5 Essential Life Skills to Help You Thrive (Not Just Survive)

The other day, I met a young lady called Emily. She is 5 years old. The life skills that this child displayed impacted me profoundly. Not just because they came from one so young, but because they were, at the same time, extremely well developed.

So, here are the 5 essential life skills that she demonstrated, that will help any person of any age not just survive … but thrive:

How Relevant is Your Church?

Here’s a disturbing thought. None of the churches that the Apostle Paul planted in the 1st century are still in existence. Go to Turkey (one of the key hubs of Paul’s church planting ministry) and you’ll be taken to ruins, but not to any live, vibrant, living, breathing churches planted by Paul.

Why?

Teenagers, Facebook and Self-esteem

An article reporting some research on the impact of Facebook on teenagers’ self-esteem in my local newspaper caught my eye recently. And to be honest, it confirmed everything we old fogeys had suspected all along about the impact of social media. The question is, what do we as parents and grandparents, aunties, uncles and friends do to help our young folk?

The Smart Way to Avoid Unnecessary Arguments

Some conflict is inevitable. Psychologists will tell you that it’s even necessary – not so sure about that. Whenever I hear a shrink spout that line, I ask myself – How much conflict is there in the Trinity, hmm?? How often to Father, Son and Holy Spirit have a falling out?

Okay, so in a fallen world, some conflict is inevitable. That may well be true. But it seems to me that 99% of it is both unnecessary and avoidable. So here’s one smart way for avoiding unnecessary arguments.

Is Same Sex-Marriage Inevitable?

Well the hot topic around Australia at the moment is that of same-sex marriage which is due to be debated in the Federal Parliament at the behest of the Green party. So is it an inevitability? And how well is the church handling the debate?

Here’s my take …

Rediscovering the Lost Art of Listening

Friends, Romans, countrymen … lend me your ears.

That was Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar – calling the people to listen to him after the assassination of big Juli.

Hmm. I wonder how he’d get on today. Because listening these days, is something of a lost art. We’re all so busy. There are so many voices shouting at us. So mostly, we just tune out.

And yet listening is at the very least, one half of the equation in engaging in genuine communication. So if no one’s listening, well …we have something of a problem. Do ya think?!

How Can the Church Get it So Wrong?

On the 14th of May, 2012, exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was awarded the Templeton Prize, one of the world’s richest individual prizes valued at around $USD 1.8 million.

The award was given for: his work in encouraging scientific research and harmony among religions. It was presented inside St Paul’s cathedral in London, after Buddhist monks spent time chanting and worshipping in God’s house.

So … how could the church get it so wrong? Well, here’s how:

Three Tips to Give Your Tweets More Traction

Twitter is an awesome tool. It’s quick. It’s dynamic. It’s fun. It’s informative. It suits our busy lifestyles and short attention spans. It gives us a platform to share our thoughts and enter into other people’s worlds at the same time.

And everyone’s different. In effect the sum of a tweeter’s tweets represents his or her brand and personality to the marketplace. Cool.

But Twitter can also become very cluttered very quickly and when it does, it’s the cream that rises to the top. Sadly, many a tweeter’s tweets get lost in the crowd, in which case – what’s the point?

So here are 3 tips to give your Tweets more traction …