i’m gonna share a little bit about myself to begin this one … i met the love of my life at a funeral (take THAT match.com!) … and then followed that up by having our first meal (she calls it a “date”, but, i’ll take it to the grave denying it!) sharing a bowl of chicken corn soup with her after she had a major surgery and i was looking in on her that weekend … now, as Paul Harvey would say, on to the “rest of the story” and the reason for this ssaalert … one of my best friends in the world had his father pass away a couple days before Christmas in 2002 … i was planning to spend my first Christmas NOT in retail in 10 years with my family in WV, but, as soon as Chuck had mentioned his dad passing, there was no way i wouldn’t be there for him, so, a couple days after Christmas, i was there and that’s where Toni and i met … we said hello and that was that … Chuck stayed with her a couple months later when he came down and brought her over to my housewarming party and we talked a bit and exchanged phone numbers at that time … after that day we did start talking, as friends, and when she told me of her surgery and when she was coming home from staying with friends, I drove to her place and we went out for some lunch … that was 23 years ago and we now celebrate that as our “Chicken Corn Soup Day” and that’s the day we really fell in love … the reason i’m sharing this as an ssaalert is i’ve heard so many times where churches and preachers talk (let’s face it, usually about tithing) where if you give, your gifts are rewarded tenfold, but, I’ve always warned folks that IF you’re giving and “investing” EXPECTING it to come back that way, you’re missing the point … God’s not a bank … having Jesus as my LORD and Savior (in that order) may not have made me a gazillonaire, but, the time, effort, love, and, yes, money that we’ve put into His ministry over the years has blessed us in ways that we can’t even count, and, i would like to think, ways that we don’t even know about !!! so, to sum up today’s alert, i’d like to end it quoting not a hymn, but part of a Christmas song that pretty much describes why i do what i do …. “you better be good for goodness sake” 😉 … Happy Chicken Corn Soup Day for everyone out there … and if you haven’t tried it, it’s awesome !!!!

Luke 10:25-37 / 1 Corinthians 13