'sup. part deux.

I promised a bit more clarification about my musings on my faith recently.

I've gotten to a point where I know I'll be making decisions about faith that will effect my life in the next few years; and I know that I've always been a person that has melded with whoever he could to better himself in the eyes of others. And I know it stems from how I was treated in Primary School and High School as a kid. I gave my life to Jesus because it definatley felt like the right thing to do.

But currently, I've been thinking. deeply. Thinking about whether I'm a Christian because of the environment I was in.

The emotional experiences I've had; coming to Jesus was an incredible experience; but it was compounded by the people around me. In a time when I was depressed and needing emotional support. To be lovingly welcomed by an amazing group of people was something I really needed at that time.

The beautiful and wonderful friends I had, the relationships I've created. I could not count the wonderful Christians that have entered into my life; from the very beginning of my journey to now. They have shown me that there isn't a group of people that have to hold grudges or be unforgiving. That selflessness and believing in someone above all else is something to strive for.

I don't know if I would be a Christian if it weren't for that. So I'm taking a break from it all. I'm not renouncing my faith or anything, just taking time to think things over. I'm 22 in a week, and I want to make choices that reflect me; not those who are around me. My life is just beginning, after all.

I believe this will concern at least one person, but don't be worried. I'm an adult and I make my own decisions. I'm not going to pray about this because I don't need God to tell me what I feel; that's not what He's there to do. Please, don't pray for me; just wish me well.

No matter what, I love you. All of those that have touched my life, I love you.

'sup?

As you can see, I've made a few changes to my blog; deleted a couple of posts and edited a few others. I've mostly made changes to alot of the things that go into the category of describing my faith; as I'm finding that as I move on from what I knew in the past to what I'm beginning to learn in the past few months about what I believe in perceptions are changing. I'm taking some time to really think about my faith and what it means to me; how it defines my life and future. More on that later.

Other news, I've recently started to take my health and wellbeing seriously. After a few months of unrest over exactly how healthy my lifestyle was, I finally got the inspiration from my gorgeous friend, Madeleine to take up a healthier eating regime and take up exercise. I've gone for a walk/jog (can't quite jog much yet, need to do some work there :P) every day for the past week and a half. I usually go about 3.2k's in the evening straight after work and before tea. I'm starting to really feel it in my legs though, they hurt a bit; but I know it's part of the growth. I've cut out soft-drinks from my diet (haven't had any coke withdrawals yet, thankfully) and have mostly got a decent diet worked out. I need to put time into planning things a bit, as I've found myself in some situations with only unhealthy choices in which I've had nothing. So I need to work on providing those sorts of situations with choices. I really love the feeling you get after you get home from a nice walk or jog; and I get alot of satisfaction out of knowing that I'm doing something really productive for my body. I can't wait until I look as good as I feel ;-)

For those of you that don't know; which I would assume is a few. I had a car accident last November. I won't go into many details, suffice to say no-one was hurt (apart from my car) but although I've been without it for nearly 2 months, I will be getting it back all shiny and new soonish. I've really missed having that bit of independence, but thankfully I have a really awesome mate called Rafall who works with me and gives me a lift in every day.

I was writing this before, feeling hungry wondering why I'm not having breakfast. So I went and made myself some and just as a sidenote; bananas are awesome in cereal. Gotta try more of that! It's at the over-ripe stage just before it goes to the offish stage; never eaten a banana at that stage before, tastes amazing though! Mmm...

I'll be heading overseas this year to most likely a couple of destinations; predominatley the US in August to see Jamie whom I haven't been able to annoy in person for the better part of 2 years. I never thought getting a passport would be such a pain in the butt. Mum can provide me with my birth certificate; but it's just an extract! So it doesn't have the date of issue on it, and I need that. So I have to go through some unearthly process to get a copy of the original which even involves the police just to get that one date. I'm going to give the Registrar of B, D & M a call on monday morning to see if I can get the information without a copy of my certificate; but I doubt I'll be able to get it without proving who I am. Annoying. I'm so excited that I'll actually have a passport though :-) Fun.

Back soon,

- Hamish

And Jamie, get online more you bum! I miss you...

The Vicar of Dibley

I just finished watching the very final episode of the Vicar of Dibley with my father. In it, Geraldine finally gets married to the man that God led into her life. It was an amazing finale.

I am so thankful that God made me an emotional person, I feel so much for anything I want to connect to. It's over now, there will be no more Vicar of Dibley episodes. That show has touched my life, and I have had so much quality time with my father watching it; so many laughs and a few tears as well. I cried realising it was the end.

Gosh I love being able to feel emotions, what a gift.

Animal Crossing

Please, watch this;

http://animalcrossingtragedy.ytmnd.com/

It moved me so much, please share your thoughts.

Utterly. Fascinating.

Watch this video, if you don't say "wow" once; then you deserve a gold star.


via videosift.com

If you do say "wow" once, then you deserve a gold star.

See? Everyone wins!

Two Hundred Days

200 days...



What is that? About 6 and a bit months? Half of a year of your life will pass in the next two hundred days. What will you accomplish, what about you will change?

Will you grow your hair in a different way?
Will you lash out and buy that one thing you've been wanting, walking past every day?
Will you learn something new about yourself?
Will you get a job, will you lose a job?
Will you meet someone who reminds you what it was like to be 12?
Will you meet someone who makes you think about your future?
Will you conquer something that has had control over your life?


I dunno, it seems like alot of people don't remember that time is always passing. It's not something you want to dwell on, but it's healthy to remember things that pass. There is a place for our past in our lives, because it's where we have learnt our lessons. What has happened in our past has made us who we are today; it has shaped us and changed us.

A challenge;

Spend some time, and write down the major changes in your life over the past 200 days. Think about how they've affected your life (you can even pray about them if you like). Summarise what you prayed about, and put what you wrote in an envelope.

Between now and the 19th of May next year, 200 days will pass. Open your envelope then.

God is always active in our lives, leading us when we call out and ask Him to. What will He do for you over the next 200 days? Will you see Him working?

Sometimes I feel like I'm just getting up again for another day at work, another week at work; another month at work. But I know this is just a stepping stone, that I'm moving toward something much greater. Whether this is to teach me responsibility, or how to put in effort; I won't fully understand until I'm where I need to be.

But things take time, and I know as I'm actively seeking things which will help me to mature that circumstances will lead to where they will. I will make choices in the next few years that will change my life dramatically, it's terribly exciting.

I hope this post finds you well, I should get around to posting more than once a month sometime...

- Hamish

Talk to your daughter before they do.

I don't know if anyone has seen this ad on TV, I don't watch alot of it so I wouldn't know (about 2 hours max in the past 7 months). But I saw this advert from Dove on videosift, and I'm compelled to post it here just because it's so true.

It seems that alot of women are convinced that they have to alter themselves in some way - whether through medication, fad diets or cosmetic surgery - in order to either make themselves feel validated or be attractive to the opposite sex. I don't know how many men are like me, but I believe that women are beautiful the way that God made them; I might not be attracted to every woman on the earth, but they are gorgeous nonetheless. But everyone is attractive to someone, and it's usually (at least for me) not the looks that are the attraction.

What makes a person truly unique, is their personality; who they are. I guess the amazing part of that is no-one else can change that part of you; you can go get your nose made smaller, or take a course of pills to perhaps change the fat on your hips. But no-one on this Earth can change who you are inside but you.

This video makes me think about alot of things; the difference between lust and love; the challenge it must be to help your daughter realise she is beautiful for who she is; how much I look forward to fatherhood; how gorgeous a young girls smile is; etc.

I pray that this isn't a marketing gimmick, and that the people at Dove truly believe what they convey; because it is so refreshing to see this sort of marketing in the cluttered world we live in.




via videosift.com