De-Stressing Christmas

I don't know how many people I've heard say that they're over Christmas before it even gets here. And the numbers seem to be increasing every year. To be honest, I agree with them in many ways.
Just the thought of going to the supermarket in the week leading up to the big day can put the blood pressure in a zone it shouldn't be in. And if you're the type of person who likes to park as close as possible to the shop you want to go to, then I suggest you buy shares in an oil company before you venture out. Or convince yourself that walking is good for you.

Sooooo..., How do we de-stress Christmas. A few of points come to mind.

1. Planning. Sit down at least month before Christmas and make a list of what you need to buy in the way of food and gifts etc.
2. Budget. Set a budget for Christmas and the holidays and stick to it.
3. Make it Easy. If you home is where the annual invasion of relatives is happening, make the day easy on yourself. Instead of slaving over a hot stove for hours tell everyone that it's a pot-luck Christmas lunch (or dinner) and get everyone to bring something. Your job is made easier and there'll be a good variety of food for everyone.
4. The Main Event. Take time to remember what Christmas is all about. If you're a Christian don't let the chaos of the day distract you from the fact that it's Jesus birthday. And if you're not a Christian then take time to consider that without the teachings of Jesus and the Bible we wouldn't have western society as we know it today and a lot of our laws wouldn't exist.. The fact is that Jesus actually lived in Israel 2000 years ago and his wisdom and teaching still impacts the world today.

The bottom line is that much of the Christmas stress we encounter is because the festive season has been taken over by the business world and it's profit driven agenda.

The opposing view is what the Bible says. It says that we can serve God or money, not both.

By following Jesus and His God focused simple lifestyle and not being sucked into an over-indulgent expensive form of Christmas we'll be well on our way to de-stressing Christmas.

Merry Christmas 

If you have any de-stressing ideas please feel free to add your comments.

Swinging on the Vines

It's been a while since I blogged.
Why?
Well, I think it goes something like this. Through out life we face constant change. Some people use the analogy that life is like swinging from vine to vine through the jungle.

• We move from job to job
• We move from city to city
• We move between different circles of friends
• We move from church to church

Creatively, we move from vine to vine as well.

 It depends on your creative passions as to how far we swing. Some artists will simply change from acrylics to oils while other artists make a bigger leap and go from painting to photography.

Why we change is often hard to pin down. Sometimes it can be simply viewing a great piece of art and our course is altered. Sometimes it can be financial. Photography can be expensive. Writing is not. Sometimes it can be frustration with our work.

Personally, I find myself swinging around the vines of photography, writing and painting. I had always thought it best to concentrate on one and drop the others but that's not me. For me there are, and always will be, times when photography will satisfy my creativity. At other times writing or painting will take priority. It's not a matter of choosing one but more importantly it's a matter of being open to following my passion and, as a Christian, allowing God to speak through my work.

As Paul in the Bible said,

'So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God'  1Cor 10:31


How have your creative passions changed over the years?

Unconditional. What's the Catch?

It's interesting how sometimes a particular word seems to jump out from unexpected places and stick in your head.

At the moment that word is 'Unconditional'

What's amazing is that it's people from my home town, Palmerston North, New Zealand, who have used the word in the things they've been doing.

Tim Hamilton has created a short video about Palmerston North and its surrounding region called Unconditional. There's some stunning night-time footage in the video.

Rebecca Culver, who started Palmerston Norths free store, Just Zilch, was recently interviewed on Radio New Zealands National Programme with Jim Mora. You can listen to the interview here.
One of the key philosophies behind Just Zilch is to demonstrate unconditional love.

It's interesting how unconditional love doesn't always sit well with government departments.
Just Zilch is having trouble getting recognition as acharitable organisation because they have no boundaries/conditions on who they provide food to. You can read the article about that here.

Rebecca's situation shows just how foreign 'unconditional love' is in todays society. Because unconditional love has no boundaries/conditions it looks very suspicious in todays 'Whats-the-catch?' world.

Even the church doesn't escape suspicion. Historically, this has come about through many churches (not all) taking on a mission to indoctrinate people rather than loving them.
Now, when we demonstrate genuine love through church channels there's often a suspicious 'What's the catch?' response (sometimes verbal, sometimes not).

When Jesus fed the multitudes there was no 'What's the catch?'.

When Jesus healed the sick there was no 'What's the catch?'.

When Jesus turned the water into wine there was no 'What's the catch?'.

Why? Because Jesus radiated genuine 100% unconditional love for everyone. There was no hidden agenda.

Unconditional love is so big that it destroys suspicion, doubt, hidden agendas and 'What's the Catch?'.

PS. I should also state the obvious. Demonstrating unconditional love isn't easy. We all fail. But Gods grace, forgiveness and unconditional love are the ultimate safety net to help us bounce back and try again.

Amazing Aunty

I recently attended the funeral for my Aunty (Cynthia Collier) and discovered (after being out of contact for approx 25 years) that she was a pretty amazing lady.
One of the things that stood out for me was that for almost all of her adult life she was an active member of 'Rural Women NZ'. During the funeral service a lady representing RWNZ read out their creed which is said at the beginning of every meeting.
The comment was made that my aunty lived up to this creed.
Here it is.


Keep us, O God, from pettiness;
Let us be large in thought, in word, and deed.
Let us be done with fault finding and leave off self-seeking.
May we put away pretence and meet each other face to face without
self pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgement and always generous.
Let us take time for all things; make us grow calm, serene, gentle.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses, straightforward and
unafraid.
Grant that we may realise it is the little things that create differences;
that in the big things of life we are one.
And may we strive to touch and to know the great human heart common
to us all, and O Lord, let us not forget to be kind.

Reflecting on Passionfest 2013

Last weekend I attended the Passionfest festival hosted by the Ngatiawa community near Waikanae.
It was a fantastic weekend (apart from the coldest night I have ever spent in a tent - there really was a frost on Saturday morning).
It was my first time there and a statement I often heard over the weekend sums up the spirit of the event - "If you see something that needs doing, it probably means you're the one to do it."
If only that philosophy was more prominent in my own life and the life of the church as a whole.

There were three keynote speakers.

Andrew Jones, who has one of the most popular Christian blogs on the planet, spoke on social justice and the need to connect rich people (those with resources) with the poor (those who need resources). ie, don't despise the rich.

Dave Andrews spoke twice. His first message was about his work with people of different faiths. It was very very thought provoking. His second message was about the beatitudes and being the change we want to see.
I enjoyed Daves new take on the Serenity prayer.

Lord, Grant me the serenity

to accept the people

I can not change,

the courage

to change the one I can,

and the wisdom to know

-it's me.

Alison Robinson, a chaplain at Rimutaka prison and part of Urban Vision, spoke on running the race 'til the end. She covered four main points.
1. Examining our core beliefs.
2. Recognising that life is a continuous choosing.
3. Throwing off everything that hinders us.
4. Hope. Those who hope in the Lord will renew there strength.

The only negative over the weekend (apart from being very tired - my fault) was that our team didn't win the Pub Quiz.

There's a good article here about this years event.

Heres a few photos from the weekend.

Our Education System Needs Help.

Unbelievable! Here in New Zealand a couple now have a criminal conviction because of their son wagging school. From the reports I've read it seems the couple did their best to get their son to go to school having been involved in numerous meetings with the school.

See the story here. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/parents-convicted-son-s-truancy-4037007

This is one of those stories where all the details will never be known and, yes. there are two sides to every story. But.....

Two thoughts come to mind.

The first is; How is convicting the parents going to change the attitude of the son?

The second is this. We are becoming a nation that is increasingly blaming parents when kids go bad. But what about the education system that many kids seem to find so disagreeable that would prefer to wonder the streets aimlessly all day or sit in front of a computer screen playing games all day.

The bottom line is that the education system of the western world is a major part of the problem. There are thousands of students in New Zealand that simply don't fit the antiquated academic structure.

The trouble with 'Tomorrows-Schools' is that they are based on yesterdays society.

Education should be like a recipe. The ingredients only taste good when they are all put together in the right amount. Unfortunately, our education system tries to feed the ingredients to our children as individual items. As an example, maths on its own is like eating a teaspoon of salt. English on its own is like a cup of flour. On there own these items will make you feel sick but when you mix them with other ingredients they become much more tasty. In education the 'other ingredients' need to be skills/trades/creative endeavours that have meaning for the student. Take for instance a student interested in cars and engines. They are far more likely to learn maths through cylinder angles and spark plug gaps than they will from the 'teaspoon-of-salt' approach of a maths text book.

A world authority on this subject is Sir Ken Robinson. There are a number of You-tube clips of him speaking. These links are to two of his best....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LelXa3U_I

If these ideas were incorporated into our education system I doubt that we would have parents being convicted by such a stupid law.

Growing Division

In my last post I mentioned the price of milk and that was before Campbell-Live jumped on the bandwagon.

I'm pleased to see that some NZ media are starting to take notice of serious social issues. As John Campbell referred to the other night, it's not just the price of milk that is way out of line but New Zealands other primary industry, Beef and Lamb, also appears to be 'creaming it' at the expense of many New Zealanders financial and physical well-being.

Mr Keys comments about people on benefits over the past week won't win him any votes but what is more alarming is the number of New Zealanders that agree with him. The comments I've read from supporters of Mr Keys comments show a growing division between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' and it's not just a financial division any more. I sense that there is a growing lack of tolerance and understanding toward the under-priviledged and poor in New Zealand. Too many people are being labelled 'lazy' if they recieve a benefit. May be its the people doing the labelling who should be called lazy. Obviously, they haven't bothered to talk to the social agencies who run food-banks and listen to the people on the front line who are stretched to the limit trying to provide enough food parcels for those who desparately need them.

New Zealand has a long tradition of being a country that helps their fellow countryman when help is needed, no questions asked. That should be our policy toward those on benefits, just help them, no questions asked.

Advice to Mr Key & Mr Goff

The Superbowl has been and gone for another year in the States but here in New Zealand there's two Superbowls this year. One happens to be a little sports event called the Rugby World Cup and the other is the General election. It is very debatable as to which is the more important event for New Zealand.

My knowledge of Rugby is limited to yelling at the TV when the ref makes bad call against the team I'm supporting.

My knowledge of politics isn't much better. I don't recall yelling at the TV when the anti-smacking bill was passed, but if I had it would have been drowned out by the shouts of joy from my kids.

If the All Blacks loose the World Cup I don't want to be blamed for having given Mr Henry any advice so I'll give our politicians some free advice instead...

To give both the major parties a fighting chance here's a little free advice for Mr Key and Mr Goff.

Firstly, both parties have policies that are too similar. If you showed the average Joe Bloggs the major policies of each party, he wouldn't be able to tell which was National and which was Labour.

(In hindsight, since coming to power in 2008 National have been more faithful to their founding core philosophies than Labour was in their nine years in office.)

Mr Goff, you need to get your party back on the left wing. If you don't someone will steal a lot of your support if a new left wing party is formed in this country.

New Zealand is fast developing a very fertile climate for a major left wing socialist party simply because the rich are getting richer and the poor are stuffed.

Mr Key, you will win this years election but it won't be because of your parties policies. It's simply because you have a charismatic personality that can't be matched by anyone in the Labour Party.

For your policies to win voters over their has to be a significant injection of income into the pockets of middle and lower class New Zealand. How you do this is up to you but there has never been a better time for a New Zealand Government to radically revamp this countries financial policies. We've led the world before with policies that benefited all New Zealanders so why can't we do it again?

It amazes me that politicians are forever talking about the importance of 'saving for your future'. HELLO! How can people save money when they're useing their credit card to make ends meet. I'm not just talking about people on benefits. I'm talking about working New Zealanders who have no choice but to keep on going until the bank or finance company pulls the plug.

At this stage, I'm not loyal to any particular party and I've written this without prejudice toward any party. My honest advice to all parties is to listen to the people. If social support agencies are saying people are struggling to afford basic necessities such as milk, don't bury your head in statistics. Get out on the streets and see for yourself.