Wild and Free

As most of you know our amazing family of 5 is going through a transition period.  My husband is the new head football coach at Richland High School, I am technically unemployed for the first time since I was 12, beginning the homeschool journey this fall with my 5 year old, our home is for sale, and we are opting out of traditional insurance and going with Christian Care Medi-share (Christians sharing medical bills group), and a few more things I will choose not to mention.  So, for obvious reasons, money, bills, needs, etc. tend to crowd my mind.  Being a believer in Jesus Christ, I know the scriptures regarding anxiety and worries (Matt 6).  I have been reading them for as long as I can remember.  I do love the Lord so much and I do trust Him.  But sometimes the world and what is around us seem to drown out the ever present presence of our Savior, that presence He promises to all who believe and love Him. 

It is in these times when He seems to speak through the strangest surroundings :)  When I was jogging this week I began to notice the wild flowers.  Then I began to notice the flowers and flower beds wrapped around every house on the street where I was.  It was then that sweet Jesus spoke to me.  He said, "Precious child, have you ever noticed that every flower planted by human hands relies completely on human means for life but the flowers that I plant rely completely on me?  Look around beloved, the wildflowers are blooming despite the lack of rain, they come back every year, they do not worry about where their life giving nutrition will come from, and if they are blown away or drowned out by the storms of life, they come back next year even bigger and more beautiful." 

I replied, "Yes, Lord, I do notice.  And thank you for loving me in spite of my doubt.  Thank you for meeting all of our needs, and more.  You are the wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace, Jehovah Jirah.  Thank you for the beauty of your Creation, that shouts of your majesty and provision!  Help me Father, to be wild and free in You."

A little something extra

Just thought a few of you would like a little update on the Cook family :)

This month will end a 6 year era at Ridgeland High School.  Jason will be the new head football coach at Richland High School. 

I am officially unemployed :)  I am coming home to help my husband (which is what we are supposed to do anyway) and homeschool my 5 year old!  Along with caring for my 2 other babies.

Our house is for sale and we are looking for a nice place with a little more space and maybe a tree or two the kids can climb in :)

The Royal Wedding

As I sit on my couch watching this royal wedding (well, the end of it) I am reminded that one day there will be a wedding celebration much larger and more beautiful than this one.  And it is not just for the elite!  It will be for all those who know the Prince and worship Him!  It will have more viewers, in fact, the whole world will see and all will marvel and bow.   Phil Wickham sings:

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears will be no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
The bride will come together and we'll sing
Your beautiful.......

and the Bride of Christ will be white as snow and the Bridegroom will be beautiful beyond description! 

Friends, RSVP now!  Don't let this world keep you from being an honored guest at the REAL royal wedding that is coming soon, very very soon!

To Hunt or Not to Hunt...

I must preface this post by issuing this statement:
"You are reading a personal blog, that has my personal thoughts and reflections.  I am in no way judging or criticizing anyone."  :)  And I know that there are MANY different opinions on this subject...that is one reason why I blog about it and not post it on Facebook!!  In fact, no one may agree or relate at all, and that is ok.  But I have to bring it up - because it is a REAL issue.

So, to hunt or not to hunt?  Now that we have children these kinds of questions come up every holiday.  Of course we don't hunt Easter eggs at Christmas, but I am sure you get my drift.  There are so many "secular" ways to celebrate "religous" holidays that I just can't keep up with them all. 

I personally don't think that hunting Easter eggs will send your kids down the "wide road that leads to destruction" but I do think that teaching or training your kids the truth and history of EVERY holiday (including Halloween) is wise.  Remember, if you don't tell them someone else will!

Actually this year we did not participate in any "secular" Easter traditions.  Mainly because I have a 4 month old, potty training our 2 year old, my husband has a new job, I work part time and our house is for sale....seriously, there was not any time to anything but clean mouths, bottoms and floors :).  But I did make sure that Jesus and his resurrection was and is talked about a lot.  Katie is almost five and very interested in knowing this Jesus.  She is also almost five and very aware of eggs and bunnies and pink and purple decor that is EVERY where this time of year.  So I wonder what that is like to a 5 year old seeing the world all around tell her something different about the Easter holiday than what her parents tell her and what is read to her from the Bible.  Just a thought.  It seems (in my cirlce of influence) that more and more we are talking more often about eggs, bunnies and hunts leading up to that miraculous day and leaving the details of that day to our Pastors and Sunday School teachers for Sunday.   The bible tells us to write His word upon our hearts, over our door posts, when we go out and when we come in, when we wake up and when we lie down.  I am not sure if I just have really bad time management skills or what but after we spend time talking about the Lord and training them in His word there just doesn't seem to be that much time left for the other stuff - and yes, we do get out of the house and do things - you know what I mean :)

Will we ever take our kids to an egg hunt?  Probably so.  Will we ever give them something special for Easter?  Probably so.  But as my uncle sings so perfectly in a VERY children's old song, "Santa clause didn't die for anybody's sins and the easter bunny never rose again...." That being said, or sung, what I do know is that we will teach our children the truth about EVERY holiday and celebrate it in a way that the Lord would have us. 

We have been given a HUGE responsibility with 3 precious souls - souls that will spend eternity somewhere.  We just want to make sure that in our training we are speaking truth and Jesus as real as possible - because He is!

Back to Blogging!

Wow!  What a journey I have been on!  Well, I am actually still on it.....baby still in the belly :)  But I am definitely out of the hole I dug for myself these past 9 months.  I am looking forward to sharing this journey, hoping that it will resonate with someone and be used by Him.  So, now I am going to update the site and see what's new in the blogging world, and get back to writing soon!

                                                                     WEEK 38!!!!

Fruit of the womb....a reward?

Well, this is the 3rd reward that the Lord has given us and I can honestly say that if I could skip the first 13 weeks - I would!  My absence from blogging and usual internet surfing has come to a complete stop due to baby Cook 3 :)  Some of you may not know this but I get VERY VERY sick while pregnant!  BUT before I complain too much - it is VERY VERY worth it.

However a very good doctor visit with a look at this precious thing in my belly through sonogram has given me a little bounce in my step.  Not to mention VBS at Crossgates :)

There and Back Again

Time.  It is so very valuable.  And since I had to take a 2 week break from my computer, I realized the "time" I spent on it!!  Not at all on bad things, just things that take time.  In some ways that is ok.  I feel like the Lord is using blogs (especially by Believers) to reach people.  So, this is not a post on why NOT to use a computer :)  It has just been hard for me to get back in to blogging since the break.

But, after hearing a testimony about how some blogs are really ministering to this person, I felt that was the Lord leading me to return - consistantly :)

I will still write on "Social Salt & Light" some, but I am now going to jump in to whatever the Lord is leading me. 

In Judges 8, Gideon has been a mighty man of valor, as the Lord had told him he was.  He had defeated armies and gave the Lord all the credit.  But there was one little thing he allowed in to his camp - an Ephod.  Now, the ephod was supposed to stay with the High Priest, where the temple was (which was not where Gideon was).  But for some reason, Gideon allowed that little piece of "the world" to come in and take the place of the Almighty.

Now, I am not a scholar in Hebrew or Greek or Aramic, and if you are reading this and you are you can probably tell me the exact context of this story.  But from what I read and what the ESV footnotes guided me in, I came to this thought (this is straight from my journal so forgive the randomness:) :

           Gideon made an ephod for himself - the people chased after it and worshiped it, instead of God.         That one piece of the world kept Gideon's heir from living in God's blessings.  That one piece of the world caused generations to reap what he had sown.

Now, the question to the believer is this:  What is that "one piece" of the world that you are hanging on to or allowing in your life and home that is causing you & others around you to chase after things other than God Almighty?

Lord, I ask You to reveal to me every area in my life and home that does not bring You glory!  Open my eyes to the things that You see.  Close my eyes to things of the world.  Oneness with You is what I desire.  Amen