Holidays

This morning I'm thankful for...

- The Belfast-Dublin motorway. It's been so improved over the last few years that it's so quick to journey between the two cities. So easy to move between them and makes feeling like having home in both places a little more manageable...!

- Great family time over the last week. Lovely to be at home with the added bonus of Gemma and Harry around. Over too soon! 

- The weekend camp Anois which I'm about to get on a bus to take me to Kilkenny for. I'm hoping I'm still thankful for it in 72 hours time...

Frozen Planet

A new series has started on the BBC, following in the footsteps of David Attenborough's previous offerings, he now turns his cameras to the coldest areas of the globe in "Frozen Planet".

Stunning visuals once again combined with the dulcid tones of Attenborough to form the first hour long programme that went out on Wednesday night. Combine it with HD and it's a treat for the eyes.

I was struck by the beauty of the planet that we live on. The incredible thing about these documentaries is that often they are showing landscapes and environments rarely seen by human eyes or captured on camera.

One can look at the stunning beauty of the world unfolded by Attenborough and his team and appreciate it for that, simple beauty. But add a creator into the mix and it takes on a whole new dimension. The hand of a God who sculpts the icebergs and directs the ocean currents, who tames the animals in their wild ways and sets the laws of physics on their path to create and guide the natural wonders on display.

There is a verse in the Bible that talks about how if we as humanity fail in our role at worshipping God then "the rocks will cry out" declaring the wonder and awe of the creator God. 

Well if the Frozen Planet is anything to go by the Earth is doing a pretty good job of proclaiming the glory of a creator God. 

Perhaps we need to up our game.

Raindrops on Running Shoes

These are a few of my thankful things....

- A return to assignments! I recently started a part time leadership course and sat down yesterday afternoon to put together my first assignment, a book review. Haven't written anything like that for a few years, and it was good to sit down at a computer and think for a bit.

- Afternoon naps following assignments...

- Running in torrential rain. It may gain a few odd looks from people driving by warm and cosy in their cars, but running in the driving rain is the best. So refreshing.

- Finishing a good book. I'm a bit of a John Grisham junkie, and I just finished his most recent offering "The Confession". I sped through it. Highly recommended and definitely some food for thought given the subject matter.

Citizenship

I had the great privilege yesterday of attending the ceremony for UK citizenship in Hillsborough Castle yesterday morning. One of my greatest friends Lidia was receiving her citizenship and I was thrilled to be asked to be a witness to the ceremony. Lidia has been a great friend and blessing to me over the last number of years, there have been many times when I have been incredibly thankful for her, and it was great to be able to share this morning with her and watch as she became a citizen.

Lidia, Jonny and I

One of my favourite parts of the ceremony was watching an elderly woman receiving her citizenship. I don't know where she was from, but assume the middle East somewhere. She didn't speak English and a younger man was translating everything in her ear. I would have loved to hear her story, hear what journey brought her to this country and to citizenship in her later years. 

Lidia and I outside Hillsborough Castle

I am also incredibly thankful to be able to be in Belfast this week to spend some good quality time with my sister who is home for a few weeks with this young man to whom I am Uncle Tom. Gemma and Harry are enjoying a week in Belfast which I'm glad to be able to be up for some of! Thankful for some good family time.

A Little Thank-You Goes a Long Way.

We humans have a bit of a problem.

We don't exactly like staying on one path for too long. Survey human history and you'll see a pattern of disatisfaction develop, individuals and nations who are happy with their lot and then begin to become dissatisfied, only to start looking for something else, the next thing to take them to bigger and better places.

Dip anywhere into the Old Testament and you'll see a people completely dependent on God. And yet, time and time they turn away from Him. From the One who provided them with everything they needed; a land to call their own, an identity that set them apart, even food on their plates for the better part of 40 years (even if the menu plan may have gotten a little tedious after a while...)

So why did they turn away? Why turn away from the One who is very clearly providing at the time of your greatest need.

Because they forgot.

Time moves on, a pattern of life developed and they forgot the very simple fact that they couldn't do it on their own.

We are no different from these ancient people. We turn away from God and start doing our own thing when we forget that we need Him, when we forget that without Him our existence is finite. We think that we can go our own way, do our own thing, forgetting that nothing has ever existed that has not been wholy surrounded and upheld by the presence and grace of God.

When we forget to say Thank You, we forget what we have been given, our need of and dependence on the one who is the generous and merciful Giver.

Graditude to the Giver keeps us where we should be, in a place of dependence upon the only one that we can truly depend on.

Confirmation and Michael Jackson

Today I'm thankful for a great group of 5 young people that I've been working with for the last 8 months who saw the end of their journey (and the start of another one) towards their confirmation ceremony into the Church of Ireland.

We had a special service to celebrate yesterday morning, led by the recently appointed Archbishop, with a name you'll recognize, but perhaps for different reasons. It was the first visit of Archbishop Michael Jackson to Malahide, who presided over the service. 

There was a great turn out of friends and family of the young people, there to support and celebrate with them as they made the decision to own the faith that they were baptised into for themselves. 

An encouraging day for me to sit in the congregation and watch young people making decisions for themselves to follow and serve God. So I'm thankful for the opportunity to play a role in their journeys, and for the 5 young people St. Andrew's has taken through the confirmation preparation over the last period of time.

The Archbishop in St. Andrew's, Malahide

The vestibule following the service

Photo op with the Archbishop

Memory Lane

I spent the day yesterday with a good good friend of mine, Karen, who is moving to New Zealand for the year in a few weeks. We were talking about an odd experience that we had years ago where we were in a chippy on Botanic Avenue in Belfast which had a DJ in it late one night. A DJ playing music just for that chippy. 

It's one of those experiences that you are never quite sure whether it really happened when looking back... We knew there was photographic proof though, so I sifted through my hard drive yesterday evening looking for the photo. I haven't found it (yet) but it was fantastic flicking through the photos laughing about things I had forgotten.

One of my favourite memories from college was when a few of us attempted to boost the numbers for the small college choir by putting posters up around the place, but we thought we'd try and make them funny, so we took these photos:

It was only once we actually started putting the posters up that we started to question whether this was a good idea...but unfortunately by then it was a little late, but it makes for a good, if not a tad ridiculous, memory...

That boost in numbers never did appear either.

So today I'm thankful for good friends, and good memories. 

I'm also thankful that my sister and nephew arrived safely in Belfast yesterday morning after a long trip across the Atlantic. I'm looking forward to heading up north for a week off and to see them later on today.

Simple things.

I found a rogue book voucher left over from my birthday while tidying up, and when I went in  search of something new, I decided upon something old. This is one of my favourite books  that I read when I was part of a book club in Belfast. This is one of those books and authors that I have never tired of, and chances are high that you may have received this book as a present from me...

I love it when authors use words in unusual or unexpected ways, conjuring such accurate images in your mind, and Rohinton Mistry is the Sheriff of that town. One of my favourites is when he talked about how news of local scandal was "percolating" through the village. 

"A Fine Balance" is no easy book to read, set in India 40 years ago it seems to present life as it really was in India. This is no Hollywood version. But the heart behind the book and the excellent writing is what puts it up there for me, so I'm glad to be delving in once again, here's a sneak peek of the first few lines:

"The morning express bloated with passengers slowed to a crawl, then lurched forward suddenly, as though to resume full speed. The train's brief deception jolted its riders. The bulge of humans hanging out of the doorway distended perilously, like a soap bubble at its limit."

I also have another book token. Any suggestions?

Being struck by the vivid green of the grass outside the church that I work in. It was almost neon in the light of a cloudy day yesterday!

Laughter

I love it when I'm reminded of something funny.

Alan Carr on Tuesday night was very observational with his stories. At one point during the night he made a comment about taking money out from the hole-in-the-wall and people who are overly suspicious (cue incredibly dramatic, over the top reenactment from him...) of those in the queue behind them.

Yesterday morning I was taking money out, and found myself turning around and checking if anyone was watching, and just laughed realising that I was that guy...

I'm also thankful today for pictures of lightning scars from far-flung places, and warm jumpers in cold weather, even if it does feel too early to put them on.

In the words of Eddard Stark, "Winter is coming", but unfortunately in this case, I think it's already arrived...

Village Life

I had a day with lots of wandering yesterday. Not aimless mind. I just had a few different things to do in different locations in the village I work in, so I spent a lot of time walking through Malahide. 

Malahide, Co. Dublin

I've been working here just over two years now, and yesterday I had so many small encounters with people that I saw just walking through the village that errands and jobs took twice as long as they otherwise would have. I'm thankful to feel at home and truly at ease somewhere that wasn't my first home. 

And even more so that the the coffee shop barista knows me by name and order. It reduces my coffee waiting time by a few very crucial seconds...

The Chatty Man

A great night out with my sister Anna to go see the comedian Alan Carr for her birthday. (This was her birthday card...)

He is one funny gentleman. I appreciate a comedian who can handle a heckler well! Great night out, though I felt sorry for the man sitting beside me who had me laughing in his ear the whole night as we were facing right towards the stage. I woke up laughing this morning thinking of a few of the stories that he told, in particular a tirade against the self-service checkouts in supermarkets, and a question as to why floats in swimming pools always seem to have a bite taken out of them...

Alan Carr - Odyssey Arena

I headed down the road to Dublin after the show. The motorway between Belfast and Dublin is a well-travelled one for me over the past few years, but by the end of each trip I'm always (or at least mostly...) thankful for a chance to think through things and the week ahead for a few hours!

"Tom Tate of Earth, you have been chosen for the Green Lantern Corps..."

Today was one of my days off work, I'm up in Belfast at the minute and popped into a shop where I have a few comic subscriptions to pick them up. I've only met the owner once before about three weeks ago, and yet he remembered my name and that I live in Dublin. Not only that, but with my purchases he threw in this free collectors edition Green Lantern ring. A little geeky I know, but a great little bonus to make me feel valued and appreciated as a customer.

I then headed towards the cinema, there wasn't really anything on that I wanted to see, but I figured there wasn't much else going on. As I was walking there though I passed by a second hand DVD shop having a closing down sale. I got everything in this picture for a mere £5! Just over the price of a cinema ticket. Should keep me going for a lot longer than a mediocre film in the cinema...

Travelling Mercies

(This is a "Glimpse of Grace" I gave for Whitney's 5-year "blogaversary". Thought I should start out with it...)

The Malahide Estuary, North Co. Dublin

When I drove to work from my old house, I used to have to contend with busy lanes of traffic through rush hour for 20 minutes, but a year ago I moved to a new house where this view accompanies my current commute to get to work. Every time I turn out of my street straight onto this quiet road by the sea I'm struck by the view and by the hand of God that put it there, and so thankful that this is what I get to look at every day instead of the back end of someones car.

Why Me?

Twice in the past few weeks I've come across this little piece of wisdom (paraphrased):

We are so quick to say "Why me?" to God when things go wrong, 

yet, when things are going well and we are surrounded by 

blessings at every turn, will you ever hear us turn to Him and ask 

"Why me?"

The subject of thankfulness has cropped up time and time again in my little corner of the world recently. I've realised I'm not great at it, and am not quick to say thank you for the things I am given. 

This new blog is following in the footsteps and deep dedication of a good friend Whitney (who you can find over at www.glimpses-of-grace.blogspot.com) who has just passed the five year mark of acknowledging moments of grace in everyday situations. I count this little experiment as a descendant of her blogventures and hope to be even a fraction as disciplined in recognizing moments of God in the little and big things. 

So basically this is an attempt to keep my eyes open to moments of God in the everyday, to remember to say "thank you" for the moments of grace and the good things that I don't deserve and yet find myself at the receiving end of anyways. 

And as Whitney has inspired me to glimpse grace in the everyday, it's my hope and prayer that these thanks and thoughts of mine can do the same to whoever stumbles on here.

Here goes...