It’s the last day of 2004 and I’ve been doing some reflecting, thinking about the past year and the one ahead. I’m both excited and apprehensive about the future, knowing some of what is ahead though only in broad strokes, rather than fine detail. It’s the detail that always bothers me.

Since being home I’ve enjoyed catching up with friends, hanging out with family and having the opportunity to rest. I’m in a strange place at the moment, a time of training, a time of getting used to being out of my comfort zone, a time of knowing I am between places. In the past month I’ve been learning a little of what it means to be content wherever you are and whatever you are doing, though I know I still have tons to learn.

Past leanings towards the poor and to issues of justice, which for a while I had put on the back-burner, seem to be resurfacing within me. While I don’t know how their outworking will look, I know that to ignore them would be like lying to myself.

I just pray that God will continue to guide me as I take these little baby steps in following him.

Christmas Reading

“The story of Christmas, properly understood, asserts that God is not best imagined as an all-powerful despot but as a vulnerable and pathetic child. It’s a statement about the nature of divine power. But in the hands of conservative theologians, the Nicene religion of the baby and the cross is a way of distracting attention away from the teachings of Christ. It’s a form of religion that concentrates on things like belief in the virgin birth while ignoring the fact that the gospels are much more concerned about the treatment of the poor and the forgiveness of enemies…” [read more]

-Giles Fraser in today’s The Guardian

I’m heading back to Cardiff in a few hours. It’ll be nice to see friends and family and to find out what’s been going on since I’ve been away. If I don’t blog before, have a great Christmas!

My friend Tom is playing at Cardiff Barfly on the 28th of December.

I had a nice, chilled-out 22nd birthday on Sunday. My Mum, Dad and Zoë came over and we went out to Wagamama, currently my favourite restaurant, for lunch. I recommend the vegetarian Yasai Katsu Curry.

Afterwards we drove back via the Downs, which were beautifully lit by a low winter sun. When we got back to the house we ate cake and hung out with Steve and Claire. An enjoyable birthday, though less rawkus than I’m accustomed to!