SIPEDO SEZ

As I was shopping for a few things yesterday, I noticed that music that seems to come earlier and earlier this year.  Soon I was humming the sound of "What Child Is This" and "Good King Wencelas".

I began to think of what is going to happen this year.  The economy is bad.  The stock market is in flux.  Unemployment is hasn't been this high since Clinton was president.  Food pantries are feeling the pinch.  Automakers are on the verge of financial failure.  The list goes on and on.  It doesn't look good right now.

That brings us to the holidays.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas. Hanukkah, New Year, Kwanza, whatever you celebrate.

It is a time for giving. But we live in a selfish society of microwave ovens, instant money, instant potatoes and the ME generation.

I know of one place in the city I live in that isn't worried about what they can get.  They are worried about how much they can give.  Pastor Dan Strength at River of Life is one example.  He's more concerned with how he and some volunteers like me are going to feed 400 people or more on November 22.  He is more concerned about providing Thanksgiving baskets for over 50 families.  He is more concerned with people who need clothing and furniture and appliances and housing and an education.  He has committed to help one young man go to college, a first for that family.

When we place our energies in the right place, the rewards always come back to you.  You can count on it.  You can be blessed, but first you have to bless others.

So, the next time you go shopping, take one of your bags of groceries and take it to someone who needs it more than you.  We're all overweight anyway, we can afford to give the food away.

Remember, if you have spare change in the ashtray of your car, you're richer than 90% of the people in the world.