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Give thanks… in everything?
By Annette Spurr. Give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 8:13). Everything? Even the bad things? That seems completely unrealistic and unfair. That’s what I thought, anyway… Until a near tragedy changed everything. It started out like most nights at our place… frantically getting dinner ready while my boys played noisily around my feet. Phil had just stepped outside to light the barbeque when we heard an almighty ‘thud!’ I absently thought to myself ‘what on earth was that?’ Then Phil and I looked at each other and the horror in his...
read moreA Strategy to Boost Thankfulness
By Michelle Mitchell, author, speaker, educator and ambassador for Australia’s National Day of Thanks. It is not difficult to notice times when authentic gratitude is lacking in our homes. I have come to recognise that an indulgent life doesn’t make kids happy. The ‘Give Up’ strategy is a quick gratitude booster that any family can use when gratitude is lacking. It requires us to take something away from our children’s lives, until their appreciation for it increases again. Familiarity blindsides many of us. Sometimes imagining something is...
read moreHow does a place of slaughter become a sacred place?
Article by Wendy Rush. On 29 April 2015 two young Australians walked the final few steps from their jail cells to stand before their executioners. Singing praises to God, their hearts and minds were focused on the cross of Christ. Nine years earlier, in February 2006, these young men were convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia and sentenced to death by firing squad. While there were those who felt they deserved their fate, it was clear there were many more who hoped and prayed for a reprieve. Why did their execution matter to so many?...
read moreHands of the Carpenter
Article by Wendy Rush. Jesus was a carpenter. And I have always known that he spent many more years at his trade than he did working in ministry. But until now I have never paused to consider ‘why a carpenter?’ Why not a fisherman, a farmer, a builder, a viticulturist? It would clearly have been unworkable for him to be anchored to the land when he needed to step into the role of itinerant preacher. But is there some other significance in his choice of carpentry? The dictionary defines a carpenter as someone who builds and fixes wooden...
read moreWelcome to a Brave New World
By internet marketer and social media enthusiast Kaye Flack. Larry isn’t an internet junkie. He is tech-savvy though; he checks and sends email on his mobile phone, sends pictures of his kids’ football games online to his folks, sends an SMS to his wife about dinner arrangements, connects online to the florist and orders flowers; connects to Facebook and writes on his kid’s wall, watches the TV news and then arrives home. He feels connected with the people he loves and cares about. Larry goes to church on Sunday, and is on the worship...
read moreLetting go of busy
Article by Scott Berry and Kristen Johnston. How have you been lately? Keeping busy? Such a strange turn of phrase, isn’t it? Is busyness our goal? Our culture tends to link being busy with productivity and a sense of achievement, and in our search for meaning being busy is gratifying because we are doing something, earning something, working at something – but what for? It’s almost as if busyness has become a badge of honour for many of us – but it is to our own detriment. Over a thousand years ago Socrates warned that people should...
read moreHealing from deafness
Article by Deborah Robertson. All my life I’ve had audiologists tell me that the nerve in my left ear was dead – that I was deaf in my left ear. I was told that it shouldn’t be too much of an issue unless I became a singer in a band. Well, guess what I grew up to be?! It’s always caused me some anxiety and after a gig where the speakers were placed behind me and were blaring in my “good” ear, I began finding it more difficult to hear in social situations. I asked my pastor, along with the elders of St Matthew’s...
read morePutting your Mind to it…
Business coach and entrepreneur Manuel Karkafiris points out that we choose success by choosing to think positively. “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” — Henry Ford. Have you ever jumped out of bed and knocked your toe only to watch your day spiral downwards from that point with one frustrating event after another? We’ve all had those days but the good news is you have the power to change this course of events and it’s all in your mind. Our mind is a powerful organ and if we use it right,...
read moreJesus Ute in Race for Life
In town for the 2013 Clipsal 500, Wendy Rush spoke to Andrew ‘Fishtail’ Fisher about the Jesus branded V8 Ute that’s winning on and off the track. If you enjoy the sound (and feel) of a V8 engine at full throttle, no doubt you look forward each year to the first weekend in March in Adelaide when the Adelaide 500 (formerly Clipsal 500) again takes over the city. Racing identity Murray Walker described the Adelaide 500 as ‘the best touring car event in the world’ and in 2018 the race attracted over 273,500 people. In 2013, for the thirteenth...
read moreGod cares for the animals
Article by Deborah Robertson. My son and I have recently moved back to our old street in inner-city West Footscray, Melbourne. We had moved out to Werribee for four years to be nearer to my son’s school but we missed what, we eventually realised, was home. In our first year in Werribee, we had acquired a 7 kg, 8-year-old ginger cat called Catsman. My son had been yearning for a cat for years and I reluctantly caved in and bought him one, but what happened next took me by surprise. With his affectionate nature, handsome face and kittenish...
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