A Fun Day

"A Fun Day" 2010 Corey J. Couturier

Mixed media painting done on a wood panel, 24" by 24" by 3".

With this painting I wanted to do something different with the background, and so I decided to use one of my other paintings to make the background. First, I photographed one of my abstract pieces. Then I changed it in my paint shop pro program using some special coloring effects. I printed out 9 copies, cut them out, and then glued them to the panel to create my background, which created a wonderful painting surface. When I was completely finished, I glazed it over with a matte finish.

The River Flows

The River Flows
by Corey J. Couturier
Acrylic on a 24" by 24" wooden panel frame. Sides are 3" deep and stained with a dark stain
$500.00
www.couturierstudios.com

I've always been fascinated with rivers, from the tiny streams of melting snow in the spring, to the tiny creeks where I used to catch frogs, to the river that ran through my dad's farm in northern Montana, where I fished almost every day in the summertime. The river brings life to all the surrounding area. In the same way, when we come close to God, He gives us nourishment to grow and flourish.

This acrylic painting is done with many small circles and shapes. I love experimenting with shapes of all kinds, and you will see in many of my paintings the use of rounded shapes. Round shapes are like smooth stones found in a creek bottom, stones in which the rough edges have been worn away through constant friction.

Society does not determine your value-- God does

The Joy of Life

Earlier today, while driving down Grand Ave., I noticed an old caboose parked on the tracks adjacent the road. I love old cabooses, and was sad when the railroads decided they were no longer useful. A train just doesn't seem complete without a caboose. Now the cabooses are out of commission. This particular one was covered with graffiti. Somebody decided that cabooses were no longer useful.

Many people today feel they are no longer useful, because somebody decided, or maybe society as a whole decided they were no longer useful. Many people feel like castaways just parked along the tracks somewhere. However, I would like to say to you that no matter how old you are, or how valueless you feel, or others have made you feel, you have great value in God's eyes. Society doesn't have the ability to determine value, because they cannot see the inside of a person. Society can only look at the outward, and judge the surface of things, but God can see the heart. God looks deeper, and He has a future for you.

You must understand: Even Jesus was rejected by men, but chosen by God. Quoting Jesus' words:

Haven't you read this scripture:

"The stone the builders rejected has become the the capstone;

the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' ?"

This statement is mentioned in 5 different books in the New Testament. If men rejected Jesus, then you will be rejected also. So don't worry if the world rejects you, or overlooks you. God sees you, and He has determined you have great value; so valuable, in fact, that He sent his Son to make a way for you to be saved. In other words, God loves cabooses, and God loves you.

Do I misunderstand God?

Though you have not seen him, you love him ; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1Peter 1:8-9 NIV

Many of our beliefs come from our attempts to make sense out the happenings in our lives. Unfortunately, many times the way we perceive things comes from what we believe. Therefore, everything we believe seems to confirm itself.





What do I mean by this mumbo jumbo?





If I believe that God is bad, then anytime anything bad happens in the world, or in my life, it confirms my belief that God is bad, unfair, unjust, etc. This, in turn, affects my attitude, my actions. Then, my attitudes, actions, and emotions affect and confirm my beliefs; A vicious circle that spirals downward into the eventual destruction of my life. So, then, how do I change my beliefs about God? I mean, when it seems that all the evidence is pointing to the contrary, how is it possible to believe that God loves me and that He's for me? How was Job able to continue after losing all his children, after losing all his wealth, after losing his health? Job had experienced God's goodness most of his life. And so he learned to trust God. We also learned in that story, that Satan, himself, was at the center of all the suffering in Job's life. Satan was trying to destroy Job's faith; God allowed it to test Job's faith.





If we will continue to believe in God's goodness when we go through a time of extreme struggle, there is always a reward waiting on the other side. If we will continue to believe in the message of the cross, heaven awaits us on the other side. Faith is something we must contend for, we must fight for. There have been times when the warfare was so intense, I felt like I was going to have a stroke. Faith is worth protecting. Faith is worth guarding with your life. Don't allow anyone to steal your faith.

Have a Blessed Day. More tomorrow.

Corey J. Couturier

www.cards4theheart.com

Depression: A Pattern of Wrong Thinking

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind.

I remember the day I accepted Jesus as my LORD and Savior. It was July 20, 1981. I had just been baptized and it was an incredible experience for me. Hard to think that just a short time earlier I was messed up on drugs and so depressed I was thinking of suicide. The hope that Jesus brought into my life, literally changed me. I was born again. Now I had the Holy Spirit to comfort me, to guide me, and to help me. I had no money, but I didn't really care. I had Jesus. And so I was just giving many of my possessions away, not because anyone told me to. I just wanted to. And I was telling everyone I met about my salvation, how Jesus had changed my life.

However, after a short time, the initial excitement wore off. I still had serious sin issues. And my situation in life hadn't really changed. All of a sudden, these negative thoughts began creeping back into my mind. After all, I had spent most of my life going down this certain path of thinking. It was normal. I had experienced Christianity on the mountaintop, but what would
my relationship with the LORD be like in the valley?

Negative Patterns of Thinking are not broken easily. It's not really any different than overcoming anything else in our lives, whether it be drug addiction, smoking, etc., except for one thing. Our thoughts govern everything else in our lives. Thoughts become reality. But can we really control our thoughts? I mean, we literally have millions of thoughts every day.
Our minds are the principle place the enemy attacks us every day. Our minds are the front lines in the battle for our hearts. When Satan attacks us with a negative thought, we must destroy it before it can makes its way to our hearts.

The war against depression is fought and won in our hearts and minds.

Daily Homework: When you get up in the morning, write down 5 things you are thankful for. Add 5 new things each day. Spend some time thanking God for those 5 things each morning. Keep these in a journal.

More Tomorrow

Corey J. Couturier http://www.cards4theheart.com/

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

Good Morning!

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance

(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our

hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men,

and especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:9-10

Yesterday we talked about hopelessness, and how that condition causes people to engage in all types of destructive behavior. We also spoke about how God sent his Son, Jesus, to give us hope for something better. I remember--One day I was ready for suicide with no hope, but after looking at the bible with a friend, it was like someone pulled the string on a light bulb, and instantly the depression went away. Why? My situation in life had not changed even one bit.
The only thing that changed was: One minute I had no hope. The next minute I had hope. It was that fast. One thing I had to do though. I had to believe the message. I had to believe what I heard.

What is Hope? Hope is a thought process reasoning that something will get better in the future, based on some belief, some piece of information. It is vital, however, that the information be accurate information.

A stranger walked up to a depressed man on the street and told him that in one year he would win the lottery. The depressed man was no longer depressed. He went out and started spending money like crazy, running up his credit cards, etc. He wasn't depressed anymore. Why? He had hope. He put his hope in something a stranger on the street told him. However, when the year passed, he did not win the lottery like the stranger had said. One year, two years passed. Now he had to pay back all that money he had spent, and now his condition was worse than before. Putting our hope in the wrong things is just as bad as having not hope at all.

I was putting my hope in the stock market as a way to get out of debt. Then, in November of 2008, I lost half of everything in 2 days. I was devastated. I had put my hope in the wrong things. God tells us to put our hope in Him, not in things that can be taken away from us. Our relationship with God can never be taken from us.

What are you hoping in? My wife and I believed the real estate agent who told us our property would only go up in value, and so we signed the mortgage for almost double what I thought it was worth. Then we lost everything.

Satan will lie to us. People will lie to us. But God will never lie to us, deceive us, or harm us. He is the One we can put our hope in. Nothing in this world is solid enough for us to put our hope in. Anything can change in an instant. But God never changes. He is rock solid.

Is Everything Hopeless?

Today I noticed the stock market sinking lower and lower. If you listen to the news, things look very bleak. If I look at my own situation, it looks pretty depressing. I'm deep in debt and my
income is just barely covering the payments on my bills, leaving me very little to live on. Yes, I do have reasons to be depressed. Today when I woke up, I had a choice to make. Will I take the path of hopelessness that leads to depression, or will I take the path of hope that leads to joy. We all have choices to make every day of our lives. What Choices will I make today?

Much depression can be traced to having a perception of hopelessness.

When I was 20 years old, I lay upon my bed one night, high on drugs, wondering if I should take my own life. Why was I thinking those thoughts? Because I had lost hope of my life getting any better. People who lose hope just give up, and usually turn to drugs, alcohol, and all sorts of self-
destructive behaviors. They no longer try to change, because in their mind it's a useless endeavor. When you look at your life right now, do you feel hopeless? Do you feel life has no purpose, no meaning?

So what changed for me? I met some people who were excited about life. They didn't seem any different from me, but they were different. They smiled, laughed, had fun. They weren't hung over day after day like I was. What did they have that I didn't have? They had hope for the future. They told me about a God who loved me, a God who had a plan for me, a God who was good, forgiving, a God who sent his Son, Jesus, into the world to bring me hope. This Son died on a cross for my sins. When I heard these things, I began to think that maybe God did love me. Maybe He did have a plan for my life.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Well, we'll take up this discussion again tomorrow. Just remember--There is a God and He does love us. He never gives up on us. He has a plan and purpose to bless us. Your situation is not hopeless.

Corey J. Couturier

www.cards4theheart.com

It's time to get serious about depression

First of all, I would like to say that I'm not a professionally trained therapist, and so my thoughts and methods may be in contradiction to worldly methods. I derive my information from experience and the Bible.

My Troubles with depression and discouragement began at a very young age, and even had suicidal thoughts in the 6th and 7th grades. I had a lot of anger, because I just couldn't figure out why things were the way they were. I hated my situation in life. I couldn't figure out why my life sucked. I blamed God for all my troubles. Why was I so short? Why wasn't I bigger and stronger? Why didn't girls like me? Why wasn't I good at sports? I was good at things I didn't want to be good at, and terrible at things I wanted to be good at. Poetry and Art came natural to me. In sports I had to work like crazy, only to find myself sitting on the bench the most of my Senior year. I was so lousy, I began to make up stories to tell my cousins how good I was at basketball. That worked great until they all came from out of town to watch me play. That game, the coach didn't even play me. I sat on the bench the whole time. I was so embarrassed, I literally cried after the game. Even writing this, brings me back to that painful place.

This life of discouragement, failure, and pain has followed me most of my life. Suicidal thoughts and tendencies, patterns of depression and failure are all things that are prevalent in my family.

It was always like a dark cloud hovering over us. I know darkness; what it's like. I know what it's like to be in a bad place, with no real hope. I know what it's like to be caught in that circle of thinking, and with no way of escape. Our minds can be like a prison that is every bit as real as a physical prison, and without help, we will never be able to break free.

Where are you right now? Would you be willing to join me in this journey? You are worth it. You can and will overcome this slow death. God has a plan for your life.

Join me tomorrow to continue.

www.cards4theheart.com Cards that touch the heart.

This really cool card is based on a painting I did in acrylics. It's a fun card about how awesome and wonderful Jesus is, and the importance of faith. With Faith you can conquer your mountain.

Please visit my website: Cards4theHeart.com to see all my available cards

Art is Everywhere

As I go throughout my day, I see art everywhere. Almost anything, if presented in an interesting way, can be a fantastic masterpiece, whether it be a beautiful sunset, or a piece of gum on the sidewalk. The only limits are the ones we place upon ourselves. Sometimes, we hold back because we're afraid the venture into new areas, try new techniques, or go a different direction. But if you want to go somewhere, you must be courageous, and trust God, that He will guide you. Have a great day and don't forget to Thank the Lord for his goodness.

God is Love

This is my newest painting done on plastered pressboard. Size: 17 1/2" by 48". Medium: Acrylic and marker, fresco background. When you look at God from a distance, you can appreciate his awesomeness and beauty. In the old testament times, people mostly had to view God in that way. But as you get closer to the painting, you begin to notice little surprises, words, and details you could never see from a distance. When we get close to God, we begin to notice little treasures, wonders, and beauty, you could only notice from being close to Him. Intimacy requires closeness. Thanks to Jesus, we can get close to God without fear, and thanks to the Holy Spirit, we can know the secret things of God.
In Christ--Corey J. Couturier

Aug. 16, 2010

When I was small, my friends and I would have contests boasting about our dads. Every boy would try to top the others by telling them how great his dad was. I was no exception. I loved my dad and I wanted to tell all the others how great he was. I was giving him praise.

Praise means to boast. When we tell others how great God is, we are praising him. We are singing his praises. When we tell others of all the wonderful things He has done for us, we are praising him. When we sing together on Sunday mornings, we are telling God how awesome and wonderful He is, we are singing his praises.

The goal and purpose of this blog is to tell everyone how great and wonderful God is by using my artistic talents.

First Love

Yesterday, after having a rough day in the stock market, I became very angry at God. Believe me, this was not the first time. During the crash of Nov., 2008, I was going through a similar struggle, except 10 times worse. After a frustrating 3 days, I literally lost half of my entire stock value. I remember I was so upset, that I took a box of uncooked cheese macaroni and threw it against the wall as hard as I could. When the box hit the wall, macaroni went flying everywhere, all over my kitchen. I've only been that angry a couple of times in my life, but that was one of them.

Well, anyway, getting back to yesterday, after having my fit and angry episode at God, He just told me to go ahead and vent my anger, and that He would still be there when I was done. He also told me that He wasn't giving up on me. I felt terrible afterwards, and asked for his forgiveness. We had a long conversation that went into the night.

One thing He told me was that I was more excited about the stock market than I was about Him. And, He reminded me that He was the one who supplies our needs. He is our source. I was beginning to think it was my abilities and my talents. I couldn't wait to check my stocks in the morning when I got up. Oh, yes, I prayed, but my heart and mind were on the stock market. And when things didn't go well, I would blame Him.

How many times do we find ourselves obsessed by everything but the One who gave us these blessings? God is our source; our supplier. Instead of being obsessed, we can find rest. Instead of worry, we can take all these to God in prayer. It's a whole lot easier to put things in God's hands, and then rest, than trying to wing it on our own. Let's keep God as our first love, rather than putting other things first. Let's not take him for granted.

Pray for me, that I will keep God as the love of my life, because He is the only one who can bring lasting joy and blessings. He is the source of all that is good, especially when He gave his all, when He gave his Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins.

God Bless--Corey

A Matter of Perspective

When I was a young boy, our family used to go for picnics in the Bear Paw Mountains in Northern Montana, not far from our home, on Sunday afternoons. We would go with our friends and family, and it was a great time for climbing, exploring, and just having a great time. I always have fond memories of those times.

However, on one particular Sunday, after we ate, all of us kids were playing and having a good time. It was a warm day and as a common practice, we boys would take our shirts off. But on that particular day, my dad yelled at me to put my shirt back on. "What?" I questioned him.

"I always take my shirt off!" I exclaimed.

"Just put it on," my dad barked.

And so, I reluctantly put my shirt back on, but I wasn't happy about it. My dad was being unreasonable. Why would he humiliate me in front of my friends who also had their shirts off?

I thought he was being rude and unreasonable, and I just didn't understand it. It wasn't until years later that I began to understand what was going down that day. You see, on that particular day, my uncle came with us. I love my uncle, but he is in prison today for having sex with young teenage boys. My dad was just trying to protect me on that day. But my young mind couldn't comprehend the reality of the situation. My dad did, however. And he took steps to protect me on that day.

I wonder how many times we misunderstand what God is telling us to do, because in our limited understanding, we cannot grasp that God is not against us, but rather, he is only protecting us from some danger unknown to us, but known to him. I am not always obedient to the Holy Spirit's promptings, but my prayer is that I will grow to trust Him more and more, because His motives are always pure, always trustworthy, always with our best interests in mind.

Love ya,

Corey J. Couturier

What does God look like?

When we were little kids, there were movies that came on once per year that we always looked forward to. And even though our TV was black and white, we were excited when once a year movies like, "The Sound of Music" came on. One of our favorite movies was, "The Wizard of OZ." We loved that movie, and I was reminded of that movie the other day for some reason. I was thinking about when Dorothy and her friends finally made it to the Emerald City, and finally found the Wizard of OZ who was going to give them what they were seeking. They were so excited, and when they entered the place, it was a fearsome sight with smoke and sound. It seemed as though at any second they would be struck dead for even daring to enter the presence of the wizard. And then, when the curtain was pulled back, there was a little gray-haired man, not scary at all. And he presented them with certificates for the very things they already possessed.

In the Old Testament, we see God as a fearful and terrible being; a being who could not be touched, and to even see his face would be certain death. This picture of God was burned into our thoughts and minds. I remember thinking to myself, I better not let God see me, because He might kill me, because I've got so many problems. I grew up thinking that God hated me.
The God I grew up with was a jealous God, a vengeful God, and a God who was always watching us, looking for reasons to punish us because of all our sins.

And then, when Jesus came along, it was as if the curtain was pulled back. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." The problem was, Jesus did not look like the God we were raised with. Jesus was touchable, compassionate, gentle, and loving. Jesus revealed to us for all eternity the true picture of God. Funny thing is, "He looks a lot like we do." except without the sin. And no wonder: We were created in his image. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and the exact representation of his being. If we want to know God, we must know Jesus. If the God you know doesn't look like Jesus, then you don't know the true God.

Something to ponder on.

Corey J. Couturier

Our Spiritual Clothing (Part 2)

Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
Col. 3:12 NIV

Yesterday we talked about how as Christians, we are a cherished people to God. It's pretty awesome to know we are loved and hand-picked by God for a special purpose. And because of this special status that we are given, we need to put on the proper clothes. We are children of the King. You would think, then, that we should be wearing the royal robes. And, according to my last name, Couturier, in France, my ancestors would have been the ones who made the royal clothing. You would think we should be parading around in hand-tailored, loud clothing, making a statement of who we are. You would think we should be wearing the clothing of pride, the clothing of arrogance, the clothing of power, wearing power colors, as we are taught in the world.

But God tells us just the opposite. God's ways are not the ways of the world. The world exalts people like Donald Trump because he is successful and has lots of money. What kind of clothing does he wear? If you were to describe the qualities of his life, how would you describe them?

Is he known for his compassion?

Is he known for his kindness?

Is he known for his humility?

Is he known for his gentleness?

Is he known for his patience?

Does he wear the clothing of a child of God? And yet, I find many Christians trying to pattern their lives after this man. I'm not trying to pick on Donald Trump, because I'm sure he has many good qualities, but I was us to think about what we are doing. Who are we trying to dress like? Are we trying to dress like a biker? or a rock star? or like the popular kids in school? Or have we made our minds up that we want to dress like our Father?

When Jesus came, he showed us what the Father was like. Jesus came with compassion, and kindness, and humility, and gentleness, and patience, because those are the qualities of God.

Tomorrow: Part 3

Have a great day!

Corey

Our Spiritual Clothing (Part 1)

Have you ever gone to the Mall and just sat and watched people as they walked by? It sure can be an interesting experience. You see all kinds of people. You see the gang members that all dress a certain way with the loose fitting baggy clothes, or the mall walkers in their jogging suits, or the Goth people draped in black overcoats, chains, and black clothing. You see professional people in their suits and ties. You can tell a lot about people just by the way they dress. You can tell if someone is a biker just by what they wear. In fact, clothing is one of the biggest identifying factors we know. The way we dress is our statement to the world, "This is who I am."

I remember when I was in the seventh grade, I just decided that I was going to be a cowboy that year. So, I bought a cowboy hat, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a belt with a huge buckle. That whole summer I dressed as a cowboy. That was my statement that year. "I am a cowboy". Only problem was, I didn't feel like a cowboy on the inside. Oh yea, outwardly I appeared as a cowboy, but inwardly I knew I really wasn't. I was a poser. Truth is, I really didn't know who I was at that age. And so it was just a passing fase I was going through. Before long, I was dressing back the way I did before.

Before we can know how to dress, first we must know who we are. Many times we go through life not really knowing who we really are, which leads me to this scripture:

Therefore, as God's chosen people,

holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness

and patience.

Col. 3:12 NIV

As Christians, we must know that:

1. We are God's chosen people. To the world, this may sound arrogant, but to me this is so incredible. You see, when I was young, because I was small, many times I was the last to be picked when we played basketball, or any kind of sport. And so I started identifying with the fact that I was a loser. Kids didn't even want me on their team. I felt rejected. I let other people tell me who I was, but it wasn't the truth. When God gave me the faith to believe in Jesus for salvation, He was saying "Corey, I choose you to be on my team". Wow!!! I am one of God's chosen ones, one of his favorites. That changes who I really am.

2. We are holy. We are set apart for the purposes of God. It's refreshing to know that God has a special purpose and plan for my life. I'm not just here randomly or by accident. I am a child of God with special talents and abilities to accomplish God's will in my life.

3. We are dearly loved. knowing that I am loved means that I have value. I never felt I had much value as a person. I didn't think I had anything to offer people. But just knowing that God loves me intensely gives me self-worth. God cherishes us as one would cherish an expensive treasure, but more than that. Even more than a parent cherishes a child.

Once we know who we are, we can know how we should dress. I'll cover that tomorrow.

In Christ's love,

Corey