Last week, we experienced such an overwhelming abundance of God's goodness that I literally had to go to sleep.

Even now, it's taken me days to write it all down.

Here’s what happened:

A Birthday to Remember

Friday, January 24th, was our third child Lilliana’s birthday. She turned 3. Since we had just been traveling for two weeks, we decided to keep things low-key.

The day started with our family’s traditional birthday breakfast—basically dessert for breakfast: Fruit Loops, milkshakes, chocolate, lollies, waffles, and birthday cake.

Yes, it’s terrible for your teeth, but this is something my parents did for us growing up, and those are some of my favorite memories. It’s a tradition we’ve carried on, and our kids absolutely love it. This was the first year Lilliana was fully aware of her birthday, so it felt extra special.

Kids Indoor Play Venue

After breakfast, we went to a local kids play venue. When we arrived at the reception desk, the staff let us in for free. Totally unexpected, but we were so thankful.

While we were there, we thought, “Why not see what the kids cousins are up to?”—a last-minute idea. So my brother and sister-in-law ended up coming down with their four kids. Our kids love getting together and they had the best time.

We had brought Lilliana’s birthday cake with us and figured we might as well do candles and cake while we were there. We asked the reception if we could use the café area, but it's not allowed. So instead, they gave us a private birthday room that you have to hire—for free.

Again, totally unexpected, but we were so thankful.

Then, out of nowhere, my brother and sister-in-law ordered a full spread of food for all the kids—hotdogs, hot chips, drinks. Again, totally unexpected, but we were so thankful.

The Carnival Surprise

That evening, we surprised the kids with a trip to the carnival that was in town—Lilliana had never been to one.

When we went to buy tickets, I recognized the woman behind the counter—we met over a decade ago.

She came out, gave me a hug, met the kids, and then phoned her boss. She asked her boss if she could gift us tickets. Her boss said, “Go for it!” and said to give us the maxi pack worth $200—forfree!

Again, totally unexpected, but we were so thankful. The kids had an unforgettable night, especially our birthday girl.

The Barbecue Blessing

When we got home after a full day, Tash received a random text from someone saying she was our neighbor (we had never met her before).

She told us that a package had been mistakenly delivered to their house and that it was for us. She drove it down our driveway, and we found ourselves unexpectedly gifted a brand-new portable Weber BBQ.

It was from a man I met once in 2022. Back then, he was newly saved, and I was speaking at a conference he attended.

In his message to me, he said he had come to a place where he could bless me, so he sent me a brand new BBQ.

What he didn’t know is that just two days earlier, Tash and I had been saying it would be handy to have a portable barbecue instead of our charcoal one. We had been at the beach for a few days, and the charcoal setup was a bit of hassle.

In his message, he thanked me for encouraging him and told me to keep reminding people that God is their source. What he didn’t realize was that in that moment, he was part of being that source.

God is good

And as it turns out, the neighbor who dropped it off was also a Christian! We had an epic conversation about God’s goodness, and she was so encouraged by the whole experience. We now have a new neighbour to talk and pray with.

At this point, I was completely overwhelmed. The entire day had been gifted to us—we didn’t pay a cent. And not only that, but God had also provided something we had only just been talking about.

God’s goodness got me good. I literally had to go to sleep, it got a bit too much.

On January 1st this year, I wrote this question in my journal: “How far does the goodness of God go?”

It seems my family and I are about to find out. This is going to be a big year of experiencing His goodness in ways we’ve never known before.

3 Practicals to Grow in God’s goodness

1. God’s Goodness Is Greater Than Your Goodness

God’s goodness isn’t dependent on how well you perform Christian duties or how “good” you are—it’s fully dependent on Himself. Over the years, I’ve learned to bank on His goodness more than mine, and we are experiencing the reality of it. This might sound foolish to the sophisticated—and no doubt many will mishear what I'm saying—but children (the child-like) understand.

2. Deal with Your Subconscious Mind

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

What is the mind of the heart? It’s your subconscious mind—the deep-seated beliefs you carry.

You can know the right things intellectually and still have the wrong beliefs subconsciously. And when these two clash, your subconscious beliefs will always win.

This is often why many Christians are confused when things they "know" seem to be a struggle to attain—because what they "know" is clashing with what they "believe" in the mind of their heart. But when you renew the mind of your heart—your subconscious mind—your experiences change.

Tip: One way to renew the mind of the heart is through meditating on His word. In Jewish culture, this includes repeating scripture verbally. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8).

3. You Get a Choice With God

In the parable of the talents, the master gave the servants the talents and then left. He didn’t micromanage how they stewarded them—He expected them to take initiative.

Too often, we get paralyzed by the fear of making the “right” decision, and that fear causes us to bury the talent. But the only servant the master condemned was the one who buried it.

Just like Adam got to name the animals, we get choices with our Father. Keyword: with. This isn’t about going rogue—it’s about realizing that God delights in your creativity and decisions too.

This can make us uncomfortable, but it’s part of the privilege of sonship. But to step into that, you have to first know that God’s goodness is greater than your goodness.

God is better than we think – our challenge is believing it.