concisely<\/em> if you know what I mean (I saw boobs and butt cheeks if you really wanna know\u2026). And she just laughed too loud, flipped her hair too often, leaned over the other men at the bar a little too far, and was just all around TOO MUCH. The two of them were rarely side-by-side and spent the evening drinking until their drinking began \u201cshowing\u201d. It felt like a scene from \u201cCheers\u201d \u2013 everyone else knew their names and they all seemed a little too much at home. This was obviously not their first rodeo.<\/p>\n
They stayed at the bar the entire time my friend and I discussed every marriage, parenting, and career topic \u2013 PLUS solved world hunger AND the border wall issue! When we left FOUR HOURS later at 11:00 p.m., the couple still showed no signs of leaving.<\/p>\n
As much as I reprimanded myself \u201cStop it, Cindy.\u00a0 You have no way of knowing what\u2019s really going on. You don\u2019t know their life, their struggles, or their needs.\u00a0 Don\u2019t judge, Cindy.\u00a0 Stop it!\u201d I still found myself just feeling a little yucky from their behavior.
I do believe \u201cYou can\u2019t judge a book by its cover.\u201d To \u201cjudge\u201d means to make a final conclusion or verdict about someone or something. It\u2019s never a good idea to make a judgment based on appearances alone. HOWEVER, it\u2019s also true that a book cover often reveals A LOT about what\u2019s inside! We shouldn\u2019t make a judgment, but it\u2019s perfectly acceptable to learn about the book and decide if you even want to open it up based on the cover alone.<\/p>\n
WE LEARN ABOUT THE INSIDE BASED ON WHAT THE OUTSIDE IS DOING!<\/p>\n
Learning<\/em><\/strong> something from appearances and judging<\/em><\/strong> them are two totally different things.<\/p>\nIf I see a book with this on the cover:<\/p>\n
\n
you can be darn sure I won\u2019t even pick it up for consideration! It would be unfair of me to say the CONTENT of a book like this isn\u2019t good \u2013 I just know that I have really no interest in getting to know this book at all. Math gives me a migraine and makes me want to throw things and yell at people. I want nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n
Likewise, the behaviors we observe in other people tell us if we want to know them or their beliefs better or not.<\/p>\n
And then I wondered – what if I flip that truth on it\u2019s head?\u2026.<\/p>\n
Maybe instead of focusing on the appearance of others<\/em> or concerning myself why someone else\u2019s<\/em> behavior seems incongruent with the Christ-likeness they profess, maybe I should use those circumstances to remind ME that others<\/em> are watching ME<\/em>, too!<\/p>\nSince that bar scene, I\u2019ve been wondering, \u201cWhat behaviors do I exhibit that at times could be interpreted, or even misconstrued as inappropriate?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAre there things that I do, say, think, feel, that are also incongruent with the Christ-like life I want to emanate?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hope and pray that when I lay my head down at night and replay the day in my mind I\u2019ll have peace that my actions, conversations and activities didn\u2019t confuse people about the gospel. Because those images are then associated with me and it\u2019s hard to shake an image we\u2019ve observed.<\/p>\n
Images often stick with us and leave an indelible imprint \u2013 just like Applebee\u2019s seats.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A dear friend recently asked if I wanted to meet up for drinks to solve all of our problems and the world\u2019s. I desperately needed a good laugh, which is a given with this friend, so, I said, \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 She wanted to meet at Applebee\u2019s. I told her Applebee\u2019s grossed me out their seats are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,47,107],"yoast_head":"\n
Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A dear friend recently asked if I wanted to meet up for drinks to solve all of our problems and the world\u2019s. I desperately needed a good laugh, which is a given with this friend, so, I said, \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 She wanted to meet at Applebee\u2019s. I told her Applebee\u2019s grossed me out their seats are […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136\"},\"headline\":\"Sticky Seats and Behavior\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Applebees\",\"Books\",\"Sleezy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\",\"name\":\"Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388.jpg?fit=556%2C595&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388.jpg?fit=556%2C595&ssl=1\",\"width\":556,\"height\":595},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sticky Seats and Behavior\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1\",\"width\":924,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Cindy DeBoer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cindy DeBoer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer","og_description":"A dear friend recently asked if I wanted to meet up for drinks to solve all of our problems and the world\u2019s. I desperately needed a good laugh, which is a given with this friend, so, I said, \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 She wanted to meet at Applebee\u2019s. I told her Applebee\u2019s grossed me out their seats are […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/","og_site_name":"Cindy DeBoer","article_published_time":"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg"}],"author":"Cindy DeBoer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cindy DeBoer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/"},"author":{"name":"Cindy DeBoer","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136"},"headline":"Sticky Seats and Behavior","datePublished":"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/"},"wordCount":729,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg","keywords":["Applebees","Books","Sleezy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/","name":"Sticky Seats and Behavior - Cindy DeBoer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-01T19:12:47+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-08T21:19:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388.jpg?fit=556%2C595&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388.jpg?fit=556%2C595&ssl=1","width":556,"height":595},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2019\/08\/01\/sticky-seats-and-behavior\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sticky Seats and Behavior"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/","name":"Cindy DeBoer","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization","name":"Cindy DeBoer","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1","width":924,"height":512,"caption":"Cindy DeBoer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136","name":"Cindy DeBoer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cindy DeBoer"},"url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Cindy DeBoer","author_link":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1494"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4120,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions\/4120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/michael-discenza-MxfcoxycH_Y-unsplash-e1607371342388-280x300.jpg?resize=340%2C364&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/images-3.jpg?resize=419%2C218&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/images.png?ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n