

But what made David successful was how he acknowledged his mistake and confessed to God. Psalms 51:10 (ESV) says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

After having heartfelt repentance and a deep talk with God, he felt a sense of peace in his heart and accepted that God already forgave him.

In our journey to success, we might experience a lot of temptations and stumbling blocks along the way. But, our persistent surrender to God will make us successful in our day-to-day battle with trials.

Jesus

Really? The Man who saved the world from sin prayed, too?

Yes. Jesus was not exempted from the benefits of this ultimate secret. As recorded in the Scriptures, He spent many, many hours in prayer.

Jesus could’ve just skipped the prayer part and went on to save the world.

But, no.

Every day, in the early hours of the morning, He kneeled and prayed to God the Father for protection and guidance.

“But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray,” according to Luke 5:16 (ESV). By spending time with his Father regularly, Jesus stayed in touch with His desire and purpose.

Why did Jesus do this?

Because He wants to be an example of how powerful prayer is.

Even before He was crucified, He prayed and pleaded to God to let the circumstance pass. But He was willing to submit Himself for God’s leading and will, and that was how the most extraordinary love story started.

There is Power in Prayer

Prayer has worked wonders in the lives of people in the Bible, and it can work for you, too!

It will help you to:

Acquire peace of mind
Be patient
Become the person God wants you to become

God’s Word is transparent in how great heroes in the Bible are and how dependent they are on God. He wants us to be comforted that He always provides the best answers only if we allow His power to influence our lives.

Author Bio

Heroes 2 is a Bible trivia game released by the Hope Channel. It is a sequel to the game, Heroes, which was released in 2013. The latest game version is on 3D graphics and animation, enhanced with unique features and more challenging Bible questions. It comes in four languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. The game is available on both iOS and Android.

April 30, 2019October 2, 2021

A True Miracle: 5-Year-Old Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Suffers no Spinal Damage, no Nerve Damage and no Brain Damage

A True Miracle: 5-Year-Old Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Suffers Spinal Damage, no Nerve Damage and no Brain Damage

A man called Aranda approached the little boy’s mom at a group at the mall on the 12 of April 2019. Landen mom asked him if they were in his way and should move. Without hesitation or warning the stranger picked up Landen and threw him from the balcony at the Mall of America.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time 24-year-old has committed crimes at the mall. Aranda has two prior assault convictions from 2015 and was apparently banned from the the Mall of America for a period of time. He was also instructed to undergo psychological evaluation following those earlier attacks.

Later that day Aranda admitted to throwing the boy off the balcony to Police after they captured on a light rail train leaving the mall. He also told the police that he had attempted to kill somebody the day before (preferably an adult), but it didn’t “work out.”

He is being held in Hennepin County Jail in lieu of $2million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on May 14.

The suspect’s uncle, Francis Aranda, told KSTP that his nephew had displayed violent tendencies since childhood.

‘He has a serious mental problem, he was diagnosed as a child,’ the relative said.

He added: ‘We are going to pray for that baby [Landen] because what happened is so unfortunate, but it’s going to bring light to mental illness, I hope he [Aranda] doesn’t go to jail, he needs help.’

Pastor Mac Hammond (above) at the church Landen Hoffmann’s family attends in Woodbury, Minnesota, updated the congregation on the five-year-old’s condition on Sunday, nine days after he was thrown off a third-story balcony at the Mall of America on April 12

In spite of being thrown off a balcony that could have killed him, doctors have reported that Landen is thankfully doing much better than expected to the point where even the medical staff are chalking it up to nothing but a “miracle.”

This is truly a miracle. It’s like he fell off a bicycle instead of off the third floor of the mall.”

Mac Hammon, the pastor of the family’s church, was contacted by Landen’s grandpa on Sunday during the Easter sermon.

The results were obtained after a 5-hour MRI. “Doctors said they found no brain damage – not even any swelling,” Hammond told church congregants on Easter. “No spinal damage, no nerve damage ”¦ doctors are saying it is truly a miracle.”

Mac Hammon, shared that the boy did suffer many broken bones, including fractures on his arm, leg, and face. He will also need to have his spleen removed.

The GoFundMe page set up for Landen posted this encouraging update a week after the incident:

“The power of prayer is simply amazing. We all have been extremely humbled by the outpouring of support and prayers from everyone. Thank you for showing us there is so much good not only in our community but across the globe. Condition is again similar to previous days, another peaceful night of sleep — small steps towards the healing process. Each new day is a good day. Landen’s recovery is expected to be ongoing for a long time, while it’s hard to estimate costs, this will change everything for their family and require much of their time and focus.”

Over 27,000 people have donated to a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $961,000 as of Tuesday morning.

Mental Health Facts, Stats, and Data

Over 44 million American adults have a mental health condition. Since the release of the first State of Mental Health in America report (2015), there has only been a slight decrease in the number of adults who have a mental health condition (from 18.19% to 18.07%)
Rate of youth experiencing a mental health condition continues to rise. The rate of youth with Major Depressive Episode (MDE) increased from 11.93% to 12.63%. There was only a 1.5% decrease in the rate of youth with MDE who did receive treatment. Data showed that 62% of youth with MDE received no treatment.
More Americans are insured and accessing care. We can continue to see the effects of healthcare reform on the rate of Adults who are uninsured. This year there was a 2.5% reduction in the number of Adults with a mental health condition who were uninsured.
…But many Americans experiencing a mental health condition still report having an unmet need. 1 in 5, or 9 million adults reported having an unmet need.
Mental health workforce shortage remains. Many states saw some improvement in their individual to mental health provider ratio. But in states with the lowest workforce there was almost 4 times the number individuals to only 1 mental health provider.

April 25, 2019April 25, 2019

CHRISTIANS across the world are “living in utter fear of discrimination and persecution says MP

CHRISTIANS across the world are â€œliving in utter fear of discrimination and persecution says MP

DUP MP Sammy Wilson has said that CHRISTIANS across the world are “living in fear of discrimination and persecution as he demanded the British Government use its influence around the world to stop Christian persecution.

What the British Government is doing to help those across the world from being “persecuted daily” due to their religious beliefs, The DUP MP demanded to know.

Minister David Lidington during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, gave a passionate speech to Cabinet Office and said

“While the McKee family in Northern Ireland are burying their daughter today murdered by IRA terrorists, hundreds of people in Sri Lanka are burying their loved ones — brutally murdered because of their faith.
The DUP MP

Christians across the world are now the most persecuted religious group
Sammy Wilson
The DUP MP

Its a fact, “Christians across the world are now the most persecuted religious group with almost 300 million living in fear of discrimination and persecution,“and 4,000 being killed every year because of their faith.

“The Government has said that Britain is on their side, but Britain has become a pagan country over the past half century, creating a vacuum in which people will believe in anything and everything, according to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who leads the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

How much does the Government really care?

The DUP MP asked how is the Government using the UK’s soft power, our economic power, our contact with other Governments and our aid budget to help those who are persecuted daily simply because they believe in Jesus Christ?”

Last week Lyra McKee, only 29, was fatally shot by dissident republicans in Londonderry after being caught in the cross-fire after clashes erupted between a group calling itself the New IRA and police on the Creggan estate on April 18.

More than 350 people died and around 500 injured on Easter Sunday, following the bombings which targeted churches and hotels across Sri Lanka.

There was also a coordinated series of attacks on churches holding Easter services.

Britain’s War on Christianity

But perhaps we Brits need to take a look in our own backyard. For example “Christian street preachers should be free to share the gospel, even where it means challenging the beliefs of others.” – Christian Concern, in a petition to UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

In recent years, dozens of Christians – clergy and non-clergy – in Britain have been arrested or fired from their jobs due to their faith. Much of the harassment is based on three sections of two British laws that are vague and open to subjective interpretations.

At an appeal hearing at Bristol Crown Court, attorney Michael Phillips emphasized the importance of freedom of speech, even in cases where the speaker does not necessarily hold the views being expressed. Another attorney, Paul Diamond, argued that there is no right not to be exposed to contrary ideas. He added that should passers-by not wish to hear the preaching, they are able to walk away.

Godinterest’s Manifesto of Ethics

To promote freedom of religion — Violations of religious freedom are increasing globally in scale, depth and blatancy. Carried out by both government and non-state actors, they range from the mundane to the extreme (e.g. genocide).

To promote freedom of expression and internet freedom — Freedom of expression is an essential part of a properly functioning democracy and a free society. People should be free to express themselves both online and offline. But in many parts of the world freedom of expression is under threat.

To be a inclusive social network — We aim to share multiple voices and perspectives. We prohibit and will remove Offensive material that has been reported to contain (e.g., Pornographic material, hate speech, encouraging violence against others, etc)

To respect one’s right to remain anonymous — Our users place their trust in us to keep them safe, and, in some cases, anonymous. We view safeguarding that trust and protecting our users’ private information as vital to what we do.

March 10, 2019September 30, 2021

Taquarius Wair – My Physical Disability Doesn’t Hold Me Back

Photo Credit: Janaye Johnson Photography

“Godinterest want’s to introduce you to a great young man Taquarius Wair (TQ) a high school football player, who is in his senior year.

Taquarius Wair burned 55% of his body and in some places to the bone in a tragic house fire at the early age 4. He lost four fingers on his left hand.

His mother saved him from the fire, but he ran back in trying to save his oldest sister. She didn’t survive, but his hero heart holds her with every stride.

“All I can remember is the fire all around me,” Wair said. “My Mother called my name and I came walking out of the fire. She said it was then that she knew I was going to be special.”
Taquarius Wair

“I don’t remember much of my life before I was 8, but I do know that is when my no quit attitude was developed,” said Wair. “I remember people looking at me and probably thinking I wasn’t going to be good, but I was really good.”
Taquarius Wair

Inspiring story of Taquarius Wair - a high school football player who was burn over 55% of his body. Taquarius never gave up on his dream to play and is playing college football next year! — Inspiring story of Taquarius Wair – a high school football player who was burn over 55% of his body. Taquarius never gave up on his dream to play and is playing college football next year!

He almost didn’t play this year because he thought no disabled person will ever go pro. That was until the Seattle Seahawks drafted a one handed player, Shaquem Griffin, in the 5th round.

Taquarius Wair did not quit and its a good thing because he will now play college football at Mesabi Range College. Taquarius Wair fought through his disabilities and received an offer to play football at the collegiate level.

Wair finished off his first ever complete football season in 2018. He helped lead his team to the 2A State Semi-Finals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. T.Q. will be playing football for head coach Tom Inforzato at Mesabi Range Community College.

His goals are simple.

“My next step is to play in the NFL like Shaquem Griffin,” said Wair. “I look forward to watching Taquarius Wair be an inspiration for kids in years to come.”
Taquarius Wair

My point you have no idea who you can inspire by chasing your God given dreams. Get up and chase down your greatness!“

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019

#hashtags on Godinterest

It started on Twitter and it continues to be a driving force there, with trending topics almost always beginning with #. Although it’s now been cited more times than some can count, the research on Twitter suggests hashtags can’t be overstated.

A hashtag is a label for content. It helps others who are interested in a certain topic, quickly find content on that same topic. A hashtag looks something like this: #MarathonBombings or #SmallBizQuote. Hashtags are used mostly on social media sites.

Using hashtags to categorize posts by keyword:

People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their posts to categorize those posts and help them show more easily in a status.online Search.
Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other posts marked with that keyword.
Hashtags can occur anywhere in the post body — at the beginning, middle, or end.
Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

Using hashtags correctly:

If you post with a hashtag on a public account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your post
Don’t #spam #with #hashtags. Don’t over-tag a single post. (we recommend using no more than 2 hashtags per post.)
Use hashtags only on posts relevant to the topic.

Trending Community Hashtags

#comeandfollowme #doyouloveme #followingjesus #freetofail #godrestores #holyweek #holyweek2018 #mark2

February 7, 2017July 1, 2022

Is Project “Management”’”¹ the Problem?

January 14, 2017July 1, 2022

Does ‘The Image of God’ Extend to Robots, Too?

Inside a railway arch in Brixton, a piece of history was brought back to life. First built in 1928 by Captain Richards & A.H. Reffell, Eric is one of the UK’s first robots. Eric’s design was relatively simple. He was automated, but the interesting thing about Eric is how much extra stuff people read into him. Ingenious electrical instruments enabled Eric to hear questions and answer in a human voice.

On September 28 1928 Eric stood up at the Royal Horticultural Hall, bowed, looked right and left and moved his hands as he proceeded to give an opening address as sparks flashed from his teeth.

The New York Press described Eric as the “perfect man,“ built less than a decade after the word robot was used for the first time, Eric toured the world with his makers but then vanished, seemingly forever.

Nobody knows if the robot was thrown out, or lost, but it’s apparent that Eric once lauded for his technical prowess became an early victim of technological obsolescence. He may have no longer been needed or wanted even though he may have still been in working order.

In May 2016, over 800 Kickstarters investors campaigned to bring Eric back to life. Roboticist and artist Giles Walker created a replica of Eric using just a handful of archived news cuttings, pictures, and video. The robot is built with the same finesse as modern robots but purposefully lacks their capabilities. Eric is controlled by a pre-programmed sequence, using software similar to that used for controlling lights in theatres.

By resurrecting Eric, Russell and Walker want to make people reevaluate the place of robots within our history and society at large.

Commissioned by the Science Museum and funded through a successful £51,000 Kickstarter campaign, Eric is on display at the South Kensington museum ahead of a Robots exhibition in 2017 and will thereafter tour the world just like he did more than 90 years ago.

The new exhibition will feature more than 100 robots, from a 16th-century mechanical monk to robots from science fiction and modern-day research labs.

In whose image are robots made?

According to Russell, Curator, London Science Museum the answer seems to be “ourselves.”

Robots are almost like mirrors, they reflect back on ourselves, tell us who we are Ben Russell, Curator, London Science Museum

As research into artificial intelligence continues, we will continue on the path of making artificial intelligence (AI) in our image. But can Christian thought provide an alternative approach to how robots are made?

The original Eric is a product of a time when an intelligent robot was still a far-off possibility. At the time, filmmakers and audiences treated these robots instrumentally; there was little sympathy for the robot dead.

Times, however, have changed. Christopher Orr, writing in The Atlantic, notes that there is a major philosophical shift in the newest version of Westworld: A shift from concern for the creators, made of flesh and blood, to concern for the created, made of steel and silicon.

October 30, 2015July 1, 2022

50 Quotes to Inspire Successful Leadership

Most people believe that the key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. Do you agree? The answer to that question, it seems, lies in whether the goal is to get others to work from a place of compliance or from a place of commitment which underlines the difference between influential leadership and authoritative leadership.

Working within an influential leadership model, committed employees will give up discretionary time to solve problems, serve customers, and think creatively. On the other hand, people working under command and control, as we more commonly know it will only work to achieve compliance, doing only what needs to be done to get by.

As a leader you must realise that every decision you make influences your next five decisions. Fortunately, great leaders are made, not born.

Maximise your effectiveness by emulating these words of wisdom that will motivate you in achieving your goals and overcoming your fears:

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs — Farrah Gray
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence — Unknown
proverb is to speech what salt is to food — Arabic Proverb
Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly — Langston Hughes
Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent — Eleanor Roosevelt
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light — Plato
Every strike brings me closer to the next home run — Babe Ruth
If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe — Abraham Lincoln
If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough — Oprah Winfrey
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination — Jimmy Dean
Believe you can and you’re halfway there — Theodore Roosevelt
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover — Mark Twain
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart — Eleanor Roosevelt
Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears — Les Brown
Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve — Unknown
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions — Stephen Covey
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it — Henry Ford
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any — Unknown
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light — Unknown
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant — Robert Louis Stevenson
The only way to do great work is to love what you do — Steve Jobs
Change your thoughts and you change your world — Unknown
The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me — Ayn Rand
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck — Dalai Lama
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have — Maya Angelou
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear — Rosa Parks
I would rather die of passion than of boredom — Vincent Van Gogh
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new — Unknown
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else — Booker T. Washington
Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless — Unknown
Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart — Ancient Indian Proverb
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world — Unknown
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be — Ralph Waldo Emerson
We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone — Ronald Reagan
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear — George Addair
Nothing will work unless you do — Maya Angelou
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples — Mother Teresa
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality — Plutarch
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway — John Wayne
Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm — Winston Churchill
It always seems impossible until it’s done — Nelson Mandela
Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential — John Maxwell
Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it — Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are no traffic jams along the extra mile — Roger Staubach
Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning — Gloria Steinem
Stealing someone else’s words frequently spares the embarrassment of eating your own — Peter Anderson
The Book of Proverbs are the cream of a nation’s thought — Unknown
Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it — Charles Swindoll
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity — Amelia Earhart
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life — John Lennon

October 21, 2015July 1, 2022

Construction Begins on Sip Sports Center in Suzhou

Images: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)

Construction of the SIP Sports Centre has started in the Chinese city of Suzhou. The sports centre in Suzhou Industrial Park was designed by Ham burg’s star architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partner, and has been scheduled for completion in 2017.

The sports venue will be surrounded by residential quarters, a hotel and a leisure district offering community sports facilities and public spaces.

The development is being funded jointly by Sizhou City and Jiangsu Regional authorities and when complete, the complex will form part of the larger Suzhou Industrial Park.

Image: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)

Hamburg Architects Designs for China’s Garden City

A spokesperson for architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners said: “Suzhou is famous in China for its landscape design, and the masterplan for this new sports park is based on this tradition and reputation. In a modern interpretation of the city’s traditional gardens, an informally designed park landscape flows around the podiums that rise in straight lines from the surrounding streets and support the stadiums.”

The beautiful conspicuous undulating roofs that on all three stadiums make the ensemble into a landmark visible from afar. As visitors walk along the curved pathways, various viewpoints open up to pavilion architecture, stunning water features, and a breathtaking landscape. Its curved silhouette stands out from the urban environment, blending harmoniously with the landscape and the park at the Xietang River. In addition, the succinct character of the stadiums is reinforced by a uniform faÃƒ§ade design. The faÃƒ§ades of both stadiums and the podiums are structured by horizontal lines, which follow the shape of the buildings in elegant curves.

The roof of the covered 15,000 capacity multi-purpose hall located to the north-east of the site is supported by v-shaped columns which provide a rhythm to the transparent glass faÃƒ§ade of the hall.

The Heart of the Community

The multi-functional sports centre will include three national-standard venues includes a 45,000-seat stadium, an indoor pool with 3,000 seats and a 15,000-seat indoor arena. With its wide range of functions, the park has been designed to ensure a permanent and sustainable flow of visitors.

The facility is well connected to the Metro and offers the Suzhou residents not only a park, but also various shops for day-to-day needs, thus creating an attractive centre for the new part of the city.

October 20, 2015July 1, 2022

The Hard Side of Change Management

Change management is an approach to transition individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state. For over three decades, academics, managers, and consultants, realising that transforming organisations is difficult, have avoided the subject.

My Way or the Highway

Major organisational change is profoundly difficult because the structure, culture, and routines of companies often reflect’s persistent and difficult-to-remove ways of working, which are resistant to radical change even as the environment of organisations change.

What started out as a financial buzzword in the early nineties has become fundamental business practice, with executives recognising the need to keep abreast with the competition in a rapidly developing corporate new world.

Navigating change

Globalisation and the constant innovation of technology result in a constantly evolving business environment. There is an ever-increasing need for Change Management Lead’s / Senior Managers who can help organisations successfully navigate change in today’s business environments. The focus of this movement to date has been on how to partner with organisations to define education, training and communication platforms that help to support the change initiatives and concerns of company employees. The critical aspect is a company’s ability to win the buy-in of their organisation’s employees on the change initiative.

While a project team is important for success, a senior level advisor is invaluable and can work with an organisations leadership team to avoid common pitfalls that change management projects often fall into. There are four key areas where an Advisor should act as this resource as follows:

1. Defining A Strategy

Executives should start by asking themselves what exactly needs changing and why? Organisational change directly affects all departments from entry level employees to senior management and must be aligned to a companies strategy. Too many programs are heavy on the jargon and light on the substance. Executives are often sold on an idea only to realise as the change initiative begins that they need a different outcome, tool or process to be successful.

In this situation the strategy for change needs to be re-aligned with the organisation and its goals.

An outside senior advisor with a unique perspective of the organisation will play an important role in helping an executive to explore and shape the strategy they are defining and highlight whether it will truly create the outcomes they desire. This upfront partnership can save money on the back end of a project, by avoiding costly re-scoping of initiatives.This relationship between senior advisor and executive should therefore begin as early as possible in the process.

2. Coalition Building

Its important to give people multiple opportunities to share concerns, ask questions, and offer ideas and to make following up with answers and updates a top priority. Executives must reach out across their functional work streams to build a large cohesive team to support the project once the correct strategy has been set and the urgency for the project has been established. A good senior advisor will be able to guide an executive though these interactions.

As a senior change management professional, it is important that you help leaders of the organisation craft the correct message. While leaders often know what it is they want and see the urgency for themselves, the outside view that a coach provides can support the development of a team around the initiative and help to navigate the strategic and political interests in linking the change to the interest of multiple team members.

The more people are involved in the process, the fewer will be acting as internal saboteurs.

Communication Is Key to Successful Change Management

3. Communication

Don’t confuse process visioning, planning and endless powerpoint presentations with communication.

Change is uncomfortable, and adapting to change is messy. A Gantt chart can not capture the hard side of change management. Why? Because tasks are easy to list, but behaviour and long-held habits are not easy to change. Gather outside information, solicit perspectives, and adapt the approaches for your organisation and group.

The importance of communication within an organisation around the change cannot be underestimated. Executives often fall short on communication in two main areas, not communicating the right message and not communicating it frequently enough across an organisation. It is often thought that everyone else in the organisation is on board and understands the change, however, the reality for an executive is not the reality for another worker who may have lost a job because of a well intended change initiative. A senior advisor can apply consistent pressure to the leader of the change around the need for communication and its messaging.

Quantity Is Fine, but Quality and Consistency Are Crucial

4. Share Relevant Information Quickly

Most CEOs and managers are quoted as saying, “You can’t communicate too much,” Part of the communication will be the support the urgency in messaging. “My way or the highway” is often used, but is not an effective communication strategy. Senior Advisors can work with executives to tailor their message to each area of the organisation in order to define content that is important to them.

A study by Towers Watson shows that “only two-thirds (68%) of senior managers say they are getting the message about the reasons behind major organisational decisions. Below the senior management level, the message dwindles further to (53%) of middle managers and 40% of first-line supervisors understanding reasons behind major organisational change.

The forwarding and cascading of information does not work as consistent communication around the change will be necessary at all levels of the organisation using a variety of communication pathways and vehicles. As a trusted advisor it is important to encourage executives to lead by example in both their messaging and communication of the change agenda.

Only 25% of Change Management Initiatives Are Successful over the Long Term

Maintaining The Change

Many leaders and managers underestimate the length of time required by a change cycle. It is paramount that as the change effort reaches its completion that leaders of the change recognise that the process does not end there. The role of a Senior Advisor will be to guide them to the idea that work must be undertaken to maintain the change over time. Maintaining change does not mean that an executive must own the initiative forever, just that they take the necessary steps to ensure that change has a lasting impact by integrating the change into the corporate culture and measuring the benefits and highlighting areas for future improvements.

The outside unbiased view is that a Change Management Lead is crucial to the success of a change management program.

This article provides food for thought rather than counsel specifically designed to meet the needs of your organisation or situation. Please use it mindfully.

October 18, 2015July 1, 2022

29 Awesome Quotes on Risk Management

If you treat risk management as a part-time job, you might soon find yourself looking for one ’- Deloitte white paper (Putting Risk in the Comfort Zone)
I have learned that nothing is certain except for the need to have strong risk management, a lot of cash, the willingness to invest even when the future is unclear, and great people ’- Jeffrey R. Immelt
Thoughtfully assessing and addressing enterprise risk and placing a high value on corporate transparency can protect the one thing we cannot afford to lose trust ’- Dale E. Jones, vice chairman and partner with Heidrick & Struggles
We have no future because our present is to volatile. Will only have risk management ’- William Gibson
Risk management is a culture, not a cult. It only works if everyone lives it, not if its practiced by a few high priests ’- Tom Wilson
I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in financial history ’- Niall Ferguson
There is no doubt that Formula 1 has the best risk management of any sport and any industry in the world ’- Jackie Stewart
Stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders’ risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates ’- Ben Bernanke
If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesnt matter what business you’re in, it’s a risky business ’- Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn
Adventure without risk is Disneyland ’- Douglas Coupland
Risk and time are opposite sides of the same coin, for if there were no tomorrow there would be no risk. Time transforms risk, and the nature of risk is shaped by the time horizon: the future is the playing field ’- Peter Bernstein, Against the Gods
As population susceptibilities are better understood, we will be in a better position than we are in today to make informed decisions about risk management ’- Samuel Wilson
Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash ’- General George Patton
All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger, but calculating risk and acting decisively ’- Niccolo Machiavelli
Total enterprise risk management is critical, but implementing it is both expensive and easier said than done. Even the most sophisticated financial institutions are still basically silo risk managers ’- Danny Klinefelter, Professor and Extension Economist with Texas AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M University
Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make ’- Sarah Ban
The question of whether or to what extent human activities are causing global warming is not a matter of ideology, let alone of belief. The issue is simply one of risk management ’- Malcolm Turnbull
Business people need to understand the psychology of risk more than the mathematics of risk ’- Paul Gibbons,
Risk comes from not knowing what your doing ’-Warren Buffett
You have to take risks. You will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen ’- Paulo Coelho
Risk is a function of how poorly a strategy will perform if the ‘wrong’ scenario occurs ’- Michael Porter, Competitive Advantage
Risk management should be an enterprisewide exercise and engrained in the business culture of the organisation ’- OSFI Superintendent Julie Dickson, June 1, 2011 (courtesy Ethidex)
Risk is our business ’- Oswald GrÃƒ¼bel, CEO at UBS
When our leaders accept the status quo, we run the risk of disaster ’- Max Bazerman from “Predictable Surprises”
The concept of ‘inherent risk’ is impossible to measure or even define. The idea of looking at risk absent all hard controls, soft controls, or mitigations, provides little or no useful information in most cases ’- Todd Perkins (from Journal of Applied Corporate Finance – volume 19 number 4)
It’s important to take risks but it’s idiotic to take them blindly ’- Terry Levine
Fail to identify the strategic risks and you fail as a business, no matter how well you manage your operational and project risks ’- Keith Baxter
Business as usual is business at risk ’- Deloitte white paper
Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks ’- Wikipedia

October 10, 2015July 1, 2022

Transformation House: Former Granada Cinema, 58 St Johns Hill

Off-site manufacture of housing is not without its opponents, particularly in the traditional masonry sector who lobby hard for a site based approach which is low in capitalisation and highly responsive to the changes in economic circumstances. Prefabrication, they argue, is given unfair prominence through government support and is not the answer to the typical homeowner’s desired property. More precisely they argue that prefabricated homes are lightweight and therefore lack solidity and thermal mass and are unproven in their durability.

Transformation House: Former Granada Cinema, 58 St Johns Hill

The Grade II Star Listed Conference Centre formally the Granada Cinema has been sympathetically refurbished to portray the splendour and stunning architectural features of the original building.

Site history: Former Granada Cinema
Architect: Assael
Site area: 0.25
Gross internal area: 8,830
Number of dwellings: 59
Density: 236
Plot ratio: 1:3.5
Construction value: 15,000,000

Many attempts were made to revive this Grade II* listed building, which was on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register. It has been vacant since 1997. All previous proposals included intrusive modifications to the magnificent listed interior.

This final proposal by Assael was based on the premise that it should allow for new construction without affecting the internal spaces. The solution was to suspend lightweight prefabricated modular residential units from full arches over the auditorium. In so doing, the auditorium would remain untouched by intrusive columns required by other more traditional construction methods. The listed ceiling would also be retained. Materials used would be glass, timber and steel. In addition, the design would ensure a total physical and acoustic separation of the uses. Within the development all residential units would have access to a terrace or balcony. Winter gardens, sun rooms and terraces have been staggered to prevent overlooking, whilst the planting between arches acts as privacy screens.

The auditorium is 34, 600 sq ft, and has the capacity for 2,500 attendees. Transformation House is surrounded by a lively mix of bars, restaurants, cafes and shops on Battersea rise, St Johns Hill, Lavender Hill and Northcote Road.

October 5, 2015July 1, 2022

Can the Real Project Manager Please Stand Up?

The Greatest Christian Actors Arenâ€™t Necessarily the Ones We See on TV

September 30, 2015July 1, 2022

The Golden Gate City’s out-of-control Housing Market: San Francisco Shack Just Sold for $1.2 million

The listed property at 16 De Long Street in San Francisco that sold for $1.2 million. Courtesy of Vanguard Properties

Long Way from Home: The Housing Crisis Lingers On “Distinguished home in need of work” as listed with Vanguard Properties “Housing Special.” However, is this property a rich man’s dream or worst nightmare?

With rotting wooden shingles, peeling paint and boarded-up windows, this 1906 single-story home need’s a lot of work. But the price is what had people talking. The asking price was $350,000, for 2 bedrooms, one bath, and a mere 765 square feet, about the size of a hotel suite.

The Golden Gate City’s out-of-control Housing Market

Located at 16 De Long Street in the more affordable Outer Mission district, the house price reflects the out-of-control real estate market in San Francisco. Since 2012, the city has seen a 103% increase in housing prices. The average apartment in the city rents for $3,500 a month, and the median housing price reached an all-time high of $1.2 million and it’s expected to climb another 5.2% in the year ahead, according to Zillow. Manhattan rents in August, by comparison, topped $3,460, according to StreetEasy, a New York real-estate research firm that’s part of the Zillow Group Z, -2.95% .

The San Francisco Real-estate Market Is Probably the Hottest Market in the U.S Right Now

Not surprisingly, given the state of the actual building, the home’s value isn’t in the structure but in the land that it sits on.

Thinking of Moving to San Francisco to Make It Big in the Tech Industry

With the influx of tech workers driving up the housing market, along with a strain on the supply of houses to meet demand, it is understandable to brokers in San Francisco why prices seem so unrealistic.

$1.2 Million Is What It Costs to Buy a Shack in San Francisco, Literally

The home is an earthquake shack. These tiny homes were built after the 1906 earthquake to house people who lost their residences. Many still remain around the city and have been restored, updated and refurbished.

According to a report from Curbed San Francisco, the house had rats, black widows, mold, and hundreds of bottles of urine inside it when it went up for sale and was subsequently sold for $1.52 million.

The tiny home backs on to the eight-lane 280 freeway and a Bay Area Rapid Transit, or rail line that begins running at 5 a.m. and doesn’t stop until nearly 2.a.m.

On the flip side biking it to the local station only takes eight minutes and getting on to the freeway isn’t difficult either, if you want to get out of town or into the city by car. Three golf clubs are also nearby. And, for those late-night snacks, a convenience store stands just a few steps away at the corner of De Long and San Jose Avenue.

So maybe it wasn’t such a bad deal, after all? or is it a sign of how crazy the San Francisco real estate market has become?

Michael Lewis, writing for The New Republic, describes the negative effect of wealth on the moral behavior of wealthy people. He cites studies in which wealthy people, again and again, demonstrate a sense of entitlement and disregard for justice.

“As the recession lifted, poor and middle class Americans dug deeper into their wallets to give to charity, even though they were earning less. At the same time, according to a newChronicle analysis of tax data, wealthy Americans earned more, but the portion of the income they gave to charity declined.”

So rich people, statistically speaking, demonstrate disregard for their fellow citizens and the laws of the land. None of this should come as a surprise for Christians. Jesus warned of the dangers of wealth (Matthew 13:22) and of course Paul warns in 1Timothy, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” And yet solving the problem of extreme wealth in America is not so easy as spouting Bible verses. And for wealthy Christians, the solution to the problems of extreme wealth comes from entrusting that wealth to the Lord to the benefit of all.

September 26, 2015July 1, 2022

The Broadway Estate

Broadway Estate, Tilbury - Developer: New Islington and Hackney Housing Association - Architect: Sergison Bates Architects - Contractor: Rooff Ltd

Does factory-built housing imply dull arrays of repetitive forms and facades?

If the business argument for prefabricated homes requires large amounts of repetition, the argument for social success relies on the ability of designers and planners to find ways of creating an appropriate sense of place. The articulation of raw building elements to produce good spaces for living and bringing these units together into forms which have amenity and scale is vital. Building facades can also have a major impact on the urban context. With so many different types of cladding now available the designer has the potential to create a unique identity for a building rather than merely mimic the neighbours.

The Broadway Estate comprises just under 500 primarily, Council owned homes in Tilbury, Thurrock, within the Thames Gateway area.

The estate comprises a majority of two storey, flat roofed buildings forming terraces dating from the 1960s. This development of ten one-and two-bed flats on Tilbury’s Broadway Estate, as an assisted selfbuild scheme, focused on nurturing sustainable social capital. The intention behind the design was to develop a building and apartment typology which would appeal to young people and would not attempt to replicate the predominant terrace typology. During construction young people were given the opportunity to work on the site, learning skills alongside professional contractors. The three that completed the programme were allocated reduced rent accommodation in return.

Developer: New Islington

Architect: Sergison Bates Architects

Contractor: Rooff Ltd

September 25, 2015July 1, 2022