Saturday Evening

As I sit on my patio this sweet Saturday evening, the cool air refreshing and the crimson sunset blazing across the horizon, I am reminded that it matters not if I made enough time for Him this week. It's true that my personal spiritual walk is not as dynamic as it would be had I made time for moments of sitting at His feet, choosing the better thing. But the truth of the matter is that whether or not I acknowledge Him as LORD in any given day doesn't make His supremacy more or less real. He is LORD over all the earth, whether we choose to give Him that rightful place in our life. His love for us is never dependent on our participation. He is love and therefore He loves deeply, dearly and for eternity.

He sings over the whole earth. He is in constant activity all around us. Our choice is not whether or not we will give Him permission to do this. He will do it anyway. Our choice is whether or not we are going to join Him in His song or follow His lead as He dances all around us.

So in the stillness of this moment I am, once again, amazed by Him all over again.

Lord, I am amazed by You...how You love me.

Blessings,
Dori

My Life with the Exclamation Point

 

I have always been aware that everything I write is usually filled with exclamation points. Sometimes a single point. Sometimes multiples. In fact, I have to make a conscience effort not to use the exclamation point. I remember a Seinfeld episode where Elaine broke up with her boyfriend because when he took down a message from a friend who had called saying she had a baby he didn't use an exclamation point. I can identify. I just think if you have something to say and it is not your usual ordinary conversation, it warrants something special...something to make the point.

But there are extremes and even though I certainly try to be more aware of when I'm going overboard with the exclamation point, there are sometimes when I forget and lapse back into my overexuberance about something that others might deem mundane.

Take this e-mail that I just had my daughter's teacher send out to our parents for example:

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for all who have signed up to help us with our inflatable on Friday night at Cheetah Fest! As you can see, we only have three more spots to go! If you can work one or more of these spots or if you have a middle or high school student who would like to help us out, please call me at _____ or e-mail me at _________!!

I heard from Carla S. today that our basket is done and BE-AU-TI-FUL!! Be sure and look for it at the auction on Friday night…you might even want to bid on it!! Cheetah Fest is only a tremendous success year after year because of you, our wonderful parents! Thank you for giving – not only your donations but also of your time!

Thank you so much for your help! It’s going to be a great night of fun!!

See you at Cheetah Fest!

Dori Cook!

If you are counting, that is 8 sentences, 14 exclamation points. And, yes, I unknowingly put one after my name!

Do you think they got the point? Well, even if they don't sign up to volunteer, they will know that if nothing else I was passionate about asking!

Which got me to thinking. With how much passion, exuberance and excitement do I share with others about the hope that I have in Jesus? I hope that when I say, "He is my everything" and "His Word is life to me" that they would know that at the end of those sentences there were multiple exclamation points because of the way in which I speak of Him.

Blessings,
Dori!!!!!!!

The Cure for Pride

 

I have watched the debates. I have watched the interviews. I've watched the forums. One overall question remains for me: Who is humble and who is prideful? I'm not saying here, but I've seen it personified particularly at the forum at Saddleback Church hosted by Rick Warren.

I thought of it again this morning when I found this devo in my inbox. I believe when it is all said and done, our greatest failures in life are not going to be because we didn't do this well enough or that well enough, gave enough, studied enough, served enough. It is going to be whether or not we fell flat on our faces, bowed low, and admitted in sincere humility that without Christ we are nothing.

THE CURE FOR PRIDE

Those who are slaves to pride do anything to maintain the illusion that they are more capable, more worthy, and more significant than others. Pride prompts people to do any number of horrible acts to those they think are lesser beings than themselves. Pride is the original sin—it was Satan's sin in heaven and the sin he promotes among human beings (see Isaiah 14:13). And pride before God is absurd as well as deadly. "The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground," says Psalm 147:6.

The cure for pride is cultivating humility. Humility is being honest about who we really are before God. Humility is recognizing who God is: The King of kings and the Lord of lords. Being empty before God is the only way he can fill us with himself.

From Zondervan's New Women's Devotional Bible, NIV

Have a blessed day!
Dori

Storms

 

I spent alot of time over the weekend, like most of you, watching cable news and The Weather Channel to see if Hurricane Gustav was going to pack the powerful punch that Hurricane Katrina had three years prior. So many friends either e-mailed or blogged about whether or not they were in the line of fire.

I found myself thinking the same thing over and over: "Why now? Three years is not near enough time for healing from one storm before another hits."

But that's the way storms are.

Not the kind of storms that produce literal thunder, lightning, tornadoes and material destruction. But the kind of storms that produce tears, grief, hurt, insecurity and fear.

Unfortunately there is no early warning system. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us a spirit of insight that allows us to prepare. But more times than not, we are caught off guard.

But our God is the one Who walks on the waves.

He speaks through the wind.

He holds our tears and He wipes them all away.

He binds up the brokenhearted and brings gladness to those that grieve.

He took stripes on His back so that our hurts could be healed.

He is our Strong Tower and is our Refuge, safe and secure.

He is Perfect Love and He casts out all fear.

So whether it is three years between storms or three weeks or three days, we know the One that speaks peace.

He is the Peace Speaker!

"And the disciples came and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And He, being thoroughly awakened, censured and blamed and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there came a calm." Luke 8:24 Amplified

Blessings,
Dori