After several years of recording some of our family’s conversations, I decided to compile them into a book. If you want to smile or maybe laugh out loud, you will not want to pass up this opportunity to get yours today. Conversations in the Car can be purchased through Amazon and the Amazon Kindle Store. Let me know how you like it! Thanks!- Nancy
She did…
So a few minutes later…..
Me: (as we are turning onto her friend’s street) Okay, text her again and tell her that we are here….
She did and Allison was waiting and got into the car….
When we approached the first stop sign on our way out of the neighborhood…
Allison: So…. what’s up with the Poopy Pants
Me: What?
Allison: What’s up with the Poopy Pants
Me:(not believing what I’m hearing) What?!
Allison: You texted me “Poopy Pants”
Me: Leah!…. What did you text on my phone?
Leah was doubled over in laughter….
Allison: (In reference to her sister’s report card earnings) What? You pay her for good grades?
Me: Yes, why?
Allison: Mom, I made great grades in 9th grade and you never paid me… No encouragement… that might explain a whole lot…. You treat her so differently than you did Catie and me when we were her age….
Me: No, not really
Allison: Yes, you do… she gets a new costume each Halloween… Catie and I were 50’s girls for years
Me: No you weren’t. You had new costumes each year but you just didn’t like them…. remember your Joan of Arc costume?
Allison: Yeah, where did you get the outfit, Goodwill?
Me: Uh, maybe….
Allison: And Catie was Pippi Longstocking
Me: That’s because she asked to be Pippi… and you have to admit, it was a great costume
Allison: Mom, you braided her hair to a coat hanger…and put on non-matching socks… and what about Cinderella before and after?
Me: That was a great costume!
Allison: Mom, you even admitted that was a last minute costume… an old dress you ripped up and covered with makeup
Leah: (chiming in from the back seat) It was very creative, Mom
Me: Thank you, Leah…. I think all of them were very creative….
Allison: Creative is the word you use when you don’t want to buy your kids a costume!
Me: I think you’re right! And ‘you can do better’ are the words we use when we don’t want to pay our kids for their good grades…
We all laugh….
(Well, I guess we do get Leah new costumes each year… new to her anyway…)
I’m not sure if it is my age, my stress level or just the way I’m wired, but I’ve taken notice of something lately that shoots my conversations to a whole new level. One might call it the lack of common sense, but I just call it the “epiphany factor” which is triggered by the “oh” gene. You know what I’m talking about; a time during a conversation, when you begin to see things differently or when someone explains something to you and you finally “get it” ….even if it is a conversation of useless knowledge or trivial chat… that moment is the “epiphany factor”. You tend to see them on sitcoms quite a bit, but at our house in 2011, I have been keeping notes of them for a time such as this.
As far as the reasoning for why these conversations are happening and since I seem to be claiming this “oh” gene (which, by the way, lies dormant in my parents), I’m beginning to believe that I’m wired that way. I’m not just thinking this because my husband has been trying to tell me this for years, but because I am seeing it in my children more and more and that helps establish the theory that it may just be a wiring issue with me… yep, born that way.
Here are a few of many examples of what I mean…. these conversations include my 16-year-old (Allison), my 18-year-old (Catie) sometimes my 9-year-old, my husband (Chris) and me….
Allison: So are Vera Bradley and Vera Wang related?
Me: How does that even make sense? They just have the same first name.
Allison: I know… Are they related?
Me: ?? (silence)
Catie: So, are they related?
Chris: Yes girls, they are sisters!
Allison and Catie: Oh…
OR
Conversation in the car in the dark:
Allison: Mom, are my contacts in?
Me: Allison, how on earth am I supposed to know?
Allison: What?? I thought you said the eye place called you and said they were in.
Me: (short pause) Ohhh, I thought you meant in your eyes.
Chris: Oh, brother
OR
Conversation in the car-
Allison:(who was sitting behind me) Mom, I just sent you a picture.
Me: Okay, text or email?
Allison: Text. Did you get it?
Me: No
Allison: Now?
Me: No
Allison: I sent it. Now did you get it?
Me: No, Allison.
A few minutes later…
Allison: Did you get it, mom?
Me: No
After a few more minutes of the same dialogue….
Chris: Wouldn’t it have been easier for you to just hand your phone to mom and let her see the picture?
Me and Allison: Oh…
OR
Conversation after taking photos of my daughter who was climbing out of a tree….
Allison: Mom, help me
Me: You’ve got it… Come on down
Allison: I’m scared. I’m afraid I’m going to break something.
Me: You’re not going to break anything. This tree is strong and sturdy …. You couldn’t break it even if you wanted to
Allison: I’m talking about me, Mom! I’m afraid I’ll break my arm or leg!
Me: oh…
AND
Regarding a glitch in our van’s brake lights, to stop concern about the battery dying, Chris and I decided to trade cars for the day. Our phone call:
Chris: Hey, I’m not going to trade cars now. I put a band aid on it so it is temporarily fixed… at least until I can get home tonight.
Me: Wow, that is hilarious
Chris: What is?
Me: That is so funny, kind of ironic, that you used a band-aid to fix it.
Chris:(with laughter) I didn’t use a real band-aid. It was a figure of speech
Me: Oh….
This genetic flaw seems to have been passed down to my poor children and unfortunately, the “voice of reason” gene that their father so perfectly owns, lies dormant or at least will be a late blooming gene. I hope they are late bloomers because I will have to say that the wisdom of the “Oh” gene is about a 1 on a scale 1-10 while the “voice of reason” ranks way up there with a 9.9-10…. It just comes in so handy… and it has saved our family embarrassment over and over. (Well, not counting that I’ve just now posted our conversations for the world to read.)
But you know, so often my conversations with God are also laced with the Epiphany Factor. Common sense can’t always play a role in conversations with God because he is so much bigger than that, but I do tend to forget so much when I talk to him. I forget to be quiet. I forget to get rid of barriers between us. I forget that when he makes a promise he keeps it. I forget that he loves me., etc. Many times God has to jump in and, either through his word or his people, stop me and be a voice of reason.
In the Book of Job, Elihu, to a certain degree, was like that; the voice of reason. After listening to Job and his friends, Elihu spoke some things that he felt needed to be said. Job was wondering why God wasn’t filling him in on the reasoning of why he had to endure his suffering and wondered why God was being to quiet. Elihu piped in and stated that God was indeed speaking ….. he was pretty much always speaking but Job wasn’t prepared to listen.
Now, we know that Job had been listening and that God doesn’t always answer our prayers in a way we can understand. He is not always going to tell us why we have to deal with things certain things or go through certain experiences, so Elihu wasn’t completely correct there. He did say, however, that God does speak to us in many ways, we just have to not try to put words in his mouth. He uses things to get our attention and sometimes we don’t understand what he’s trying to get from us because of our pride…. we can’t make out what God wants because we are caught up in our suffering.
I find myself in that same situation so many more times than I like to admit… even though what I experience may not be as great of a suffering as what Job went through, I will often find myself so caught up in my own suffering or uncomfortableness that I can’t hear why God is allowing me to go through it. When I finally let go of myself and allow God to be there, he may not show me exactly why I have to experience what I do, but he at least is there to be a compassionate, protecting, listening and mighty friend who comforts me and provides a peace that I can only get through him. Job’s epiphany factor came a few chapters later when he realized that God’s ways are best…. when I remind myself of that I so often will be given the “voice of reason” and a brand new outlook.
I’m not sure what you may be dealing with today but should you be in a place where God seems quiet or distant, a great start may be not asking why but by asking for his help in taking the focus off of your suffering and allowing him to consume it. I may provide a peace like you’ve never known.
13 So why are you bringing a charge against him?
Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
14 For God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.
I don’t know why I have such high expectations for the animals that I choose to own. Maybe those expectations were formed because of reruns of great shows such as Flipper (though I never owned a dolphin), Lassie or Fury…. or maybe it was Lady, my cousin’s collie who was incredible well behaved… or Babe, my uncle’s dog that was showbiz intelligent…..or Benji. How could I forget Benji? Whatever the reason, with a little training, I knew it couldn’t possibly be that difficult for my very own dog to become something of legend… nothing short of a human on four paws.
So let’s see, first there was Gustavia. Gussy was a little white poodle who chased cars, chased cattle and rolled in manure… smart dog. Then later came Rascal. An adorable little dachshund that turned out to be an incredible bully in the amateur dog show circuit. Then there was Sam. Another poodle who, for all practical purposes, was a pretty good dog, but he did bark at himself in the mirror. (Wouldn’t it be funny if people acted surprised to see themselves in the mirror each time?) There were more pets down the line… Buddy 1, Buddy 2, Bandit… and some cats, hamsters, and even a skunk (Yes, you read that correctly) but none have met the superstar expectations that I have believed in for so long… that is, until recently… .
Now, our ever-lovable shih-tzu, Moses P. Diddy Hall (a.k.a. Moe) is a dog that when told to sit, he sits…. well, he might lie down…. or possibly he will continue to go about what he was doing. He is also a dog that wears a diaper… well, technically it is a “belly belt” but you get the idea. Moe also knows to get in his bed when told, he knows to “hit the rock”(our family’s ultra hip term for shaking paws), he knows to go to the car when the van door opens. He even hates hanging out at the dog park… he waits by the exit gate until we are ready to take him home. See, it is hard for me to decide if either Moe is very intellegent and just pretending to be a dog to get out the whole “work dog” group, or if he is just like all of my other dogs in the past…. just a regular ol’ dog. I have been leaning toward the regular ol’ dog thing for quite some time, that is, until one night not too long ago. 
Moses P. Diddy Hall is not allowed to be on the couch. He has his bed. He has his spot near our feet. He is totally fine not to be on the couch, but on occasion there are those special times where we give in and give him some supervised couch time. Such as it was on that evening when I was certian that Moses P. Diddy Hall would be paying for my children’s college education. I was sitting on the couch and Moe was comfortably resting on my daughter who was on the couch next to me. Allison’s position was perfect as she laid on her back because if I turned my head slightly then Moe and I were face to face.
As Moe and I looked at each other, just as usual, I said something to him. I can’t even remember what it was but when I said it, something amazing happened. Moe began to talk back!…. and I’m not talking barking kind of talk… it was conversation kind of talk. Now, I might not have thought anything about it if I hadn’t seen the youtube clip of funny talking dogs but I knew Moe was trying to tell me something. I kept asking him, “What is it, Moe?” And he kept voicing something that was clearly a concoction of vocal movements that were trying to form words. To get him to continue his talking ability I started looking at him and saying things like, “Mama” (I never think of my dogs as kids so this was very awkward for me) and ” I love you.” Moe would look at me and try to repeat it.
I was so excited I could hardly believe it. I had a plan. He and I were going to work on this daily until he could speak in conversation. I started counting the dollars in my head. I called my husband, who was out of town (explanation of the couch time that Moe was getting), and told him the whole story. He didn’t share my enthusiasm.
The following day, Moses P. Diddy Hall and I went to work. I got down in his face and began talking to him. “Mama,” I said. Moe looked at me. “Mama,” I continued. Still Moe looked at me. I changed my pitch. I changed my tempo. Moe looked at me then cocked his head and looked away. It was time to change my game plan. I began the whole, ” I love you” verbiage. Moses P. Diddy Hall looked at me and walked away. I didn’t get it.
I began telling my story to anyone who would listen. My husband, my other daughters, but it was while I was telling a friend about my incredibly talented, Hollywood bound dog that would surely be whisked away to star in his own movie, when my hopes and dreams for him came to an abrupt halt. Allison felt it was time that she stepped in and prevented me from the inevitable… making a fool of myself. She quietly pulled me to the side and said, “Mom, I was blowing in his face.” It seems that the only reason Moe was “talking” was because he apparently doesn’t like to have someone blowing in his face. I was stunned. Moe is just a plain ol’ dog …. he is no different than any other dog that I have ever had. After the initial shock of the whole confession, I found it all quite funny. Fortunately, I was halted from looking like a fool and fortunately, I listened to what she had to say.
I wish faith was that simple. You know, something like….we may be a bit out of line, acting foolishly, forgetting to include God in our everyday life and then we are told we are being a bit foolish and we fall back into line…. that would be simple. I guess sometimes it might be that way, but there are those other times when we get so busy doing the right things in life that we may not realize we are doing them on our own…..depending on our human ability rather than trusting in God’s ability. In Galatians, Paul comes down pretty hard on the people. He even states that they are being deceived and they don’t even realize it because they are so caught up in living by the religious law that they have forgotten about what Christ did for them/us all. Still today, we may not be in Galatia, but we still tend to lean on our human ability, thoughts and decisions rather than allowing God to guide our way. I wonder what would happen if we all began to lean on the gift God gave us rather than wearing ourselves down and eventually looking foolish……
If Moses P. Diddy Hall really had the gift of gab, I’m sure he’d have the answer.
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
I once said that I would do whatever I needed to do to keep my sixteen-year-old daughter off of the road… Well, I’m all bark and no bite. We’ve been doing the whole practicing driving thing for a couple of months now and as her confidence is growing so is the amount of time she is in the driver’s seat. That doesn’t mean she has it all figured out… it took some time for me to convince her that the yellow light wasn’t orange and that the blinker is not called the clicker. I have even found myself confused when trying to tell her which way to turn the wheel to get out of the driveway. I will admit that with each time behind the wheel she is improving.
The other day my fourteen-year-old asked if she could go along for the ride and, against my better judgment, I let her. She was given the condition that she must be quiet as we drive so as not to be a distraction. I was very pleased at her ability to say very little as we made our way to pick up my youngest daughter from a friend’s house, but when we stopped she gave her critique of the ride with these words, ” Hey, that wasn’t so bad!”
Our pick up occurred and we headed to the grocery store. The fourteen-year-old was still nice and quiet but for some reason the seven-year-old became the driving critic. She complained about Catie’s driving so much that we had to ask her to be silent until we reached the store. Now, how she became a driving expert I do not know, but slowing down for children crossing the street was a good call. Regardless, she just wasn’t quite sure that her sister, though nine years older than her, was capable of being a good enough driver… at least for the time being.
I am an only child and totally cannot relate to sibling relationships. I have no true idea what it means to love a brother or a sister. I have close friends and family but I would imagine that it is still not like a good healthy sibling relationship. I would think that there is something that can’t be explained… a closeness that comes from shared experiences and memories, a protection and a bond that is like no other.
I find it interesting as I read about Christ that he was not immune to the sibling bickering. Again, it is one of those wonderful things that is written that helps me relate to a God that lived a life so normally. His brothers were quite the smart alecs toward Jesus at one point. They didn’t believe that he was anything more than their brother. He seemed to be seen by them as a show off or possibly a big talker. During the time of the Feast of Tabernacles they seem to tease him a bit and tell him to show his miracles to his disciples.. after all, if he wants to be public then why is keeping his abilities a secret?… They didn’t have faith in him… at that point.
History shows us that later his family becomes some of his biggest fans and help build his church. That is so real… Siblings who argue, bicker and even duke it out at times tend to be the biggest fans of each other once they get past the maturity issues.
About 80% of the time my girls are together they still bicker but that is better than the 90% it used to be. On occasion I will hear them laughing together without me asking them to get along… I think they are growing up and growing into fans of each other. At least that is a prayer of mine.
1After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8You go to the Feast. I am not yet[a] going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” 9Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
10However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?”
12Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
My daughter received a really sweet gift from her teacher and a classmate before their Spring Break… the whole class did. It was a little basket and bag of Easter goodies. Just after my daughter showed it to me, she devoured everything…. chocolate first (just like her Mom), then she went for the other sweet things like Skittles, Starburst and all of those other fat-free candy. (Believe me, I know the way the whole sweets justification thing works… saying fat-free, regardless of the sugar content has some redeeming sounding value) .
My precious little sticky-handed seven-year-old had finished all she could handle for the moment and brought me a little sweet gift…She handed it to me with a toothless grin and said, “Here Mom, you can have these,” and off she ran to play with a friend. There in the bottom of the goodie bag was a rainbow of jelly beans… I can’t tell you how disappointed I was…. Jelly Beans are definitely not my favorite and in fact, I’m pretty sure that…with the exception of Jelly Bellies…. they probably have some great influence on our country’s economic situation today…. way too many jelly beans made and with all of the packaging and food color and sugar… they just seem to overproduce those things and they have to lose money on them. They all seem to end up in some clearance shopping cart until they are marked down to 10 cents a bag… then either some impulsive bargain shopper scoops them up or the one of the few jelly bean enthusiasts out there grabs them to create jelly bean artwork. 
I’m concerned that there may be a jelly bean bailout… Check out Wal-mart the day after Easter, see how many of those Reese’s eggs are left in comparison to the all of the jelly bean bags and you’ll see my concern.
I really do wonder why jelly beans have become such an Easter staple? Maybe it is because they are inexpensive… or maybe it is because, though not impossible, they are harder to find throughout the year.. or maybe there is something about them that I just don’t see or get… I don’t know.
I know Jesus wasn’t talking about jelly beans when he said the least among you (which I think jelly beans totally are)will be the greatest. I kind of always had in mind that being the “least among you” meant being humble and not being arrogant…. I still think it does…however, something struck me this morning as I was reading that passage. Jesus had a child stand beside him and tells those who were arguing around him about their place by His side, “Whoever welcomes this little one, welcomes me, whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me”. Wow! Being the least in order to be the greatest is about welcoming the child or childlike, a.k.a the least…. possibly the least of society… maybe the least according to your own personal prejudices or attitudes.. could be the least in maturity whether emotional, spiritual, social or physical… possibly the least could literally be a child (in that case I am plugging getting involved with your Children’s ministry)… I think Jesus was trying to show us that welcoming is what makes our faith so great… welcoming is more than just a greeting… it is an act of warmth, of hospitality, of gratefulness of the arrival…
Okay, I’ll welcome my jelly beans but only because they were given as a gift from someone I love…
Who has God given to you to welcome? You might be surprised. Maybe we should welcome because they are a gift from the Giver that we love.
Luke 9:46-48
46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”
On facebook in the past month I have:
Some of these things were interesting and completely time worthy a while others are purely a waste of time but fun….Usually some of the time wasters are sent to me by other who have done them too, so I just follow along and have fun with them… like this a little Google exercise that had these instructions- Go to Google, type your first name followed by the word “needs” and then write down the first five things you need…. so here is what Nancy needs
Nancy needs:
(I definitely think four and five are on the money..)
I’m glad that I don’t really have to search Google to know everything that I need…..although sometimes it could come in handy. Often times though, like it or not, I know exactly what I need.
I read tonight one of my very favorite accounts of Christ and the need of one man (Luke 5:12-16). At first it seems like just a regular story of healing but then there is something more to it. It begins as Christ has been healing others all around and word was spreading about his abilities. A man with leprosy comes up to him and asks him to heal him if he will…. Now I want to make the picture of this story a bit bigger… (Max Lucado’s book, “Just Like Jesus” tells it in a far better way than I could)… the story is of the leper.. the way that people look at his disfigured body and are repulsed, the way that he longs to hug his wife and hold his daughter, the way he must warn people as he aproaches by announcing that he is “unclean” when entering a crowd… for years he has longed to be near another, to be touched, to be loved, to just be human but he is an outcast and his only hope lies in a man who he has heard has healed others…
Jesus did heal him but my favorite part is this…. Jesus reached out and touched him… Jesus could have just said the words, “you are healed.” He could have told him to go home and his leprosy would be gone. He could have done any number of things but Jesus knew that this man needed more than just a healing… this man needed a touch. He needed to be validated, to know that he was worthy of a loving touch… He needed it and God gave it to him completely. Amazing.
I love how God knows what we need better than we do… and all the guy did was ask.
I don’t know what you are dealing with or what you need as you read this but I do know that all we have to do is humbly ask for Christ to help and we may get more than what we knew we needed..
12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[l] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Maybe you are like me and you can reflect over a time period and then think of something that you find to be pretty valuable. Possibly a funny story to remember, a heart-warming incident that you never want to forget, an observation that strikes you as pretty amazing, or maybe even a lesson learned… Well, I had one of those times this weekend where I could just reflect on current little things that I would consider little treasures…. I think I’ll call it “mind booty” (what’s a treasure without pirate talk, yer know… arrrrr)… the treasure that is swiped right out of your mind…
Here’s the booty.. one jewel at a time…
Jewel #1– Lesson Learned- Even if the car in front of you does it too…..the “right turn only” 
sign means just that
Jewel #2 – Funny story to remember- A stimulus package is not a high energy flavored drink package that you dump into bottled water (don’t ask)
Jewel #3–Amazing observation- Children of today, who live in a high-tech society, have 24/7 communication with others (cell phones, internet….yes, even little children), have received more information by age 10 than a 15 year-old would have 15 years ago, are able to play sports, exercise their bodies and exercise military operations from the comfort of their couch with a joystick (and if they have a Wii they may possibly stand up)… all of this and they still enjoy playing in a cardboard box
Jewel #4–Funny Story- One who turns 7 years-old actually LIKES having people sing Happy Birthday to them in a restaurant
Jewel #5– Heart warming moment- No matter how old you are and no matter if you see it every year, there is still something special about those events that Disney puts together..
Each one of those little incidents, for whatever reason, make up memories that I don’t want to forget.. a little treasure or mind booty (arrrr…)
I love that about the Bible too. I can read something one time and read it again later only to see something that I didn’t catch before… like yesterday… I have read the story of how Jesus was betrayed many times. I know the whole kiss on the cheek, ear cut off, denying of the denial, the false allegations, etc., but I caught something last night that I have either skimmed over in the past or just never seen. It is Mark 14:51-52. It tells of a young man who had been following Jesus and his disciples. When all of the action of the arrest was taking place someone grabbed this guy and in doing so, his clothes ripped right off and he ran away naked…it is not mentioned in any other account of the arrest, just in Mark and it is only two little sentences. At first I thought that it was kind of funny… I chuckled as I pictured the scene of him being scared out of his clothes. Then I thought about it (arrr…. searched for the treasure) ….right before that little story it said that everyone deserted Christ and ran… This guy didn’t get away in time so he did what he had to do… ran naked…
In that reflection I wondered if I have ever run away from Christ when times got a little scary.. When Christ asked me to do something that made me feel a little fearful and instead of trusting, I ran?…My rebellious pirate answer? “Aye,”….. I have and I might just be able to say that when I felt trapped, I did what I thought I had to do to run away from Christ …..not even considering about how I was acting or even how I looked as I took those steps….
Fortunately, we have a loving God who wants to be our treasure. He knows when we are running scared and he is ready and waiting to give us fresh clothes, nourishment and guide us in the direction we know we should have gone in the first place. And the best part-he doesn’t leave us running by ourselves… I’m thankful that I ran back.
Are you running to or from your treasure?
Mark 14:43-52
43Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
The Prodygal Life 