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.