Make room for CLOUDS in your schedule

"A BEAR! a bear I see a bear!"
"No! I see a turtle", my sister corrected me.
"Oh wait sis,...I think it kinda looks like a dragon"

Patches of puffy white clouds would decorate across the big blue sky.  And my sister and I would lay on the sidewalk in our front yard and stair up at the clouds, creating whatever picture we could make them out to be.

Time passed...  In high school, I would be driving to class as the sun was stretching its rays through the morning clouds and I would enjoy the view.  Beautiful, beautiful!

time passed... in college, while I was working at a bank, we were in some down time and I glanced out the window and soaked in the breathe taking sight of the clouds floating across.  I got out some paper and started to sketch the clouds and realized that I had started getting so caught up with life, that I forgot to stop and "smell the roses" or in this case, admire the clouds and their glorious display like I did as a child.



marker sketch of clouds oustide the window at work 2002

 There are so many things to take care of.... all day long, all month long, all year long... it never ends,.... and it doesn't get any slower or less challenging, so we must MUST MAKE ROOM FOR CLOUDS IN OUR SCHEDULES.  God says to be still and know that HE is God.  Take on this challenge and praise your Maker for making beautiful things like clouds, for creating giant fish to display His majesty, for molding the structure of tiny ants to reveal His wisdom.. 

Take on this challenge.  And you know that you would have been still long enough when you can say that you saw the clouds shift from a bear to a frog.

Let's Talk about GOD

I was thinking about this today... isn't it strange how we talk about some things or people in public, but when we are home with that person they are different than we displayed them to be toward the world before us. 

Its hard for me to make an analogy of this idea so I'll just get right to the point. 

I have noticed that it is easy to have discussion about the Lord, and His Word, and what we believe as a child of God (this isn't a bad thing to discuss), but what is it like when you go home, seclude yourself, find a hiding place where its just you and the LORD...the conversations you have with HIM, the peace you feel, the pleadings, the tears, the anger, the joy afterwards... the experience you really have with HIM...the REAL HIM, I wonder...if we shared the REAL story of who He is, ...would the want for Him be even more so..  Instead we get too caught up talking about Him like He's a political figure that is some stranger in a foreign land that we can pray to...

church in Seirgev Pasad, Russia

Instead, He is the one:
who listens
who answers
who comforts
who gives peace
who brings justice
who never leaves you
who never gives up on you
who LOVES you
who Redeemed you by His blood
who keeps His promises...
.....

That is a God worth talking about...that is the GOD ALMIGHTY that came to me in my stubbornness and pride..and pursued me...  He's not a documented fairy tale that I simply enjoy talking about.  I could do the same with Santa Clause, little mermaid, Hercules, etc.  interesting stories...

I'm talking about a REAL GOD, ...and REAL RELATIONSHIP... a REAL LOVE

I encourage everyone to keep on seeking Him, keep on discussing His word, continue to seek out your doctrinal standing, but ... most of all... share the story of a REAL LOVE you found. 

What are your thoughts.. share with me.

The Moon at Sunrise

All bundled up, I step out into the icy dawn. I look over to my right and there is a scissor-tailed mockingbird staring at me from the guardrail, (How beautiful God). My breath dancing in the cold air(How beautiful God), I scurry over to my car where the frost has decorated my windows (how beautiful God).

I make my way to starbucks for some white chocolate mocha and pumpkin bread, make my order, the lady at the drive through is so cheerful, a good spirit about her, that it reminds me that good manners go a long way and make peoples days (How beautiful God).

So I'm on my way back home, and I'm listening to a song about God's Mercy.  Driving the opposite direction of the sunrise, I glance up to the sky to scout out anymore beautiful birds or pretty clouds...and low and behold, I see the graceful face of the moon, the full moon, BIG in the sky....at sunrise (HOW BEAUTIFUL GOD).  Then I think of what our Creator says of Mercy...  Each morning His mercies are made new... meaning ... it never ends.  The moon starts to quietly fade out and the glory of the sun makes its entrances into the new created day.

HOW BEAUTIFUL GOD is with His creation and to show that His mercies are new each day, not just yesterday or today, but for each NEW DAY.  So as you wake up in the morning...just think...God has brought a new day..the old is passed. 

I leave you with a song and a scripture of mercy and hope.  ENJOY



The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”
(Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV)

A parking lot of Sinners

As I pull up to the entry
your morning sun beams in
my car upon my face
and warms my heart within

breathing in this fresh new day
I glance in the mirror to see
my smiling reflection
because of what God has become to me

See, I'm no different from
the people in this place
a parking lot of sinners
saved by grace

Redeemed is what we are
by the Blood of the Jesus
a sinner who's debt is paid
paid in full, no fuss

yep, you got it right
I am a sinner
a sinner redeemed
come to our pot-lock dinner

Come and you will see,
that i'm no different than you
a sinner I am
but have been made anew!

Come dine with us sinners
sinners redeemed
we have good cassarole
even moreso ...bread of life is what you need.

Understand there are no holier-than-thous
by own effort sinners at best
Recieve His love, be redeemed,
a sinner redeemed, and will find rest.

I get out of my car,
YOUR warmth joys my soul
I open the door to the building
a bunch of sinners sitting in a row

I smile at them,
They smile at me
we know we are all sinners,
but we know we've been set free

We sing a song of redeeming love
That came from God's Son
I look around the room full of sinners
beaming joy; singing of redemtion

We finish our time of encouragement
our time of digging in HIS words he left us
disperse to our cars
and kids run to the church bus

I shut my car door, breath in
turn the key to my car and smile
of my time with these sinners
saved by grace, and all the while

....there are other parking lots of sinners
...maybe not all sinners redeemed
...I a sinner go to Wal-Mart
...and I see
...a parking lot of sinners
---some redeemed
...but what about the sinner who doesn't know..
they don't know that what this sinner (ME) has found is hope.
... so I must go and share this hope to other sinners JUST LIKE ME

-by Jamie Cook
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins."
(Romans 3:23-25 ESV)

Revisiting the story of my FIRST LOVE

Love is such an interesting and intriguing thing... for it is not a thing at all...it is an action.  God is love.  God is not dead, He lives and continues to live; therefore if Love is an action, and God is Love, that God lives and continues to act and pursue us, ... but this post is not about a theological study of God, but a love story of where it all began for me... a story I like to revisit, and a story we must all revisit ..so that we may REMEMBER...and that we may worship God for what He has done.

Age 8-ish to 10-ish:  I started wondering who God was, was he a cloud in the sky, was He sitting on a cloud?  was He flying above them somewhere?  I heard once that he listens...kind of like wishing on a star at night ...talking into the void pretending someone is there...  So I would talk up at the sky and say hello to God, the creator whom I did not know personally but was intrigued by.  more and more questions came to my heart..

Age 10:  My best friend invites me to Wednesday night bible studies, called:  GA's (Girls in Action), where they learn about missionaries, read the bible and even memorize bible verses...and play games why learning about this Jesus...I was having so much fun and everyone seemed so nice that I asked if I could come on a Sunday.  With that, my best friend brought me on a Sunday.  I loved these people!  They seemed so joyful, so full of love and compassion, so happy, and they help each other out.  I wish I could be a part of that.  With curiosity already there and wanting this fellowship, I heard the preacher saying: ...if you want to be a part of the family of God come and I will pray with you"...  of course a note to say that is the part I heard...and that's what I wanted...so I walked down the isle... took the preacher by the hand and we prayed.  Before the church and God they announced the decision I made...but right a way I thought...I"m not really sure I've done that...become a "christian" or a "sinner saved by grace" ...what was sinner..and what did grace mean?

3 years went by.....

Age 13:  three years of wearing a mask can get tiring!  3 years I faked it!  I said the right things, make choices like those church people would make, I even memorized some scripture, and I always smiled... ALL FAKE...and it was a battle that went on for not 1 night, not 1 year...but 3 years!  I started learning what it means to have a REAL personal RELATIONSHIP with the CREATOR, through the LORD JESUS, the puzzle pieces coming together, understanding my need of redemption...real redemption. 

SUMMER 1996:  Age 13:  for 3 years bottled up of knowing what I was, a fake, it was about to boil over.
Monday: at youth camp, day one: my convictions were stronger than ever: "Lord, just forget about me, I have mocked you, made myself a fake, claiming to have you as the ruler of my heart, ...Lord... just forget about me, I'm dirt, you do not want a liar like me being a part of your kingdom... there is no hope... .I do not deserve you..."
Tuesday: went by with continued battling, "but Lord what about all the lies I told to all the people at church at home? and what about my family who don't go to church and know about you...what a mess I'm in... why are you calling my name, why do you still want me?"
Wednesday was D-day:  (June 5, 1996):  Throughout the whole service I was battling within...and I mean a BATTLE, "Lord why are you giving me this opportunity, why would you love someone like me?..Lord I have mocked You and acted like I'm part of a circus, and my family already think this whole church thing is not really a big deal?..."  and when there was an open alter prayer time, this is the climax of the battle scene.  "I'm a sinner with no way to be connected with you accept through your son Jesus who died for me, defeated death for me, and is there to intercede.  I have nothing to offer accept ask for forgiveness, and an opportunity to a new life, where my old me is thrown away....but wait lord, what will the the others at home think?  They will judge me, my family will say I told you so, ...what shall I do."  **"Jamie, be still... and know that I AM GOD, I love you... I want to dwell in your heart and change your life forever, turn away from your old self...let ME transform you to a new creation"** 

I can smell the pine trees around me, hearing the song "I EXALT THEE" playing in the background, noticing the teens around me seeming to fade out and all the world around me soon fades to the background, no time even seems to exist, and it is just me and my BELOVED LORD whom, ...yes...I welcome in to rule my heart and my life.  And in that moment its like a burden was lifted off of my chest, and I had a joy I couldn't contain, and it was as if angels were singing joy with me... and I was changed FOREVER.  how lovely my BELOVED SAVIOUR is to have kept on pursuing me, after all I did to HIM.

How could he know?

When I came home from Russia, back to America, and would share stories with my friends and family.  The hardest thing to do is to have the listeners NOT completely comprehend where I was coming from.  They could get a general idea and picture what I'm decribing, but for the most part it wouldn't do justice.  When my teammates from there talked about what to expect when going back to America, this was one major thing to discuss.  Understanding that there will be people who just don't get it, unless they were there themselves.

Sometimes You can't really capture and fully understand somethings in your life unless you have been there and have seen it or experienced it.  It's like a mother of three children trying to explain motherhood to a single woman of the same age.  She might understand to a certain extent but has never experienced the whole process so she will understand to a certain extent.  It might be a veteran trying to explain his experience in war to his grandson.  The grandson, might have read up on his history, but will never understand fully what His grandfather is explaining, for he has never been there and went through what his grandfather went through, not to mention the fact that ways of life change through each generation alone.

So then I ask myself.... HOW COULD HE KNOW?  How could a man King David from the Bible know how to express what my heart feels in the Psalms.  Actually if he were here, he would be asking how I could know what He is feeling because he went through it before I did, he lived in different times than me..etc.

To write about the longing of God, to write about the praises towards the Lord, to call upon him with poetic phrases that only one from closest relations to him would express.... I read these things and say.. "hey, thats exactly how I feel about the Lord and towards Him, that exactly how I would express with my heart my struggles to him" (Though I have to give credit to King David his talents in writing were amazing.--many people can only express those thoughts in their minds, its difficult to put it on paper) 

How is it that a man like him, or an Ambitious man name Paul, or a humble song from the Virgin Mary, or the pressing on of Moses, .... how could these share that moment where you hear something you understand and you look across at each other in a room with a look like "I understand" or "I know what you mean" or "I get it"... "been there, done that, got the t-shirt"... how is this........?  Will we ever know?

YES

God

and through His SPIRIT, we know.

Now this is the VITAL thing to know.... one can gain much knowledge of the scriptures, study the life of paul his whole life, write a million poems about sorrow and joy like king David, ...but does that mean that he or she GETS IT?  sad to say ...NO...   the scriptures tell us of a mystery that is revealed.... that mystery is revealed through His Spirit.  some might ask...okay..."Spirit of God" where are you so that I may know theys things and understand them like moses, like david, like mary, like paul, like some of my friends that I hang out with that have a certain joy about them....   Ask yourself if you know the Lord , as in, have you come to the realization that we all are nothing without Him, we are cut away from knowing and residing in a relationship with our creator due to our sinful nature.  Jesus, God in the Flesh has made a way for you, paying a dept, that you could never EVER pay... but heres the catch.. "ITS FREE"  ...realize you need HIM ...recieve him as your personal Lord and Saviour... let HIM be the ruler of your heart, ....

and my friend... your life will be changed forever.

and then you will look at King David, and Mary, and Moses, and Paul...and your friends at church or work who have this strange joy...and you will give each other that look of "I understand"..."I know what you mean"

"Been there...am there, done that...and continue to be HIS"

Give Me Your Eyes

so many things go on in our lives that we forget to open our eyes to the lives around us.  I hope this song is touching for you.  This CONSTANTLY REMINDS me to share His love and truth as I rely on my maker..and to call on HIM to help me see through His eyes and not through just mine which are imperfect and seflish.