Have you been worrying lately? Worry is a common thing. How do you deal with your worry? Well, firstly you need to ask yourself, “What am I worrying about?” A study was done recently about the things that people worry about. Here are the results: 40% of the worries were about things that never happened or would never happen. 30% of the worries were things in the past for which they could do nothing about. 12% were worries about health and worry actually worsens your health. 10% were about petty or minor worries. Only 8% of the worries were about... Read more →

Well known psychologist, Daniel Goleman has done a lot research on the components of success, especially in the work place. His conclusion is that Technical Skill and Intellectual Intelligence (or IQ) are very important, but that the quality of Emotional Intelligence (or EQ), is the most essential. In fact, it’s twice as important as the other two attributes. ‘Emotional intelligence’ is: knowing how to relate well to a wide variety of people. How do we do that? Well, Jesus gives us some great advice in Matthew 7:12 when he says, “Do for others what you would like them to do... Read more →

Have you been angry lately? Anger is a common emotion. Every person has times when they experience feelings of annoyance, irritation, resentment or anger. Let't talk about anger for a few moments ... What we need to realise is that anger can cause great damage and so therefore it is essential for healthy relationships that we get our anger under control. There are two common causes of anger. Firstly, there is frustration. Frustration occurs when our goal is blocked. Maybe the driver in front of you is going 10 kilometres under the speed limit and you are in a hurry... Read more →

Many studies have been done about what some of the factors are of those that perform well in the arenas of business, music and sport. What they discovered was that it’s not so much your intelligence, your gifts, your talents, your appearance, or your background. It comes down to your attitude - how you think - and your passion - how you feel. Passion is like a fire on the inside that affects everything on the outside. In contrast apathy is a-pathos, no passion. Just kind of living life but going through the motions. A great example of passion is... Read more →

Peter Daniels has quite an amazing 'rags to riches' story. You can read about it in various resources available on his web site. His story has been an inspiration to many thousands of people. Throughout Peter's life journey he learned many lessons for doing well in life, including the principle of effective goal-setting. Peter's book How to Reach Your Life Goals presents a heap of ideas and inspirational concepts on this topic. Here are some of the highlights: Examine your desires and motives. These are the driving forces within you. What do you want? Why do you want it? The... Read more →

Bob Buford is the author of the best-selling book Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance. He is also the founder of the Half Time ministry, and of Leadership Network, an organisation dedicated to innovation in leadership. The basic concept of his book is that in the first half of our life we focus on 'success'. However, in the second half we need to shift our focus to 'significance'. The key to making this transition effectively is to have a good 'half time' where we reflect on our life and our most important contributions. This is an... Read more →

Dr. Arch Hart, co-founder of the Hart Institute, has written a very good book on Adrenaline and Stress that is worth reading. Dr. Hart is well known for his ministry to churches through psychological training, education, and consultation. A former dean of the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, he is now retired from full time teaching. Dr. Hart has published 24 books. A few years back, I had the privilege of taking a two-week intensive course on The Minister's Personal Health (as part of my Doctor of Ministry program through Fuller Theological Seminary) with Dr. Hart and I... Read more →

Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been on the best-seller list for many years now. Covey is the co-founder of the Franklin Covey company, dedicated to enabling greatness in people and organisations. Think about this for starters ... Who am I? I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things I do you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly... Read more →

This week we will review a few books worth reading ... Jan Hettinga's book Follow Me: Experience the Loving Leadership of Jesus is an excellent challenge to truly 'follow' Jesus, not just believe in him. Here are a few of his insights, worth reflecting on ... The ultimate issue in the universe is leadership. Who you follow and what directs your life is the single most important thing about you. There is a big difference between ‘believing’ in Jesus and ‘following’ Jesus. We have a major problem in the church today: 'non-following believers'. Find out who Jesus is and what... Read more →

If you've just visited my blog for the first time in recent weeks, welcome! Here are a FEW TIPS that you might find helpful ... The 50 latest posts are in the centre of the blog. You can access them by simply scrolling down. To access earlier posts you can either click a Category (these are found on the upper right hand side of the blog home page) OR you can go to previous month's Archives (these are found also on the right hand side of the blog, but a little lower down). Longer blog posts are divided into two... Read more →

The last two days, we've had a look at a prophetic forecast for 2008 and some microtrends. While we're speaking of trends, here are a number of resources that you might find helpful when thinking about and contemplating the future ... The Barna Group, an organisation led by George Barna, dedicated to pulsing the culture from a Christian perspective and to spotting emerging trends affecting the Christian church. Christianfutures.com, a web site dedicated to helping communities of faith develop foresight. Christian futurist, Tom Sine's, web site. Future.com, a web site dedicated to discussing issues related to the future. Post-Modern Pilgrims... Read more →

Mark J. Penn is one of the most respected and sought-after analysts in the world. He has spent over thirty years as an adviser and polling analyst to major corporations and heads of state. He has done research for people such as Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, and Tony Blair. His latest book Microtrends looks at what he believes are the small forces behind today's big changes. He believes that today's biggest movements are small and that small is the new big. Even 1% can create a movement to change the world. We are seeing the 'niching' of the world -... Read more →

Hugh Mackay is a highly respected Australian social researcher. His latest book Advance Australia Where? gives us some interesting insight into where Australia has come from over the last few decades and what some of the trends are for the future. This book is very worthwhile reading for anyone interested in Australian society. For those of us who are Christians living in Australia, it is important that we understand our culture and the people we are seeking to reach out to with God's love. According to Mackay's research, Australians are a little restless and a bit edgy due to the... Read more →

" ... a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." [John 4:22-24. NIV] I often hear people say, "God created us to worship him." It sounds kind of spiritual but I don't believe it is true. For God to create people for the purpose of worshipping him would be a selfish reason for creation - as if God has some deep inner need that he... Read more →

"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." [1 Peter 4:10-11. NLT] "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." [Ephesians 2:10. NLT] There are so many opportunities all around us to help other people and to make this world a better place. God has given you unique talents, gifts and abilities. Use them. Jesus said that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (Acts 20:35).... Read more →

" ... be sure that everything is done properly and in order." [1 Cor.14:40. NLT] One of the problems we all face today is that there is so much to do and so little time to do it in. This usually leads to more stress. So how to we become more relaxed, more energised, and more productive? One of the keys is to be organised. Being organised helps your own sense of well-being and it also helps you develop a high level of trust with the people you work and interact with. So how do you get control of your... Read more →

"Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time." [Proverbs 17:22. GNB] "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." [Psalm 16:11. NLT] As we love and serve God, he wants us to enjoy the journey. He wants us to experience his joy - from the inside out. Joy is so important. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Joy is a sign of God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Joy is the essence of life (Ecclesiastes 3:22;... Read more →

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." [James 1:19-20. NLT] Life is all about relationships. Relationships are built on good communication. Good communication only occurs through effective listening. Listen more this year, beginning today. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Listening communicates love and value. Listening helps you understand other people. Listening earns you the right to be heard. Poor listening habits include inattentiveness, interrupting, and advice-giving. Learn to be attentive, which is 'showing a person's worth by giving full attention to their... Read more →

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." [2 Cor 11:2-3. NKJV] How easily life becomes complex in our fast-paced and ever-expanding world. Complexity usually leads to stress and overload. Peace and an inner sense of well-being quickly disappear. Life becomes a bit like a rat race or a never-ending treadmill. Sometimes you just want to get off. We feel exhausted. Some times we need to clear the clutter and SIMPLIFY our life. Maybe its time to do more ... with less.... Read more →

"Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." [1 Cor 13:13. NLT] As we begin another year - a few thoughts to reflect on ... Life gets very busy. We easily get caught up with all sorts of 'stuff' and 'things'. There are so many 'tasks' and things to 'do'. In the midst of the hustle and bustle we can quickly lose sight of what is most important. When it all comes down to it, LOVE really is the most important thing and that means a focus on our relationships,... Read more →