by Dave Firth – We’ve probably all seen those wooden plaques on a wall in a home, maybe on a mantelpiece or even one of those little desktop calendars that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” They look lovely, but a study of the original text in Psalm 46 from this well-known Read More
Let’s start the year off with the tools we need to deal with workplace stress. In a recent Harvard Business Review survey of more than 1.5 million employees across 185 countries, it was reported that 36 per cent of employees reported feeling highly or extremely stressed at work on a regular basis. This statistic came Read More
Photo caption: Paul Monahan prepares to get on the race track as one of the angels in the Motor Racing Men’s Group When things don’t end up the way you plan or expect that doesn’t always have to be a negative. I was talking to a friend who planned a men’s group around the Read More
In the holiday season there will be events that become stories to be retold for many years ahead. While many of these situations may not be funny at the time, they do become legacy events marking family holidays. For most of my life, family holidays have included activities associated with a boat. Is there a Read More
2021 sounds like the title of a suspense or dramatic futuristic novel, but 2021 is the New Year before us. How can we begin to think or imagine what 2021 could hold for us when we reflect back on the reality of 2020? For some 2020 was the first year of significant strife in their Read More
Christmas blessings to you, Several decades ago, my friend from Auckland was doing his big OE. He arrived in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and the inn that he went to had no rooms available. The hotel suggested that he tried another guest house down the road, which was fortunate for him because he hit it Read More
In our preparation for Christmas, Auckland roads are fairly fully to say the least. People scurrying here and there, amongst them a group called “Grey Nomads”. This is a group I briefly joined the ranks of not so long ago. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and Read More
We send you our Christmas blessings over this holiday period. We hope and trust that you will be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour with family and your church community. We encourage you to take the time to pause and reflect on the profoundly amazing event that happened 2000 years ago Read More
Christmas is supposed to be a time filled with joy. As Christians we are encouraged to remember that Christmas was when Christ came into the world. However, for many people, Christians included, Christmas becomes a very stressful time of year. It is easy to say remember the true spirit of Christmas but in reality, it Read More
The other day I had an instance of helping an older man in distress. I was coming out of Bunnings when the man next to me couldn’t start his car so he asked if I would jump start his vehicle. He thought he had a flat battery and he went on to tell me this Read More