Advent

This year, more of us are feeling the pinch. For the first time in my life, I'm not earning an income due to redundancy (voluntary, but the pressure was on). Not complaining, there are far worse off than me and I never lose resourcefullness in case of the possibility of famine.

This year there seems more and more awful adverts on kids tv, pressuring parents to buy, buy, buy. And our instincts make us not want to have the child who is laughed at at school for not having the latest so-and-so. I was one of those who sorely felt the unkind remarks, having old school and not so well off parents, and was the laughing stock in my old fashioned shoes and plaits.

But I feel I have the last laugh now, having had good ethics taught to me, and which have made me stronger in the face of adversity.

Here are a couple of great examples of the feeling of many of us who want to reject the soulless and commercial Christmas sold to us by profit grabbing companies churning out stuff to divert our children from the true meaning of Christ's official birthday.....they were created by my newly aquainted minister of our local Family Centre Church, Mike Dalby (who is a 'capital fellow', as quoted in any good Charles Dickens novel.)