KEITH FARMER’S STORY – burnout, recovery and mentoring Today’s guest blogger: Dr Keith Farmer. I had been in full-time ministry for 11 years (in two churches in Sydney) when I accepted a dual ministry in Melbourne (half-time as an Associate Pastor in a local church and half-time as a Faculty Member of a Theological College). My teaching areas were Pastoral
Values and relationships Discovering what you value and believe will have an impact on your relationships. If you are are a single person, it will help you to know with whom to build connections and what importance you place on existing connections. If you are in a relationship, it will help you understand how to strengthen your relationship. Adrienne and
Alignment of values builds relationships
September 5, 2019
Identifying your core values and beliefs. By the time I met Adrienne (we married in 1979), I knew that my life would be spent helping people to know God. Finding God had changed my life and given it purpose and meaning. In planning for marriage, we chatted about how this would impact our children. It saddened me when I met
Seeds we sow are the trees we reap
August 21, 2019
How core values and beliefs inspire and help us thrive* The third big thing that helps us thrive is clarity in our core values and beliefs. For the other two, living with a purpose and vital relationships, see my previous blogs. I love helping couples prepare for marriage. People take lessons to drive a car, and they get training for
Thriving through Storms – Sharing Values & Beliefs
August 12, 2019
How are your key relationships? Along with living a life of purpose where gifts and goals align, a key to thriving* is having great relationships. Relationships that experience a healthy level of connectedness provide an atmosphere that enables us to thrive. We flourish with the right conditions. Similar to an orchid plant in an orchid house, where moisture and temperature
Deep and Positive Connections are Key to Thriving
July 30, 2019
What is your purpose? A big key to thriving* is living with purpose. People who don’t have a purpose or have lost purpose will not live their best life. Without purpose, life focus becomes surviving and is far from thriving. You are a masterpiece created to do wonderful things. Discovering your purpose will put energy into your soul and vitality
From surviving to thriving through finding meaning to your life.
July 24, 2019
As we came to the six-week mark of James’ passing, it seemed that life is returning to normal. I am grateful that people still ask how are you doing? While I recognise that sometimes I am not doing well, I’m grateful to be able to say, that most of the time I am doing ok. I often answer, “The time
Returning to normality from grief
July 15, 2019
How do you find comfort? Firstly, be with those closest to you. When we received news that we had lost our grandson, we knew we had to be with his parents, our son and his wife. I called our daughter’s husband and asked them to come and look after the grandchildren we had staying. Let some people know who can
What is really helpful when you are in grief?
July 8, 2019
Do you let others see when it’s tough? In May of 2019, we had a family tragedy. Our grandson James was stillborn. No cause is known, his heart just stopped beating. It was such a shock. No words. Very early on, as we started to contact people and let them know, I was faced with a choice. What would be