highlights of 2010

Highlights of 2010:
1. Cruise to Norway with my girls
2. Millenium centre performance by my kids from school
3. Putting up decking and installing kitchen with mum and dad.
4. Starting up diva fever function band
5. Starting up samba con brio
6. Going to see the Dave Matthews band
7. Watching Ellia take her first steps

before the creation of the world

I read this verse a few days before Christmas and it reminded me that as we celebrate the birth of Jesus into this world, the author of salvation had planned this event before this world was even created!
Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.
He planned this out of love for us, not for himself but an action of love for us.

A sense of wonder at Christmas time

My mother and sister have a favourite song which has a lyric 'I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean'. I was reminded of that lyric today when thinking
about why we celebrate Christmas. That God came to earth as a human baby is incredible and beyond our understanding, however we've heard the story so many times it somehow becomes normal and we don't have the wonder that we maybe once had. So here is to Christmas blowing our minds again with the reality that God came to earth human form.

My Grandmother died last month at the age of 89. She was a very dedicated woman in many ways. Even at the end of her life she was knitting clothes for children in Romania and writing letters to friends and family. She was always interested in what we were all upto. She was also very dedicated in her marraige my grandfather suffers with alzheimers so she was his carer for a good few years even when she was struggling physically. She had asked for psalm 121 to be read at her funeral. In trying to get my head around this psalm, it spoke to me about the journey we will go on from this life to everlasting life with God. It describes a journey up a mountain with our creator helping us and stopping our feet from slipping and he will do this eternally.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

It has been an ambition of mine for a while to see the Dave Matthews band live. They don't tour in this country frequently and when they do the tickets go pretty quickly. So I was very greatful when Carina announced that she had managed to get hold of two tickets, albeit it meant a drive to Manchester on a Sunday night before a school day. It's the end of the school day on the monday now and I'm still alive and witnessed an amazing gig with my good friend Tim Bannister. LOts of spontaneous jams as well as great songs. Very loud though! This was the set list.
Proudest Monkey
Satellite
Don’t Drink the Water
Lying In the Hands of God
Funny The Way It Is
Seven
Sugar Will
Crash (Into Me)
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Spaceman
Corn Bread
#41
You and Me
Jimi Thing
Burning Down The House
So Much To Say
Anyone Seen The Bridge
Too Much (Fake)
Ants Marching

__________________

Baby Blue
Two Step

Our tenth valentines day!

My wife and I have been married for almost 6 years and have spent 10 valentine days as a dating couple, engaged and then married. Our life together has been constantly changing, either new jobs, new houses, cars and most recently our daughter Ellia. We often annoy each other, yet always love each other. We both know we are in it for the long haul. We are commited to each other. Thankyou Carina for putting up with me, I love you.

^{As it was Valentines day yesterday, this is a passage from the book of 1 John chapter 4, starting at verse 7. I think these words describe the true meaning of love. We wouldn't know what true love is if it wasn't for Jesus' act of sacrificial love for us. This passage was used in church yesterday. Good choice.
7}Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^b]" into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^c]" our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ¹⁷In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

If that is a description of God's demonstration of love, then this is a description of how we should be acting out love, and a very severe warning.

Matthew 25

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

ZENERGY (Wooten and Beauford)

I remember having this video years ago. Carter Beaufords freedom in his playing, when in a studio situation and playing in five, shows how naturally he finds it. This is taken off Victor Woutens album Yin and Yang, well worth a listen. I love the last track Resolution.

The ten drummers that I have been influenced by most:
1. Dave Grohl - Nirvana drummer, I learnt every track off the nevermind album with my friends in our school band. Here he is playing with Nirvana
2. Jose Pasillas - Incubus drummer, They are the band I have listened most to in my life and he has a great groove. Here he is playing Wish you were here
3. Mitch Mitchell - Jimi Hendrix Experience, Another favourite of our school band. Purple Haze and Fire were our favourite tracks. He was ahead of his time. Here he is soloing
4. Carter Beauford - Dave Matthews band, Probably my favourite drummer at the present time. Great groove and hi- hat/cymbal work. Here he is playing on his Dvd 'Under the table and drumming'
5. Dave Mattacks - My Parents used to take me to see a folk band called Fairport Convention when I was young. He would play perfectly for the songs. I like this solo, not over complicated but musical
6. Chad Smith - One of my favourite bands growing up, great ghost notes. Drum Clinic performance.
7. Greg Bissonette - I have seen Greg Bissonette at a few drum clinics and have his DVD. I like that his philosophy is to dip into every style. Here he is soloing
8. Gary Chaffee - I'm working through a book by Gary Chaffee called Time functioning patterns. Best practise method book I've seen. Here he is
9. Travis Barker - Nearly forgot about this guy. I like his rudimental style that he makes really funky with Box car Racer. There is by box Car Racer
10. Elvin Jones - Just for a Jazz influence. Elvin Jones withJohn Coltrane

So, 2010 starts the day after tommorow. I was realising the other day that at 28 I've probably lived one third of my life, if I live until old age. It made me think about where I've got to in life and what has been important to me. I then began to think what my priorities are for the next third of my life. I came to the conclusion that the first third was all about finding my way and getting set up. The next third is all about seeing those things through to the best of my ability. I believe God sends us all here in love and with good purpose, I want to know him more and see through his purposes for me. I want to be an inspiring Dad to Ellia and be her security. I want to be a commited, loving husband and I want my career and ministry to be sustainable and fruitful. 2010 is the start of this next phase.

Yesterday I was rehearsing for a musical. I must say it is stretching me in my playing. The notes on the score are quite straight forward. However, there are changes in tempo and different ways of counting in. This coupled with changes between sticks, soft sticks and brushes brings things that I am certainly not completely comfortable with yet. I am used to playing to a set tempo or going to a timing within that tempo. It's easy to make excuses and feel a bit rubbish, but hey it's a chance to grow in this type of playing. So here goes today's practise and rehearsal.

The night shift, book reviews and coffee.

How beautiful are my two girls:) So we have experimented with different routines since Eliya was born 5 weeks ago. For the last few days I have decided to stay up with Eliya (whether she's asleep or awake) until 2 am while Carina sleeps, then she is doing the other half of the night. That way we are both getting a decent amount of uninterrupted sleep. Much coffee is therefore being drunk and I am slowly persevering through my 'Lost' boxset.
The book that I mentioned in my last post has had a few outings this week. It has such a huge amount of content in it. The best practice manual I have ever seen for serious drummers in both Rock and Jazz styles. If only I had more time:)
Gary Chaffee is the man.

I'm writing this post with my two girls asleep beside me. I've got alot to be thankful for. Our Baby girl Eliya was born last wednesday. She is now 1 week and 1 day old.
I have had this week off work and it has been a fantastic week at the same time as a huge learning curve.
I didn't really know what to expect, although I had prepared myself for sleep deprivation.
It is generally feed and change the baby every 3-4 hours, although Eliya slept for 6 hours uninterrupted last night. This means you never get longer than a 5 hour sleep in one block and I'm used to atleast 8. But it seems that I'm adapting slowly. The psalm says enter His gates with thanksgiving in your heart, it's easy for me to do this at the mo. It also says enter His courts with Praise, I've read recently that giving Praise to God is all about Praising God for who He is rather than what He has done. So I give thanks for our little one, but I also know that it won't always be as easy to Praise, but I know that He will still be worthy because God is who He is no matter what's going on in my life. Anyway, end of my spiritual bit for now.
My birthday is coming up. My mother asked me what I wanted. There is a book I have wanted for a while it's called time functioning patterns by Gary Chaffee, looking forward to getting stuck into it. Will do a review when I've got into a little bit. Am also planning to get a new drum track on www.drummingsolutions.co.uk and on my myspace page every week from now on. There finishes the ramble of a man trying to balance family life, spiritual life and drumming development. Until the next time...

Summer holidays 2009

The school holidays 2009 are nearly at their completion. I'm enjoying a few more restful days before going back to school. Here are some of the highlights.
1. Painting and decorating the babies room. Our first baby is due in a few weeks, the room now has my dad's Cot taking center stage. I love walking in there and imagining what life is going to be like!
2. A week aboard the Maylee (my parents boat on the Kenet and Avon canal). It's always a highlight of the year, I've now also dicovered that the local pub do a great beef stew and dumplings... looking forward to the next time already. We also caught up with many friends, as they came to visit over the week, and I went Canoeing!
3. Cardiff Carnival was a new experience and the first outing for the drumming solutions samba band. We played on St Mary's street Cardiff for a while. There were some fantastic samba bands there!
4. Wedi 7 with Gruff Rees. We played on S4C's equivalent of the one show at National Botanical Gardens. I've never played balanced on a Rock Garden before.
5. Drumming solutions workshops... we've been kept busy providing drumming workshops in the RCT area over the summer, long may it continue.
6. The U2 concert at the Millenium stadium was incredible. The best put together show I've seen, when you take into account the organised way that the band and crew kept every one fully entertained for 2.5 hours.

We had a great week on the kenet and avon canal last week. Great to spend some time with friends, eat some lovely food (highlight being the best beef stew and dumplings ever, Lock in Cafe, Bradford on Avon) and remember how to operate the Maylee all over again. I love it, but everytime we come home I'm ready to come home, but when I get home I want to go back!
We played at the cardiff Carnival this week, a first outing for the drumming solutions samba band! Photo attached. I also get to record with Gruff Rees (www.myspace.com/gruffress) for a programme called wedi7 on thursday. Thankyou Lord for the variety of life.

Really enjoying the freedom of the holidays so far, I've managed to get a good bit of exercise in... I'm doing 10 minutes on the cross trainer, 10 minutes on the bike and some weights. I've been out for a jog aswell, nothing like getting out in God's creation. Drum practise has begun... the old college file is back out and I'm working on some co-ordination exercises.
I'm really exited about getting into God's word over the next 6 weeks. I've been revisiting the Names of God which tell us all about His character. God's our creator, God's our salvation, He's our deliverer, He's our healer and He's our provider (plus much more). This is God's character, and his character is unchanging - So he will always be these things to us.

Had a great day today,
We've made it to the last day of term! I started the day by clearing what will be the babies room. The room is looking bigger than I thought it was, tomorrows job is to start painting.
I then continued reading a book I've started called 'The power of Praise and Worship'. It's main focus being that Praise and Worship bring healing and deliverance.
I've then been to the gym, played a few rhythm games in school with the kids, done some drum practice, cut the grass and been for a good long walk. Not even the first day of the hols and feeling refreshed already. Makes me realize how ridiculously busy I've been over the last few months.

Here starts my diary of events of the summer holidays 2009. School is starting to run down and I'm starting to look forward to the refreshment that the next six weeks will bring! Want to get outdoors a good bit more (get rid of my drum room tan!), I also have a nursery to prepare! Painting, moving stuff, building stuff and loads of imagining a baby in the room! A few more drum lessons to go and then off. Looking forward to Ignite this weekend as well.

Pre-season training... I'm looking forward to the school summer hols. I'll be getting to the gym alot, doing alot of reading and doing plenty of drum practise. I'll be getting re-inspired by the books I read and the stuff I watch and music I listen to. I know I am going to be recharged for a new season. The one coming up will include being the Father to our baby! Can't wait for that. Thankyou Lord that you renew our strength!

Ground hog day!

I had one crazy day today!
I was taking samba drumming sessions at a comprehensive school for all of the feeder schools in the area, they were doing lots of activities, drumming was just one of them. Now, there were 16 groups all doing a 15 minute session with me. To be fair to them all I did the same lesson plan with each group. So I lived the same fifteen minutes 16 times today! The funnny thing was, one of the staff seemed to keep walking in at the same time in my little talk. It felt like I was reliving the same thing over and over! weird!