Taking Territory

Don't be discouraged. Keep plodding on and sow good seed every day. Our actions echo into eternity and we just can't know how the effort we expend, in this moment will be blessed for the future.

Good men are hard to find. Why is this? The answer is that good men don't happen by accident; they have to be made through hardship, training and a good philosoply for life. The point of a man is self-mastery and sacrificial living. For some this is just too hard but just because it is difficult doesn't mean it isn't necessary.

Does God have a plan for your life or is your life yet to be written and you the author? If you are anxious about life, maybe it is time to review your theology.

I’m not asking you to set a goal arbitrarily because achieving it would be nice. Think about who you want to become or what you want to do. Really work out what is constantly tripping you up. This is the problem. Set a goal to deal with this and get creative in tackling it and stop daydreaming. Get busy clearing the road so you can make some progress.

Last week was tough for our family. We got some news that struck at the heart of our future. Medical news. Nothing life threatening, but uncertainty hangs over us and it hurts. There we were, happily motoring along, when a metaphorical car merged from a side road and took us out. As the dust settles, I can see that we are still running, but there is a lot of paint damage and the front wing is bent out of shape When bad news strikes, how do you respond?

A friend recently reminded me of a great quote attributed to Stonewall Jackson, A well-known confederate general in the American civil war. when asked how he could be so brave as bullets and shell rained about him, he replied, “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself with that, but always to be ready whenever it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live. Then all men would be equally brave.”

What problem are you here to solve? We have all been given one but sometimes with the distractions of life, we forget. How we respond to this problem which is beyond ourselves will change with the seasons but you are uniquely qualified and placed to take action.

Guilt is at the heart of our personal and nation's problems. It is destroying us and we have lost the ability to deal with it. We no longer have the language and faith. Wrongdoing must be atoned for and blood is the price but who should be sacrificed?

The secret to staying alive is forward momentum until the cavalry finally arrives. Keep going never give up. Crawl if you have to.

If you don't have self-discipline your life will amount to nothing. The skill is in knowing when and how to employ it. This takes experimentation.

I now believe I must break my “personal time” into 2 parts. Early morning for thinking and evening time for action

In counseling and business books, there is a term called "self-actualization". While not coined by Maslow, he made it popular through his "hierarchy of needs". If you self-actualise, it means that you are reaching your full potential and have become the best version of yourself. In its truest sense,

One question I ask regularly is, are we condemned to low expectations forever? I believe if there is to be change; it starts with us. Men, as I have always said, are the engine room of a culture and we need to get better at launching our sons into orbit.

So, as part of my 6-month reboot trying to “unscrew” my life, I have decided to make improvements in the consistency of my Bible reading. But where to begin? A reading plan seemed too rigid. As I thought about it, I noticed that for months from every side I was being stalked by the Psalms

Clearly, something is up.. whether an intolerance, too much processed food, or maybe it is dehydration; I just can’t understand it. Each year I cut something else out of my diet. I have checked for sleep apnea and even eaten a Ketogenic diet for periods. The latter offering the most hope, but it is hard to live with and has other complications. Even as I write this tonight, I look like a ‘busted sofa’. I ate a healthy dinner of chicken, carrots and cous-cous, with no crap in the last 2 weeks but still I’m having a flare-ups. It is tiresome and uncomfortable.

Have you heard about the recent viral TikTok trend where women ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire? The answer, it seems, is surprisingly frequently, much to the confusion of the female questioners.

A mid-life existential crisis was not supposed to happen to me as I have been on a self-improvement path since November 2018. However, at 49, I viscerally sense the walls closing in. Time feels like it is running out as I enter the decade known as “Sniper’s alley”, I wonder what my life has amounted to and what useful future lies ahead. Is it just more of the same but with a gradually declining quality? No, I reject this prognosis daily, yet like a ghost it lurks in the back shadows, but its anguished groans can no longer be ignored. It haunts both by day and the night.

Somehow, there is this idea that if you don’t have faith you are gifted with a high-minded intellect, a purity of vision, free from primitive superstition. No, I would argue you are a Darwinian materialist - that is your religion, someone who believes that life is shaped by undirected forces and that chief end of man is avoid pain and maximise pleasure.

Recently a YouTube video went viral asking the provocative question, "What are men good for?" It was an object lesson in the demoralisation of a nation. If you can't clearly explain why men are important - your walls are crumbling and society is about to collapse.

There is no point being a Christian and not thinking like a Christian. When we commit our lives to Jesus there is an expectation that we see the world through a different set of lenses. This can be very hard to do, I still struggle with it being influenced by the people around me. The renewing of the mind is such an important part of the sanctification process.

Ideas have consequences and if you want to live a good life you must have a consistent worldview. This short essay asks us to consider our thinking in the post-modern era.

The country is like a car and we are all trapped in the trunk. The kidnappers are determined to drive us over the edge of a cliff. The Christians trapped along with everyone else know what to do but why is no-one is listening?

Don't try to cut a deal with an already defeated enemy in the hope you will be eaten last. Where is your hope? Let us set this world this world alight for Jesus.

They say you don't just break God's law but you break yourself upon God's Law. Don't do that. It hurts you and everybody around you.

This was one of the most important things I have done in 20 years. If you are a man you should probably do it too...

We need the right leaders with the right ideas to save the country but will the clerisy gatekeepers allow anyone with strong medicine near the patient?

As Peterson says, "It is far better to become something than remain anything but become nothing." You got to have a plan and you have to work it. The more you work it the more useful you become.

When I remember to get the right amount of sleep consistently, I have more motivation which means I get more of what is important done and suddenly life starts running like it is on rails.

There is an economic storm coming. You will need to trim the excess now to get though it. You are going to be faced with higher energy costs, taxes and inflation.

Why do we feel the need to consume and own? What toll is it taking on our life?

"When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people"

To feel like a disappointment is not unusual. We all have an inate sense that something is wrong or that we are lacking somehow. Why is this and what can we do?

We all feel a need to stay up to date with current affairs but the question is should we? It frustrates, steals our joy and distracts us from our real mission.

Have we all just given up? Looking around us you may think so. Don't you do it. Work hard, give it your all.

My biggest regret in life will be that I spent too much time listening to the news. I treat it as entertainment and it is killing me. Something needs to change.

What legacy are you leaving behind you? Are you setting an example that others will want to follow?

You are probably wasting your life on your phone. Time that could be spent with the family or on other life giving pursuits is being stolen by the little digital tyrant.

When the call comes to lead, lead from the front for all you are worth

Checklists in daily life. It really is that simple.

Where is the meaning to be found in life?