trees...

Ever had a time where there seems to be a particular focus? Conversations, thoughts, imagery. This last week seems to have included a lot about trees.

the reason for the season

With excitement and anticipation thoughts of tomorrow hang in the forefront of minds the world over. Normally the theme will be along the lines of 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

but can I prompt you to change that perspective just for a moment at least?

Set aside all your filters and watch this.

Done that?

Awesome. At this point feel free to go. I'm not sure I've got anything to add but - if you are wanting a little more - hold onto that perspective just for a moment and read this. If it's too much in one go then just try this on for size.

Of course, all of this could possibly be over familiar or seemingly irrelevant but the point is that there's a much bigger picture to all of this. One that Jesus lived out over the course of 33 years (or so) but that God began way back and is still laying out today so, wherever you stand on 'faith' can I challenge you on one last thing? In amongst all of the stuff and noise of tomorrow consider where you've been and where you are going. Take a step back and look at your life as a whole. What story is it telling? What's the big picture and what is your motivation in the daily detail?

lights...camera...

It's nearly Christmas. This is exciting enough in itself already but this year there are a few additional components:

• Seeing a brand new nephew for the first time
• Meeting up with mates that I haven't seen in a long time
• Simply having time to do things that I don't normally

This last entry includes giving video editing a go. Prompted by this competition it's something that I've always wanted to do but never properly got round to. Maybe this will be the start of something wonderful but we'll see.

P.S. The pictures bear no relevance to this entry but I realised there aren't as many photos of Ed on here as I originally thought and people have been asking.

you'll need some ID...

Listen to this,
read this,
discuss...

We are often asked to verify who we are through identity,

I'll need your driver's licence or passport

but there's clearly still a part of my everyday which more readily identifies with something much more basic as I had this tune ringing through my mind getting dressed the other day.

Hair...check

shoes..check

brand new fit...looking cool..check

and I was looking in the mirror thinking "ooooh yes!" as I laced up my favourite trainers with which I'd taken the effort to coordinate my tshirt.

Now - I do stand by that which Lecrae has observed

Identity is found in the God we trust

Any other identity will self destruct

I'm not the shoes I wear. I'm not the clothers I buy.

I'm not the house I live in. I'm not the car I drive.

I'm not the job I work. You can't define my worth

by nothing on God's green earth

my identity is found in Christ.

so why is it that this stuff holds some value?


I enjoy that moment on a day off where I can get dressed in what I want to wear. Clothes in which I 'feel like me'. Yes, how you look carries heavy weight in the boardsports industry, but it's not peer pressure that causes me to feel this way. I simply like it.


I don't think it's controversial to suggest that maybe there's something of God in all of this? That the feeling of finding and belonging to a group who walk a certain route is in God's plan, just as Jesus was 'in' but not 'of'. Sometimes it's not a case of hitting 180* and walking in the other direction, but taking a bearing and heading in a slight fraction off that which people are experiencing already...ultimately leading to a huge difference further down the line.

it's all in the timing

Today happens to be:

1. 2 weeks until Christmas
2. 2 months until the due date of our first baby

Today is an exciting day.

on the first day...

My true love gave to me - a Wayne's World CD.


I'm constantly surprised when one of my senses awakens such vivid memories. As soon as I began playing it I was transported back to a holiday where my family did a house swap with a family from Dorset. Their house had a loft conversion which I nabbed and lived in for the week. The room was full of CDs and videos which I went through but one I played almost daily was the Wayne's World soundtrack. It was a time in my life when I was exploring what my own tastes were and this certainly hit the spot. I loved that film - much to my mum's dismay - and still do...not sure what that says about me.


Other memories tied into this holiday were a trip to a sea-life centre that had a touch pool, picking up a (comparatively) massive crab was simultaneously horrifying and exciting; my first taste of Nesquick, another moment my mum seemed to regret; and a walk down to Durdle Door.


That place is amazing, captivating and, when my wife and I recently revisited it, apparently still just as awe inspiring. The door itself is massive. One of those 'much bigger in real life' things. The vast ocean that it leads out into suddenly puts a whole other perspective on the scene. And then there's the thoughts of the creator of all of this...