We’ve just had a cold wet week (about to become a very hot weekend) in the middle of harvest. Which means that harvest stops, the condition of the crops may deteriorate, volumes reduce, and the return for the year’s work diminish. These are the realities of farming, and when these things happen, it produces a … [Read more…]
This is something which our culture is increasingly providing schizophrenic answers to. On the one hand we have organisations like Beyond Blue which help depressed people see that life contains hope, we put huge efforts into suicide prevention (particularly targeting vulnerable groups), and we are constantly being told how wonderful everyone is and how there … [Read more…]
A happy family photo where you can see joy on people’s faces. It often comes about from a special event, or a special holiday. I love seeing joy on the kids faces still, especially so in the every day things we do. Jokes. Funny stories. Looking at something special that crosses our paths in the … [Read more…]
I with respect to the recent census results on religious affiliation, I recently commented that “I’d expect to see these numbers drop considerably as time goes on – because the headline figure of 52% of Australians identifying as ‘Christian’ vastly overstates the number of people heading to churches”, and I thought that this warranted some more … [Read more…]
Not long ago, a prominent story in the news caught my attention, and I have continued to think about it. A man in London deliberately attacked a group of Muslims outside a mosque by trying to run them over with a van. My initial reaction on reading about this was to think that now English … [Read more…]
We set goals in all sorts of areas of our lives. We think about or plan what we want to achieve, and set goals to get there. For some it might be enrolling in a course of study to become something, or be able to do something at the end of it. Or you may … [Read more…]
I was listening to the radio on the drive out to church on Sunday morning, and they had an interesting story on the Greens and the factional tension between the ‘left’ and ‘right’ of the party (the use of these terms was hugely offensive to the ones labeled as being on the ‘right’ – which … [Read more…]
We all need an obligatory thought on the Olympics, don’t we? After all, they are on the TV for a fortnight, its the most expensive event on earth, and it involves all people getting together. Or something like that. I have to confess that I haven’t watched any of it (bar sitting in someone else’s … [Read more…]
Is Swearing Sinful? Swearing is an interesting question, and one about which Christians need to be careful we don’t grab the wrong end of the stick. Because for many people in our society, Christianity is just about rules, and what you can and can’t say. Many people think that Christians are hung up on what … [Read more…]
I think this is an important idea to get our heads around, and understand the issue of same sex ‘marriage’ for what it is and means – without going overboard.