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