Feb 23: Illness

It's been waiting in the wings a while. A sore throat and a bit of tiredness. When I came to London 15 years ago I said 2 things: "I don't do feelings" and "I don't do ill". I was shown very quickly that I was wrong on the first one. It's taken a bit longer to concede to the other.

I could go on about how I've had to spend all day in bed and then had to change the sheets because of the hazard warning on our bedroom. I won't though, because you don't want to hear it. Instead I'll be grateful that I have a loving wife (who is also poorly) to look after me and that really, my health is pretty good.

I'm just not very good at being ill.

Feb 22: Building

Last year, we were really lucky to move house and move nearer to work and church and friends and schools. It's not a completed masterpiece yet though so I've spent most of today with an angle grinder and lots of small bits of tiles. It's very satisfying work, and I'll be sure to invite you round one P has grouted it all...

Feb 21: Wifey

I should have posted this 4 days ago when it was our wedding anniversary. Unfortunately the picture was out of focus and I thought it was only worth doing properly.

Priscilla & I have been married 11 years. 11 years of adventure and fun. 4 properties, 4 cars, one van, 8 canoes, 4 bikes, several fish, 2 rabbits and a whole lot of mileage going out and doing things mainly outdoors.

We've not done much foreign travel and whole load of other things but we wouldn't have it any other way. We don't go out for dinner because we eat well at home, we have loads of friends to share our love and 2 little kiddies to keep it all real.

Happy wedding anniversary - love you forever.

Feb 20: Little People

I can remember life before Jen was born. There was a lot more freedom. There was less purpose though. I am more aware of myself and who I am now that I have charge of two little people to look after. They help you to keep in touch with reality. They help you to loose your inhibitions and not worry about what others think. They can really help you to find Joy and help you to live life to the full, knowing that their little life will grow and blossom as you feed it.

She really has been the glue over these last few years and I will be forever grateful - thanks Jen.

Feb 19: Back in action..

There is a lot of love in the world. A few people have been sad that nothing new has appeared here the last couple of days. I've been tired. Lots of work and little play.

Today I drove 150 miles in strong side winds, packed up the last of Mum and Dad's belongings into my car and then spent most of this evening putting them in the loft. I'll sort it all out later when I have more energy and time to sift through and appreciate a lifetime of stuff.

So bare with me - we'll get to Feb 29 eventually.

Feb 18: more rest (maybe)

Here I am, having spent a long Saturday with the children all content and happy because I get to spend 2 hours watching the World Track Cycling at the London Olympic Velodrome, a couple of miles away in Stratford.

The olympics is going to cause chaos here. Traffic will be awful, people will be stressed, deliveries and post will be terrible, none of us will want to do any work and there will be maximum disruption.

But on the other hand, I'll be spurred on by amazing athletes to push myself. To live life to the max and do my very best in all I do. And afterwards, appreciate all the venues that the olympics will leave behind. I'm already making the most of the Olympic canoeing centre, I hope to take advantage of more of it as it becomes available.

Feb 17: Buddies

Everyone needs buddies. The idea that you can get through life and all that it throws at us without friends and support of others is crazy. Friends will be there when you are having struggles, and they will be there to celebrate the good moments too.

Feb 16: School

Okay, I need a wider angle lens for this. But then you wouldn't see my feet. The yellow paint says 'School'. I spent most of my time at school not being the best academic (7 GCSEs aren't many - esp when 2 of them were Ds), but I did spend a lot of it being creative.

But I was one of the lucky ones. I had chances and opportunities that many didn't and I'd like to think I didn't waste them. My father telling me to leave town and get a degree rather than staying around and get a job with a company which has now abandoned the local area was good advice it turns out.

My point is that it was my experiences at school and college and uni that made me who I am, not sitting on a sofa, playing xbox games and wasting my youth. There, I said it.

Feb15: New shoes ...

Never takes your clothes for granted. They are probably made by poorly paid people in poor environments who are dependent on the opportunity to work because not working means no benefits, no food and nowhere to live.

So try and buy fairly traded / made stuff. Try and use the very last bit out of your clothes. Try and reuse old clothes or go shopping in charity shops.  Try and buy clothes which are made in a way that doesn't ruin the environment.

It's not all bad. You could look as cool as me...

(PS the shoes probably aren't fairly traded / made - the jeans however are: www.howies.co.uk )

Feb14: Brick Lane

Controversy! Brick Lane has had tarmac put all over it. Is nothing sacred any more?

Footnote: Read yesterday's entry. Those bricks under my feet are in Stepney, not Spitalfields...

Feb13: Media

Don't believe all that you read. Don't believe all that you see. All that appears to be true and right may not be. There is always another side to the story or something that you have missed. We all know that 'the media' tell us what they want to tell us, not necessarily all that we want to know. And then every now and then they tell a white lie or imply something that isn't true.

Ask questions - figure it out for yourself.

For instance. That photo up there was taken today. Not Feb 13. Will you ever trust me again?

Feb 12: Gifts

So I lead the music at church this evening. It's something I do from time to time. I do it because I want to know God better and help others to know God better too. Music has a way of penetrating our souls in a way that is different to words and pictures. I do it because from the age of 10, I've been playing the guitar and more recently had the guts to try and sing at the same time.

I see my ability to play as a gift. And like any gift, I don't want to waste it.

Feb 11: Gardening?

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunest so that it will be even more fruitful You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:1-4 (NIV)

Feb 10: Work

"... By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3: 19

So work was created as a result of the fall. Adam and Eve were told they had to work the land if they were going to survive. However, work is not all bad. Through work we have purpose, we can make a difference. Even the 'shelf replenishment officer' in Sainsbury's can step back and be proud of his / her work and know that what they have done to the best of their ability is something that cannot be taken away by anyone.

Feb 9: Boris Bikes!

Nothing deep today. Just me sharing my love of cycling anything and everything. That includes the Barclays Bike Hire Scheme or 'Boris Bikes' as I refer to them. They are heavy, highly geared, slow, not that comfortable to ride, but I love them. They are cheap, convenient, good exercise, and a handy way to get around. How cool is that?

Feb 8: Simplicity

"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

Sometimes we make things complicated. We can't believe it is as simple as it is. I am lucky to see God at work in others every day. It has to be God - you cannot make up the things I see and hear and the common factor is that people are turing to a higher power to heal and forgive.

Its often the people who have nothing or very little who I see change the most. I would probably see more change in my own life if it were not so comfortable. Fortunately it is comfortable relatively, and I am grateful every day for this.

Feb 7: ... and rest.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

So I'm a little tired today. So I only got the chance to take a photo quite late in the day. When I've sat down. When the work is done. When the balance between what is important and what is 'living the life' has taken more energy than you hoped. Still, I've got a few hours left of today...

Feb 6: Temporary

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6 (NIV)

Things don't last forever. Not everything is meant to. We can waste our lives waiting for something better to come along, or catch every moment and live as if every day is our last. Not too practical sometimes, but there is a balance to be had and life to live to the full.

So well done all those people who made snowmen and didn't wait too long before the snow melted.

Feb 5: SNOW!

Snow. Love it or hate it, it arrived today. It caused some people on the M40 and M25/A1 to be stuck in their cars for hours. It caused us to be late to church today. But you can't beat the beauty, and peace that comes with snow. It is temporary. It lasts moments - then life carries on and the snow melts or gets dirty. Peace is something we take for granted, but most people don't experience that true peace. Most of us see the inconvenience of having to slow down to drink in the beauty of the moment.

Feb 4: Water.

This is the bank of the Olympic White Water Centre. Any nearer the edge and I would have fallen in. Today it had about 1cm of ice on the surface and people (including Priscilla) were paddling in it despite the chunks of ice that were waiting to debilitate anyone foolish enough to get onto the water.

Seriously though, being outdoors and on the white water help me to feel closer to the elements of creation. They help me to not take for granted where water comes from in the tap or that rain is an okay thing (it fills up the rivers). Not everyone in the world can enjoy the luxury of playing with water so I'm grateful for it whatever the temperature.

Day 3: Super Cycle Highways

Here is something I stand for. Love him or hate him, Boris (or his team) have implemented the most slickest,  cycle friendly bit of road I've ever ridden. They dug it out, re-surfaced it, and then painted it with a slippery blue paint which is treacherous in the rain.

The result has been amazing. Every day, even in the sub-zero temperatures we are seeing at the moment, there are literally hundreds of cyclists on the blue road outside my workplace. Its a shame I've moved within spitting distance of work because now I only get to cycle it when I borrow Boris' Bikes.

The cycle revolution is here!

Day 2: Opportunity

Proverbs 19: 14. You may inherit all you own from your parents, but a sensible wife is a gift from the Lord.  (CEV)

It's not just their stuff I inherit but so much more. While I've been packing things up I've been looking at every small item from a box of Dad's old pipes to a pile of Mum's sun hats. Every object has a story, and in some way, I am the product of those stories. Dad was an engineer - I see detail in everything. Mum was gifted at craft - I'm creative in many ways. In so many things, I'm grounded in the ways that they have bought me up.

The picture is of the threshold to our home. If Dad hadn't contracted asbestosis, we would never had the opportunity to move. From one person's suffering, so much opportunity is born. It's a similar story to how God created everything, came to earth to share it and gave it all away, so we can live in freedom and accept His gift. How do you respond to something like that?

Day 1: Unfortunate Loss

Standing on the skip full of the broken up possessions of my parents. Both my parents died of cancer. Dad in May 2010 and Mum in Sep 2011. Over the last few months I've been clearing their house and today was the last of the things to throw away. It's sad really as a lot of their things were perfectly good and had a lot of life in them. However, no one wanted them and I don't have the time and resources to recycle it all. So in the skip it went.

Grounded - why?

New month, new project. Saw this idea, and thought I would follow it through for a month. If nothing else, it will give me an interesting poster at the end of it.

So each day, I will take a picture of my feet. Not just my feet, but where I'm standing. What I stand for and what I'm grounded in. See where I'm going with that?

So often we take what we stand for and our foundation for granted. Hopefully over the next month (shortest of the year), I can explore this a bit more.