Christmas—Bah Humbug???

 Greetings from the SoupMan!

Christmas is almost upon us and I say Bah Humbug! Not Bah Humbug to Christmas itself but to what we have done with the name of the holiday. Over the years it seems that the ‘powers that be’ have deemed that the phrase ‘Merry Christmas’ is politically incorrect and now it’s become Happy Holidays. Oh yes indeed, we are so fearful of offending someone by saying Merry Christmas that we’ve retreated to Happy Holidays.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the multiple ways people of all faiths, creeds and religions refer to Christmas. They range from Happy Hanukkah, Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad and many more.  I’m totally cool with all of these other ways to refer to Christmas. And I will not be the least bit offended if anyone calls out those greetings to me this Christmas. What really concerns me is that for many people who actually prefer to say  Merry Christmas and think of it as a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago, we cave to being politically correct and default to Happy Holidays.  That’s a big Bah Humbug for me.

Unfortunately I’m not one of the ‘powers that be’ but from just one little guy on the sidelines let me shout out to the world. Use whatever Christmas phrase that works best for you. I understand that no offense is given on your part and no offense is taken on my part. And to all those in the ‘Merry Christmas’ camp, I say muster up your courage and stick to your guns. If it’s Merry Christmas for you then by gosh it’s Merry Christmas. And if someone is offended by that then perhaps that is their hang up to deal with.  

So here’s the bottom line for the SoupMan. This Christmas you will be hearing me wish you a Merry Christmas and I will be doing it in remembrance of the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago. And I will be totally open to any Christmas greetings you send my way. You say what works best for you and I’ll say what works best for me. And to those ‘powers that be’ we will all say Bah Humbug! 

p.s. By the way, what are you doing for Christmas this year? Anything meaningful? Anything life changing? Anything to make a difference for Christ? You might want to consider volunteering at the SoupMobile’s 8th Annual Celebrate Christmas event. We are taking 500 homeless men, women and children and putting them up at the spectacular downtown Dallas Omni Hotel for Christmas. And I’m thinking nobody would say Bah Humbug to that! More details on volunteering with the SoupMobile this Christmas can be found at www.soupmobile.org.

 

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.

 

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan

Thanksgiving---What’s Up With That???

 Greetings from the SoupMan!

Here we go again! Another year has flown by and it’s already Thanksgiving week. It’s a time many of us reflect on what we are truly thankful for. This will be my 39^th Thanksgiving on this earth. Well, er, ah, maybe a few more years than 39, but who’s counting!!!

 So am I thankful this year? You betcha! I am incredibly thankful and consider myself to be blessed beyond measure. Why you might ask? Is it because I am fabulously wealthy? Nope!  How about I’m blessed because of the huge mansion I live in? Nope—no mansion! Maybe it’s my thousands of adoring fans? No again---there don’t seem to be any adoring fans on my doorstep!

So gee, why do I feel so blessed. Well it doesn’t hurt that I have the most fabulous wife on the planet---Shana! But in truth the reason goes much deeper. Every day I ‘get’ to help people. Every day I ‘get’ to bless my fellowman. Every day I ‘get’ to give. And of course when I say ‘I’, I really mean ‘we.’ At the SoupMobile it’s a team effort. We ‘get’ to serve the ones Jesus called the ‘least of these.’ 

Notice the word ‘get’. We ‘get’ to help the homeless. We don’t ‘have’ to do it, we ‘get’ to do it. I consider it a deep privilege that the Lord allows me to do what I/we do. You’ve heard of the Monday blues. I never get them, or the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday blues. Never! Every single day when I get out of bed I simply nod and thank God for this amazing privilege to serve others. And it truly is a privilege. Why so some might ask? After all we put in lots of effort, long hours and work many late nights. Could that be a privilege? Yes indeed! 

The reason is incredibly simple. As givers we get so much more that we give. No I don’t have a ka-zillion dollars and a huge mansion. Nonetheless my life is one of incredible richness, warmth, love and joy. And it’s all because the old saying is absolutely true---‘It’s better to give than to receive.’ And did I mention my how blessed I am to have a wife as fabulous as Shana.

Am I the most blessed man on the Planet? I think so, but who really knows for sure. The real lesson seems to be that when we give we actually lose nothing and gain so much more. Giving and serving is what we are all about at the SoupMobile. As such we are blessed beyond compare!

May you have a joyous and blessed Thanksgiving.

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan

DID JESUS PLAY BASKETBALL???

Greetings from the SoupMan!

Did Jesus play basketball 2,000 years ago? Hmm, I’m pretty sure there is no mention of Basketball in the Bible. However since Jesus/God created everything, HE must have created basketball---Right??? And we do know for sure that Jesus said “Go out into all the world and preach the Good News/Gospel.” 

Soooooooooooooooooo, having said all that, how do you think Jesus would feel about using basketball to spread that Gospel?

A lot has changed in the last 2,000 years but Jesus’s command to go out into all the world still stands. So on Friday October 19, 2012 (for the 2^nd year in a row) we are going to get creative and we are going to spread the ‘Good News’ with basketball.  Yes, you heard right---we are going to use basketball to spread the Love of Jesus. Here’s the scoop on how we are going to do it.

The SoupMobile is partnering with the amazing Dallas Christian College Men’s Basketball Team. http://www.dallas.edu/.  DCC Athletic Director, Sean O’Connor says that this is a group of young men who are on fire for Christ. They are bold in their belief in the Gospel and ready to use their God given talents to help spread the Good News to the less fortunate in our community. On October 19^th at 1:00PM, the entire DCC Basketball team, led by Coach Charles Williams is going to set up portable hoops on the blacktop parking lot of Williams Chicken located at the corner of 2^nd Ave and Scyene Ave and they are going to put on an exhibition.  Lots of dunks, long shots, bank shots and maybe even a few trick shots.  And there will be plenty of chances for the homeless to participate and shoot some shots too. We will be giving away free prizes like bicycles and gift certificates to our homeless family of friends.

 

Most important we are going to be spreading the ‘Good News.’ We will have local community Pastors on hand ready to provide spiritual guidance.  Christian counselors will be on standby ready to pray for any of our precious homeless guests.  Basketball will be played but Jesus will be the star.  Please pray with us that the event will be successful and that the love of Jesus will wonderfully bless the ones that Jesus called the ‘least of these.’ 

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.

p.s. Disregard the rumor that the SoupMan will be putting on a ‘dunking’ exhibition. I, er, ah, um, well frankly I don’t want to show up the DCC Basketball Players. Hey, am I a nice guy or what? 

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan

Do You Believe in Miracles!!!

Dear SoupFriends,

Greetings from the SoupMan!

Do you believe in Miracles? How about a Christmas Miracle!!! It’s September and the SoupMobile has already experienced its first Christmas Miracle of the year. Let me explain.

As you may know the SoupMobile puts on an annual Christmas event called Celebrate Jesus. For seven consecutive years we have taken 500 homeless men, women and children off the streets of Dallas and put them up at the fabulous downtown Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s a wonderful affair with more than 2,000 volunteers in attendance. All of our homeless guests receive new clothes, fabulous gifts, lots of love and we hold a huge banquet for them and in their honor. Most important is that when they awake on Christmas morning it’s in a warm safe bed at the hotel.  It’s with deep appreciation that the SoupMobile thanks the Hyatt for 7 wonderful years. Our grateful thanks to the Hyatt Regency Dallas Hotel and all of their amazing staff. It’s truly a hotel with a heart. 

Earlier this year in January the Hyatt informed us that they could not accommodate our event for Christmas 2012 because of major remodeling issues. Needless to say, this was a major issue in our planning for 2012. As you can imagine, booking a world class hotel for 500 homeless people and more than 2,000 volunteers for Christmas is no easy task. It’s not as simple as just picking up the phone and making a reservation. 

Once we heard the news in January, the SoupMobile set up a search committee to find a new hotel. Under the direction of event chairman Lon Ricker, inquiries were made throughout the Dallas area. Lon said he wanted to continue to have the event held in the City of Dallas because that’s where the SoupMobile is headquartered.  More importantly Dallas is where we ‘Feed & Shelter’ our homeless friends.  For many months Lon and his team worked the back channels with the goal of finding a world class hotel located within the city limits of Dallas that could accommodate a massive event like Celebrate Jesus. 

Well SoupFriends, we have our Christmas Miracle. The SoupMobile has just signed a contract to hold it’s 8^th Annual Celebrate Jesus Christmas event at the spectacular downtown Omni Dallas Hotel on December 24—25^th, 2012.  Yes, the SoupMobile in partnership with the Omni is making room for 500 homeless men, women and children this Christmas.  

Who gets the credit for this Christmas Miracle?  In truth it was a team effort and with the help of a whole host of key people in Dallas working diligently behind the scenes , we now have our Christmas Miracle.  However the ultimate credit goes to the Lord most high. HE is the one who parted the Red Sea and made this all happen. At the SoupMobile we lead by following Christ. And as the Bible says, “I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.”

Would you like to be part of this Christmas Miracle! Details on volunteering this Christmas at the Omni will be featured on the SoupMobile website www.soupmobile.org starting on November 1, 2012.

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan