December 12 – “You Don’t Win”

We slept in this morning until almost 8.  It was because we stayed up until almost midnight watching the first part of a movie I taped called "Alice."  It was a weird Sci-Fi channel adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.  And it was long.   The whole thing lasts four hours, so it is tape in two segments.  But this first one felt like four hours by itself.  I love these kind of films.  The idea was that the character Alice enters Wonderland 150 year after the legendary Alice.  Things have changed, to say the least.  I got really tired and fell asleep toward the end, so I'll have to watch part of it again.  Before we continue with the final segment.   We cleaned the church first, and it took a pretty long time.  We had to sweep and mop pretty much every square inch of the building, so it took awhile.  Chris had to be at a baby shower by one to help set up, and we didn't leave  until 12:30.  Then when we got home I found out that I was invited to the baby shower, too.   OK.  What are you supposed to do at a baby shower?  Don't get me wrong.  The food was great.  Meatballs and cheese balls and chips and dips and punch.  But here's what I don't get about baby showers.  The games.  The first one I understood completely.  Made sense.  Guess how many M&M's were in the bottle and you win it.  That one's been around forever.  Or at least since M&M's.  I guess 428.  The answer was something over 1000.  Didn't do too well on that one.    It was the other game that threw me.  Everyone was handed a card to play baby shower bingo.  Instead of letters and numbers, it had pictures of rattles and pacifiers of different colors.  The game was the same.  I was ready.  The first one to bingo won a nice gift.  I remember one time both of the baby's grandfathers tied.  So they opened the gift together.  It was a tiny little one piece outfit.  Now how in the world were either of them going to fit into that thing?  Talk about an inappropriate gift.  Then I saw one of them take it over to the baby's mom and give it to her.  Now, coincidentally, it was just the right size to fit the new baby, so it wasn't a total loss.  But I felt sorry for the grandpas.  They won a hard fought bingo battle and all they got was a gift to give their new grandson.  Is that how baby showers are run?  Sure enough, every time there was a victor, the prize went to the baby.  No reward for the winner.  No wonder men don't get invited to baby showers.  You don't win, even win you win.   Isaiah 63:1 says, "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?  Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?  "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.'"   Father, I've heard that song that calls you "Mighty to Save."  I always wondered where it came from.  Amen.