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A Group Joined Together For a Common Goal or Purpose · Arise Women of God

• 0:00
  Have you ever wondered what you call it when people drop their individual agendas and unite for something bigger than themselves?
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  Some call it a coalition or a team.
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  But in the kingdom of God, we call it being unified in the body of Christ.
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  Today, we are answering the question, what does it mean to be a group joined together for a common goal or purpose?
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  And by the end of today's episode, you will understand the synergy principle, how one plus one doesn't equal two, it equals 10.
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  And we're going to help you solve the pain of feeling lonely by showing you how to find your tribe.
• 0:44
  We're moving from me centered goals to we centered missions.
• 0:50
  Stay tuned.
• 0:52
  Ordinary women, Extraordinary faith.
• 0:56
  When God calls, we say yes.
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  The Arise Women of God Podcast.
• 1:01
  Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
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  I'm your host, Tamara K.
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  Anderson.
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  And joining me today is Amy Johnson of our Women warriors of Light Advisory Board.
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  And today we're breaking down the anatomy of a group on a mission.
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  First, we're going to define the word synergy and why God designed us to need each other's gifts.
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  Second, we're going to pull in a Bible story and see what we can learn about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are the ultimate accountability role models.
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  Third, we're going to discuss the loaves and fishes effect and how group participation is the secret ingredient for a miracle.
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  But first, let's kick it off with synergy, how one plus one can really equal 10.
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  The technical term for a group joined together in a purpose is a collective, but I think a better term is synergy.
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  It's the idea that our combined efforts are exponentially greater than our individual parts.
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  When you try to set a goal in a vacuum, you only have your own energy to draw from.
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  But when you join a group, you're plugged into a power grid.
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  Doesn't that sound so much better?
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  Now Amy's going to share with us a powerful example of synergy and how a group working together can almost accomplish the impossible.
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  The last few weeks of my dad's life, well, the last year, really, he has been having a hard time walking.
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  But the last couple weeks, there was no way he was going up or down stairs, let alone a big bunch of stairs.
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  And my mom had her 80th birthday.
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  So we all gathered, and my brother, it was at his house, and he said, I.
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  I think we should do it downstairs in the basement, the gathering.
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  And my.
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  My sisters and my mom and I were all like, hmm, how are you going to get dad down those stairs, but the boys were pretty determined.
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  So I've got one on one side holding under an arm, and one on the other side holding under the arm, and then one in front of him.
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  And my dad's, like, hanging on to his neck, right?
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  And then the doctor is at the back holding onto his belt loop, right?
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  And they're helping him walk down this flight of stairs to the basement.
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  And at a last moment, my sister, I believe, inspired, got in front of them and took a picture.
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  And that's how I look at me with Jesus.
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  I feel like I can't walk downstairs by myself.
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  I can't take a step forward by myself.
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  And he's going to put an angel here, an angel here, an angel here, an angel here.
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  And then some angels are recording it in heaven.
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  And then the.
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  The really sweet thing about the photo is every single man in that photo is smiling and laughing.
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  And that's how I want to be remembered, is that even if I'm being literally carried by angels wherever I need to go next, that I'm doing it laughing and smiling.
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  So I think it's really important to remember that even though the goal is hard, it's all good because you aren't strong enough, but God's going to send the help.
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  That image of being carried is exactly what we need for a tribe.
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  You might be the one needing to be carried today, or you might be someone holding up an arm or a leg.
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  Either way, the goal is achieved as a group.
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  I love the story of Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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  In the Old Testament, they didn't survive simply because they were lucky.
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  They survived because they stood together as a group.
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  And he also had accountability partners in that, you know, the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that they were in that with him as well.
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  And so they could stand together.
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  And there is strength in numbers.
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  And that's another amazing hack with setting goals and holding yourself accountable is having people who are of the same mind and they're working on the same thing, despite being in a challenging situation because they were being held captive.
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  You know, so good things can come from hard situations.
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  We learn a lot about ourselves when we stand together.
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  The adversary can't stop our progress or perhaps damn our progress as easily.
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  But there's also a second miracle that happens when you work in a group, the multiplication of resources.
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  Let's look at the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
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  He didn't just manifest food.
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  He started by asking the group what was available.
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  Your purpose is achieved so much faster when you stop trying to provide the whole feast by yourself.
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  I love that part of this story involves other people.
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  There was this big goal to feed these hungry people before they went home, after listening to Jesus speak and he says, go and find out what we have to start with.
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  So he's involving others in a search.
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  Could he have snapped his fingers and had it done?
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  Absolutely.
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  But sometimes when you're working with a group of people, involving them in the process of achieving a goal has miracles in those little parts as well.
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  Think of the boy who shared his food and the person who shared their loaves.
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  They were a part of the miracle and maybe they needed to see what God could do with the little that they had to share.
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  Right.
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  But also think of the faith of the disciples.
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  They were like, what is he doing?
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  They could gather baskets.
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  How many?
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  You know, and.
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  And so they went out and gathered baskets.
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  There were people who got involved who had baskets as well, and they shared their empty baskets.
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  Great.
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  And so sometimes when we want to achieve a goal, I think one of the lessons from this story is involving different people.
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  And what they have to contribute might not be something big, but it will be a contribution that is needed.
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  Right.
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  And so involving people in our goal setting can often help us move forward towards something bigger than we would have imagined on our own.
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  A group joined together for a common goal isn't just a definition.
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  It is a survival strategy.
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  You were never meant to carry your load or your cross alone.
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  Whether you need a 6:45am friend like me to go with you on your morning walk or a mentor to guide you, your mission requires a team.
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  If you're ready to find your group and stop fighting the inner and outer demons by yourself, go download our free A Guide to Goal Setting for Christian Women.
• 7:57
  It features the sacred brainstorm where you can ask God to help guide you to find the people to help you along your path.
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  I know that works because when I was writing a book and I asked God to help me find people to help edit, he led me to an amazing author who was teaching a class all about this and connected
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  me with so many resources I used.
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  Over the next few years as I wrote and published my book, it helped me feel like I wasn't doing it all by myself.
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  And if you want to join a literal group of women warriors who are all moving forward towards the same goal of light and hope, join our Women Warriors Accountability Group.
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  We are waiting for you with empty baskets to see how God will multiply you and us as we work together for good.
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  Just this morning, one of the ladies in our accountability group asked if any of us knew any illustrators for children's books, and believe it or not, she got three suggestions just like that.
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  The links for both are free download and our accountability group are in the description below.
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  So my friends, go find your group today and until next time May you arise your do it God's way, God strong.