What Would Your Ideal Week Look Like?

“You have a choice in life. You can either live on-purpose, according to a plan you’ve set. Or you can live by accident, reacting to the demands of others. The first approach is proactive; the second reactive.” - Michael Hyatt Sure, you can’t plan for everything. Things happen that you can’t anticipate. But it is …

The Case for Replacing Family Dinners with Family Breakfasts

This is a guest post by Laura Vanderkam that I just had to repost... By dinnertime, your family is tired, in a bad mood, and often not together. The mornings are another story—and can bring all the benefits of supper, with none of the pain. Plus: waffles! Fast Company's Laura Vanderkam lays out why family …

What Warrior Taught Me About Forgiveness…

http://vimeo.com/64721713 Every year my church does a series called “God in the Movies”, where we look for elements of truth – God’s truth – in the stories around us. This year I got to preach on the film Warrior, starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, and Joel Edgerton. Warrior has been described by critics as heartbreaking …

Parenting is not a Profession

This is a guest post by my amazing and incredibly talented wife, Jess. "Having kids is the most rewarding way to ruin your life." I once heard a friend say this, and it makes me laugh every time. If you're a parent, you'll know that having kids is hard work. You never know if you're getting it …

iPhone Orphans

Stumbled upon this interesting article by Beth Teitell. Parents have long been worried about how much time their kids spend online. But if you ask the kids, mom and dad are the ones who can’t turn away from the screen. Forever, the screen-time battles between parents and children have gone decidedly in one direction, with …

Nobody Wants a Christmas Worth Forgetting.

Christmas time can be a crazy time for many of us. Presents. Shopping. Parties. Food. Family. Friends. Boney M. Now all these things are good things (except Boney M I would argue), but sometimes they can overwhelm us and steal our peace and joy. And so, as part of your build up to Christmas this year, why …

The Adventure of Marriage

I've always been fascinated with Everest. I've read books, watched documentaries, and followed with intrigue the stories of brave men and women who have climbed to the top of the world. I'm not sure if I'll ever get the chance (or have it in me) to summit Everest, but one of my life's ambitions is …

3 Lessons from a Rookie Dad

On Thursday the 21st of July 2011 my world was forever changed… At 9:45am my brave wife gave birth to our beautiful son, Will Owen Basson, at a whopping 4,2kgs! Now I know I am still a rookie when it comes to being a parent with many lessons still to learn, but in the meantime …

Waiting On Our World To Change…

I've been told that patience is a virtue. Just not one that I have In fact, I've never been much for waiting. According to my strengths on StrengthsFinder I am an "Activist" by nature. An activist is someone who asks, "When can we start?" We are impatient for action and believe that while debate and discussion …

Baby City is a Scary Place

 Oh my word. A whole new world! Jess and I had our first pre-natal class the other night and I learnt a new word - "layette". The dictionary defines layette as "a set of clothing, linens, and sometimes toiletries for a newborn child." Well, it seems Baby City has taken that meaning to a whole …

Holidays And Hotels

What is it with hotel shower curtains?I'll admit I haven't stayed in thousands of hotels, but it seems like almost all of the ones I have stayed in have had really crappy shower curtains. You know the ones that are a little bit porous and never quite wide enough. Even though you are super careful …

Hospitals and Heartbeats

Most of my experience with hospitals has been from the practitioner end. As a Physio I've worked in various hospitals from government to private, in South Africa and abroad. But the last few days I've experienced things from a different perspective. My pregnant wife of 27 weeks was admitted on Friday morning with severe abdominal …