Boxing day, What is it?

So I've wondered many times before, what is boxing day, where did it come from? It didn't take long to find out that Boxing day is a totally awesome day but not for what it is today.

Boxing Day dates back to past centuries when it was the custom for the wealthy to give gifts to employees or to people in a lower social class, most especially to household servants and other service personnel.

The tradition was that gifts were exchanged among equals on or before Christmas day. But on Boxing day cash or durable goods were given to those less fortunate. This originated in Britain and thus inherited to Australia and New Zealand.

There are a few origins as to why it is called Boxing day:
- People would give a gift of gratitude to those who worked for them which usually was a box of food or fruit
- Employees brought boxes to work with them on Boxing day which the employer would then put money into as an end of year gift
- A similar origin to the above was that an employer was obliged to give gifts of a practical nature to his/her employees
- The church gathered tithes to give to those less fortunate and were delivered from the collection box.

But it is clear in all these examples that boxing day was a day giving to those less fortunate. How did we lose such an awesome day on the calender, what a great thing to do.

I feel that this should be brought back. Thus today I will be making a group on Facebook, posting this in various places. Time to bring back the true Boxing day! Though I'm unprepared to celebrate the true Boxing day this year. I want to spread the word and I hope for something true next year. Although you could still thank people that serve you today! Even if it's not a gift...
It's all about the true meaning.

To join my group on Facebook or just take a look go to:
http://tinyurl.com/boxingday
You can take a look even if you aren't registered on facebook!

Merry Christmas

Just thought I would add a little note to say Merry Christmas to all readers. Have a totally awesome day and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Not much more to say really...

Consumerism is not the answer to Happiness

So I had this thought partly also in thanks to Cassie from my youth group who contributed. I with help have devised some thoughts about how economics itself proves that consumerism is not the answer to happiness.

This is what in economics we call a demand curve. The law of demand states that as price decreases, quantity demanded increase. Which says as price decreases you will demand more of a good, because it costs you less.

But this year we studied in greater detail why this is.
Utility is a measure of how much satisfaction you gain from a good or service and from this is the most interesting law for today.
The law of diminishing marginal utility
- Successive equal additions to consumption will generate smaller amounts of extra utility.
Basically as you consume more the extra satisfaction becomes less.

Utility can even become negative. You wouldn't consume something even if you were paid to do so. Thus we have eating competitions where a reward is due, for one to want to enter. Whether it is material or the praise of others.
This whole idea is right in front of us. We know that if we have too much of one thing we will dislike it and can get to the point of sickness.
I believe the same occurs with consumerism, the satisfaction of material things becomes less and less until the person drives themself into depression or something of the sort.
We have heard it all before, people that are rich but unhappy.

I hope you enjoyed your beginner lesson in economics and are also convinced that consumerism does not equal happiness.

Believe in God or not?

Something that really annoys me and I feel quite agitated about is what I used to be. If anyone asked if I was a christian I would say "yes". But now I look back and what made me a christian then? The fact that I believed in God? But did I really, I certainly didn't live like it.
I realised now I bullied other people, I hurt other people. Not all the time but I did and never had a care for it.

More recently it's something totally possessing me.
One should establish whether they believe in God or not.
Then they should live by it.
How do you live by it? By God's word or otherwise you would establish your own way.

This sort of thinking has certainly been challenging me lately. Many people go to church, sometimes you wonder when it will become something more than a routine. I know that Sunday morning was the only time I gave God and even then I mucked around a lot.

Considering Jesus two top commandments:
-Love the lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your soul
-Love your neighbour as yourself

There is no way such a task is easy. But certainly progress towards this is better than accepting it as impossible or making none. If I really believe in God, I realise now I must give my life to God. Otherwise what am I doing but wasting my time.

I think this is also a key reason why Christianity can be so off putting to others. Outsiders see hypocrisy. One preaching about loving others but seeing the opposite. I just hope that I won't be seen like that and that I truly will be what God calls me to be, otherwise why am I doing it.

Before writing this I was thinking I must make sure this is not so condemning to others, because I know that would be hypocritical. So I decided to write it as much as possible about myself and I hope that it might help you to think about your own self.

Paintball and Swimming

Today I went with my year 9 class to play paintball and go swimming.
Although I wasn't an official member of the class. I joined them after I was promoted to prefect duty and was encouraged to help out with organising a year 9 class.

So I wasn't expected to go to paintball, but a few of the year 9s realised that I wouldn't be coming otherwise and they organised for me to come which was very thoughtful and much appreciated.
So after that how could I turn down such an offer?

Paintball was great they shot me, I shot them, we had fun.
They had a couple of different fields as well which kept things very interesting.

In our first game I found a great hiding spot before an entrance to our base (I was defending). I hid there waited for one to come and was about to shoot him in the back when my gun wouldn't fire. Then when I did manage to fire it after going back into hiding he was alerted of my position. He actually made an amazing shot through the bush I was hiding in onto the top of my head. Having said that I got him back later :p My gun didn't fire because I hadn't taken the safety off, even after listening I didn't understand how hehe

The last field we played in was very small and full of petrol drums. You could see everyone and whenever the whistle was blown we had to move. It was instinctual for me to move forward when everyone moved barely anyone shot at the time but I did, free moving targets haha.
Because I was trying to shoot them I ended up moving forward. Someone got me good, here's the evidence:

Yes that is what we call a welt. It hit me just under the face mask right on the jaw. It's really impressive and the picture fails to capture it's beauty.
As one of them mentioned though, now I won't forget 9BH when it scars haha.

After that we went to H2O Xtreme which is a pool I used to go to a lot when I lived in Upper Hutt so that was nice. We were hitting a beach ball around in the water which evolved into a game of keeping the ball away from the girls, which was fun of course.
But it really is a great pool a lot of things to do there.

All in all I had a wonderful day and I am going to miss those kids.

Soul Purpose

Soul purpose is an awesome christian youth magazine
If you haven't read it before it's definitely worth checking out.

http://www.soulpurpose.co.nz

They have an online discussion forum as well. Interesting discussions can occur there, although recently I have been paying less attention.
All the articles from the magazine can be found online.

I think whats really great is that they through together options for study in theology, mission etc which was a great resource for me to get an idea of what is available.
Another great thing is that you can read a magazine minus the trash of most of todays magazines for teens. Great for an alternative message to be floating out there 100% free.

Take a look, it's worth your time.

Phil Joel - DWYL

This is my favourite song at the moment anyway. I haven't had a favourite song for a long time now.
Listen to it here:
deliberate people
It will play when you enter the site.

Anyway I couldn't find the lyrics. So I recorded myself.

You take away my mobile phone; you’ll take away a part of me
This distinction between the physical world and the virtual one will become increasingly blurred
Those who perhaps are not very aware of this technology will say can’t you just switch it off?
Yeah but then your depriving yourself of your social network
Technology is enormously important for their social lives
24/7 communications world we live in you can even go inside the targets own home even their own bedroom
Don’t give up something
This misuse of technology, allow for a new type of protest which resonates with ordinary citizens

Eh oh oh oh eh oh ohoh oh eh oh oh eh oh

You know its like … oh yeah…Let’s do it

And what if we don’t let it
And what if we don’t let it go
You know, it’s not like we don’t get it
We gotta second guess it
Welcome to the dog and pony show

The dream killers with the time in their hands
They’ll take an inch, they’ll take a mile if we don’t know where we stand
It’s not like we don’t get it
It’ll get us if we let it go

Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
It’s the only one you have

A true fake an ingenious fool
Take my time, take my space, put your face in a cube
It’s not like we don’t get it
But do you have it or does it have you?

Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
It’s the only one you have

Do you have it or does it have you?

Eh oh oh oh eh oh ohoh oh eh oh oh eh oh
Eh oh oh oh eh oh ohoh oh eh oh oh eh oh

You take away my mobile phone; you’ll take away a part of me
Can’t you just switch it off?

Eh oh oh oh eh oh ohoh oh eh oh oh eh oh
Eh oh oh oh eh oh ohoh oh eh oh oh eh oh

Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
Don’t waste your life
It’s the only one you have

So as I pointed out with streetview the other day. Technology is getting pretty intrusive.
It was my favourite song before I analysed the lyrics.

Mainly because I'm going through a stage of trying to figure out where to go, what to do etc
And well "Don't waste your life" seems like a pretty good thing to think about.
But I really like the song as well.

Most of this song makes sense.
Except Dog and Pony show which refers to the small travelling circuses in America which often had Dogs and Ponies to do tricks.

The song is obviously built around a modern culture of mobile phones and social networking.
To me the song appears to be saying that mobile phones and such can end up taking over the real person inside "Do you have it, or does it have you?". With the underlying message saying Don't Waste your life allowing it to eat you up.
It is very relevant with one of my earlier posts. Just be careful what your main focus in life is.