Souper Gals: Karen Soloman, Nancy Nevius, Peggy Zilinsky, Betty Silich, Jaque Guest and Carol Hansen
Leslie Brooks, program presenter
Sherry Zeise
A festive atmosphere greeted 25 of us, the Ladies’ Lunch Bunch of New Life Church, as we were warmly welcomed to the home of Karen and Larry Payne on January 14. Each table proudly wore a handmade, embroidered cloth done by various members of Karen’s family.
The luncheon theme was soup and sides: a delicious potato soup with a surprise ingredient, Velveeta, and a green soup with cilantro, parsley, hominy and chicken, accompanied by cornbread, tamales, ham and cheese pinwheels, various salads and scrumptious desserts.
Our speaker, Leslie Brooks, brought smiles and fond memories as she opened her program, Tootsie Roll Pop in hand and mouth, as she used Kojak’s famous signature saying for her title, “Who Loves You, Baby?” Each of us received our own Tootsie Roll Pop, a reminder of “Who Loves You, Baby.”
Leslie shared with us the fact that each of us has days when we question whether God really loves us. The Bible says He does, and we hear it often from Christians. Although we have had experiences in the past which assured us of God’s love, our present situation may cause us to ask, “Who Loves You, Baby?” So Leslie developed a “survival kit” to use at those moments when we question God’s love. Each of us was given a gift bag of goodies whose contents were sure to remind and reassure us that God truly loves us and is there for us in spite of our feelings or circumstances. The survival kit included objects to remind us what we should do:
Toothpick – pick out the good in others, Matthew 7:1
Rubber Band – be flexible; things can’t always go our way, Romans 8:28
Band-Aid – heal hurt feelings, Colossians 3:12-14
Pencil – list your blessings daily, Ephesians 1:3
Eraser – realize that everyone makes mistakes, Genesis 50:15-21
Chewing Gum – stick with Jesus and the two of you can accomplish anything, Philippians 4:13
Mint – you are worth a mint to your Heavenly Father God, John 3:16
And so now as we go through the day we have this uniquely creative reminder that Jesus is exactly the one “Who Loves You, Baby.”