Posts by Francine & Byron Pirola
The Hidden Cost of a Fear Driven Lifestyle
Have you heard of FOMO? It stands for ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ and it’s an epidemic in our culture. Many parents fall into the FOMO trap wanting their child to experience every possible opportunity that might give them a competitive advantage over their peers. Not only does it make childhood hectic and stressful, young people…
Read MoreA Second Look at First Sight
So we’ve watched the third and fourth episode of Marriage at First Sight. For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a reality TV program where participants agree to live as husband and wife for one month with a person matched to them by science. Each of the four couples meet for the first time at…
Read MoreMarriage at First Sigh
That’s one very big, long sigh. As in ‘here we go again in unreality TV’. Today we took the plunge and sat through the first two episodes of Marriage at First Sight (Channel 9). By all means watch them if you want, or be kind to yourself and just read the synopsis (here). For those…
Read MoreAccessing Supernatural Powers
Jesus promised his disciples to send the Holy Spirit. Two thousand years later, the Holy Spirit is still channelling grace into the hearts of believers. Graham and Jenn were not doing very well. Despite his sincere regret and apology, when Jenn discovered Graham’s sexual indiscretion with a work colleague, she reacted with her own sexual…
Read MoreChoosing to Love
Mothers Day Reflection If there is one thing that makes motherhood so worth celebrating, it’s a mother’s capacity for love for her children. Whether it’s her willingness to give over her body to nourish a newborn, her patience with the endless ‘but why’ questions of a toddler, or the testing rebellion of a teenager, mothers…
Read MoreThe Soul Mate Quest
Chasing ‘Happily Ever After’ It sounds so romantic: ‘Destiny’ has each of us perfectly matched with someone with whom we will form an instant rapport. All we need to do is find that special someone and bliss will surely follow. All our heartache, all our problems will be history as we lose ourselves in the…
Read MoreMercy – a work in progress for couples
We are yet to meet a married couple who have not hurt each other deeply at some stage. Selfishness, laziness, thoughtlessness, anger, carelessness; they all have the potential to inflict deep wounds on the other, sometimes without our knowledge or intention. Unless couples learn the lessons of mercy, these common human frailties can bring a…
Read MoreNatural Fertility – Hey What?
Couples the world over are adopting Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs – what used to be called Natural Family Planning) with new vigour as they access them via smartphone apps. And it’s not only conservative Catholics and alternative lifestyle naturalists doing so – ordinary couples who just want a reliable, chemical free alternative are the keenest…
Read MoreThe Divine Rendezvous
Recently, we came across this quote from Simone Weil, a 20th Century French philosopher, Christian mystic and political activist. “God and humanity are like two lovers who have missed their rendezvouz. Each is there before the time, but each at a different place, and they wait, and wait, and wait. He stands motionless, nailed to…
Read MoreRomance in Scripture
Why is the Song of Songs favoured by mystics? What is it about this book in the Bible that attracts so much attention? Surely the answer is that the language – poetic, erotic and sensual – speaks profoundly to the hearts of those who hunger for intimacy with the lover of our souls. This…
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