I have many friends who are pastors. Some of them I have traveled with for many years. Others are new friends.

Some of the ones who started out as the best students at college, the brightest and most ambitious, have taken a different path. Some even left the faith.

Some have fallen in other ways, moral ways.

Some have grown tired of the politics, the fuss, the complaints, boards who think they are there to boss the pastor around, not empower him/her for ministry.

For some the strain on family was too much to bear. The sniping, the pay, the difficulties meant that another form of employment was preferable.

Some were just not meant to be in ministry in the first place. Grandiose or naive thoughts of what ministry was going to be were quickly brought to reality.

There are a myriad of reasons people leave the pastorate. Sometimes great reasons, sometimes perplexing.

Either way, you learn to appreciate those who have stuck it out and journeyed with you. You learn to care for and love those who at the moment find themselves out of ministry, but want to get back in. You understand those who have left and never want to come back.

Having been a pastor for the majority of my working life, and having no intention of leaving the ministry, you learn to appreciate the uniqueness of the role, and those who attempt to live it.

And it is still not over yet, so I don’t particularly want to blog about it yet.

But suffice to say that I have been very busy at Church. Selling property, buying property, attempting to sell property.

One piece of advice. Don’t bother taking a holiday if you have issues with settlement of property to deal with. You don’t really get a holiday!

It seems to me that there are some people who revel in taking offense.

Whether it be a perceived slight, not being included or something you say, their nature resembles that of a porcupine. Don’t get too close or you will get hurt.

Its a shame to live that way. To always be thinking that someone is going to offend you, and steeling yourself for that.

I used an illustration once at church which basically said that often we will look or observe a situation, word, conversation, and tell ourselves a story about that. That story we tell ourselves may or may not be reality. For instance I may see someone come into the room with a foul look on their face and assume they are mad at me. There may be 20 other people in the room, and they may have just copped a speeding ticket, but some will be sure that they are mad at them.

Life is too short to take offense easily. Being a quick forgiver, and not holding grudges is a much more healthy and happy way to live.

If you are a bloke, I really encourage you to get along to either of these events. Great times for men to journey in their lives together as Christian Men.

Some parents invest in musical instruments for their children. Others invest in language lessons, or expensive sporting gear. But all parents would agree that we need to be students of our own children. They are all different, and require a varied approach to see them become all they can.

My son has a keen eye for a story, how people work and an image. He seems to have an innate sense for what is going on. In short, he is sensitive.

He loves making movies and using video. So this Christmas my wife and I invested in a Action Camera for him. After doing my research it seemed that Go Pro was the standard by which all others are judged.

After leaving the present buying till the last few days before Christmas was it any wonder that I could not find one for love or money? I rang about 10 camera and dive stores chasing one and the answer was the same, “you wont get one in Perth until mid January at the earliest. It has been the biggest seller and we sold out weeks ago”.

I did not give up though and thanks to the power of Twitter I found one at Harvey Norman O Connor. A bit of a drive but I secured it. What an amazing piece of gear. Waterproof to 60 metres, compact, high definition video. What else is impressive is the way the Camera has its own wifi signal, enabling you to pair it with your Ipod or Iphone or Tablet. This means you can control and view the camera wirelessly, anywhere.

My son has already taken it swimming, and the video and sound…yes sound…quality is outstanding. The water bubbles, the noise of the water in the pool…incredible. The ability to control it wirelessly…amazing. It is small, but the quality is very good. It comes with the basics, except a micro sd card, which they really should include. You can also buy all sorts of accessories so you can attach it to just about anything. Like your bullbar, helmet, surfboard, bicycle.

Looking forward to seeing what he does with it.

I have had something worrying me deeply for the past week or two. Not something I can talk about publicly.

The other day I was lying on the couch, having just woken up from a nap. I cried out to God and confessed….I am worried.

This broke something in the spiritual realm for me. I cannot say that this worry is not niggling away, it is still on my mind. The issue is not resolved yet. But the debilitating worry is gone. God broke it.

Thanks God. I trust You.