It’s that time again, no not that one. Or that one. But the end of January. Unlike our other office breaks this season is not a public holiday and is, perhaps, the least understood.
It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch for the outside eye to think I’m slightly lazy or part-timer for taking a break so close to our recent Christmas break. But, in reality, I’d like to suggest it’s quite the opposite.
You see, when it comes to business, most shut down over the Christmas break. But because our businesses are so diverse, we power-on through. So in reality, even though our offices are shut over Christmas – we aren’t really on a break at all. In fact we were often chasing orders, replying to emails and preparing for the year ahead.
So, even though it’s a challenge for most to go back to work after the Christmas, I’d perhaps argue – we are less rested than most. Our kids are savvy to this also. While we are able to give them 100% over Christmas Day and the few surrounding days, anything more than that is a bit of a luxury for us (and them). With that in mind, we have January.
The last two weeks in January are very special for our family. Not only is it my birthday, but it’s the time that we set aside especially for each other. We enjoy each others’ company. We go out to places during the days. And we make up for all the time that we are otherwise busy.
It may not be ideal timing for everyone who has to wait until we come back to work on February, but I thank-you for understanding. For me and my business, it will always be Family First.
So please don’t judge us for taking time out, we’ll be back in full-force on the 4th February to take on 2019 head-on. Thanks for understanding.
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After what feels just shy of a millennia, today is a very special day. No, not the fact that it’s Black Friday – although it is a purchase. In fact, I can safely say this is the largest item I have ever bought on a Black Friday, or (actually) ever. And yet, this is a purchase that I won’t get told off for making. Black Friday 2018 finally saw the completion date for our house. We finally closed the deal and purchased a home!
The relief is perhaps so palpable in light of the efforts and tribulations that we endured along the way. Nearly a full month after I posted the (what I hoped the be) full story, the conclusion has finally arrived. Not without its’ own mini-dramas, of course. Even today, on completion days, I still had a few curve balls that needed batting out of the park. But no more. It’s complete. No chance of undoing it now.
If you missed it, you can read the full story of the journey we’ve been on- titled ‘The Battle of Mort Gage’. Told as an epic battle between us and those trying to stop us, it poetically reflects how long and painful the journey had been for us. While the story couldn’t include every detail and battle we fought, it certainly gives you a taste. You can read it here.
Whether you read my previous post or not, I’m sure you will have gathered by now that this was a beast of a journey for us. One that so many people have to walk through in order to gain ownership of their home. It’s a sad reality of the age we’re in. And I am SO thankful to God for pulling us through – but also for the people involved who had the power and ability to help us where we needed. They know who they are. This victory, perhaps, proof that if God can do it for us – then He can do it for anyone! I had the lowest credit score, the biggest debt and I’m self-employed.
My hope from this journey is that it will show other people in the journey that they aren’t on their own. That other people that have, and are, walking through this incredibly long and -at times- painful battle can see it does end. That you do come out the other side with a victory that is monumental. My other hope is that the lessons I’ve learned through it will inspire me and my family to remember how blessed we are and perhaps that some day, we too could be the ones with the power and ability to help others complete their journey to property ownership.
Over the battle, I ended up formulating a playlist of songs that I found myself listening to regularly as they depicted the season really well. You can listen to them, if you’d, like here:
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I can often find myself getting lost in myself. My brain can be a infinite abyss of complex realities and unending reasonings.
That is, as you can imagine, only multiplied in times of extra stresses, confusion or uncertainty. And lately, that has felt a little bit like where I’ve been.
Firstly, let me just stress that I am so blessed with the worlds’ best wife and children. I am by no means ‘going through it’. In comparison to many in the world today, I’m living the dream. But every now and again, the minor stresses that I deal with eat away at the joys.
And its times like this that it’s good to stop and re-adjust the focus. This song, recently released by UNITED, is one that really spoke to me in this way.
So often, I feel guilty of loosing focus in the moment of a stressful week or an uncertain bill to pay. So much so that even when I do try to refocus, I miss the most amazing point of all. If only just for the 7 odd minutes of this song, I began to realise that the re-adjustment wasn’t about my focus – but it was all about realising how intensely focused God is on me. Just like He does on all of his children.
And as the universe around us screams of His greatness, it fails to compare, nor does it distract God from His ultimate desire – us. And that’s more than enough to bring my focus back each time to meet His gaze.
But what measures could amount to your desire?
You’re the one who never leaves the one behind.
I’m not a big fan of the aesthetics behind this lyric video, but the song and the lyrics are just phenomenal.
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I haven’t had much time to write over the last few months… But in the meantime, there have been so many blog posts I have wanted to write, but just haven’t been able to put fingers to keys. My hope is that, unless the momentum dies out from those stories, they will be told in the coming weeks and months.
But while there are but a few hours remaining for 2016, there is one post that I wanted to get out there before all of the others. As with all of my posts, this is primarily for my own sake and sanity, but I welcome anyone who wants to read along for the fun of it.
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Ever seen those articles pop up on your facebook feed? “10 foods that cause depression”. “New superfoods will drop the fat!”. “Eating Bacon signals alien invasion”. Ok maybe not the last one, but the first two are genuine headlines. Snappy titles like that are often referred to as ‘click-bait’. One liners that loosely correlate to the article, but are actually a means to an end to get you to visit the page. Upon completing the article, you realise, actually it’s not addresses the title at all. But sometimes these ‘new research’ claims do present the ‘facts’. And that’s what this post is all about. You see, these articles, coupled with recent comments from our family Dentist made me aware of just how ridiculous some of the ‘health’ guidance we recieve truly is…
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Today is Father’s Day. So I thought I would take this chance to share a little bit about the Fatherhood
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I’m thrilled to announce that our little family has grown by one! This post is a little after-the-fact and we’ve
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I’ve not been around for a while. Nearly four weeks now. Only now am I starting to stick my head
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