Thankful for another year

I don’t think that 2020 has been the ideal year for anyone but for me it has been another year together with Pauline, facing whatever this world has thrown at us, and that has made it another year to celebrate.

There have been ups and downs beyond our control, including terrible loss, but we’ve traveled the road, side by side. It’s been a mixture of the ‘for better or for worse’ that we agreed to all those years ago.

Twenty eight.

Twenty eight years ago on a very hot, Perth summer’s day, I put on a suit, went to church, and said goodbye to single life.

It was a very good decision and a very good day.

Best Day Ever

While it was a truly wonderful day with so many highlights, it wasn’t a perfect day. While friends and family were free to wear ‘summer appropriate’ clothing, Pauline was in a massive white dress and I was in a black suit. There was no way to escape the heat.

There were other little things that didn’t quite follow the plan for a perfect day but it was still the best day ever. It was the day that we had been waiting for. It was the day that, no matter what didn’t go to plan, we would be joined together ’til death do us part’.

Pauline and I had met in her mother’s kitchen on the 18th of January in 1992. On the 12th of December 1992, we were married.

Say ‘I do’ in ’92

As a bit of a joke, I had set my New Year’s Resolution at the end of 1991 to say ‘I do’ in ’92. That was never going to happen unless I found the perfect person to share my life. I had decided many years before that I would never ‘settle’ for anyone but the right one. Pauline was and is the right one. I truly believe that God brought us together and I thank him for such a beautiful gift.

Today we’ve been married for twenty eight years.

As the years have gone on we’ve added others into our family. In 1996 we welcomed Emily. James was born in 1998. Then, in 2017, Josh joined the family when he married Emily. It’s all part of the richness of our marriage and life together.

I often have to catch my breath when I think about the fact that I get to walk the journey of life beside such a smart, wise, clever, funny, beautiful, extraordinary woman who I love more than any other person on this big blue planet. I am truly blessed.



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Best Day Ever


Twenty five years ago on a hot, Perth summer’s day, I put on a suit, went to church, and said goodbye to single life.

Best Day Ever

While it was a wonderful day with so many highlights, it wasn’t a perfect day. While others were free to wear ‘summer appropriate’ clothing, Pauline was in a massive white dress and I was in a black suit. There was no way to escape the heat.

There were other little things that didn’t quite follow the plan for a perfect day but it was still the best day ever. It was the day that we had been waiting for. It was the day that, no matter what didn’t go to plan, we would be joined together ’til death do us part’.

Pauline and I had met in her mother’s kitchen on the 18th of January in 1992. On the 12th of December 1992, we were married.

Say ‘I do’ in ’92

As a bit of a joke, I had set my New Year’s Resolution at the end of 1991 to say ‘I do’ in ’92. That was never going to happen unless I found the perfect person to share my life. I had decided many years before that I would never ‘settle’ for anyone but the right one. Pauline was and is the right one. I truly believe that God brought us together and I thank him for such a beautiful gift.

Today is our silver anniversary. We’ve been married for twenty five years.

As the years have gone on we’ve added others into our family. In 1996 we welcomed Emily. James was born in 1998. Then, earlier this year, Josh joined the family when he married Emily. It’s all part of the richness of our marriage and life together.

Today is the first day of the next twenty five years, or however long God chooses to give us. I begin that next twenty five beside a smart, wise, clever, funny, beautiful, extraordinary woman who I love more than any other person on this big blue planet. I am truly blessed.



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I’ve been talking about you

In my work I regularly meet with people such as church pastors over coffee or a meal. We talk about a range of matters but one of the topics that seems to come up again and again is family. My wife and my children are incredibly important to me so it should be no surprise that they are always in my thoughts and conversations.

Recently I was chatting to a pastor and once again our conversation turned to our families. We both shared stories of how incredible our respective children are, how quickly they’ve grown up and how proud we are of them.

That conversation about our children reminded me of a time long, long ago.

My dad worked on a ship travelling up and down the Western Australian coast. He was away from home a lot.

I still remember, one day when I was quite young, visiting the ship dad was working on when it was docked in Fremantle. I’m the youngest of five siblings and for whatever reason, on this day I was there with my eldest two brothers.

A man who also worked on the ship walked past and a conversation began. Once he was told we were ‘Tom’s kids’ he said something to the effect of, “You must be … “ and then mentioned our names. “Your dad talks about you all the time.” He gave us the impression that our dad was very proud of his children.

Wow! That was a revelation. Dad talked about us.

I would never have thought that when he was away from our family for weeks at a time that one of his popular topics of conversation would have been his children.

I don’t know why I found it so surprising but I did. It meant that I might just matter to dad.

All of that got me thinking.

Do my children know that I talk about them, endlessly?

Does James know that earlier this week while talking to a group of people about him someone mentioned how I immediately puffed out my chest with pride? They caught a glimpse of how much I love James in my facial expressions and body language as well as the words I was using.

Would Emily ever think that I often talk about how incredibly talented she is and that I’m so proud of her? Would she know that the picture I paint in others’ minds of her is of an incredible young woman who I love so very much, because that’s exactly how I see her?

Do both Emily and James know that even though I’ve had some amazing highlights in my life, they top them all? Do they know that even in the busyness of my life and work they are never far from my mind and my conversations?

Emily and James, you don’t have to wait for someone else to tell you …. your dad talks about you …. all the time.

If you’re a parent, do your children know that you talk about them to others?

Do they know that when you’re away from them and you can choose to talk about anything in the world, you talk about them? Do they know that you’re always on your mind and in your heart? Maybe it’s worth telling them today.



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A New Season

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. – Ecclisiastes 3:1

There’s a lot of activity at my house this morning. The day has arrived.

In a few hours I’ll be walking my beautiful daughter down the aisle. It’s all part of a new season, a process that began almost twenty one years ago. The process of letting go.

One of the hardest realisations for a parent is the knowledge that from the moment a child is born you are in a slow, constant, bit by bit, process of helping your child transition from being dependent on you for everything to independence. While Pauline and I will always be Emily’s parents, and will always be there for her and Josh, another part of the letting go process happens today.

We are absolutely thrilled for Emily and Josh. From the earliest days of seeing them together we knew they shared something special. Today they declare their love for each other and their commitment to each other for life.

Today is such an exciting and happy day. We will continue to pray that this will just be the start of a marriage that will continue to grow and that being together will allow Emily and Josh become all they were created to be, both individually and together.



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This Year was Going to be Different

Wedding1992

December the 12th, 2012. I was in Bangladesh seeing the work being done to protect, heal and restore vulnerable young women, including those rescued out of forced prostitution.

December the 12th, 2013. I was less than a month into a new job, working for Compassion and I was at head office in Newcastle with the rest of the team from around Australia.

This year was going to be different. I was going to be at home to celebrate 22 years of being married to the most wonderful person I have ever known. I had missed our 20th and 21st but I was going to be there for the 22nd.

The plan looked flawless. Our annual staff gathering in Newcastle would finish at 3:30 p.m. on the 11th, giving me, and the others from the Western Australian team, plenty of time to get to Newcastle Airport to fly to Brisbane and then onto Perth. Unfortunately, due to bad weather in Brisbane, our 5:55 p.m. flight out of Newcastle didn’t get off the ground until 9:45 p.m., around four hours late. There was no hope of continuing on to Perth.

Last night was spent on a mattress on the floor of an extremely kind and generous colleague in a Brisbane suburb. Between the time we got there last night and the time we had to leave for the airport there wasn’t a lot of time for sleep and even then I found it difficult to drift off.

Now here I am, on the morning of the 12th of December 2014, our 22nd wedding anniversary, sitting on an aircraft bound for home. We should reach Perth about lunch time. I suppose I’ll have half an anniversary with Pauline. I’m looking forward to heading out for an anniversary dinner tonight. (While this post was written while I was on a plane, it was published after a very long but very good day. I finally made it home and we had a very enjoyable anniversary dinner.)

So to the woman who patiently puts up with me being away from home on special occasions I say thank you and I love you. There is no one I’d rather travel home to see. You have made the last 22 years more than amazing. There are still many times that I catch myself wondering how someone so wonderful in so many ways ever agreed to marry me.

Next year … next year will be different.



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