Laughter, Sex, Vegetables and Fish — 10 Secrets of Long-Living People is definitely a book title that is going to grab your attention. Many years ago, I was standing in a bookshop in Tasmania, trying to find my credit card so that I could invest in a book on how to live longer. It was a long-life investment! Dr John Tickell is a medical doctor, international speaker, bestselling author, and television ...

Netflix’s recent release, "The Adam Project" (2022), blends the issues surrounding family, identity and morality with swashbuckling fight scenes and the wondrous concept of time travel to produce a (mostly) family-friendly film that is a paean to fatherhood, love and self-sacrifice.

Hostile Territory, the latest offering from actor, director, and writer Brian Presley, has all the right dads-for-kids ingredients. Set in Missouri in the mid-1860s, the 2022 film is an award-worthy western with a crisp contemporary edge. The well-thought-out script follows battle-hardened Union army Captain Jack Calgrove, who, at war’s end, finds his kids gone and his wife dead. As he was presumed KIA, Calgrove’s children were dispatched by the US Army ...

Recently, I was able to catch the 2021 comedy-drama "Fatherhood", starring the irrepressible Kevin Hart of "Jumanji" fame. The film centres on single dad Matt Logelin, left alone with his baby daughter Maddy after Matt’s wife Liz unexpectedly dies following childbirth. It is based on a true story

Top Gun: Maverick is smashing box offices, and it’s easy to understand why. The film is spectacularly outpacing its weak-because-they’re-woke counterparts, because the film’s unapologetic dad themes resonate. Alongside the gutsy F-18 camera shots, audiences are in love with the Tom Cruise/Joseph Kosinski sequel because its father-son backstory hits home. Even the, “it’s all flag-waving, MAGA propagandist tripe” critics are applauding the sequel for keeping to the consistency of the first film’s ...

“Father Stu” is not a movie for the fainthearted, but with the true story of a man who overcame his trauma and his failures to become a solid spiritual father, it has an inspiring message for us all. I go to movie theatres these days in fear and trembling. I just don’t know if I am going to like what I see. Sometimes it is like buying a ticket in a ...

A lovely video to share as we celebrate mums this Mother’s Day weekend. Any mother will tell you that being a mum is a full-time job. And sometimes, the job can really test you. Some feel as though they have no patience left, or that they’re somehow failing as a parent. But what’s the other side of the story? Originally published at SmartLoving.

This weekend, sit down with your family and enjoy the moving true story of a grieving widower and dad rebuilding his family while putting a whole zoo back together. If you’ve seen the 2012 Matt Damon movie, you know the basic narrative. We Bought a Zoo is the story of a widower and father of two, who, along with his family, buys a dilapidated zoo. He then embarks on the financially ...

Putting aside your ego and having the humility to seek advice or help, or learn more from others, is essential in maturing as a father and helping your family as a whole. Chris Gardner credits the power of being teachable for raising him and his son out of homelessness. The single dad at the centre of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness wasn’t always a fan of asking questions. Retrospectively, Gardner ...

Irrespective of genre, and the anti-John Wayne ideology erasing any semblance of authentic masculinity from Hollywood, there have been some serious wins for dads in the father-son category over the years. These films buck the “woke” trend, and carry audiences beyond sloppy stereotypes to a truer representation of dads who are for their sons, and others. Men who raise up their sons. Men who fight for, and alongside their sons, not ...

The movie Belfast is a powerful family movie brimming with joy and hope in the middle of the most difficult and tenuous of situations. This indie film received seven nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This is a staggering achievement for an indie film. I honestly thought it could win Best Picture. The bookies had it as the early favourite, but in the end it was pipped at ...

Seeing your child grow up and get married is bittersweet, but embrace the changing seasons as part of being a parent. Being the father of the bride is an honour, a momentous occasion, a fresh opportunity to love. The first Father of the Bride movie was shot in 1950. The second Father of the Bride movie with Steve Martin starring as the father was shot in 1991. Don’t worry, there will ...

There are moments when one can feel totally overwhelmed by the stresses of parenting, but take a deep breath — these moments pass. When I feel overwhelmed by my family and life in general, I like to watch a movie that reminds me I much prefer my crazy than someone else’s. I love watching Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. I even like watching Cheaper by the ...

It can be a habit to push oneself to the limit, but consciously carving time out of paid work, housework and childcare to rest, tend to yourself and others, and listen to God’s soft prompting will keep you happier and at peace amidst the busyness of life. Life has been crazy busy since Phoebe was born. At the beginning of this year, I was able to source some writing work which ...

Every New Year is a fresh opportunity to start anew. Take this chance to assess your life and implement achievable steps to practise good habits and prioritise what matters most. We each have only so many years on this earth — make this year a great one! Only six more sleeps and we all enter the New Year together. How exciting! A New Year always brings new opportunities. Hundreds of millions ...

More than just a movie, The Longest Day captures for us many life lessons that we would do well to take note of still today. In this post, Guy shares 7 as he watches the D-Day film with his family. Life Lessons from D-Day As I write this, I am sitting with my father-in-law, 3 of my kids and my Irish Setter watching the war classic, ‘The Longest Day’.  It is, ...

The life story of Professor Gregory W. Slayton is a story that is hard to believe. It is the story of how rejection turned into acceptance and led to the creation of a legacy that still looks impossible. You will be inspired and encouraged, guaranteed. Do you know how to be a better dad today? Do you have the 10-tool toolkit needed to make it happen? You can begin to discover ...

Margin is a term entrenched in the financial world. Margin trading. Stock margin. Profit margin — the examples are vast. In situ, it means the sum total between a ‘product or service’s selling price and the cost of production’. In practice, margin is a buffer.   In other words, margin is whatever fills the gap between success and ruin. Margin is what’s left over after both variable and invariable costs have been ...

Listen to author Annette Spurr’s interview with Focus on the Family Australia here. ‘While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.’ ~ Angela Schwindt Nothing can truly prepare you for parenthood. The tears and tantrums, toilet training, sleepless nights, the worry that you’re not doing it right, or the indescribable love that changes everything. As soon as I found out ...

When you are faced with the failure of much of what you believed about life and yourself, where do you turn? Can you reset your life? How do you begin? What do you do when the way you were committed to living has not worked out, and you come to a point of realising it never will? When your life has suddenly changed — perhaps a midlife crisis, career change, health ...