Heading “home” for Christmas?

So the term is rapidly drawing to a close and your thoughts are turning towards heading back to your parents’ house for the Christmas holidays. You may even be there already. Here are a few tips for making the most of the break:

1. Have a break!
I’m sure pretty much everyone will have exams upon returning to Manchester in January, but even so it’s important to give yourself some time off before gettin stuck into revision. Otherwise, next term will start and you’ll be knackered before you even begin. When I was at uni I had a rule whereby I wouldn’t do any academic work between breaking up and Christmas day/celebrations. It seemed to work pretty well.

2. Talk to your parents about Manchester.
It’s really easy to just get home and slip into teenage grunts and groans – not really talking to anyone unless it involves food or borrowing the car. It’s understandable too – you’re knackered and just want to relax and get over any end-of-termitis. But your parents/grandparents etc will be desperate to know how your term’s gone. Not just academically either, they’ll be interested about church, halls, silly anecdotes… everything! They’ve done so much in making it possible for you to be away at uni so it’s nice to honour them by making them feel involved in what’s going on.

3. Stay on-the-ball spiritually.
I used to find the holidays really difficult on my faith – I was away from a thriving church and even found personal stuff such as praying/reading the Bible more difficult to do even though I had lots more time floating around. My advice: make sure you’re pro-active in carving out time to be alone with God on a regular basis. Also, don’t feel like you can’t get in touch with us/your lifegroup just cos you’re away from Manchester – you’re only a text/call/facebook away from some support if you need it!

4. Meet up with old school friends.
I’m sure you’ll be doing this anyway, but it’s always good to catch up with old freinds and share stories from the past term. You’ll find that as ther terms and years go by you’ll drift somewhat from your school friends, and that’s perfectly normal, but it’s good to keep relationships going if you can. Alos, make sure you talk to them about what God has been doing with you this term – it might be a really good way of talking about your faith in a new way with people that you’ve known for years. You’ll be amazed at how much leaving school affects people in terms of opening their minds to stuff.

Well that’s it for now. Have an awesome Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2010!

God bless

Christmas Shopping

It seems like every day at the moment that my inbox gets filled with emails about Christmas presents. Pretty much any company I’ve ever bought anything off has got in touch to let me know just what I should be buying my nearest and dearest this year.

Well this got me thinking… what are we going to be buying people this year (if anything)? Will it be stuff they want or just whatever we can get our hands on that’s half-decent and won’t break the bank? Will it improve there lives?

You might have other Christians in your friends and family, or you might not. But how’s this for an idea…what if we were a bit more intentional with our gifts this year? Maybe we could use the opportunity to bless someone with something that will encourage their faith – or maybe even stimulate it for the first time? It could be books, CDs, DVDs whatever. Music’s normally a winner so I thought i’d give you a few suggestions in that area…

John Mark McMillan – The Medicine

Friend of reach and all round awesome guy John Mark McMillan released his third album, The Medicine, last year. It’s ace. Musically it’s great, especially if you like your guitars, but I think his lyrics are just amazing. He’s clever and original and by avoiding all the standard Chrsitian clichés he makes you actually take notice of what he’s saying and process what that might actually mean. It’s a great album and would make an excellent present. You can listen to some tracks here. Do it now!

Kristene Mueller – Those Who Dream.

A gorgeous album from one of the Bethel worship leaders. Even though it’s obviously Christian, it’s not a ‘worship album’ per se and stand on its own two feet musically in terms of being a record that’s both chilled/reflective and uplifting at the same time. And her voice is simply stunning, especially on St. Francis. I’ve got a copy and I’m buying one for my mum! Head to her myspace for a sample.

Mute Math – Reset EP.

Mute Math have just released their 2nd full-length studio album, Armistice, but I can heartily recommend getting your hands on a copy of their debut EP if you can. They are genuinely one of my favourite bands and I think they manage to balance being Christians and making actually good music better than most. Reset is inventive whilst remaining accessible and references Christian themes without being in any way preachy or ‘churchy’ – perfect for non-Christian siblings for example. If you can’t get your hands on Reset then MuteMath or Armistice would make equally great presents. Check out www.mutemath.com for the full story!

Misty Edwards – Relentless.

Now I know even the very thought of “worship music” sends shudders down some people’s spines, but regardless of it’s relatively uncool reputation I have found myself really blessed by worship albums both over the years and still today. This album is great. Misty’s straight out of IHOP so all the songs come out of that place of prayer and intercession – a definite recipe for success in my mind. It’s passionate, gutsy (with some flowery, girly moments sneaking in towards the end) and has some genuinely brilliant worships songs on there including Finally I Surrender and My Soul Longs For You. Have a listen! So if you know someone whose probably been listening to that Matt Redman CD for a little too long then get involved with this – they’ll love it.

Got any better suggestions? Think these are rubbish? Leave a comment and put me in my place!!