I remember my first ever mix tape, or rather, the first ever box of them.

As I left for Spain, my best friend gave me a box of tapes which she'd copied and meticulously marked - everything from Kerrang, to The Calling, to 112, to Travis... yes, I had great taste!  That holiday, as I studied for my GCSEs in the sweltering heat, they were my soundtrack, and still now they evoke a powerful   memory of that time.

Music can be a powerful thing.  It can be a challenger, a comforter, a depressor, an enlightener, an evoker of the past.  Last year, as they headed off on their Easter holidays, I decided to send my students a series of tracks to envision, challenge and encourage them.   Below is the first song I sent them as they headed off.

There's something about heading off to a new destination that needs vision.  To make the most of that transition you've got to have a sense of where you're going - what's your mission, what's your purpose?  This song beautifully captures for me the voice of the youth worker, the student worker, the parent, who is sending their young adults off to make their way in a new place (or an old one).  I hope it is an encouragement, a challenge, and an inspiration to you.

As school leavers prepare to become students, as graduates prepare to become workers, and as those in between head home for a long long summer, let's pray this for them and speak this to them.

"...and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick"  (Luke 9:2, NIV)

Derek Webb, Take to the World

Go in peace to love and to serve
Let your ears ring loud with what you have heard
And may the bread on your tongue
leave a trail of crumbs
to lead the hungry back to the place where you are from

And take to the world this love, hope and faith
And take to the world this rare, relentless grace
And like the three in one
know you must become what you want to save
'cos that's still the way that He takes to the world

So go and go far, take light deep in the dark
Believe what's true - he uses all, even you!
And may the bread on your tongue
leave a trail of crumbs
to lead the hungry back to the place where you are from

And take to the world this love this hope and faith
And take to the world this rare, relentless grace
And like the three in one
know you must become what you want to save
Cos that's still the way that he takes to the world