Cambridge University research found that in neighbourhoods where children do well in school, 96% of the children were read to daily and 45% of these children were read to for half an hour or more a day. In contrast they found that in neighbourhoods where children didn’t do to well at school 61% of the children were not read to at all. Many kids these days are addicted to games on electronic devices and need to have boundaries from parents. Lets make the extra effort to read to our kids. It will help them in more ways than we can imagine.

Research has found that prayer is good for you even on a scientific level. A study was done by German psychologists at Saarland University on the effects of prayer and those who pray. The findings revealed that praying can help a person maintain self-control and resist temptation, as well as help alleviate depression and other benefits. The authors noted that even a short prayer time changes the self-control depletion effect. These results are consistent with a growing body of work, attesting to the beneficial effects of prayer on self-control. The students were tested to measure their level of self control when faced with temptation. The researchers found that those who prayed before the start of the test showed they maintained high levels of self-control till the end. Whatever you’re facing today; let prayer be your steering wheel, not your spare wheel.

Greg Clarke is the CEO at the Bible Society Australia, he’s also an author & a speaker, and is involved with The Centre for Public Christianity, & he’s a tragic U2 fan. www.biblesociety.org.au

Researchers found that listening to music will lift or reinforce your mood and ultimately lead to a greater quality of life. It can also be an integral part of our health. Scientists at the University of Misouri have found that people can boost their mood simply by listening to upbeat music. They have found that happiness relates to a higher probability of socially beneficial behaviour, better physical health, higher income and greater relationship satisfaction. Lets be careful with the kind of music we listen to. They say that “What goes into your mind comes out in your life”.