No, it’s not a new German word my hubby picked up during his current deployment. It’s an acronym for the maxim, “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch!” I remember this subject being debated in a high school class once, but it didn’t really become perfectly clear until we read Richard Maybury’s Whatever Happened to Penny Candy last year. Oh, how we are hooked on the Uncle Eric books now! They should be required reading for everyone breathing. This concept is growing ever so hard to comprehend as the internet makes such enticing offers of free products. Everything from TV’s and Ipods, to vacations and  video games. I’m teaching my kids to read the fine print and logically assume that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You just aren’t going to come into anything for free unless someone dies! And then the dead person is really the one paying for it afterall, huh? Yes, salvation is free (to us!) but Jesus paid it ALL and all to Him we owe!

Well, sometimes the only way to make kids realize this concept is to let them find out for themselves. That’s the way we really learned it, right? This week I was outside doing chores when my son appeared to ‘help’ maybe?? He casually mentioned that he’d won a $2,000 online shopping spree. “Oh really?” “Yeah,” he says. “You know that card you threw away from the Ford dealership? Well, I got it out of the trash and scratched it off and won the ‘grand prize!’” “Uh huh?!” So, I examined the card and discovered that there were 3 possible prizes: A free oil change, $1500 cash (I might get excited over that one,) and then the coveted grand prize of a $2,000 online shopping spree. To claim this prize the card had to be returned to the Ford Store.

Well, it was on the way to church that night so I was not getting out of it. I knew without a shadow of a doubt what I was up against. With the hopeful young prize winners waiting in the car, I, being the one over 18 years of age, trudged into the dealership with all the salesmen expectantly eyeing my high mileage trade-in. As I expected there were other “prize winners” standing in line clutching their “winning cards.” These pitiful folks looked like they could use a $2,000 shopping spree. I quickly informed the salesman that I wasn’t in the market for a new used vehicle at this time, but just wanted the details of what I’d “won” in order to satisfy my anxious children. What the deal boiled down to was that I was given a specific website to visit. I could freely spend my $2,000, BUT I had to pay up to $29.95 shipping and handling for EACH item I ordered! For instance, I can get a ‘lovely’ pair of leopard print sunglasses valued at $29.99 for a mere $4.95 shipping fee or a $19.99 toy for only $8.00 shipping. I'm sure I could find a better deal on this junk at the dollar store.

Yep, I bet all those cards stay in the trash from here on out! Lesson learned, and since we had left a little earlier to make the stop we were actually on time for church for once! God is good and provides for our every need!