The latest booklovers’ chain-letter going around Facebook seems to be a challenge to list (without too much agonising) your ten most ‘influential’ books. Heavens. To stay in the spirit of the challenge I’ve tried to write this in one sitting, presumably missing a lot of worthy contenders, but hopefully capturing some kind of truth. And […]
This is part of a series aiming to help us all go easier on ourselves and make our parenting lives more enjoyable and satisfying. The whole series list is here and more links are at the bottom of the post. [Update: 2.5 years later I’ve revised this and added some stuff in. Feel free to suggest […]
It’s been a rough week in our house, for one reason and another. I’ve been unusually tired and low, though still vastly improved from the worst days. The good news is that I rediscovered some of my favourite childhood novels and have spent the week snatching time to read about the Tillerman family. Cynthia Voigt […]
You’d think the task of ‘explaining Easter’ would not be a tough one for a minister. Hm. I have the privilege of writing occasionally for the parents’ resource website Kiwi Families. Mostly it’s great fun, but sometimes it’s flippin’ hard work, like the other week, when the editor, Rochelle, asked if I could write something […]
There’s an emptiness inside her And she’d do anything to fill it in But all the colors mix together – to grey And it breaks her heart My dear friend Angela did something extra brave today, and you can hear her do it by visiting this Radio New Zealand National page. On Afternoons with Jim […]
I’ve just reviewed a stunningly good Joy Cowley book for the Kiwi Families website: As Easter approaches, and shops are already full of hot cross buns and chocolate eggs, I know plenty of families would like to bring some balance. Exploring the original story of Easter isn’t just for Christian households, either. If you’d like […]
It took me some courage to decide to blog on this activity from the 40 acts of generosity Lent challenge. Is there any book in the world that provokes such diverse and heated reactions as the Bible? Among Christians there is an enormous range of responses, from obedience to respect to frustration. Fans of the English language […]
My toddler has been deeply asleep for two hours, and looks like he won’t need anything more than a lying-down, half-asleep feed between now and morning. So why am I writing a blog post instead of catching up on the sleep I missed last night when he was up every hour? Because, like many parents, […]
O email! O you super-convenient marvel! O you disappointing eater of time! Are you in control of your inbox or does your heart sink when you open your email? How much time a day, a week, do you spend on reading and writing email messages? How much of that would you like back? If there was […]