QC Affirming Diversity

If you like sports, shopping or having a good time in bars and nightclubs, then you will love visiting Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Whether it’s business or leisure that brings you to Manchester, you’ll find plenty of things that will keep you entertained and fascinated. To illustrate this point, the following is a quick tour of the most popular Manchester districts, starting at the city outskirts and moving inward.

Altrincham and Sale lay at Manchester’s south west end. Both are hugely popular and fashionable shopping destinations. Aside from shopping, Sale also gives visitors a taste of Manchester’s highly-touted sporting lifestyle through the hometown Sale Sharks Rugby Union Club. The nearby Sale Water Park is also worth a visit.

Bolton and Bury, two traditional Lancashire towns with distinctly unique personalities, sit at the northern side of the city. Bolton is young and vibrant and its residents have made entertainment and shopping a way of life. The district’s most popular attractions are the Bolton Octagon Theater, the Last Drop Village and the Pennine moors. On the other hand, Bury has an old world feel owing to its many historical attractions such as the East Lancashire Railway. Bury is also popular for its vast open air market, considered to be the best on this side of England.

Castlefield and Deansgate host exceptional shopping, dining and entertainment venues such as Castlefield Basin, King Street and St. Ann’s Square. The Ox is a great choice for lunch or dinner while the Dukes 92 waterfront bar is ideal for drinks.

Manchester’s local Chinatown houses one of the biggest Chinese populations in the country and some of the best Chinese restaurants. Visit during the Chinese New Year and witness one of the city’s most impressive annual celebrations.

When it comes to shopping, the Manchester city centre is in a class of its own. Reputed to be one of the best shopping areas in the United Kingdom, it features such showcase stores as the largest Marks & Spencer outlet in Europe and the hugely popular Exchange Square. You may also want to visit Albert Square for great Victorian gothic architecture and the G-Mex Center and Bridgewater Hall for their rock concerts and classical performances.

There are more fine restaurants in Didsbury, south of the city centre, such as the renowned Lime Tree and the Metropolitan. Didsbury, along with nearby Chorlton and Withington, is one of the city’s most popular and fashionable residential areas, home to an upscale class of professionals and entrepreneurs who have gravitated to the area because of its excellent eating, drinking and shopping options. Chorlton is the more bohemian of the three while Withington hosts the local café society. The latter also features more of a student population and a lively main street lined with popular shops and bars such as Solomon Grundy.

Manchester’s massive student population is situated mostly south of the city centre in Fallowfield, Rusholme and Whalley Range and accounts for the distinct character and cultural diversity of the area. There are many hip bars and pubs in Fallowfield, especially near the numerous University Halls of Residence. Rusholme hosts a large Asian community as well as top flight restaurants like Sangam. Whalley Range is beginning to catch up with the other two with its increasing number of impressive new bars and restaurants.

The gay community will feel right at home in the Gay Village on Canal Street, just west of Piccadilly. The Gay Village has a wide array of bars, restaurants and clubs, including Essential, the city’s first multi-million pound super club.

The fashionable Northern Quarter houses some of the most stylish shops in Manchester as well as trendy music bars like Fat City Records and Dry Bar. The fine old Victorian buildings in the Northern Quarter contain media offices and alternative shopping centres like Affleck’s Palace and the Coliseum, which is famous for its jewellery stores.

The city’s sporting side is best seen at Old Trafford and Salford, home of such famous sports institutions as Manchester United and the Lancashire County Cricket Club. The area’s recent redevelopment is most evident when you look at the resplendent Trafford Centre, the shopping complex that cost £600 million and features the only Selfridges & Co store outside London. The Lowry and Quays in Salford are also worth a visit.

Manchester’s three main universities are on Oxford Road, a major thoroughfare leading into the heart of Manchester. Revolution bar leads the roster of trendy student-directed bars in the area. The Manchester Museum and the Cornerhouse arthouse cinema and gallery are also on Oxford Road.

The Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton area is popular among foreign tourists because of the rolling foothills of the Pennines and the northern Peak District as well as the attraction of the Portland Basin Museum and Rochdale Pioneer Museum.

Article by Susan Ashby of Manchester Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Manchester visit http://www.manchester-singles.co.uk

Susan Ashby
http://www.articlesbase.com/dating-articles/sports-shopping-and-good-times-in-manchester-79117.html

Joshua left the tent of the presence of the Lord dumbfounded by the Lord’s command. The Israelite army was to march around the heavily fortified city of Jericho seven times and shout on the final pass. Determined to show no apprehension for God’s request, Joshua walked back towards the encampment and was met by a man.

Joshua 5: 13-15, “While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man standing in front of him, holding a sword. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you one of our soldiers, or an enemy?’
‘Neither,’ the man answered. ‘I am here as the commander of the Lord’s army.’
Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, ‘I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?’
And the commander of the Lord’s army told him, ‘Take your sandals off; you are standing on holy ground.’ And Joshua did as he was told.”

Joshua had to see the Spirit world that is hidden from the people of the world. He had to understand how the unseen world and our world co-exist for the purpose of helping human beings who were on the side of God. This knowledge would give him the ability to be strong and determined so he could trust and obey God as he began the awesome task of conquering the Promised Land.

An explosion sounded in a tremendous thunder scattering the rock walls of the city into tiny bits. It devastated every armory position, every watch tower, and the heavy gates that once protected Jericho. In one quick attack the army ran towards the city. They destroyed every living, breathing, thing and ignited the city in fire.

Every idol and image of their idols had to be destroyed. Every part of Jericho had to be annihilated so that the Israelites would not be tempted and pulled into their evil lifestyle.

God had to separate the Israelites from evil so they could be a living example to all nations of how to be good in an evil world where Satan is king. The Israelites needed to be the messengers for the foundation of the Laws of Moses that would begin in Israel and spread throughout the entire world.

The surrounding nations needed their illustration so they would turn away from their former practices and follow the powerfully, miracle working God of Israel. A God who was a God of order. A God who would bring in a government of justice. A God who would use any means necessary to grab people from evil and instruct them in truth.

God revealed His greatness when He took the sinful nation of Israel and turned them into Law abiding, obedient servants who would even die in order to get God’s message out. People who would face the evil of this world and conquer it by the knowledge given to them by God.

Joshua was given a vision of the supernatural world of spirits so he could see the commander of the unseen army of God. Seeing this world brought him to his knees in fear. Suddenly he realized that there was more to this world. An unseen world of spirits that co-exist along side of man.

Ephesians 6: 11-13, “Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.”

Joshua realized that he was not fighting against human beings, he was fighting against the wicked spiritual forces of the unseen world. Spirits who could influence the mind of men for good or evil. A heavenly world of rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers who wanted to destroy the lives of men.

The hardest thing I ever did was to completely commit my ways to the supernatural messages God typed to me. His messages became my thoughts and opened up my mind to think and act differently towards the conflicts that surrounded the lives of men.

My trials over the custody of my three children put each message into an illustration of how God uses people to fight against the wicked spiritual forces of the unseen world. Forces that use the word of God for evil. Spirits that influence even church people to fight against the very nature of God.

1John 3:10, “Here is the clear difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: anyone who does not do what is right or does not love his brother is not God’s child.”

An unseen spiritual world of good was beckoning me to see my world in an entirely different perspective. A world where we are chosen to do battle against evil in our human form. A plan set forth by the living God to rally the human troops against the wicked spiritual forces of evil for the side of love.

A world where we are God’s heroes battling forces of evil that can’t be seen, but are present in the very heart of men. Men who listen to evil and are determined to fight against anyone who is on the side of love.

The courtroom was filled with members of my ex-church. I walked in on crutches determined to fight against the persecutions they were waging against me for loving Tori. Two weeks before my former church pastor and a deacon watched as my ex-husband slammed a car door into my leg over and over again and did nothing to stop him.

God sent me a message telling me to let the people who were not members of this church know just exactly what kind of leadership was teaching their kids. I obeyed and anonymously sent letters off to every parent whose kids were in the Wednesday children’s program.

The crowd of Southern Baptist members were there to show there support to Eric and their pastor. They wanted to intimidate me and make me see that my being gay gave them the right to do anything they wanted against me.

That morning I had received another message from God telling me to not go forward in court. He stated that they were only going to make it about me being gay and it could lead to them trying to hurt me even more. He said we had made our point when we sent letters to the parents.

When my lawyer arrived, he looked at the crowd in the courthouse room in bewilderment. He agreed with me that we should let go of the protective order. He looked at Tori and I and understood that this was not about abuse it was about love.

1John 4: 7&8, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

It was years later before I began to understand why these things happened to me. I was part of a bigger plan! My life would be an example for anyone who was willing to see that we are more than human beings trying to live the American Dream. We are players in an unseen Spiritual Game. A game of love fighting against evil.

Joshua went forward to conquer the heavily fortified city of Jericho because he trusted God and he wanted a more just and loving world for his children. God gave him the victory because he obeyed.

Linda Dipman
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/trust-and-obey-partii-113520.html