Rev Matt iBlog

Decisions - so many choices to do during the holidays… Visit the zoo The beach (not an overcrowded beach at Bournemouth) Trips Walking  Museums  For many, the holidays are the best time of year. The smell of the countryside, the warm twinkle of fairy lights, and of course, the extra family time.  But for others, the holidays can be the most stressful of times especially those trips you wish you wasn’t on.  7 Strategies for Dealing with a Difficult Family Member During the Holidays Set boundaries. ... Realise you're not a magician or counsellor Avoid drama Have an exit strategy Wear a shield Open your heart, Give thanks. Helen and I like to go to the seaside and have fish and chips. We like to eat our fish n chips with our fingers from open paper with the smell of salt n vinegar.  Sometimes when planning what to do on holiday we create so much unnecessary scheduled holiday programme planning. We plan and get frustrated when nothing comes of it.  And like those disciples who went bac

It is now the summer holidays, but it feels different this year. This year seems different with more people staying at home. However, some have decided to go on holiday.  When you go on holiday, each traveller must make decisions about the sort of stuff that could go into his or her luggage. What size bag to take? Do I take the small bag, the medium bag or larger bag? Will it last me for one week or two weeks?  Decisions, decisions! You need to pack and take the right items.  It reminds me of a family holiday to New York. My dad picked up his suitcase at the airport and went to the hotel. Only to discover he picked somebody’s luggage up by mistake. Lucky enough he received his back.  We can spend a long time deciding what suitcase to take, what to pack, but that doesn’t always prepare us for the journey ahead.  Jesus said to his disciples... “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—   no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the wo

13th July 2020 was the 35th anniversary of something unique. A year before I was born.  Live Aid was a benefit concert held on Saturday 13th July 1985, as well as an ongoing music-based fundraising initiative. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine.  Held at Wembley Stadium, London with 72,000 people, and John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia with 89,400 people.  The 1985 Live Aid concert was a follow-on to the successful charity single "Do They Know It’s Christmas?” In October 1984, images of hundreds of thousands of people starving to death in Ethiopia shown in the UK in Michael Buerk’s BBC News report on the 1984 famine.  This led to one of the most successful concerts in history with performers such as Status Quo, Adam Ant, Paul Young, Queen, The Who, U2, David Bowie, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and many more. What a fantastic lineup and that was only the UK!  Phil Collins appeared at both concerts thanks t