According to recent news, four out of every ten children in our culture live in homes without their
. Close to half of our children are being raised by single parents or find themselves part of a “blended” family. The so-called nuclear family consisting of two parents and their children is no longer the norm.
Single parents face many challenges. Single parents must accomplish on their own what often is a challenge for two parents. Without a partner, however, they need emotional support. Some single parents find themselves deep in debt and often face financial hardship. Some no longer feel accepted by former friends because their partner is gone.
Today, single parents need the help of the Christian community. In the Old Testament, God made provisions for widows and orphans. James calls us to put our faith into practice by reaching out to them. Had James been writing today, he would have included single parents and their children too. You and I may need to step in and help. Look around in your church for such needs and help. You can help care for young children, accept single-parent families into fellowship groups, and provide financial assistance. In the church, everyone should be accepted and included.
Religion that … [is] pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. (James 1:27).
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, help us as members of your church to reach out to all who stand alone as they raise their children, Father give us all the grace to accept and learn from each other. In Jesus, Amen.
During these unprecedented times we have to be diligent to make time every day, throughout the day, to stop and pray and call on Him. God promises so many things to those who call on Him. He is always listening, He is always ready to receive us when we come to Him. The question is, how often are you calling on Him? A lot of times people think, “Oh I need to pray about that.” But then they get busy going about their day and distracted with life. But thinking about praying isn’t the same as actually praying. Knowing that you need to pray isn’t the same as praying.
Scripture tells us there is power in agreement. When two or more come together in His Name, He is there to bless. One way to develop a habit of praying is to have a prayer partner, or prayer warriors, friends who you agree to connect with and pray together. It doesn’t have to be long or formal. If you don’t have a prayer partner, let Jesus be your prayer partner! Talk to Him throughout the day, carve out time each day to develop a habit of prayer!
Today, start formulating your prayer habit! Open your calendar/diary right now and make an appointment with God. Schedule a daily prayer appointment in your calendar for the next few weeks. Then, choose a prayer partner or friends to hold yourself accountable and agree with. Make a plan of what you will do and your expectations and get started. Please give yourself grace if you miss a day, but then get back on track and keep going. Prayer will be the best habit you ever form!
“To You, O LORD, I called, and to the Lord I made supplication.” (Psalm 30:8, NASB)
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, thank You for answering my half-hearted prayers. Thank You for Your promises and blessings, and the awesome benefits for those who are faithful in prayer. God, help me to be faithful, help me to be diligent to keep You first in everything I do. Father, teach me to have deeper conversations with You. Send me praying faithful people to agree and connect with, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
Have you ever wondered how amazing it is that God can create so many people in the world, and give us all individual plans and purposes, then set up a plan for us to work together for His purpose to build the body of Christ. We all have a part to play.
Scripture puts it this way: some of us plant seeds, some water, and some bring in the harvest. No matter what role each of us have, when we work together in unity and not in uniformity, we are honouring God. It pleases Him when we partner with one another to share the good news of the Gospel.
Today, you have an important part in the body of Christ. Whether you minister in the pulpit or on the street corner, or whether you sow seed so that others can go, you are important. Don’t ever underestimate the part you play, because together we are building God’s kingdom.
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? …” (Romans 10:14—15, NLT)
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, I humbly come to You today. Father, thank You for giving me a part to play in building Your Kingdom. God, I dedicate back to You all the resources You have given me. Please Almighty God, use me for Your glory, in Christ’s Name! Amen.
To the new Christian, sensitivity is high. He is quick to see the blessings God sends his way. He is thankful and appreciative. But to the seasoned believer who has weathered a lot of storms, the child-like eye and wonder may be no longer. At times dullness sets in and the heart no longer anticipates God’s blessing. Often, delightful things are placed before him. But the heart has gotten too weighed down. It can’t be uplifted.
If you are in this very situation, then you’re missing out. May the following truths awaken you today:
Children are a blessing.
You are in the season of motherhood. Your kids are greatly dependent on you. They can be taxing. They can be energy-zapping creatures. But be reminded that they are God’s blessings to you. 2016 statistics show that US women aged 25 to 29 were 53% childless while those aged 30-34 were 30% childless. Think about it. Not all women will get pregnant. A great number will be biologically childless in their lifetime. Pregnancy and childbirth are a blessing.Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” So be patient in this season and enjoy the significance of guiding someone from infancy to adulthood. It is a blessed privilege. It is a special kind of ministry God has allowed you to partner with Him in.
Your Job is a blessing.
Tallies show that the rate of unemployment in Australia was 5.8% in 2017. In the United Kingdom, it was 4.3%. It the United States it was 8.1% Not everyone has a job. It may not be interesting. It may not pay as much as you want it to. But it’s yours nonetheless. You have a job. Enjoy the situation you are in. Realize that God is keeping you there for a purpose and when He desires to use you for His purposes somewhere else, something better will come along. Meanwhile, “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with your might.” (Ecc. 9:11).
Your partner is a blessing.
Not all marriages are in great shape. Some relationships need more work than others. Some marriages are irreparable. Some marriages still hold great promise. As a trusting child of God, be sensitive to ways you can improve the state of your relationship. God’s grace is capable of causing miracle after miracle. Seek right wisdom and counsel in assessing if continuing in a broken relationship is still fruitful for you. If it isn’t, step back and allow the Lord to heal you both individually. If it is workable, choose to love. Stay committed to your partner. Trust the Holy Spirit and yield to what He desires for you to personally change. Ecclesiastes 4 says,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Singleness is a blessing.
Whether married or single, God desires that we find satisfaction and fulfillment in Him and nobody else. The apostle Paul saw singleness as a great advantage in many ways. In 1 Corinthians 7, he says,
“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. Those who marry will face many troubles in this life. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.”
Enjoy singleness today for God is your maker and your husband. Enjoy your partner today for He is God’s lover, guide, and protector over you. Enjoy your children today for they are God’s opportunity for you to invest in another life and reap rewards that will keep multiplying long after you are gone.
The term ‘Modern Methods of Construction’ (MMC) embraces a range of technologies involving various forms of prefabrication and off-site assembly.
MMC is increasingly regarded as a realistic means of improving quality, reducing time spent on-site, improving on-site safety and addressing skills shortages in the construction of UK housing.
Bridge Crossing Modern Design
The variety of systems now available potentially allows the designer enough choice to sidestep problems deriving from constraints posed by the use of any one method. MMC systems, from closed-panel timber framed systems to bathroom pods are a palette from which designers can make choices. They are not necessarily stand-alone solutions that anticipate all the needs of an individual site and can be mixed and matched as appropriate.
These limitations are not obstacles to achieving the good design in MMC-based schemes, but may hinder the incorporation of more complex and innovative types of MMC from which greater overall benefits may be obtained which are considered under the following headings:
1. COST UNCERTAINTY
There is no doubt that, given products of comparable performance the key issue in purchases of MMC construction systems is the price. At present not enough is known about the potential costs of using volumetric and closed panel systems to enable confident specification at an early date. This inhibits designers from exploring the full potential of MMC systems. This is particularly true of the less repetitive, small, one-off scheme, where a smaller margin of benefits is gained from using MMC. The principal barrier to the uptake of MMC, therefore, seems to be the perception of cost uncertainty with respect to using more complex systems. Without doing substantial project-specific research, consultants and their clients simply do not know with enough degree of certainty how much the volumetric or closed panel systems are likely to cost, and what would be the savings to overall project costs produced by potential speed gains to offset against increased capital expenditure.
This is due to the complexity of assessing the ratio of cost of repetitive elements where pricing is relatively straightforward to the cost of adjusting elements or building in another method for the abnormal condition. Decisions to use innovative systems are likely to be made once designs are well progressed to enable teams to be more certain of costs. This can increase the potential for change or result in design compromise as the designer attempts to incorporate the specific limitations of a particular system in their design.
In an attempt to improve this situation, the MMC consultant and or clients could pull together a directory of MMC expanded to include cost comparison data. The huge range of variables involved inevitably makes this difficult, but a database of current construction cost information would be an invaluable resource.
Contemporary Building Facade
2. PLANNING PROCESS AND EARLY COMMITMENT TO A SYSTEM
The time it can take to obtain planning permission has obvious implications both for project cost but also, in some circumstances, for architectural design innovation.
Most of the more complex types of MMC have an impact on dimensioning, the choice of external finish and detailing may have some effect on the buildings mass. Therefore, the construction system should be chosen prior to a planning application to avoid abortive work, redesign or amendment, or even resubmission for planning permission.
However, developers whose money is at risk, frequently hold off deciding on the construction technique until the last practicable moment, in order to get any advantage from fluctuations in material or component pricing.
Given the potential for lengthy duration of planning applications, this means that there is little incentive to prepare initial designs for planning with a prior decision to incorporate MMC firmly embedded. In cases where the developer has a financial or business link with the supplier, this is less likely to be the case. As the majority of commercial or residential developments involve some kind of arrangement with a developer, agreement on construction systems is often left to the stage after planning.
3. TIME INVESTMENT
Another very significant factor is the time investment required at the early stages of projects. This is needed to develop the design when the project is still at risk. There is a direct relationship between the scale and complexity of MMC component and the amount of time required to develop a design at an early stage.
The introduction of advanced or complex MMC techniques into the design process is potentially costly to the design team. A significant amount of research is needed to explore alternative systems, to obtain verification of suppliers’credentials, investigate mortgage and insurance issues, visit previous sites, talk to system suppliers, obtain technical performance guidelines, understand junctions and interfaces, coordinate other consultants, obtain building control input and so on.
For a consultant, the only way of investing in this research is either through timely payment of increased fees by a visionary understanding client or through the anticipation of increased future productivity through repetition when a project is phased, or large enough, or likely to be followed by another similar project.
The potential of learning a system and then being able to repeat lessons learned efficiently is a powerful incentive for both client and consultant. By contrast, HTA’ s project at Basingstoke is an example of a phased project with a three to four-year duration allowed the design team to repeat various elements of the design, and the manufacturer to develop improved solutions to technical and supply problems.
HTA’ s project at Basingstoke
4. INSUFFICIENT COMMUNICATION
Improved dialogue at the outset of the project is vital if design quality is to be maximised. Constraints and opportunities implicit within a particular system are more easily incorporated into design if partners communicate pre-planning. Increased early communication can be fostered through improved long-term partnering relationships.
Clients should also partner with a range of suppliers and architects so that choice and flexibility is not restricted.
5. INEXPERIENCE
Generally, the inexperienced client or design team will have to do more research, with the result that there is likely to be significant design development without a specific system being incorporated.
This is a disincentive to using a more complex system involving a higher proportion of MMC, where early decision making and knowledge of a system’ s capabilities have a decisive influence on the nature of the architecture. However, encouraging the take up of MMC through the use of a dedicated funding mechanism may assist clients in finding time for research into suitable MMC techniques.
Dome Construction Berlin
6. SUPPLIER’S ROLE
Site capacity studies and early stage pre-planning design studies could be undertaken directly by system suppliers on behalf of clients, cutting out the usual procedure of commissioning design work by independent consultants.
7. ASSUMPTIONS
There are a number of assumptions that are generally held about certain types of MMC that may have been valid at one time but are no longer true today. There is a need for reliable and up to date information comparing system criteria, performance data, timescales, lead in times, capacity, construction time, sequencing issues, limitations, and benefits.
Therefore it would be helpful if a forum for discussion and experience exchange was set up.
8. DEMONSTRATING THE BENEFITS OF MMC
There is still a large amount of skepticism about the need to go very far down the line with MMC. This is reflected in the acceptance of the desirability of maintaining or indeed enhancing the pool of traditional craft skills throughout the UK.
A balanced view is that there is a demonstrable need for the wider use of MMC which is recognized by both industry and government. The best way for clients and the public generally to become more confident and knowledgeable about the quality of design achievable through MMC is to see it demonstrated.
9. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
There is no doubt that spreading the burden of investment through the life of a project helps to ensure a higher standard of specification and hence quality. In the Netherlands, a ‘ Green Financing’system has been developed by the Dutch government that provides favorable loan finance when certain sustainable standards are reached. In the UK, the Gallions HA has pioneered a study of this, based on a scheme in Thamesmead, ‘ the Ecopark project’.
Eco Park is an eco-friendly business park built on the False Bay coast. This business park is at the cutting-edge of sustainable design and offers a unique working environment in a secure, well-managed facility.
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.
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 Grübel, 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
