Lifemates Blog

In many parts of Australia May heralds the prelude to a season when nature slows down. Whilst it may not be possible to 'slow down' in this season of our lives, we can actively guard our time. We can treasure those moments we do have together and not speed through them. These could be as simple as a lingering kiss at the start of a day, a warm embrace at the end of the day, an unrushed cup of coffee together. or sitting close and watching the sun set together. The following quotes are from a book "Your Time-Starved Marriage: How to Stay Connected at the Speed of Life" written by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott: - "'The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first,' said business author Robert J. McKain. And he's exactly right. We may say that our marriage comes first, but that doesn't matter if we devote our time to what's lower on our list. Saying it's a priority and making it a priority are two different things." - "We think much more about the use of our money, which is renewable, than [...]

The following, taken from an article by Rebecca Urban in 'The Australian', is perhaps a huge wake up call for all levels of our society to treat everyone with respect, with human dignity, with honesty and integrity: "...Research from the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment has revealed that Australian classrooms are among the most disruptive in the world, ranking 63rd out of 68 countries. The report, which analysed what went on in science classrooms and used data from a survey of more than 14,000 students from 760 schools, revealed 40 per cent said there was high levels of noise and disorder in class, that students didn't listen to the teacher, and "they found it difficult to learn"..." Where does respect start - in the home! Husbands and wives honouring one another - which includes 'respect' - especially, but not exclusively, by wives to their husbands. This 'respect' being modelled in the home by spouses to each other and to their children. Children honouring and obeying their parents. Our challenge to you, as well as to ourselves, this year is to look for ways to love and honour each other extravagantly! Let each of us [...]

We are rapidly approaching the holiday season when busyness often takes centre stage and more than ever we need to make the time to be present. Dave Boehi wrote: The problem is, "We are tempted to think that our little 'sips' of online connection add up to a big gulp of real conversation. But they don't. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, all of these have their places - in politics, commerce, romance, and friendship. But no matter how valuable, they do not substitute for conversation. The drift from conversation to connectivity - from 'talking to texting' - should be a concern for any married couple and any parent. Other technologies - particularly television - have distracted us from conversation for many, many years, but recent advances give us the option to replace it. How can you develop and maintain a strong relationship with your spouse or anyone else in your family if you aren't talking to each other?" Steve & Cindy Wright wrote: "Now, we understand that sometimes a phone call or a text comes in where you need to tend to it because it's an emergency or it's from someone you've been trying to get a [...]