Let me begin this article by saying to you that the journey that healed my wounded heart has only ever happened once to me, and I believe it was for a very specific reason. I am by no means a spiritual visionary! The Healing of A Wounded Heart As I mentioned in my introduction, the first big cracks in my façade of perfection occurred with the birth of my second child. I ...

Men are killing themselves in record numbers, yet we refuse to talk about it. Men achieve all that they are told will satisfy them, and yet they can not see enough joy and hope in life to keep going. It is time to speak up and stop this silent epidemic of death against men and their families. 13 months ago I wrote a post on this website about dads who kill ...

Cherish is a seven letter word and full of meaning. My first thought of the word is the way the NRL Grand Final winning team held onto the winners’ trophy, a trophy highly treasured by one and all. Perhaps the real meaning of the word cherish happened at the same event when Brian To’o put love into action. News.com.au puts us in the picture. Moments after the final siren, To’o found ...

What’s the Difference Between Respect and Cherishment? While everyone experiences love uniquely, some clear gender patterns have emerged through relationship research. In one study, when given the option between the negative choices of being ‘alone and unloved in all the world’ or ‘inadequate and disrespected by everyone’, 74% of men preferred being alone and unloved, compared to only a minority of women.* Further enquiry suggests that this gender pattern is relevant ...

The best marriage advice I have ever received came from an 80-year-old, Scottish widow. Sitting beside her a few weeks before my wedding she told me, “The only marriage advice I’ll give you is this: cherish.” The word didn’t come with any commentary, and I would spend the next 23 years unpacking its meaning and value. My wife and I married young. We even recited vows that included the words, “to ...

Schooling from home may look like homeschooling, but the similarities are only superficial. At a fundamental level, the two are drastically different. Criticising current trends can be like walking into a minefield without a map. One size doesn’t fit all. Despite the assertions of blanket “equality” and blurred distinctions, some distinctions do matter. Everyone is of equal value, but not everyone, nor everything is equal.  For instance, beliefs may align with facts, ...

Although we all pursue it in different ways, friendship is a natural part of human life. It is critical that parents pray for their children to gain quality lifelong friends. When it comes to friendships I tend to be a drifter. I don’t actually have a best friend. My best friend is Jacob. I do have close relationships with friends that if there was ever a family emergency or a Birthday ...

What do the first man to run a sub-4 minute mile and an 85-year-old man who hit rock bottom following a family tragedy have in common? Answer: they both opened the door for future generations to walk through, and left for themselves a lasting life purpose. Read on and listen to their story in this latest blogpost & podcast. Do you wonder if your life will have a lasting life purpose? ...

When extreme perfectionism becomes embroiled in a family context, it invariably leads to deep discontent. This is part 1 in a series on perfectionism and how to find peace in the midst of it. When you get right down to it, most perfectionists are searching for peace. Basically, we want to be able to look around at the world we’ve created and proclaim, like our Creator, “Everything is very good” and so ...

Did you know that you can mess up most things about being a dad to your daughter and yet still raise a successful young woman? You just need to answer one question for her. In this post, Guy explains what that is and how you can answer it. Being a dad can be complicated.  Anyone who is a dad knows this well. I remember well the months and even years leading ...

Orlando Battista said, “The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.” Orlando Battista is right. Our children don’t want things, they want us.  The team at our friends at the Fathering Centre in Kansas City USA had this to say in an article titled, “Kids Say THIS Is the Best Way to Be a Better Dad”. “As is often the case, ...

Other than headlining Hollywood blockbusters, Denzel Washington is also a sharp, and gifted public speaker. Staying true to the latter, Washington delivered a 30min address during this year’s Better Man event in Orlando, Florida.   The John Wayne Formula In a sit-down interview with the Reverend A. R Bernard, Washington talked about the meaning of manhood in today’s world, and how faith takes centre stage in his life. Addressing the Better Man ...

A few months ago, our young Australian Shepherd went to doggie boot camp. Over five weeks she was trained by professional dog-handlers to walk calmly, socialise nicely and keep her focus under the pressure of distractions.   Video footage taken by the trainers proved she was capable. What really remained was the question: can her owners be similarly trained?  When the time came to do the pickup, the trainer talked about ‘trigger stacking’. This is the idea that stresses on the ...

Have you ever dreamed a dream, had all the steps fall into place and suddenly you’re living your dream and it’s nothing like how you imagined it? Welcome to Parenthood We dream of the baby, but have no idea how that little person will change the rest of our lives. We then have that baby who turns our dream of becoming a mum into a frumpy, financially stretched, sleep-deprived banshee who just ...

Do you have the right skills to resolve the conflicts in your life? In this podcast episode, Brian Noble shares a simple but powerful 4-step process to resolving conflicts. Resolving Conflict Podcast What do you do when you find yourself in conflict with someone, either personally or within or part of an organisation? How do you resolve conflict properly so that it doesn’t come up again? And can I resolve conflict ...

I honestly believe that a lot of the struggles with our children have to do with the pressure we put on ourselves. We have set the bar so high that we hate ourselves if we don’t get it ALL done today.

Are you skilled at resolving conflict where there are multiple personalities and vested interests? Real men need to be peacemakers. Listen in episode 11 to expert Brian Noble on how to resolve conflict in a group setting. Resolving Conflict In A Group Setting Do you have the skills to resolve conflict at work, in your church, or in committees or other groups? How can you stop tension from becoming outright conflict? ...

According to an old military saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” It is the same for a father with a sick child.   To explain I thought I would share this amazing story of a Russian father Valery Seryakov who had his own foxhole experience at the height of Communist rule.   Valery writes in his own words:  “I joined the Communist Party according to my convictions, not for appearances’ sake or ...

Gardening can be great fun, but it can also be a time to build into the life of your family. The family that gardens together — developing and cultivating God’s creation — grows together. Me and Gardening Horticulture isn’t a strength of mine. Given the choice, I’d side with Bear Grylls over Sir David Attenborough; watch technology, and war history documentaries, over a Monty Don walk through French provincial gardens.  (Nothing ...

In October a few years ago, the Australian bishops called the entire Catholic community to pray for marriage and family. The initiative was joined by around thirty other Christian churches making it the largest ever prayer campaign in the nation. It raises the question: does prayer really make a difference? Cynics might say that a prayer campaign is just a badly disguised way of making a value statement. It’s certainly true ...