This is the Day...

I must have listened to it 20 times throughout the day yesterday. I simply couldn't get it out of my mind. It was all-consuming.  The song had these simple, but beautiful words:

"This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice. I will give thanks."

Little did I know that today -- this day -- those words would be tested on me.

I received a call that rocked my foundations tonight. My Mom is very sick. The diagnosis is not confirmed yet. But words like "large masses" and "pre-cancerous or cancerous" somehow don't give a sense that everything is going to be alright.

But if I am going to resolve that He is worthy of my praise on the good days, I have to be resolved to praise Him on the not so good days.

What a privilege to be in the hand of God when life's sands are shifting underneath my feet.

"This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice. I will give thanks."

Happy Thanksgiving,
Dori

Be Still

 

Today I'm thankful for the privilege of praying for my loved ones. I'm thankful for a God who gives a specific thing to pray for our family just when we need it.

He did that for me yesterday.

In the quiet of our worship service yesterday, God gave me the exact scripture to pray over a precious loved one who is struggling.

So from this point on, my lips will speak over her life every chance I get:

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

So thankful for the power of God's Word to break strongholds and free captives!

Blessings,
Dori

With and Without Him

My heart is a bit heavy today. I got a call this week that a childhood friend had taken his life. This is the second time I've gotten a call like this in the past 6 months about a friend from my childhood. It has me wondering how does hope completely disappear to bring someone to take such drastic measures.

Leaving behind two beautiful little girls, the despair in this man's life apparently was more than he could take. His hope was gone.

So today I'm thankful for the hope I have in Jesus Christ. Life is not always fun and it is definitely not always easy. But He is steadfast. He is sure. He is sufficient. He is supreme. He is salvation.

Without Him, I would wander aimlessly through life. With Him, I have direction and promise and a calling. Without Him, life is impossible. With Him, I can face anything knowing that He can use anything for my good. Without Him, I would be lost. With Him, I sense His presence and all is well.

Without Him, I would despair. With Him, I am filled with hope.

‎"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14

Blessings,
Dori

It Might Be Hope by Sara Groves

Women of Faith

 

"For I long to visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other." (Romans 1:11-12 NLT)

Today I am thankful for all of the women of faith that God has placed in my life over the years to encourage me in my walk with Him. We really can't do life by ourselves effectively. My life would be radically different if I didn't have friends who constantly pray for me, minister to me and build up my faith by living out their own.

In honor of all my spiritual mothers and sisters, I want to share with you about one specific woman who took the time to invest in my life. This is something I wrote over three years ago to honor her.


I REMEMBER HER NAME...
By Dori Cook
She was more than a Sunday School teacher...

She was a friend, an encourager and a prayer warrior. With all the obvious pressures of being a Pastor’s wife, she took the time to be a spiritual mother to a group of misfit teenage girls. We all had different backgrounds, personalities and problems and yet she met each of us at the point of our need. She encouraged us to rise above life’s circumstances and reach for all that God has for His beloved children. We were “Chosen Vessels,” she said. She made us each feel unique, special and loved, something deeply treasured by God.

I remember her Bible. It was blue and its pages lined in silver. It was worn from the time she spent reading the words of the Lord she loved so much. I remember the scriptures she taught us…

”But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5&6)

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.” (John 15:16)

I remember her tears. She cried as she read God’s Word. She cried as she sang His songs. She cried when she shared the failures and victories of her own spiritual journey to the heart of God. She cried with us when we walked through tough circumstances.

I remember her commitment to praying for us. She went to bed early and awoke early, always meeting her Lord in the big winged back chair in her living room. Our names were there; not only on her prayer list but on her lips as she lifted up her petitions to God. When she told me that she had mentioned my name to the Lord, I was confident that she had.

I remember her mothering all of us as if we were her own. I recall learning that being a mother to someone reaches far beyond the biological to the spiritual. It’s a calling of God, a mission field, and she fulfilled her mission time and time again. The fruits of her labor are visible in the lives of the girls she mentored all those years ago. We are godly wives and mothers. Some of us are Bible teachers, Christian musicians and writers. All of us are part of the Kingdom of God because she took the time to help us on our way.

I wondered if my children would ever have someone like her in their life; someone who would share Christ with them, not out of obligation but out of a calling. I prayed that I could be a godly mother to my own children, but also take the time to plant spiritual seeds in the lives of the other children God places within my circle of influence. I asked Him to make me more like her; one who would look beyond the outward and see what God sees when He looks at His special creations.

I remember her name. I call her “Miss Nancy” and my life is forever changed because of her.

Miss Nancy, I love you!

Blessings,
Dori

Thanksgiving

 

"Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection...an annual reminder that God has, again, been ever so faithful. The solid and simple things of life are brought into clear focus." ~~ Charles R. Swindoll

November 1. How can that be? My, my, my -- time is going by so fast! It seems like only yesterday we were gathered around a feast, with friends and family, laughing, loving -- being thankful!

As I started thinking about this upcoming holiday and what it means, I began to feel an urging in my heart to be intentional about being thankful this year.

It seems that if we aren’t careful we rush through the Thanksgiving season, visit a little, eat a lot, watch a little football and when our heads hit the pillow on the big day, we’ve taken no time to actually count our blessings much less share them with someone else.

Maybe it is just me. Maybe I’m just getting older. I pray that it is because I am getting wiser. But I don’t want to rush through November and head on into Christmas and not give thanks to the Lord...for He, indeed, has been good to me. I’m sure you don’t have to think too hard to see the ways He has also blessed you and your family.

I have so much to be thankful for! My amazing husband and precious kids. For health and blessings too many to name here. For provision of just daily necessities that we often take for granted. For ministry opportunities. But all of this only comes from a God who dearly loves me and cares for me.

The love of God! The depth of it astounds me. The height of it lifts me. Mercies new every morning. Lovingkindness that is better than life itself. Peace like a river. Life full of abundant joy. Forgiveness and redemption. Sacrifice.

My favorite hymn says it this way:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

And then how I love this verse:

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Oh, Heavenly Father, how in the world could I ever thank You enough and how dare we just set aside one day to be intentionally thankful! Give me a heart that is full of thanksgiving every day of every year -- not just on one Thursday in November. You have been so faithful to me. Thank you, LORD, that Your faithfulness to me is steady and unchanging -- when my faithfulness to You is always falling short. For all You have done, for all that You're going to do, for all that You are -- HOW I THANK YOU!

"O my soul, bless GOD. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless GOD, don't forget a single blessing! He forgives your sins--every one. He heals your diseases--every one. He redeems you from hell--saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy--a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness--beauty eternal. He renews your youth--you're always young in his presence." (Psalm 103:1-5 THE MESSAGE)

Blessings,
Dori

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