Why is the week between Christmas and New Years so weird?

Why is the week between Christmas and New Years so weird?

Christmas 2025 has come and gone. The presents have been unwrapped with great excitement, the holiday themed parties have come to an end and the delicious Christmas themed home cooked meals have been enjoyed. It was a great time spent with family, friends and loved ones. Now for one final week. One more mad dash to the finish line in hopes of accomplishing those end of the year goals or tasks that you put off for so long.

The last week of the year, the week between Christmas and New Years, is a weird, strange, boring and even twilight zone-ish period of time. It’s a week that we’re all stuck in a type of limbo. We see the magic of the new year quickly approaching and are looking back on the past year with fondness. The faint shine of the Christmas tree lights in the early morning hours begin to fade much like the last week of the year. The week between Christmas and New Years is a weird time of the year. It’s filled with a lack of routine, sluggish lazy days and time begins to lose all meaning. If you’re like me you look forward to all the possibilities of the new year with excitement.

Whether you use this week to rest and relax or you’re feeling the pressure and anxiety to get to the finish line, I think we all can agree. The week between Christmas and New Years feels weird. As 2025 comes to an end here are three reasons why I think the last week of the year is weird for many of us.

Time Is a Lie and has no meaning: Time is essentially meaningless during this week. Is it Monday? Is it Wednesday? Nobody really knows what day it is unless you’re watching the wall clock in the kitchen tick away. But by mid-week even the ticking sound from the wall clock begins to melt into oblivion like the cheese from a grilled cheese sandwich melting on the pan. Maybe you sit around in your PJ’s listening to Christmas music or you spend time ice fishing with your buddies but every gloomy winter day feels like it’s Sunday evening. Tomorrow’s Monday and you’ve got a case of the Sunday scaries. Panic begins to set in and everyday bleeds into the next and then repeats. The only hope we have during this week is the excitement of what a new year brings.

To eat or not to eat leftovers: You’re trapped in what feels like an endless cycle of eating that holiday ham or the Christmas meatloaf and potatoes that your sweet aunt brought. The Christmas cookies have began to lose their flavor and slowly gone stale. By the end of the week, you’re debating whether to eat another plate of leftovers or throw it all away and order a pizza.    

What goes up, must come down… Holiday Edition: As you sip your morning coffee you notice that the Christmas tree has begun to shed like your adorable pooches winter shedding, the decorations on the tree begin to sag and that expensive inflatable north pole set that you use once a year is being tossed around like a kite on a windy summer day. Rudolph and the reindeer briefly hover in the air and the one Christmas elf seems to mock you but the idea of packing it all up feels daunting. After you’ve spent hours or days putting up the decorations, you realize you have to take it all down. The simple and easy task of packing it all up and putting it in storage bins seems like it might take weeks or months.  

If you’re feeling the post-Christmas blues and tired of eating the same leftovers just know that it’s not forever. The weirdness of the week will quickly end and life will get back to normal. The promise of a new year is right around the corner. Don’t get stuck in the limbo of the week and keep moving forward.

Top 5 new releases for January 2025

Top 5 new releases for January 2025

1.     Nesdam – Find The Truth
If you like good Christian hard rock then I highly recommend checking out Nesdam and listening to their new Find The Truth. They released the album on January 17th. It’s the band’s first album and absolutely rocks.

2.     The Chilling Alpine Adventure – Self Titled
Jessy Ribordy, one of the founding members of Falling Up started The Chilling Alpine Adventure and released their first album. If you were a fan of Falling Up back in the early 2000’s then might really enjoy listening to this band because it’s Falling Up but new / rebranded. The sound of the Album is indie rock inspired.

3.     Two Sides by Blvds and Righteous Vendetta
Righteous Vendetta is back with an awesome jazz rock metal collaboration with Blvds. Both Righteous Vendetta and Blvds are fronted by Ryan Hayes.

4.     Memphis May Fire – Overdose. Featuring Blindside
Memphis May Fire dropped their new single Overdose featuring veteran Christian post-hardcore band Blindside. It’s an explosive track and explores themes of inner battles, addiction, and redemption. It’s a great collaboration between two incredible bands.

5.     Rend Collective – Fight for my Life.
A great indie worship inspired song from an awesome band.

Album Review: Find The Truth by Nesdam

Nesdam Find The Truth Album Review

If you’re looking for some new hard rock music to listen to then I recommend you check out the newest Christian hard rock artist Nesdam. Although you might not have heard of Nesdam, the lead singer is no stranger to the hard rock scene. Patrick Madsen, the former drummer of Random Hero, and lead singer of Nesdam, released their debut album Find The Truth on January 17th. Nesdam is signed to Brian “Head” Welch’s label XOVR Records.

Find The Truth is a blend of aggressive hard rock songs and melodic ballads that keep the listener engaged from start to finish. The album features plenty of heavy guitar riffs, hard hitting drums and aggressive in your face vocals that hook the listener. The opening track “Sad Soul” opens with a guitar riff and scream that immediately grabs your attention and doesn’t let up.

The album dives into several relatable themes about life, faith and the struggles that we face. Each song on the album is expertly crafted, has its own unique aggressive style and takes the listener on a journey through lyrics that are narratively and thematically interesting. Tracks like “The Dawn,” “Manipulator,” and “The Hill” are musically aggressive and lyrically insightful. “The Hill” explores themes such as pain and suffering and overcoming life’s challenges through faith. It emphasizes the power and impact that sin has on us and that turning to Christ is the only way forward. Another great song on the album, “Plastic Crown” examines the impact that a false king like Satan, can have on each of us but putting our hope in Jesus, the true king, can be much more rewarding and have eternal impact on our lives.

Overall, I think that Find The Truth is a solid debut album that blends a number of modern hard rock styles together. It showcases the creative artistry and musicianship that Patrick Madsen and his fellow band members have. Not only is Find The Truth an energetic and aggressive rock album that comes out swinging but it also establishes Nesdam as a band with massive potential in the Christian hard rock music scene. I think if you’re a fan of bands like Spoken, The Protest, or Seventh Day Slumber, you will enjoy what Nesdam brings to the table. Find The Truth is an excellent album and Nesdam is a great addition to the Christian hard rock music scene. I’m excited to see and hear what Nesdam does next.

Life is Like an Old Pair of Cowboy Boots.

I recently bought a pair of old cowboy boots. Surprisingly they fit almost perfectly except for the left boot’s insole. I guess that I need to breathe a bit of life back into them and buy some new insoles.

Growing up in Minnesota my family owned several horses and was involved in horse culture. As a family, we did all the trail riding, 4H events and rodeos that we could. I always enjoyed camping and making memories with family and friends. One of the coolest things we did as a family was take a summer cross country road trip to the mountains of Colorado to ride horseback on some switchbacks. We spent the better part of two weeks camping and trail riding in Gunnison, Colorado. It was an incredible experience with some absolutely beautiful views.

To be perfectly honest, I never wanted to be a part of horse culture. It was just something I did as a kid. There have been and continue to be many more things that interest me. But looking back, I find value in the experience of growing up with and riding horses and now living in The Cowboy State.

As I sit here looking at these old cowboy boots and reflecting on my own cowboy experiences, I am reminded that life has many journeys and often resembles old cowboy boots. When you first take those boots out of the box you notice the aroma of the hand stitched genuine leather. As you run your hands along the surface, you notice that they’re smooth, scuff free exterior and full of potential. You could conquer any challenge or climb any mountain with them.

When you put those new boots on and take those first few steps, you discover that they don’t fit the greatest and cause some pain and discomfort. Similarly, the road of life isn’t always paved as smoothly as we had hoped and causes some pain and discomfort. Sometimes the road has worn away and formed holes that cause us to stumble. The unexpected detour, challenges and the storms of life can impact and leave us feeling bitter, frustrated or even afraid.

One of my favorite passages in the bible is Mark 4:35-41. In this passage, Jesus gathers up the disciples after witnessing to a crowd of people. They take a boat to cross to the other side of the sea. As they travel across the sea, the weather becomes violent and causes the waves to crash against the boat leaving the disciples feeling alone and afraid for their lives.

In their fear, the disciples awake Jesus and ask “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Just as they ask this Jesus awakes and rebukes the waves saying “Peace. Be Still.” The wind and the waves become calm, and Jesus asks “Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?” The disciples turned to one another and asked, “Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?” The disciples knew what it meant to go on an adventure. They gave their lives to following Jesus.

I like this passage for two reasons. The first is because the Disciples are relatable and show genuine emotion. It shows that these men were truly afraid for their lives. Just like the Disciples, in the midst of a storm, we become afraid, feel overwhelmed and panic. The second reason why I love this passage is because it shows the Disciples actively going to Jesus and asking him to calm the storm. You see the Disciples realize that they lack faith and trust in Jesus and change their hearts and actions.

On the journey of life, much like those new cowboy boots, we experience both joy and pain. As we move from desert valley to mountaintop we encounter many successes, and disappointments. Over time and after countless adventures, those once polished and new cowboy boots begin to fade. The heels wear down and the dirt reveals the scuffs. Similarly, the trials of life can often erode our zest for life and reveal some scuff marks, leaving us with wounds and experiences. At the same time, much like those worn-out old cowboy boots, the trials and challenges we face, become a testament to who we are as individuals.

Just as the boots mold to the shape of the wearer's feet, the trials of life mold us into the men and women God created us to become. Every trial, each misadventure, and every heartache are a learning experience that allows us to either reject or draw closer to God. The creases and cracks in the leather reflect the resilience we develop along the way, proving that we can withstand the tests that come our way.

In Jeremiah 18, God speaks to Jeremiah and says that his people are like unfired clay. When we enter the potter’s house, we learn the difference between fired clay and unfired clay. Fired clay refers to clay that has been shaped, heated in a furnace, and become ceramic. Under extreme heat it hardens and takes the shape of the potter’s desired object or tool like a pot or a bowl. Unfired clay is still in its soft and moldable form. Potters refer to this type of clay as Plastic because it can be continuously shaped and reshaped. Similarly, I think that the trials and difficulties in life that we face are opportunities to be continuously molded and shaped by God.

Much like the cowboy stories of old, the lives we live become tales of adventure and the trials we face are the details of a greater story. One that points to our creator. Similarly, to how each scuff and imperfection on those old cowboy boots tells a unique story, the wounds and scars we carry hold the memories of the past and allow us to gain wisdom from experience. And just as an old pair of cowboy boots never truly loses its value, our lives hold meaning and purpose that endures beyond the years.

Even though the road might be bumpy, difficult at times and filled with challenges, it is through these trials and experiences that strengthen our relationship with Jesus and reveal our character. No matter how deep the scratches on your cowboy boots are or what storm you’re facing in life, remember that the potter is still molding you and that those new cowboy boots will fit. Trust God with your worries and know that your trials, however big or small, will be for his glory. Embrace the journey.