Living in a university town, the last few weeks have seen a transformation take place.
The shouts of student parties have subsided, there’s loads more parking and the average age in the area has suddenly shot up. For many students, now exams are out of the way, it’s time to put your feet up and relax.
Everyone needs to recharge but, this summer, I encourage you to make the most of the couple of months before the new term begins. Set some goals, make the most of living without deadlines and create space to dream. Here are a few ideas:
- Buy a couple of books that will encourage or challenge you and commit to read them over the summer.
- Plan a retreat day: some intentional time where you get away somewhere without your computer or phone. It doesn’t have to be a long way away, just somewhere to spend some time speaking and listening to God. Ask God to reveal what hopes and plans he has for your life.
- Catch up with old friends. Go through your inbox and reply to those people you’ve been meaning to get back to for ages, but just haven’t found the time.
- Write a mission statement for the next academic year: Try and sum-up who you want to become in the next year, in a sentence. Then, write 5 specific goals that will help you achieve that. For example: ask someone to mentor you, get stuck into a local church, find someone to be accountable to.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
