11-20-08

My dear few but faithful readers. I apologize. I've been gone. I didn't mean to be gone so long. It wasn't premeditated. You didn't offend me. Only government workers can do that.
And no one knows better than me that if it's true the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I am well on my way. It seems that once I make a decision like, "I think I'll post on my blog consistently," it creates some sort of intense internal pressure and I end up sabotaging myself by doing the exact opposite.
I'm quite sure this is all part of the fall and I continue to blame Eve for most of the things that are inconsistent with life as God originally intended it.
The problem now is that I've been gone so long I'm not sure where to start recapping. Should I tell you about the nearly four week stay with my friends Gayle and Jimmie out in beautiful Manford, Oklahoma building health and enjoying time alone, time with God and time with them?
About the week I spent in Asheville, North Carolina, helping to care for my cousin's wife who was recovering from a hysterectomy due to a diagnosis of cervical cancer?
A brief discourse on the great book I am reading titled, "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard?
Or the one I just finished about heaven titled, who'd have guessed, "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn? It's supposed to be controversial, though I didn't know that before I read it and for the life of me, after having read it, I can't figure out why. It's nothing but Scripture...
And when you have one you love with all your heart in heaven, and knowing we who love the Lord will wind up there, it can be both exciting and a healing balm to read about it, think about it, meditate on it and imagine it.
Or shall I tell you what Jacob and Jessie are up to? Okay, I will. He is checking out seminaries and she is a junior at OU. Neither are dating and I keep thinking I am ready for that phase of my life and the addition to our family. They don't seem to take that into consideration...
The election and all the thoughts it generated before, during and after? Nah. Forget it. I'd be typing for a year and by that time, there would be more to type.
So maybe I'll just start again by copying part of a letter Jacob wrote to a friend listing all that he was thankful for. It seems marvelously appropriate given the time of year we have arrived at once again.
With his permission, we begin: Salvation through Jesus, being made human and not a bunny or a rock, or not at all; God's condescension to give us knowledge of Himself; weather; colors; food; music; friends; the church; God living inside us; the hope of heaven; the Lord's patience between my first sin and salvation; His patience with me now as I learn...slowly; flight benefits through my dad's job; enough money; having never gone hungry; laughter; the Bible; capacity to feel; redemption as a plan for man but not angels; technology; religious and other freedoms; love; imagination; memory; culture; language; ethnic diversity; spiritual gifts; God's love gift of Christ; Jesus' perfect moral example; the cross; joy; rest in God's wisdom and control; family; marriage; sex; children; intimacy with God; good books' movies; flowers; the ocean; space travel; a college education; physical and mental well-being; animals; prayer; pets; work; the Trinity; being used as an ambassador of the Gospel; salvation being apart from works; the rationality of Christianity; the seasons; stars; the five senses; the intricate complexity of the human body; dominion over earth; the expectation of future sinlessness; creativity; singing.
To that basic list I would add: God's incomprehensible greatness as expressed by the fact that He tells us twice in Scripture that He has named all the stars; every creative expression of mankind from ballet to rap to poetry to painting to theater to you name it that reflects an aspect of our Creator; atoms; quasars; jewels; the exquisite green mountainous bumps that rise out of the turquoise sea off Phi-Phi Island; my husband; my children; my country; my assurance that Jordan is with Him now and I will be with Him one day as well; fillet mignon; lobster and drawn butter; the fact that I have tasted both more than once; taste buds; the endless variety of flavors, food, colors, texture, pattern, faces, personalities, musical instruments and style; a sense of humor; that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard all that He has planned for those who love Him; being an American; driving a nice car; specific gifts and talents; crowns of glory to be laid at His feet; GRACE.
We could go on and on, couldn't we? Why don't you make your own list! Share it with me if you'd like. I'd love to read it.
So I'm back. Not consistently, of course, but I'm back.

09-15-08

I seldom forward e-mails and I try to be very careful about the things I recommend. Books, movies, devotionals, blogs....
But I have a friend, a very gifted friend, whose writing I admire and whose opinions I share, whom I feel compelled to have you read and discover.
Her name is Tara Lynn Thompson and you can find her very informative, humorous, thought provoking, video rich blog at: www.taralynnthompson.com.
Savor. Enjoy. Share.

09-06-08

We took Jay's car to church today and he drove. This has become a highly unusual phenomenon in our two-person household. I decided on our 25th wedding anniversary that since he drove most of the first twenty-five years, I would drive the next twenty-five. The problem is, that neither one of us likes the way the other one drives. Think "Mr.Magoo vs. Mario Andretti," and you'll have a pretty good idea of things. For the record, Jay is not Mario.
Not only do I drive, we take my car. For two reasons. First, Jay is still driving the only brand new car we ever bought--which we purchased just a couple of weeks before I found out I was pregnant with Jessie. She just turned 21. It hasn't had a working air conditioner for over fifteen years.
The other reason is that we have this unspoken rule that whomever is driving has first say in radio stations. I don't follow that rule much, because Jay listens to ulcer inducing talk radio. Those guys make my blood pressure rise to unhealthy levels so it's really not good for my health to have it on. Ever. I like my tunes!
I just washed and vacuumed the RAV yesterday and since it looked like rain, decided it would be better to take Jay's car. Or what's left of it. Anyway, I didn't turn the radio station and there was some guy on there whose name was never mentioned during the short ride to church, and he was wondering what it is that compels people to be such risk takers.
I turned up the volume. I had just been wondering the same thing as I watched the movie about Antarctica that I mentioned in the last blog. As I was watching these men peer over the edge of a live volcano, or risk death to dive under the ice shelf, or live in a place you couldn't fly into or out of for seven months of the year, I was wondering what inner compulsion drives people to take such grave risks.
The man on the radio this morning mentioned Christopher Columbus climbing into three dinky little boats to get to the west by going east. Lewis and Clark searching for an overland route to the Pacific. Men attempting space flight and landing on the moon.
I was thinking of Steve Fosset the billionaire who has apparently lost his life trying to fly around the globe in a hot air balloon and the Wright brothers trying to understand the key to flight. The list goes on and on.
Of course, my first thought was that all this was just a reflection of us being created in the image and likeness of God.
Radio guy confirmed my thoughts. He read from Genesis 1:26-28. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth,'"
He went on to say that the Hebrew words translated subdue and have dominion, means to conquer or subjugate every living thing. Mankind was to overcome all obstacles and challenges. In other words, I realized, this desire, this compulsion, this need for people to conquer has been hard wired into our DNA.
It makes sense. God Himself is a risk taker. What bigger risk could He have possibly taken than to create beings with free wills? Unless it was the risk of offering salvation to those same people. Either way, an incalculable risk was involved.
He went on to say that our job is still to overcome. To the seven churches in Revelation God clearly stated the rewards to those who overcome.
To the church of Ephesus, the loveless church, He says, "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." (Rev.2:7)
To the church of Smyrna, the persecuted church, He says, "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death." (7:11b)
To Pergamos, the compromising church, He says, "To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." (2:17)
To the corrupt church in Thyatira, He says, "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations." (2:26)
To Sardis, the dead church, He says, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (3:5)
To the faithful church in Philadelphia, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name." (3:12)
And lastly, to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, He says, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (3:21)

At the dawn of creation, God brought everything into existence and told the crowning glory of that creation to overcome and conquer the created world. The fall hasn't changed that. We are still compelled to overcome and subdue things.
But after the fall, the picture changes. Now we are to overcome sin through the power of the Spirit. We are to conquer the deeds of the flesh the same way. We are to remain faithful to the One whose Spirit indwells us. We are to overcome the works of the evil one by the power of God and pray that, "His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
This life is only a training ground for the next. I've said it a million times, but it needs to be said a million more.
"Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9)
We can't even conceive of all that God has in mind for us to do in the life to come. But much of it will be determined by how well we allow Him to prepare us for the next life in this one.
It reframes everything. Suffering, disappointment, trials. Our attitude as we navigate this life, our utter dependence on Him to meet every single need, our treatment of His body, the hope that keeps on looking unto Jesus, these are the things that will determine the responsibility God entrusts to us in eternity.

09-05-08

For those of you who live in Tulsa, I must tell you about the quaint little Circle Cinema "at the very large corner of Admiral and Lewis," to borrow the phrase from Ziegler's commercials.
It is a true hidden gem. They specialize in indie and foreign films and great documentaries. I have recently subscribed to receive their e-mail announcements of what's playing and what's coming, so hopefully I will never have to miss a great movie again. They do NOT show your typical (yawn or yikes!) Hollywood fare. I haven't seen a movie yet that didn't make me think about the wonder and vastness and creativity of God and how we are created in His image and reflect His likeness.
Here are just three of the ones I have seen recently: Man on Wire, Tell No One and Encounters at the End of the World. I've found that if you look for God, you see Him everywhere.
Let's work our way backward, and see how He reveals Himself, shall we?
In Encounters at the End of the World, filmmaker Werner Herzog, "sets his sights on the rarely photographed beauty of Antarctica." Ha! That's pretty much in contention for first prize in the understatement of the century contest! This is not a movie about penguins. Herzog does more than "set his sights." He pulls you in. He introduces you to the unique quality of highly educated and skilled people who seem literally pulled, as if by it's powerful magnetic force, to the South Pole. We are given snippets of their compelling stories and shown their scientific endeavors on the endless, barren tundra of ice where, for half a year, the sun never sets.
We watch a hole being drilled through eight feet of ice and sit mesmerized, shivering even, as the men, with ice crystals forming on their beards, drop a rope of dynamite sticks to enlarge the hole with the express purpose of putting on a mummy's worth of layers and entering the frigid water that is minus two degrees Celcius. The enormity and shock of the explosion nearly lifts you off your seat.
We watch the silent, almost reverent ritual of the divers putting on their gear and inexplicably, dive without lead ropes, knowing that if they get lost, disoriented or simply drift too far from their six foot wide entry spot, there is no hope of rescue. We follow along as they slowly move through a world of altered space and time. We watch their air bubbles rise and dance across the bottom of the sky blue ice shelf. We see the rhythmic, hypnotic, fluttering of giant, translucent jelly fish, their long tendrils indicating the direction they are swimming. Impressive as it was, I know what a jelly fish looks like. I even know what it's sting feels like!
But even more fascinating were both the microscopic and visible creatures no one has ever seen before. It was a good day for the diving scientists: they found three new species never before known to exist. Three!
We watched as others set up a camera over one of only three volcanoes on the planet where you can actually peer over the edge all the way down to the lava bed. Right there in one incredible spot you have the hottest and coldest extremes on earth! It was, quite simply, an astonishing sight.
All I could think about was how incomprehensible God is, how creative, how mind-boggling. Truly, "The whole earth is filled with His glory!"
Of course, there was all this talk of evolution and the Big Bang. And while I imagine that when the voice of the living God shouted into the void, it was a big bang of sorts, it was difficult not to weep that these very brilliant and dedicated scientists were blind to the God whose handiwork they are so taken with. I wanted to shout at the screen, "He's right in front of you! You're staring at and studying His incomprehensible brilliance! He's revealing Himself to you! LOOK and SEE!"

Tell No One is a thriller extraordinaire! For some reason, this movie has stayed with me like no other in recent memory. I am going to see it again. It's in French with subtitles, but it is not at all difficult to read along and follow the action and suspense. And let me assure you, there is action and suspense! The book made it's author a household name and the film maker deserves highest kudos for making a movie that keeps your heart pumping and your mind guessing from start to finish.
I left the theater praising God for the creativity and skills He has given the human beings He created and adores. As a writer myself, I kept wondering how a complex plot, with all it's requisite twists and turns, became a comprehensible story. The mind of the man who thought it all through intrigued me. The mind of God makes me fall to the ground in wide-eyed wonder and astonishment.
He has given us such imagination and creative powers! Yet it is merely the slightest reflection of His own creativity, imagaination and power. We are created in His image and likeness and when we utilize those things that reflect Him, we are reflecting His never-ending glory to the delight of His own great heart!

Man on Wire (the title comes from the terse lines on the police report) is a documentary, replete with original footage, of Phillipe Petit, the daring tightrope walker from France who "walked" between the Twin Towers in mid-air shortly after they were built in 1974.
It's such a great story! This aspiring tightrope walking Frenchman read an article in a doctor's office about the Twin Towers being under construction and immediately became consumed with the idea of suspending a wire between them and walking across! It's a story of an obsession becoming a reality and the years and commitment to his purpose that were required for him to achieve his dream. It's also a story of a team who worked together to help realize one man's goal; of intrigue and deception to scope out the towers in order to formulate a plan and execute it; and of the power of the mind to accomplish what it desires to do.
There is so much original footage you can't help but think Phillipe himself must have known this was an event that needed to be documented so the story could one day be properly told.
Of course, he pulled it off, or there would be no reason for the documentary! He literally danced on the wire for over an hour, suspended above the ground how many feet in the air? with no net. As if one would have helped at that height....
Not only did he have to take into account the up and down and side to side sway of the wire, but it also twists back and forth like a pepper grinder. Can you imagine? Yet he was so in his element, basking in the realization of his dream, that he was completely relaxed. He laid down on the wire, he walked backward, he did ballet turns. All with a giant smile on his face.
I don't mean to spiritualize every single thing, but that movie inspired me beyond belief. It reminded me that God, who has endless capabilities and potential has armed His creatures with the same. I kept thinking of Phillipe's obsession and all I could think was, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Phillipe believed, truly believed, even when his skeptical friends were fearing for his life and sanity, that HE COULD DO IT. And so he did.
And we can too. If Phillipe could do what he did without the direct intervention of God, just think what any of us can do with any insane, impossible thing God tells us to do. It was eight years from the time Phillipe read the article until he took those first tentative steps onto the high wire. The police were sure he was insane and, quite frankly, so were some of his closest friends. But he had faith. No matter what, he would not be disuaded.
He did the impossible, the unthinkable, the risky.
I can't think of a better epitaph than doing the same for the Kingdom of God and His eternal glory, because He has equipped us with the power to belive and to do "above and beyond anythign we could ask or think." Let's do it!

08-21-08

I wanted to share Jacob's journal entry to further explain the point I made yesterday about hell and how it will not be a cause of sorrow for the saints but rather one of rejoicing:

"And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." ~ Isaiah 66:24

"After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants'. Once more they cried out, 'Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever'". ~ Revelation 19:3

I’ve been re-reading a favorite of mine lately, “The Count of Monte Cristo”. It is a masterfully told story of betrayal and revenge. Dumas really draws you in to care deeply about the characters. In brief, the main character is betrayed on his betrothal day by two close friends. The judge, knowing his innocence, instead declares him guilty because it serves his own ends. In prison for 14 years, Edmond plots revenge. After escaping and finding untold riches, he goes back to slowly and carefully exact vengeance from the three men who have enjoyed prosperous lives while he suffered unjustly. One of them even married his fiancée. As the plan unfolds, you really root for Edmond to mete out justice; there is no pity for these despicable men who have been blessed for so long and are now only getting their just deserts. And it is a wonderful triumph.

Simultaneously and seemingly unrelated, I have been considering hell for a while now. It stemmed from a few chance readings and the verse in Romans 11:22 that says “Consider then the goodness and severity of God”. We are commanded to consider both. So I’ve been thinking about hell and it has been tough. It seems to be an area most people either gloss over or make it something other than what it is – conscious, eternal, fiery torment. I told God yesterday that I just didn’t see how this was right or good. I felt unable to rejoice in something God had made. I decided to trust and imagined I would simply need resurrected perspective to really get it.

Then it clicked! The book, of course! Edmond is the Christ figure, handing down a delayed but fully deserved sentence of judgment. In the book I had no desire for mercy to be shown. The convicted were not sorry, and they had enjoyed many blessings in the meantime. I rejoiced to see Edmond’s innocence vindicated and his enemies denounced. In the same way, when sinners are judged as sinners they will remain hating God and without remorse for their sins. It will be a righteous and good thing for them to be condemned. It will be part of the fullness of Jesus' vindication that he finally and fully triumphs over his enemies, as it is cried so often in the Psalms. Incredible as it sounds, this work of fiction helped me grasp this concept much better than if someone had merely told me the same thing. In the book, I was totally drawn in and felt all the emotions in full.

I think a lot of the problem comes from not viewing the damned in their proper light. They are “alienated and hostile in mind”, “haters of God”, “liars, depraved, inventors of evil”. Somehow we get the idea that when it’s all over people will realize who God is and cry out for mercy but their chance will be over so God is forced to torture them forever. No way! They will see God for who He truly is, but this will make their hearts (no longer restrained by any measure of grace or love) revile Him all the more. They will never ask for mercy unless it be in a self-seeking way, only wanting to save themselves from pain. It reminds me of those crime documentaries on TV. They follow the whole case and when the creepy, twisted criminal is in the courtroom he remains cold. It’s sickening to see them show no sorrow for their murders and rapes and other unspeakable crimes. Then, if they do show emotion, it’s only because they want to lower their sentence. They aren’t sorry at all. For those people I want justice, swift, sure, and without chance of mercy. This is the lens through which to view the reprobate and it allows us to rejoice in God’s righteous punishment.

08-20-08

The Olympics have me incensed. The burning kind, but the aroma is not so sweet. If any of those Chinese gymnasts save one, is actually sixteen then I'm still 39. They are cheating, and except for some laissez-faire comments by all the commentators except Bela what's-his-name, no one seems to be that upset about it! No one is calling it what it is! No one is doing a darn thing about it!
For all the good it will do, let me go on record as saying I'm upset! I keep asking myself why I'm getting so riled up and it finally dawned on me. I am created in the image and likeness of a just and righteous God. Everything in my being cries out for fairness and justice and everything in me cries out against injustice whenever I see or experience it.
I understand King David's anguish when he shouts out in Psalm 94:3, "How long, O Lord, shall the wicked prosper?"
He felt that same righteous indignation, that same internal imbalance we all feel when things are out of order. It's not right that the wicked prosper or that the righteous suffer! It's not right that people lie and cheat! It's not right that people deny who Jesus is and ignore "so great a salvation." It's not right that God is mocked!
I was talking this over with Jacob the other day. And let me just say right here that the only thing more soul-satisfying than having a wonderful dialogue about spiritual matters with my children is having one with the Lord.
He made a shocking point. Jacob, that is. He said, "That's why we will rejoice when the wicked are condemned to hell. We will SEE the righteous justice of God carried out and we will rejoice! Part of Christ's victory and vindication in the end is triumph over his enemies."
I'm not saying we will be glad they are going to eternal punishment in a sort of thumb on our nose, finger waggling, nah-nah-nah-nah-nah sort of way. Absolutely not.
But I do believe we will experience a deep sense of satisfaction when sin is punished, when wickedness is dealt with justly and when God finally vindicates Himself and His standard of righteousness is upheld and honored.
It made me feel a little better about things even though I know I need to pray for the cheaters.

08-17-08

Well, I'm back again, erratic as ever. I'm assuming it gives you all something legitimate to gamble on. Will she post today, or won't she? I'm going with N-34 and a "yes!" Bingo!
The truth is, I don't want to sit here and peck out words just to be doing it. I really want to have something valuable to write or I am guilty of being just another version of "clanging cymbals."
But the truth is, when God is in your life, there should always be something of merit to talk or write about, right?
We simply can't exhaust the subject of Him. He is too big, too vast, too powerful, too amazing, too incomprehensible, too involved in our lives.
I can never get over the fact that He hears my prayers! It makes me weep every time I think about it and it is one of the things I give thanks for constantly. (Note to self: never have your prayer time after you have put on your make-up.)
Whether I am in my antique recliner, my "prayer chair," in my living room, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or in the shower or in my car or anywhere I might be, when I open my mouth to pray, or even think the thought, the great and mighty God of all creation, the incomprehensible King of all glory, adjusts His cosmic GPS, answers His cosmic cell phone and gives undivided attention to the concerns of my heart. This is so astonishing I can never quite get over the wonder of it all. And not only does He hear my feeble prayers, He answers them! He answers me! Personally. Specifically. Lovingly. Beautifully. In ways both supernatural and practical, to the point I have no doubt it's Him. Is it any wonder we will worship Him for all eternity? As if the essential element of salvation wasn't enough, He has made me a joint heir with Christ and He hears my prayers and moves to answer them!
This is radical. Is it any wonder "the gospel is foolishness to those who don't believe"? I mean, come on! People think you're kidding. That you're nuts. But it's TRUE!
I can take the deepest heartache, the most nagging question, the most desperate need and lay it at His feet. And when I do, the most remarkable thing in the world happens. The Spirit of the Living God begins to stir and move. He dispatches angels, activates circumstances and arranges divine appointments. He moves in the unseen realm until the manifestation comes in the realm we live and move and breathe in. The realm we call "reality."
And that's where the essential, deal-breaking element of faith comes in. We pray, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is being done in heaven," and "call those things that be not as though they were." Most of us have been Christians long enough to have more than a mustard seed of faith. I'm thinking watermelons here.
Yet we get discouraged at times, when prayers seem to not be answered. That's when we have to get back into our prayer closet and tell ourselves the truth! We have to pull out our mustard seed and look it over real good. We have to activate our faith. Affirm it.
Beacuse even if a mustard seed is all we have, Jesus makes a remarkable statement in Matthew 17:20 when He says, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you."
What an incredible statement! Faith is the key. And faith is only built in the times of private prayer, where we pour out our heart, our dreams, our hopes, our frustrations to the God who hears and answers. Where we lay at His feet every problem and concern and "the sin which so easily besets us." Where we ask for wisdom when we lack it (James 1:5), comfort when we need it (2 Cor. 3-5), a refuge when we are being assaulted (Ps. 46:1). When we need to defeat the enemy of our souls (James 4:7), stand firm in our faith (1 Cor. 16:13; Eph 6:14) be a witness (John 15:27), glorify God (Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor.6:20), extend forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15), and on and on it goes. Whatever you need, God is the source.
Oh, Dear Ones, this is not what I was going to write about! I was going to talk about how hell is just and those of us who love Jesus will rejoice when justice is served and be glad for it! But another time.
If you are frustrated or overwhelmed; if you are defeated or despairing; if you are in any way walking in your own strength, let me ask you how much time you spend in private prayer. It is only at the feet of our Lord that we find every need met. In fact, the very art of prayer lies in the pouring out of our souls before God who hears and answers. It is the most spirit- nourish- ing of duties, and should be a constant delight.
We are His friends and true friends enjoy spending time together, they arrange it, and they pour out their hearts to each other. How much more should we, who profess to be deeply in love with Christ, make a point of meeting with Him regularly to tell Him all that concerns us, to be encouraged, to listen for instruction and simply enjoy His presence?
If you are struggling in any area, have a deep unmet need, goal or desire, I would encourage you to evaluate the time you spend in deep and earnest private prayer. Like a lover, (because He is the lover of our souls...) He is waiting for us to sneak off to be with Him. Do it now! He is waiting!