Grasping

I went to Tesco today to buy groceries and a few items that we've been needing for the house. It turned out to be one of those BIG shopping trips with a few "more than normal" expenses. While waiting in line to check out, I noticed a group of ladies in line behind me. They were looking at and discussing my shopping selections. This used to happen all the time when I lived in a city with few foreigners, but now I live in a big city and it doesn't happen often. This not happening often is good, as far as I'm concerned, because I really don't like other people to look at all the stuff in my basket, talking to each other about how MUCH that foreigner is buying.

I smiled nicely at them as I unloaded all the items onto the conveyor belt thingy. The ladies smiled at me and whispered to each other. Then one of the ladies scootched over right next to me and spoke to the cashier. Continuing to scan my stuff, the cashier asked if I had a Tesco card. Why yes I do. How nice of those ladies to remind the cashier to ask me for my card. I stopped unloading my cart and reached in my purse for my card to give to her so she could scan it.

As I returned the card to my pocketbook and continued unloading, I realized what was going on. Those ladies weren't reminding the cashier to scan my card. They were asking if she would scan their card so they could get my points!

I looked back at them. They were still gawking at my stuff. When I had bagged all the groceries and was ready to pay, one of the ladies positioned herself right beside me so she could see the amount that popped up on the cash register.

I wanted to say, "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

Why does this bother me so much? True, it's none of their business, but why do I fight so much to keep my supposed "right-to-privacy"? Am I willing to forego that "right" in order to live among a people who live life so much more in community than I am comfortable with? Obviously I am willing because...well...here I am. But am I willing to forego that "right" with the attitude of Christ who "being in very nature God did not consider (even) equality with God something to be grasped"?

The Lord has been bringing up that passage to me lately (Philippians 2:4-11) in relation to things I am tempted to grasp. Jesus was in very nature God, but He did not grasp it. He was willing to make Himself nothing for our sake.

I am blessed with so much. Do I grasp those blessings or am I willing to hold them with open hands so that I can give them up if the Lord asks me to?

What are you tempted to grasp?

My Favorite Adventure

I've been away for a week. Traveling is fun and the conference I went to was very good. But it's very nice to be home. It's very nice to have the kids back and to hear all about their adventures. In just a few days Kris will be back and we'll have all five of us under one roof again. We each have enjoyed our separate activities. Maybe it's the mom in me. Maybe the others would have taken another week of it. I don't know. But I know that, no matter what traveling adventures I get to have, my favorite one is being with my family.

Novel Book Cover Survey

Can you help me choose a cover for the upcoming novel? The publisher is doing a market research survey to help them design a great cover. You can help by taking just 2 or 3 minutes to look at their sample covers. It would help me out a lot!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y8VBVS7

Just go to the link above and say what you think!