The Easy Way?
Is the easy way always the best way? Or might we be called to something more than what we inherited from our families?
Like Parent, Like Child
The most powerful influence on a couple is their family of origin. Good or bad, our experiences in our childhood prepared us for marriage. The young couple sitting opposite us had been married only a few years. They were experiencing some health challenges, but this is not what brought them to us; they were locked in a perpetual low-grade argument that never seemed to end. They were so ‘wired’, almost every ...
When History Repeats, Choose Freedom
We remember sitting with a young couple who were locked in combat. She was prone to reactive outbursts and he was mystified as to what he was doing to trigger it. As we probed her about her family of origin, the penny dropped: she was repeating a relationship pattern that she had established with her mother. With this new insight, the couple was able to identify her conflict preconditions which equipped ...
Homeschooling – the Challenges & the Benefits
Consider the benefits of homeschooling your children. The challenges are worth the effort to raise independent thinkers of solid faith and good character, with a firm foundation. I know a lot of people baulk at the prospect of homeschooling their kids. Visualising the idea is hampered by what looks like a monumental mountain of details. I won’t lie. Having homeschooled for 12 years, the sheer size of the task is daunting. ...
YES Day — A Family Comedy With a Message for All
“Yes Day — you have to see it, Warwick,” he said with unbridled enthusiasm. “It is a great family movie that every family should watch!” His strong recommendation really caught my interest. For one thing, he is married but has no children. Secondly, my friend is a very switched-on, media-savvy guy, who is passionate in his support of fathers and families. Yes Day, the movie, is based on a bestselling ...
What is a Dad? No Pain, No Gain
What is a Dad? The poem below says it all: A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up, brushes you off, and lets you try again. A dad is someone who wants to keep you from making mistakes but instead lets you find your own way, even though his heart breaks in silence when you get hurt. A dad is someone who ...
Disciplining Your Children — A Dad’s Cry for Help
Some time ago, I was busy minding my own business in my office, when I heard my wife talking in the next office to a stranger. I opened my door to shake hands with Bill, who was inspecting our fire services in our office on behalf of the landlord. Bill, realising he was in the offices of Dads4Kids, started to ply me with questions about parenting. He asked, “How should I ...
Grace-Based Parenting For Dads
The single hardest thing for any Dad is trying to get the balance right between love and discipline for his children. I often use the expression ‘grace and truth’. Grace is really another name for love. The challenge becomes more difficult the more children you have, and I think especially the more boys you have. Boys seem to find your limit and then take you past it. Boys, for wont of ...
Family Vision
There is a saying, “without a vision, people perish”. In my experience, this is true. Many times, people don’t perish on the outside, but they do perish on the inside. It was Thoreau who said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them”! We all need to have a vision to avoid perishing in some way or other. We all need ...
Fathers & Families – The Priority of Adventure
Richard Branson said, “If happiness is the goal – and it should be, then adventures should be top priority.” It is the priority of adventure that makes being out in the bush with a bunch of dads and their kids really exhilarating. Wollondilly River Station, the place for our annual Dads4kids Bush Camp, is set in a deep valley not too far from the famous Wombeyan Caves in the Southern Highlands ...
