This Life: Blotting out our transgressions
SAMANTHA ELLEY was recently reminded about how thankful she is for the forgiveness Jesus offers…
Your story?
Which would you rather was your story? What’s your story? PICTURE: John Schnobrich/Unsplash You inherited a bright, well-behaved group of students, taught them for an uneventful year, and they moved up another grade. Or, you inherited a difficult group of students of mixed ability, with everyone having low expectations of them because of their disadvantage. […]
Challenges of life
Consider the greatest stories you’ve been told. They all involve a protagonist facing an immense challenge to achieve a noble outcome that will redeem a perilous situation. PICTURE: Hu Chen/Unsplash Our hero will face intense pain along the way, that will almost break their resolve, but we hold our breath with them, waiting for that […]
This Life: Are you planting seeds?
US columnist CAROL ROUND writes about the rewarding activity of planting seeds, both physically and spiritually…
Biological pattern
I’ve now lived long enough to notice a biological pattern to life – if things go to script. GRAPHIC: leremy/iStockphoto The first part of life, your parents nurture you, hopefully helping you become a well-adjusted adult. Then you nurture your own children, hopefully realising just how important this is before they’ve left home. Then there […]
Grief
The greatest proof that we intrinsically need community is grief. Grief defies logic. We might live 1,000 kilometres from a loved one. Only talk to them once a month. PICTURE: Ben White/Unsplash When they pass away, your life may hardly change at all. Yet grief can then descend and obliterate your life. I know why […]
Music
When Steve Jobs released his MP3 player, did he realise that he was putting a time machine into our pocket? PICTURE: Yuriy T/iStockphoto When I listen to Pray for Rain’s self-titled ‘92 debut album, I’m taking back to my college dorm as a university student just trying to make my way in the world. When […]
Gordon Burley
Thirteen years ago, when I first suggested writing these life coaching spots for radio, there was one guy who stepped up to mentor and join me in this project. He wrote 10 of the first 50 spots and gave me valuable insights and wisdom for the task. Telecommunications towers in South Australia’s Outback. PICTURE: John […]
Don’t tell me what to do
Have you been in a work situation where the young whipper-snapper comes in, and they just can’t be told? Image posed by model. PICTURE: artursfoto/iStockphoto They have their ideas, and your years of experience basically means nothing? You can sum up their attitude with one phrase – “You can’t tell me what to do!” Doesn’t […]
Weird animals
If you study animals, humans really are odd. Our bodies and instincts mesh with the natural world, but our conscious thought, logic, morality, and love are bizarre. PICTURE: alice-photo/iStockphoto It’s like something, or someone, dropped a conscious soul into our fleshly bodies. We have all sorts of weird theories to explain this – alien seeding, […]