A Tonne of Running

This coming year I'm going to be undertaking something a little ambitious. My friend Jonny Farrell (one who has proved himself up for a challenge many times over...he's just coming to the end of a year of drinking only water, nothing else, to raise money for clean water in Africa) has upped the bar for this year and has come up with "The Tonne Run". He's getting people motivated to each run at least 1,000 miles over the course of the next year in aid of children's projects in Ethiopia.

The idea is that there are many children in Ethiopia for whom 1,000 miles a year is the norm, many who travel that distance and more just to provide water (which is often not even clean) for their families.

If this is the reality of life for so many children in the world we live in, then surely we can do our bit.

So 1,000 miles is the goal (and also the width of Ethiopia itself), £1,000 is the fundraising target, and December 31st next year is D-Day.

I'm thankful for legs that are able to run and health that keeps me upright, and for clean water from multiple taps in my house that I take so for granted. Thankfulness is great, but it shouldn't just be words, it should spark action. I'm thankful for what I have, and because I have, it means that some may not. This year, I'm thinking particularly about water, and will be running my legs off to try and do something about it.

Stick around to find out how I'm doing and if you feel so inclined to find out how you can donate to this excellent cause. And if you fancy taking part (come on....!) you can learn a bit more about it and sign up at this link.

https://www.standby.me/news/fundraising/start-the-new-year-with-a-tonne-run

The Neighbour

Matthew 4:13 says that "leaving Nazareth, [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum."

In my mind, Jesus' baptism and temptation in the desert marked the last time that he had a house to base himself from, that he stayed in one place for a stretch of time. I assumed that these events began the wandering itinerant stage of life that would characterise the next three years of his ministry. And yet this small verse that I discovered in the depths of the opening of Matthew this morning seems to suggest otherwise, that there was a time after all the excitement at the outset, when Jesus once again took a house, settled down somewhere for who knows how long, and lived in one place.

I am of course reading into the text, but it made me wonder what it was like for Him, and what it was like to be his next door neighbour.

The passage tells us that it was "from this time on Jesus began to preach, 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'" At this point, no longer was he just the carpenter's son, blending into the background of the village melee, no, this man was now front and centre and saying some pretty radical and scandalous stuff.

What would it have been like to live on his street and see him coming back at the end of the day, rumours circulating about the crazy things he had been up to. Did he have a nosy neighbour who lived across the street, peeking at him from behind her curtains? (Though she probably didn't have curtains...from behind her camel...?)

We compartmentalise the life of Jesus. We make it easy for us to understand, thinking about him at the front of a crowd making a handful of food go far further than it should, hands on the sick making them well, preaching the new way of the kingdom of God. Easy for us to get our minds around, because, after all, we know Him to be God.

But we forget that he was also human. We forget about those little interactions that happen in our everyday that no one even thinks about, that no Gospel writer would consider wasting precious ink on due to their routine and mundane nature.

We forget that God himself had neighbours, friends, teachers, someone he bought bread from. How did they feel when they met him? Did they know there was something different about him?

At this time of year, we remember Him as a baby, marvelling at the fact that God became an infant in a manger. Let's also not forget what it meant for Him to grow up among humanity, living a relatively normal life among others just like us.

A normal life, but lived a different way. Lived the way it was meant to be lived.

May each of us discover more with each day what this life could look like for us.

Chris

I thankful for my great friend Chris Hunter. He is so wise and wonderful.

(edit: this is a special guest photo from the one and the same Chris Hunter, for whom, yes, I am thankful...but have learnt shouldn't be left alone with my computer.)

Rejoice!

For a child has been born-for us!

The gift of a son-for us!

He'll take over the running of the world. His names will be:

Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.

His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom.

He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going.

With fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always.

Isaiah 9:6 & 7
[The Message]

One Night, One Moment

I'm a sucker for a good Christmas movie, and most of the time I'm content with the bubblegum fluff of an "Elf" or a "Santa Clause". But every now and then, one comes along with a little bit more heart.

"Nativity!" from a few years ago is one of those ones.

It's basically the story of a primary school in England that decides to put on a show-stopper of a Nativity in order to show up the local over-achieving school. Things escalate and hilarity obviously ensues. 

But it's the end of the film where we actually see the results of what they've worked on that is the crowning jewel of the film. Below is one of my favourite parts, apologies for the bad quality. Blame youtube for that...!

I love the lyrics, and it really hits home on what Christmas is really all about. 

"One night, one moment, and everything is changed."

One instance in history when everything changes. And because of that moment, as the song says "We'll never feel lonely again."

Incredible. So I'm thankful this Christmas Eve for Christmas itself, and exactly what it means, and hoping not to forget it in the busy-ness of tomorrow!

Green fingers.

Yesterday I posted about the depths of Winter.

And yet that didn't stop me using my day off on Monday to do a bit of planting. The weather has thankfully taken a turn for the mild, and I realised that if I don't get some things planted now, I might not see them in time for Spring.

In a few months, my mind will turn to vegetables, but for this week, it was all about the flowers.

Daffodils and tulips. And I need to investigate sunflowers...though I think I might have a bit of time to play with before those need to be in the ground.

So today I'm simply thankful for outdoor space in the city (even though I'm actually rockin' the 'burbs). Watch this space for more garden updates as (hopefully) things grow!

Winter.

I sat shivering in my car on Sunday morning as I turned the heater on full (which served merely to blast arctic air in my direction) and willed the 3-inch thick (or so it felt) ice to melt so I could get on my way.

As I sat there, hating the experience and bemoaning the fact that, once again, I had forgotten to leave that vital "defrosting time" to get to work on time, I thought about thankfulness. Winter is not my favourite time of year...but as I sat in the car with a few minutes to spare, could I come up with a few things that this time of year made me thankful for? What are the things that make the cold wait in the car in the morning worth it?

• Hot water bottles. At any time of the day.
• Listening to the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album without having to justify it.
• Crunchy ice grass.
• During the snow last year, my car got stuck in a pile of ice and snow brushed to the side of the road. Seriously stuck. I was attempting to get out on my own, until people kept popping out of the woodwork to help me. Cardboard for under my wheels from their boots, a shovel from their shed, an extra set of hands to push. It was not a fun situation, but I left (finally free!) with a smile on my face, cheered by the sense of community that I had experienced. You don't get that in the Summer...
• Scarves, layers, and wrapping up.
• Hands curled around a warm cup of coffee when you actually NEED warmed up.
• Christmas, and the anticipation of Advent.

So those were my few thoughts before I was on my way, happier and more content with the season we're in. (But it doesn't stop me being glad that the weather has taken a turn for the mild...!)

Full Sundays

This was a full day.

It is Sunday night and I am one sleepy church-employee.

Not one. Not two. But three family services. All within 7 hours of eachother...! Different locations and different congregations. Different types of services, different talks, and about a gallon of post-service instant coffee.

It was a busy day, but I drove home with a big smile on my face. I love what I get to do. I love standing at the front and seeing full churches celebrating the run up to the birth of our Jesus. 

Great stuff. So thankful tonight.

X Men

Warning: This post contains a minor spoiler for Ultimate Comics: X Men #  1. If that bothers you, you can stop reading now... And if it doesn't bother you, then why not? You should read Ultimate Comic: X Men # 1.

I maintain there is no other medium of media that is as perfectly suited to the "twist in the tale" than comic books. Films twists are great, but there, the pace of the interaction is dictated by a far off director. A good twist in a book is great, but the visuality of it all is up to you. 

With comics, it's a juxtaposition of both the visual effect and the turning the page when you are ready and at your own pace. That, for me, results in more gasp-worthy moments than I've had anywhere else.

One book that never disappoints on this front has always been the X Men.

At its core, the X Men is the story of a persecuted minority coming to the aid and protection of the persecuting and bigoted majority because of a belief in the basic tenets of humanity. The very humanity that is denied to them by the majority.

Powerful stuff. (If you buy into it!) Of course, there are space battles and the stuff of sci-fi along the way, but at it's heart, the X Men is all about the battle to embrace difference, and the struggle that it is to be unaccepted, and also to be the un-acceptor (if that's a word...).

In the most recent comic in the Marvel Ultimate universe, Jean Grey, great stalwart of the X Men, arrives at the house of a newly powered teenage mutant (stay with me....!) who we see in the background playing joyfully in a home video on the TV screen with new powers of telekinesis. 


This story has been told before, so many times up to now Jean Grey has wowed the parent with the promise of excellent education combined with the assurance of control over the aforementioned uncontrollable powers. However, this time the spiel doesn't go as expected. Halfway through the conversation, the mother breaks down, and they hear a bang from upstairs. Turning the page, the next panel is this:

The parents of this 12 year old girl chose to put her out of her "misery" rather than force her to grow up in a world that sees her as an abomination. The mixture of the images of the joy on the girls face on the TV screen and the utter devestation on the parents faces is not an easy one to look at, but a powerful one to remember.

They have given in to the fear of what's different, and it's clear that this is a direction and a theme this run of issues is going to go in. The parents in the story have allowed this fear to consume them, to the extent that they are willing to sacrifice the child they have brought up.

Shocking stuff. Bet you weren't expecting that were you?

So, out of this, I'm thankful for messages and lessons in unexpected places, and for art, artists and storytellers who try to translate those messages in creative and ever-reaching ways.

And I'm thankful for the X Men. For all they have taught me over the years and continue to, both shocking, challenging and entertaining.

You should give them a go...

Good music

After driving from Belfast to Dublin this afternoon, with Radio 1 on the whole way, I am thankful that there are some musicians out there who make great music, unlike some of the stuff I heard this afternoon... Naming no names.........Kelly Rowland

But generally I love music. Love it. Today I'm thankful for some great stuff. 

I'm not always the best at listening to lyrics, I can often find myself parroting off words, only months later to stop and realise what I'm actually singing! But when I do, I'm glad I have. One of my favourites at the minute is a guy called Dallas Green, who goes under the pseudonym "City and Colour"... Dallas...Green... Great. 

Here's the chorus from one of the best tracks from his new album. (Link on the name.)

"How can I instill such hope,

and be left with none of my own?

What if i could sing just one song,

and it might save somebody's life?"

- City & Colour "Hope For Now"

And then, a bit of a classic at the minute, a great cover by one Mr. Bon Iver, if you listen to nothing else, make sure you listen to the piano introduction for the first 55 seconds. It's like eating a Galaxy Caramel with your ears.

The Sea

Sometimes I forget the blessing that it is to live by the sea.

That for many people, seeing that great expanse of water is not an everyday experience.

This morning, it was all sunny blue skies and wind, and I turned a corner whilst out running and was faced with a blustery, choppy sea. I just smiled. It's so easy to forget the little blessings, to forget that ocean-side life is not the norm.

So I'm thankful for where I get to live.

After all, I'm in easy walking distance to the sea, a cinema and a book shop. What more could I ask for?

---

Devotion

Robert Frost

The heart can think of no devotion

Greater than being shore to the ocean-

Holding the curve of one position,

Counting an endless repetition.