Kia ora e te whanau
Lynne and I are about to head out for a week away touring Northland. None of my siblings have been there, so four of us (including my youngest brother – out from the UK), with spouses – seven all up, are hitting the road together. This past couple of weeks has been very full, and I’m wanting to get as much done as possible before heading for the airport.
Personal and Leadership Resources
I’m aware that many of the articles I give links to may require subscriptions, if we want to read them easily. I am subscribed to a small number of sites – like INC and Fast Company. Some sites don’t require any fee. Others do. Here’s a trick – I don’t read the articles on-line – I simply copy and paste them to Word, and edit them before reading them. This means that I can read them undistracted by adverts and pop-ups. Do what works for you.
Hanlon’s Razor
My friend Frank is a retired School Counsellor. By reputation, in my conversations with his colleagues, he was superb working with teenagers. Frank had a simple mantra, for every kid that he dealt with – “they were all doing the best they could”. It may not look very good to others, but given who they were, their background and experiences – in this moment they were doing the best they knew how. I’ve found it a very good basis for relationships – though I forget it all too often – I readily default to suspicion. Yet the reality is that I’ve rarely met individuals who are truly evil. This is the basis for Hanlon’s Razor. While the article is cast in a business setting, it has implications for the whole of life, and is well worth a read. Remember, copy and paste.
It can be accessed here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2024/06/21/why-more-employees-should-learn-hanlons-razor/
5 Ways to Master Tactfulness
I’m of Dutch and Friese heritage. The Dutch are known to be ‘plainspoken’ 
. The northern part of the nation is Friesland. While it’s part of the Netherlands they are a breed apart, and even have their own language – which I’m told is closer to English. If you meet someone who’s name ends in ‘-a’ (like my wife Lynne’s family name – I know, what chance do our 3 sons have?) they’ll almost certainly be Friese. Temperamentally the Friese have a reputation for being like the Dutch – but on steroids!,
So it could be that this article is just for me. Though there could be others out there who will benefit.
It can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/peter-economy/5-powerful-ways-to-master-communication.html
What Happens to Your Brain When You Stay Up Too Late
I’m a morning person – My alarm is usually set for 4.45am. I like to be in bed early, and up early. This article really feeds in to a high level of confirmation bias for me, and may be mildly discomforting for others. Useful either way, it can be accessed here: https://www.inc-aus.com/bill-murphy-jr/a-massive-new-stanford-study-says-this-is-what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-stay-up-too-late.html
Finally Matariki is just around the corner. I’ve been given a link to a Shine TV presentation to explore ways we might engage usefully with it. It can be accessed here:
https://www.shinetv.co.nz/videos/god-within-matariki
Homilies
Trevor Hoggard’s sermon surveys 2 Cor. 8:7-15 and Mark 5:21-43. Trevor focusses Paul’s call to, and Jesus modelling of, generosity – rather than simply settling on the legal minimum of a tithe. His sermon can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHYLHgMj8zY
My response to the Gospel text of Mark 5:21-43 is dealt with in two separate homilies.
The first is titled ‘Keeping the Smoke in’ – a response to vs 21-24, 35-43 and focusses on Jesus responding to Jairus the synagogue ruler and his dying daughter. It can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xIUhsd1paw
The second is titled ‘What is God doing?’ – a response to vs 24-34 and focusses on Jesus encounter with a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years and only find healing in touching Jesus cloak. It can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaGTlETCTwk
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Ngā manaakitanga
Andrew Doubleday
UCANZ Ministry Facilitator