The Failing Year

Strange title for a post this time and to some extent its a bit of a summary as to how this year has been with this blog.

I have manifestly failed to make many entries - mainly due ot my own laziness I suppose but also because I have failed to do a great deal.

The latter is mainly due to a knee injury in April whilst cycling to work where I pulled or strained a ligament in my knee that was extremely painful to say the least and which only seemed to come right towards the end of August to early September.

This has hindered a lot of cycling, mountain biking  walking and climbing and in some part has contributed to me being on downward spiral for the vast majority of the year and so I have not felt like (metaphorically) putting pen to paper.

October was marginally better and I managed a couple days in Scotland's mountain bike heaven - the 7 Stanes (@7Stanes) with a good friend and colleague which helped recover some of my confidence in my abilities.

Work has been insanely busy and this has prevented me making my usual midweek visits to the church in the town centre here and which I was beginning to miss quite keenly. Happily this situation seems to be resolving itself now and there is a sense of calm returning and this has enabled me to actually make a couple of services over the past two weeks. I actually feel quite excited about the prospect of Christmas and the Christmas story now and there is a sense of anticipation building that the season is coming towards us.

So maybe the failing year in terms of the amount of time left in the year is bringing to an end a failing year for me with the hope that seems to be being born with the approach of Christmas and a new hope for the next year.

Seasons moving on

The last time I wrote it was the start of spring and now we are standing on the threshold of Autumn.
In terms of it being a personally successful few months I would say it was not good.
The problem with my knee cast a shadow over most of the spring and summer as all my plans  for walking, climbing and biking went by the by. Needless to say this set me back quite badly and I am only now getting back to some level of fitness and with that a level off mental health that goes with it  for me. Lets just hope that the Autumn gets much better.

Its Spring

Well here we are in Lent and it feels awesome this year. Spring has also made an appearance to coincide with it and so although its a time for contemplation it feels like lefe renewed and reinvigorated already.
I managed a really good ride on my road bike this morning and could see amd hear spring all around me- glorious!

Time flying by

I can hardly believe that we re only 2 weeks away from the end of February,  this year is moving far too fast. The one thing that I welcome coming quickly is a weeks break from work although, with the floods in the south on England it is a bit unclear what we are going to do. We had planned to go to the west country but at the moment this is looking a bit doubtful. Still you never know.
If one good thing comes out of these floods it may be that it draws communities together again and out of the me first culture,  as people find that they need their neighbours and their neighbours need them.

Accidents Happen

Today I got to the office to find a number of work colleagues stood over anothe friend who was lying on the deck,  his bike having slipped on an icy corner and he fell off breaking his femur in the process. He was inly yards away from the end of 10 k journey.
Once I knew he was ok and the ambulance had taken him off to hospital I began to think about the moral in this story such as is and it basically came down to you can never be sure what trials life has in for you when you least expect it.

Another Wednesday!

Hump da,y but a good day today. Even though the weather here is changeable to say the very least this could not dampen the feeling that today was a really good day.
It just so happens that Wednesday is also a day when there is a lunchtime service at the church in the centre of our town which I have been attending (work permitting) over the past couple  of years. Every once in a while the minister presiding comes up with a really good sermon and today's was about family and for once had the congregation laughing in the aisles with some of the comments. It made me think quite a lot - yes my family can by trying at times and my extended family and friends too - but I would not be without them because they make me smile so much with some of the things they do.
It also made me think about the family that have passed and even though it is sad at times I can still smile at the memories of the good times we had as a family.
Thank you Lord for the pocketful of sunshine memories that brightened the rainy skies!

Where does your faith come from?

I suppose mine came originally from going to church and sunday school from a very young age at the request of my parents. Typically I rebelled against this in my late teens - being sure of myself and not wanting anything to do with something as staid.
During the intervening years certain aspects of the past came to the fore and my views on organised religion hardened as I could perceive more of the hurt that was done in the name of religion than the good that was being done.
I don't think I ever lost a feeling of spirituality, I just think I channeled it through other things like my love of the moors and mountains of this country and the feeling of oneness and unity that I got from being out there. There was always something there.
This is part of what allowed me to see God in this, that and a hymn, "How Great Thou Art", which speaks movingly of the mountains and forests and how God is in them all. This allowed me to believe again and to see God in them and to feel my faith again.
This is the version I heard that allowed my to feel this again, a wonderful hymn with a true sense of appeal to those of  us who love the great outdoors and all it means to us