2012-01-20

Perspectives

As I turned the corner and headed down the hill, the view didn't quite seem familiar, even though I've driven this road many times. I kept driving, looking for familiar landmarks and visual cues as to my location. Nothing. I crested another hill... and finally I saw the building I was looking for.

I questioned myself why this familiar road wasn't. I've traveled this direction on this road many times. Then it hit me - the world is different from 3 feet lower.

Usually, I sit behind the wheel of an Astro van. On this trip I was hugging the ground in a Toyota Camry. Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it warrants. Maybe not. Here is a fact: my perspective had changed.

A shift in perspective can make the world seem to be a different place, literally. Take hiking, for instance. You walk, or drag yourself, up a ridge, stop at the overlook provided, and drink in the view. Why is it there? For rest? Yes. But also for you to gain a different perspective on what is in front of you.

Now let's go the other direction. For sake of time, we will be transported to the bottom of a ravine, and for the sake of familiarity for the greatest number of people, let's visit Grand Canyon. It's around a mile deep, give or take a few. Looking up, the typical response is a feeling of insignificance and frailty within the universe.

Perspective changes how we see. Not deep but true. Once our view is changed, we may think differently about how we respond to what we see. Let me say it another way; a new perspective helps us respond differently to the normal flow of daily life.

As a family, our perspective has been in a state of change for the past several weeks. From resigning from a ministry, to moving, to looking for jobs, the landscape looks different all the time. This can be difficult, but with the Holy Spirit's constant presence, it helps us see life differently. I hope I am seeing life more the way God wants me to. After all, I think this change in perspective was ordered by God for that reason: to gain a new perspective, to gain a more godly perspective (2 Corinthians 4:17).

2012-01-19

SPECIAL UPDATE

Dear Friends,

We have a new address and phone number:

8677 Hwy B

Bunker, MO 63629

573-739-1118

We still have the cell phone number.

Pray for strength and safety this Saturday. We will be moving a majority of our stuff.

2012-01-16

Cook's Short Order Update

Genesis 1:18 "and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good."

We are moving quickly toward moving to the farm house being made available to us. We will post pictures later. It will also put us much closer to our church so we can be more involved and yet have more time at home.

Still a lot of work to do to get the house ready: drywall, mudding, install dish washer, finish gas lines for stove/dryer, paint, flooring, steam clean carpet, cut/split/stack wood (this will be our primary source of heat), change address and contact stuff. I'm also working on upgrading my CDL to have school bus and air brake endorsements. This will open up some work opportunities in the next weeks and months. Oh! and we have to pack this week too!

Thank you to the many who have worked long hours to get the house ready for us. We owe you a great debt. Thanks to the men for bringing 2 truck loads of firewood by yesterday. You guys are a blessing!

Keep your eyes open for a new email format.

Bruce Cook for Michelle (my lovely best friend), Bryan (21), Nate (19), Caleb (16), Kaitie (12), Seth (9)

2012-01-05

So there I was running, realizing I am really out of shape this winter. Duh! Winter tends to do that to us. It felt like I walked most of the 3.8 miles. But even that's better than working my biceps with the remote control.

A good friend once told me that reading your Bible is very much like exercising: you have to keep your brain in shape just as you do your muscles. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard all this before. But this was a different take. The friend reminded me that the brain is a physical part of the body, just like muscles. So it takes work and routine and discipline to make the brain "look" the way we want it to.

So when I just can't focus mentally, I'm allowing that physical part of my body to tell me to quit trying so hard. I typically don't let my muscles talk to me that way when I lift weights. Now mind you, I'm not going for Mr. Universe, of course. Just want to stay away from doctors doing weird stuff to me to keep me alive later.

What the friend was saying is that I must push my brain to stay in shape, just as I would other physical parts of my body.

On a related theme, but not really, I don't like accountability. If I'm not sensitive to the Holy Spirit's conviction, what makes me think I will be less likely to lie to a fellow human?

Enter visual stimulus. Ever tried web-based calendars? I use Google Calendar. I can access it anywhere I have internet access. Here's my stimulus. Every day I exercise I make a calendar entry with a description of what I did, how I felt, how hard I worked. You get the idea.

I make my entries in red-ish so they stick out from all my other entries. When I look at my calendar in the morning I can quickly see how faithful I've been to this endeavor.

Paul said, "... bodily discipline is only of little profit..." (I Tim. 4:8). Did you see that? Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul told us that physical exercise is good for us. Not nearly as good as spiritual exercise, but still good for us.

So, I'm trying to keep a healthy balance. Enjoy the day God has set in front of you.

2012-01-03

Genesis 1:17 "God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth."

We've had a couple good days of work getting the farmhouse ready to move into. Hopefully, we're putting in gas lines for a small LP tank to fuel our dryer and stove. This seems like a better option than storing or selling those appliances and borrowing others.

Praise:
1. Great weather for working in a non-heated house.
2. Very good time as family this Christmas season.
3. We will hopefully be able to use our dishwasher in the farm house!
4. Van getting a new fuel pump. It didn't like the original.
5. That our van has gotten us here and there faithfully. We have not been stranded on any roads for several years.

Prayer:
1. 2nd vehicle as I will need to get a "real" job for a while.
2. 100+ gallon LP tank (to fuel dryer and stove).
3. We need boxes and packing bubbles and such.
4. Faithful lives in our family.

If you receive our email update, keep your eyes open for a new email format. Should see it in your inbox very soon.

Bruce Cook
for Michelle (my lovely best friend), Bryan (21), Nate (19), Caleb (16), Kaitie (12), Seth (9)

2011-12-20

Cook's Short Order Update

Genesis 1:15 "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also."

Then He sent His Son to be the Light of the World, as a human, and still God! Impossible to figure out, this God! But we are so thankful for His amazing love for us; thankful for His gift of salvation; thankful for this time of year to put special focus on Jesus, the focus of Heaven, and hopefully the focus of our lives.

Praise the Lord!!! He has provided a house for us. A dear friend in our church has offered a home to stay in for as long as we need! It needs some work so pray as we seek to get this and packing and moving accomplished in the next weeks and month.

Praise:
1. A wonderful home in the country.
2. A wonderful church family to help with the transition.
3. 9 lives who were rescued by the power of the Holy Spirit this Sunday at our church!
4. So many friends like you who are praying for us. We love you guys!

Prayer:
1. 2nd vehicle as I will need to get a "real" job for a while.
2. We will need an electric dryer and stove and a place to store our gas dryer and stove (and a few other things) - we may try putting in a small LP tank so we can use what we have.
3. We need boxes and packing bubbles and such.
4. For the new believers' protection and growth mentioned above.
5. For our friends at Mirriam Christian Chapel in Indiana. Their Pastor recently went home to be with his Savior.

Bruce Cook
for Michelle (my lovely best friend), Bryan (21), Nate (19), Caleb (16), Kaitie (12), Seth (9)

2011-12-09

Cook's Short Order Update

Dear Friends,

It's been just three weeks since I resigned from Bible Impact Ministries, yet God has overwhelmed us with so much support from some of you. Thank you! You are a blessing to us during a tough time of growth.

Please keep praying that:

1. We will remain faithful to God

2. We will lead our family in integrity

3. Our family will grow in grace and integrity through this

4. I can find work till God leads to the next ministry

We are talking with a couple different people about houses that may be available to us. Packing will not be an easy thing for us, as memories will make the job difficult. Pray that God will grow us even through this task.

We love you, our faithful supporters, and we will keep you informed each step of the journey.