Cookies and Christ
Stories of Faith And Recipes
Hide-and-Go-Seek
My childhood was simple. As children, we played…unstructured as siblings and a few neighbor friends. We didn’t have many toys or fancy electronics. We didn’t watch TV except for a few shows on Saturday morning. Summer days began with garden chores and quickly transitioned into lots of time to play. We entertained ourselves with taking turns on the tree swing, making up songs and skits, swimming at the community pool, baking up the most scrumptious mud pies and lots and lots of ‘hide-and-go-seek’. Summers were hot in Southwest Iowa and our home was not air-conditioned so primarily we played outside. Prior to an intense game of ‘hide-and-go-seek’, the boundaries were set. We decided how many of our neighbor’s yards we would use as there were but a few fences in our neighborhood. On rare occasions when it was just us siblings, we stayed on our own property and allowed hiding to take place inside the house too.
On one particular sweltering summer day, such parameters had been set: just our house – inside and out. A quick ‘Eeny-meeny-miney-moe’ with our toes and the first person was named ”it”. The rest of us scattered and hid. I had an idea to hide in the attic. I figured no one would look there as it was crazy hot. To my dismay, I soon heard my sister’s voice. She opened the attic door. I knew she must’ve cheated and watched me go there. I held my breath and stayed silent behind some boxes of off-season clothes. Moments later I heard her say “Well since no one is in here and this door is supposed to stay locked, I’m locking it and going to find everyone.”
“Wait! What?“ were my silent thoughts…”She wouldn’t…“
I ran for the door. It was locked. I knew she had done it on purpose. I pounded on the door and screamed for help but alas, no one came. I had the reputation of being the most ornery sister, perhaps even a bit overly competitive. So I sat in the attic with a bright red face dripping in sweat for what seemed like hours. There was a bit of self-reflection that day. However, only a bit mixed with initial anger quickly turning to sadness. Eventually, I heard giggles and the lock turn… I had been set free…
I had learned about repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. But I wasn’t really sure how it worked. I knew I felt sorry for sometimes being mean in my family but I wasn’t really sure that those were the types of wrongs that I actually needed to repent for. It seemed as though repentance was more for things like stealing candy from the store or telling a bad lie. Perhaps I was a little confused about what it all really meant. But I do remember that I had a bad feeling about the sister I was becoming, and I wanted to change. I knew I would need help to change but I wasn’t sure how Christ could really help me with this. Perhaps I needed to more fully pay attention to what I was learning about Christ.
-JC
As I reflect on this experience today, I ask myself:
Does my testimony of Christ motivate me to change?
Have I truly been converted to Christ? If so, do I continue to repent? Try to be obedient? Try to be diligent?
Carmelitas
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix Together:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (Add 2 Tablespoons for high elevation)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick oats
Add: 1 1/4 cups melted butter.
Stir until pea-sized crumbs form.
Press 2/3 of the mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 pan greased with baking spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and spoon on 1 1/4 cups of thick caramel sauce. (Make your own, or use Marzetti’s Old Fashioned Caramel Dip from the produce section of the grocery store.)
Sprinkle on 2-2 1/2 cups chocolate chips ( semi-sweet or milk chocolate).
Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the top and return to the oven for 18 more minutes.
Let set. Share!
Cookies and Christ 
This message is a great reminder to me. To be a better wife. I feel like I’m a good mom, my kids can do no wrong, but I should be more like that towards my husband.
Thanks for this.
And I love your writing style .. it’s like reading a book by a favorite author.
LikeLike