Above all else

As for me and my household The second half of 2024 began as the first did, with our 4th trip to see our friends at the school and village in Batam. Why was this trip especially memorable? Because we had my children N and D take centre stage to share at Sunday service, and me to interpret! I think it's the hope and joy of every parent to be able to surrender the spotlight to their children, and just be their enabler! Many Christian homes have these verses somewhere on the walls or mantelpieces: " As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord " (Joshua 24:15). I know from experience and observation that this is not easy to do, even with the best of intentions. So it has been one of the great privileges of my life to have my kids serve alongside my wife and me, and not just in a grudging one-off way.  I am quite sure that it has helped that we have brought N and D on our mission trips ever since they were toddlers. I encourage all young parents to do the same. Let's...

I'm generally a disciplined, habits, planning sort of person.  I plan practically every calendar slot of my working life, even down to when I'm going to sit at my desk to read/review/rewrite something by myself.  I have a spreadsheet that helps me plan when to catch up with my friends. I have a spreadsheet that tells me how much I'm spending every month. When I travel, I plan my itinerary in great detail, down to every hotel and ticket reference number and half hour blocks of time (yes in a spreadsheet :D). I'm pretty disciplined with habits too. I started to learn Indonesian on Duolingo several years ago, spending between 10-15 minutes practising every day. At the time of writing, I currently have an unbroken streak of 1796 days!  I committed to reading 12 books a year (I even follow a planned cycle of fiction => non-fiction => faith-based). I've managed 23, and target to finish no. 24 by the end of the year.  Best books I've read this year: Trust (Hernan...