In only two weeks it’s Valentines Day and love will be in the air! So this month I want to focus on couples and share a few personal tips on marriage from the last thirty-five years of experience. I am a blessed man having a beautiful and fun loving wife to share these years with and she has edited and shared some valuable insights to this letter. Invest in your relationship: Every year Rite and Read more about 43. Marriage tips?[…]
I was sitting in a meeting the other day hearing a number of leaders share the challenge of wearing a number of hats and having too many things to fit into their schedule. It’s probably the one thing that we can all relate to and understand. Sometimes I sit at my desk and make the mistake of looking at all the unanswered emails, reading my to do items, thinking of the people I need to Read more about 42. What are you priorities?[…]
As we move into the last month of this year, it’s a good reminder for us to finish this year well. However this month’s topic goes beyond this month and is concerned about finishing our life well. If you are reading this letter and you are still in your 20’s or 30’s you might think – finishing, I am only just starting, this isn’t for me! Well surprise, surprise, it actually is. You can’t start Read more about 41. Planning to finish well?[…]
I was recently challenged in my thinking by a little book by Timothy Keller called the freedom of self forgetfulness. I will summarise some of the content for you in the following letter. The traditional thinking for centuries has been that the main problem in our world is hubris, Greek for pride, and that people with a high self-esteem pose a greater threat to those around them than those with low self-esteem. Today we tend Read more about 40. Can you forget yourself?[…]
“Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.” Mark 10:42 I read a little book by Lord David Owen a while back called “The hubris syndrome.” He was a Politician in Britain for 26 years and he talks about Hubris as the ‘intoxication of power.’ The word Hubris comes from ancient Greek and Read more about 39. Is my leadership in danger?[…]
At the beginning of the year Rite and I were visiting our kids in Edinburgh where our daughter was working in a 5-star hotel as a waitress. As a special treat, she took all the family out for a meal in their beautiful restaurant and booked Rite & I into the best room for one night. At first, we felt guilty having all this money spent on us but then relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read more about 38. Are you living in a culture of honour?[…]
I received an email from an old friend the other day. He opened with, ‘How are you, haven’t seen you in ages?’ How do you answer a question like that? I often go straight into a ministry response – “The retreat centre is going well – just had a wonderful retreat with leaders from all over the world! Blah blah blah!” But, what about my relationships, my pace of life, my finances, my health and Read more about 37. Is your life in balance?[…]
Israel was plateaued spiritually between the old and new Testaments. There were no prophets and not much really happening. Then John the Baptist emerged from the wilderness to stir things up. You couldn’t stay where you were on the plateau – you either were challenged to repent and be baptised by John or reacted against the prophet and in effect went backwards and closed your spirit to the new movement. Similarly at the time of Read more about 36. Are you sitting comfortably?[…]
I was just looking at two pictures of Rite and I. The first was when we got married in Canada in 1979 and the second thirty years later here in Malaga. Rite obviously hasn’t changed a bit but you can quickly tell the difference in me. When it comes to asking how much more like Jesus we are today than we were 30 years ago, it’s kind of scary. We both hope there has been Read more about 35. What’s your signature sin?[…]
This month our retreat centre team enjoyed hosting a ‘pathways to God’ retreat. We had spent some months in preparation and each of us were able to explore new ways of relating and enjoying our relationship with God. We all have several pathways that we are used to, but there are others that we can discover that are able to bring a whole new level of intimacy with God. One of our team members, Wilrens Read more about 34. What’s your pathway?[…]