Tag Archives for life

I LOST THE PHONE! – Day 4-8

Time is flying by and here’s an update on how the last 5 days have been living without social media and with some seriously limited phone usage. It didn’t help this week as I lost the replacement phone I had – my only tech-contact with people. Oops! At least I had face to face contact still (phew).

However, all is found now, and I’m (slightly) more contactable now.

I would love to hear what you think about how much social media and access to the internet at the immediate time is enriching or spoiling your social interactions? What are your thoughts and opinions on this?

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No Phone for 40 Days – The first few days.

During this season of Lent I am putting time and energies into others things other than my phone and social media. Here’s some thoughts after the first few days.

1. What do you do when you first wake up? Look at your phone?
2. What app do you go to FIRST? Why is that? 
3. Do you think our phone usage is a generational thing, or inter-generational thing?

Leave some comments, let’s continue the conversation!

Shrove Tuesday – Giving Up the Phone for Lent.

For the period of Lent I’ve decided to give myself space away from social media and excessive mobile phone usage. I recorded a short video below to outline why I fancy giving this a try, a few thoughts, and some of the rules I’ve put in place.

The Five Rules I’m putting in place are:

1. No Social Media | 2. No Text Messaging | 3. Limited Phone calls. | 4. No Internet Mobile Device Usage. | 5. I’m allowed emails (on my laptop only).

“Hang on a minute! You are using social media! I found this link on facebook and twitter!” – I know, I’ve automatically set this blog post to send to twitter and facebook, but don’t worry I won’t be checking it.

Anyway, do post some comments on here or on the youtube account. Let’s get a conversation going.

Mindless Mondays – The Baking King

It’s been a while since our last Mindless Mondays. I decided one Saturday morning to bake some Apple Danish Pastries, and was playing about with the camera so captured it! I know this didn’t happen on a Monday (therefore can it count as a ‘mindless Monday’ video?!), but you can watch it on a Monday and I’m posting it on a Monday, and so hopefully you’ll have some enjoyment from my rather mediocre baking skills.

Take me to the Bake Off!

 

10 Things I Know Nothing About

I’ve been married for a mere 3 years, and since then have been a key figure in a house- as in, being one of the the responsible ones. There is something I didn’t realise however when I got married. And I need you all to know this if you are getting married, or taking on being responsible in a house.

Signing my marriage certificate was also signing an invisible contract saying that I should also know about all things DIY.

The same goes for any contract of house ownership that you sign.

But the problem is, I don’t know all things DIY. Infact, I know basically nothing. And I mean nothing. Things show up or happen in my house that I literally have no idea what to do with. I’d like to show you some photos of various things I’ve encountered in my house and have no idea what they are, or how to deal with them. I’d like to make a guess to say that most of us are in the same boat as me, whether married or single or whatever. If you live in a house and take some kind of responsibility in making sure it stays upright then you will relate to this. If you are not in this position, then please take this as a word of friendly warning from me, watch out for the following things:

1. Cracks. Are they dangerous? Will my ceiling collapse? I know I can’t ask a plumber about them, but who do I ask?! A crack man? Sounds like something to do with narcotics rather than an expert telling me if the house will fall down or not.

2. Wet patches on the ceiling. OK I kinda had to figure this one out quick before the house collapsed, but it took me a while, and weeks layer I’m just hoping it’s sorted itself out.

3. Mould. When our bread gets mouldy I just chuck it out. I can’t do that with a corner of a room. So I’m stuck.

4. Random Indoors Condensation. Do we need more heat in the house? Or less? Or thicker curtains? Or has somebody been chucking water around our house in the middle of the night while we sleep?

5. Bleeding Radiators. That’s an action to do, as well as what I say when they make weird noises. But this task does sound incredibly manly, if only I knew how to do it effectively, and the reason for doing it.

6. Doors that don’t open. Do you scrape away the ‘extra’ wood? Or Barge it open everytime you use it? Last year I broke open our front door with my shoulder and smashed the lock up. Not so great when you’re hoping for a secure house. Oops.

Until I get techy enough to know how to embed vines – click here to see this in action in my life:
7. This Thing. I have no idea what it is, but life is continuing whilst it’s around, so it must have some kind of purpose?!

8. Random Cables & plugs. So many wires. So much fear to throw any of them away. They’ll be useful one day. Maybe.

9. That On/Off Switch. We’ve all got one in our houses, hidden away in the darkness of a mysterious cupboard. But what does it do? It has something to do with electrics I know that. Will the house blow up if I flick it? This looks as simple as a child’s toy, but will be as destructive as a petrol bomb if used incorrectly.

10. Fear-Inducing Plastic ‘Bits’. I have this extra plastic bit after a kitchen appliance was installed. The installer said nothing about it. I’d better keep it just in case. **Proceed to stick it in a drawer for 20 years holding an irrational fear of throwing it away.**

Oh DIY, how I loathe thee, but you are cheaper than those people who come round and sort stuff out in 5 minutes yet charge £80 for the privilege.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

My favourite part of 2014.

The first blog post of the year should probably be about something that I’d like to happen this coming year, some hopes and dreams etc. However, I wanted to finally post about one of my favourite moments of last year before getting onto new things.

Back in September I turned 30, and one of the ways Heather and I celebrated was with a trip around Italy. We had a wonderful 10 days travelling across the country, visiting various bits and pieces, sites and cities of the place. I was only told about the trip about 2 weeks before we left, so it was such an awesome surprise, and we had such an excellent time together.

Since then I’ve been meaning to put together a video of the stuff we saw and experienced, and over the Christmas break I’ve had an opportunity to get it finished. It’s mainly for Heather and I’s enjoyment as we look back at our holiday, but I figured you may fancy having a watch too. Think of it like a far quicker and less boring way to be subjected to your friend’s photos from a holiday 😉

Please excuse the mildly dodgy sound and video quality (I’m no professional!), but I’m sure you get the idea.

10 Things I Learned in my 20s.

All has been quiet on the blog front the last couple of weeks – for a whole bunch of reasons. One of which being that I turned 30 and had some birthday celebrations! Despite joking around about growing old, needing a hip replacement soon, lacking any ability to use technology all of a sudden and other ‘old man’ banter – I’m actually feeling fine about this age. Infact, there are lots of things I hear from those far older and wiser than I who have shared great things about this coming decade in my life.

I’ve been pondering over the last few weeks some of the things I’ve been learning in the last decade just gone. I thought I would put them into a post on here, maybe it’s helpful for anyone in a similar position to me age-wise, or maybe you are in you are younger and just simply fancy some advice from somebody who is a little closer to the point in life where Antique programmes are vaguely interesting (just FYI, I’m not at that point yet!).

1. I really don’t know anything. I used to think that I know everything about everything. Then I came to a point where I thought “OK, I might not know everything but I’ll get there soon”. I’m now in a season where I’m comfortable not knowing everything, and in fact I tend to come at things in life with a sense of ‘I have no idea about this’, with a hope that I’ll learn something, but also I’m now fine to ask for help – most of the time 😉 The quicker we come to the point of realising that we don’t know everything, the better.

2. Qualifications are not everything. Now, hear me on this. Education is great. It’s important too. Work hard to get the grades you need in order to have a great chance to succeed in the area of life you’re pursuing or hope to pursue. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to learn so don’t waste it. But don’t base your life on it. Don’t let your identity as a person be based on your qualifications (or lack of). Most people I know don’t work in the area that they studied in at university, and loads of people I know who didnt get the grades they wanted on exam results day are actually doing fine! Also, the kinds of people who do like to go on about their qualifications – are usually a bit annoying actually.

3. Enjoy your free time. As time goes on you get less of it. Infact, your time becomes ‘communal’, shared by other important people in your life. This isn’t a bad thing, but its something to be aware of. Make sure when you get some free time, you are making the most of it.

4. God’s will is a field, not a tightrope. Too many people are deeply stressed and anxious about their calling from God. What does the future hold for me? What direction should I go in life? Sure, these are big decisions, but don’t think God’s will is some thin, difficult tightrope to walk along – that any sway to the left or the right or one wrong step here or there means total disaster and ‘game over’ in your life. God’s will is more like a field – there are very general boundaries that you can see in the distance, but there are so many directions to run in and so much space to play, try things out and enjoy. You may have a variety of choices, and the truth is God never leaves us, he’ll be with you no matter what you choose! So go have and a skip around in the field.

5. Be good. It makes life so much easier. Apparently when I was younger before school age, I made a decision and shared with my family that I was going to be good. When asked why, I told my parents and sister that ‘its easier to be good and saves so much hassle’ (paraphrased by the 30 year old me). I stick by that today. I’m not talking about staying silent when you disagree with something (although I can still be guilty of that sometimes), but I do see the importance in bringing goodness to other people, and situations. There are enough people in this world who like to stir up trouble and bring disunity amongst groups. Be somene who brings goodness and peace to others around you. One of my favourite verses is 2 Timothy 2:23 where it says “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” Sometimes the Bible says stuff so simply and clearly eh?

6. Don’t lose your imagination. It’s not considered normal for an adult to have an imagination.But its using our imagination that we can see things that don;t exist yet. The dreams and goals for your life, the ideas and inventions you would like to create. The places you would like to visit, the type of person you would like to be. Using our imagination is key to getting off the starting blocks to pursue what we hope for in our lives. Lets not mock imagination as something to grow out of! I once wrote about the importance of our imaginations here.

7. Enjoy the fun things, allow yourself to the excited about things. Don’t become boring. Many people live as if life is really tough, with the occasional fun moment thrown in. I seek to live like life is full of fun moments, with some moments thrown in there. One of the first things I did after turning 30 is go to a theme park and screamy my head off for the day. Proof of that is here.

8. People will do anything for you if you just love them. That isnt the reason to love people, but I notice that lots of people want things from others without loving them and they simply dont end up gathering people. Want to gather people for a mission? Simply love them first, and the mission will get done together. Treat people well and they will treat you well. If you can help other’s get what they want, they’ll be happy to help you get what you want. What we all tend to want is something relational anyway. We want friendship, unity, support, encouragement, guidance, prayer, teamwork. All relational things. Be relational, love people.

9. Fight the right battles. Some things are worth fighting for. Pour your energy into those things. Dont give your fighting, persuasion, and debating energies to things that ultimately aren’t that importnat in the first place. I’m still learning this one, but when you come against something or somebody you disagree with, people steaming in to change the situation take a step back, have a think: “Is this a battle worth fighting for?”. Try to see the bigger picture and decide if you ar egoing to fight for it or not. Want to know what I’ve noticed? 8 out of 10 annoyances aren’t worth fighting for in my opinion. That’s a huge amount of energy saved for a 2 out of 10 times a real battle comes along!

10. If you have a dream, do something about it. We’ve got plenty of dreamers, what we need are ‘Activist Dreamers’. People who want to do, see, achieve, become something, and then do everything they can to pursue it. I’ll never forget a time when I spoke with somebody about their dreams. They wanted to lead worship at their church. I had known this person for a reasonable amount of time, and the thought popped in my head that I had never seen them involved in anything musical at any church event before. After asking if they were involved in the worship team they told me they weren’t(!). I left that conversation totally confused – if we have dreams in our hearts, then DO SOMETHING about them. To pursure my dreams I’ve had to make some steps, some small steps, some massive leaps. but I always have the thinking of doing something.

If you had to do a similar post of lessons from your life, what would you include? I’d be fascinated to hear them so feel free to leave a comment below with your lists!

 

Who says a grown-man can’t scream?

I’ve entered a new decade of life recently (wow, that made it seem far more dramatic than it actually is…). In some conversations with Heather, I mentioned how I still love theme parks, rollercoasters, rides, adrenaline rushes etc. And so, recently I ended up going on a trip to Thorpe Park, which is full of ’em!

I thought for some fun I’d try to film some of the rides, and it wasn’t until I sat down to look at the videos that I realised how loud I tend to be on these rides. But ah well, why not let the world see 🙂

Who says a grown man can’t \\ shouldn’t \\ doesn’t \\ won’t scream?!

That was a good day.

ALS (MND) Ice Bucket Challenge

I know it’s Monday and therefore should this post that is published on a Monday be considered a ‘Mindless Monday’ one?! Well, I thought that would be a bit harsh and wrong considering it’s my Ice Bucket Challenge which is for a cause, and not entirely mindless?! So here, is just a post on a Monday, not quite Mindless.

Here in the UK ALS is known more as Motor Neurone disease (of which ALS is a specific type). For those of you in the UK you can donate to the Motor Neurone Disease Association by texting ICED55 followed by the amount you want to donate, to 70070. I love how this viral, simple act has spread so quickly, and hope that huge amounts of money is raised, as well as a great deal of awareness also.  

6mins Of Video You Won’t Regret Watching.

Take 6 minutes out right now to watch this video. It's been filmed (and is used as a bit of a promo) for GoPro video cameras.

I'm a bit of a video/YouTube and obsessee, so I tend to watch a lot of videos. So when I watch one that makes me stop, turn off every other media form and actually focus on it for over 5 minutes then I know it must be good.

The way this has been filmed, and what was captured is simply beautiful in my opinion. It's also fascinating narration also. Take the time for this one, and let me know what you think below in the comments section, I won't give anything else away, just watch.