November and that's it

It's the last Sunday of the Christian year. Nice to be different. We begin again next Sunday which is the first Sunday of Advent. Today was "Christ the King" Sunday - an interesting celebration. You can read the sermon here: http://robinpalmer.wordpress.com

What do I make of this post-world cup time of the year - the wonderful pre-election weeks in which our local politicians have gone on and on and on about the state of the nation? Not much really. I voted for the winners last time and all opinion polls indicate that my team is still the winning one. Beats all those voting queues over the years in my old country where we always voted for the losers!!! :-)

The shops are already shouting at us about spending more money than we can afford! So we are trying to avoid the dollar Christmas this year, if that makes sense. The season that we celebrate as Christians was never meant to be the annual shot-in-the-arm for the economy!

We do have two family birthdays in December - both R Palmers celebrate a day of birth before Christmas. That is worth celebrating! Not that we need lots of presents - we really need to be grateful that we have made another year in one piece.

All in all New Zealand is doing well - considering the year we have had. We had the first anniversary of the Pike river mining disaster this week. The Royal commission still taking place is revealing to say the least. And our friends in Christchurch are still struggling with the outcomes of various earthquake-related problems. In short - life in Auckland is relatively simply and safe - although there are still tragedies that happen in the community.

We have had our first Christmas card!! Yes they still do exist - and they are rather a nice way of catching up with old friends. We will see how many people still do this as the digital age takes a stronger hold in people's lives. A personal note or letter sent by snail mail is still a treat.

Spare a thought for those who have nothing this Christmas - there are so many stuck in poverty and terrible conflict zones. For some reason we seem to forget the wider world - and how easily we take for granted the luxuries we enjoy. Let's pray that people do make the effort to support those who are in the midst of famine and disaster.