Signs of the Times

October 2007

Steve Biddulph shares his parenting secrets.

Working as a family therapist in Launceston, Tasmania, it was the book he would have given out but couldn’t find. Steve Biddulph says interacting with hundreds of “struggling but inspiring” parents prompted him to write The Secret of Happy Children, which has been translated into 27 languages.

Your chance to receive a free book!

In this article, Steve Biddulph offers his "top five rules of child-raising." For your opportunity to receive a free copy of Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys or Manhood, suggest your "sixth rule of child-raising."

Tackling Childhood Obesity

Everyone wants to give a child the healthiest possible start in life. Yet busy lives and demanding schedules make it easy to grab fast food and place kids in front of the TV to keep them quiet. Meanwhile, the percentage of children who are overweight or obese has doubled in the past 10 years.

What on Earth is Stewardship?

As my first pay check came in, I realised this was it—the time to make a decision on what I would give to God. It was time to become a steward of my own life and possessions. So I set out to discover what stewardship means and what I would need to do to become a good steward of my income.

Danger! Construction Zone

A kit home would have been the sensible choice for our first owner-builder venture. I even had a couple of nice designs picked out. The man of the house decreed we must build something unique. We spent two years drawing up plans. The finished product is unique alright! Not one bit of it matched standard sized fittings.

Iona: The Holy Island

It is windy and remote. Yet more than 30 years before any representative from the Church of Rome came to the British Isles, an Irish missionary of the Celtic Church settled on this island and made it the centre of a great missionary movement.

Fears and Phobias

What is it that can turn a strongwilled pillar of society into a quivering mass of hysteria or perhaps cause a high-flying company executive to become a fanatical, obsessive failure?

God’s Funny Man

He presents Bible stories in a way you probably haven’t heard before, with sound effects, dramatisation and lots of laughs. It’s a surprise to see a sacred book written thousands of years ago being portrayed in such a contemporary, almost radical, manner.

The Gift of Prophecy

Since the publication of his book Les Propheties in 1555, the French seer, Nostradamus, has attracted an almost cult-like following. His many enthusiasts, as well as the popular media, credit him with predicting numerous major world events.

Standing in the Gap

Only through the gift of empowerment are people truly allowed to shine. And empowerment doesn’t occur by accident. You either choose to lift others up, step on them to lift yourself up or ignore upward mobility altogether, opting to stagnate in a pool of sappy platitudes and unhappy attitudes.

You Shall Not Give False Testimony

What about telling a lie to keep from hurting someone’s feelings? “Thank you for sending those muffins. They were delicious.” (We took one bite and threw the rest away.)

A Reason to Hope

In some ways, Soa Phanny’s life is not unlike that of many 33-year-old mothers in Australia and New Zealand. But, unlike most 33-year-old Australian or New Zealand mothers, Soa’s life is filled with the challenges of extreme poverty—poor access to clean water, very little income and low social status because of her gender, to name just a few difficulties.