Contact Me →

Christina Cook Lee

Media Producer - Author - Blogger - Songwriter

hope

JANUARY 19

By Leave a Comment

Focus: I was worth dying for 

Isaiah 43:25-26 (NKJV)  “ I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.

There is always ‘a reason’ that drives a person to depression and dependency. Something happened that was unfair—and you haven’t been able to forget it. Someone said something that made you feel like an eternal, complete failure—and you have never been able to get their words out of your head. You did something you knew wasn’t right–that you can’t go back and undo—and it continues to eat you up from the inside out.

In a place of weakness and vulnerability—something happened. You walked ‘out’ of that hard experience—but you left the door open. As a result, that thing has followed you. When you have been tired, hungry, or were just having a rough day, you have relived those moments—played back the video and audio way too many times. By choosing to hold onto those memories—you have placed yourself in a condition of ‘judgment and condemnation’—instead of choosing to be in a position of ‘mercy and grace’. It actually is a choice, and you’re the only one who can choose which place you’re going to be. You say, “It’s not that simple”. You say you can’t get over it…but God says you can.

Imagine, being able to wipe away the guilt of those tormenting memories and have all the stains truly blotted out forever. Imagine having the ability to close the door and walk away from it, once and for all. That’s what the blood of Jesus can do. Nothing can change the fact that those things happened, but the blood of Jesus really can erase the account against you that you haven’t been able to erase on your own.

The big thing that has kept you from your acquittal and freedom is that awful sense of unworthiness you feel when you ‘remember’. Remembering can be a good thing—if you do it in a healthy way. You say, “What can be healthy about those painful experiences and why did they have to happen at all?”

It is my belief that ‘the reason’ those things happened is so you could get to know God better. Think about it. If you never cried, then you wouldn’t need comforting, would you? If you were never weak, you wouldn’t need more strength. If you were never broken, you wouldn’t need to be made whole again. If you were never lost, you’d need no help to find your way. The truth is, when you find yourself crying, weak, broken, and lost—you know you need help. All of the help God wants to give you—you just wouldn’t need, if you had never failed.

The healthy way to remember your failures–is to remember that they are ‘over’. We try to ‘fix’ our failures in all kinds of ways. People, experiences, and substances are not a permanent fix—the blood of Jesus, is. Stop believing the lie that you aren’t worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for you. You ARE worth it, or He wouldn’t have done what He did.

Declaration: I will not always feel as desperate as I feel today. Each day will get better from now on, as I find new strength in Jesus Christ. The reason God has allowed me to experience the depth of my own despair—is so I would know the power of His ability to save me. Almighty God is on my side. He fights for me and with me. The blood of Jesus covers all my sins and every memory of my failures. Someday, I will be able to help someone else because of what God is doing for me today.

Click on the video screen for the song, "Someone Worth Dying For", by MikesChair
Click on the video screen for the song, "Someone Worth Dying For", by MikesChair

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

JANUARY 18

By Leave a Comment

Focus: Believing God for financial needs 

Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV) Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.”

The first time I went to summer camp I was six years old. It is a week I will never forget—due to the fact that I was deeply home sick. I cried a lot everyday and scribbled notes to my parents, asking them to come and get me. I wrote on scraps of paper bags or anything else I could find. I gave the notes to my counselor and asked her to mail them to my mom and dad. She probably didn’t…

I vividly remember the awful, awful loneliness I felt that week and how I struggled to remember what my mom and dad even looked like. I watched the gravel road anytime we were outside—thinking maybe I would see our car–and it would be them coming after me. Camp was a couple of hours from where we lived, but it seemed like I was a long, long way from home. You would think after having such a terrible time, that I would never have gone to camp again. But, the next year I was champing at the bit to go back–and I loved going to the same camp every year for seven great years.

The last year I went to camp, my parents had given me twelve dollars to spend. Twelve dollars was quite a bit of money back in those days and I gave a lot of thought to some nice things in the camp store that I might want to buy. There was no big pitch for offerings at the camp, but the last day, I knew I wanted to put the twelve dollars in the collection…so I did. I felt an amazing surge of joy letting go of the crisp bills. I’d never felt more ‘free’.

The camp ran for several weeks in the summer and I heard they had room for a few more campers to come back the last week. The thing is, there would only be two weeks in between to come up with the money. I knew if I wanted to go, I’d have to pay for it myself—since my parents were always very fair with me and my sisters, and I would be the only one of us going back. I was twelve, so I didn’t have a lot of odd jobs at that point.

It was like a miracle, when money started coming to me from unexpected sources. I was able to go back for the extra week and paid for it all by myself. That summer was the first time in my life I had given a significant amount of my own money to God—and the first time I saw God provide a significant amount of money for a desire of my heart. Another first, was experiencing a truly personal relationship with God as my provider.

Not knowing where money will come from to pay bills can overwhelm you–if you let it. There are a few simple things I have learned about finances that I would like to present to you. When I praise God as the One who supplies everything I need—and thank Him for how He has always given me what I needed in the past, things change. I have learned that God always provides when I don’t hold on too tightly to what I have–and when I don’t neglect to give back to Him a generous portion of what He has given me–with a truly joyful heart…

Declaration: My God has never let me down and has always provided for my needs. Everything I have came from Him and belongs to Him. He can always make a way when there seems to be no way. I will find new strength as I continually look for ways I can joyfully give back to Him with childlike faith.

Click on the video screen for the song, (Love Letter) “Restless”, by Audrey Assad

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

JANUARY 17

By Leave a Comment

Focus: Embracing your life as a legacy 

Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

I believe this verse was written for you personally. You might automatically think, “Yeah, right—this was written thousands of years ago about somebody else, not me”. Well, I differ on that philosophy. Please stay with me and keep reading…

Another scripture in the Bible worth considering, says this: Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us –2 Timothy 3:16-17 (The Message).

Try imagining your life was truly ‘ordained’–that God saw possibilities in you even when you were still in your mother’s womb. He saw you as someone who would have successes and failures. Someone who would possibly be tempted to give up. He knew you would question at times why you were born—but most importantly, He saw you as someone He could use as an example to others—just like He used a person who lived in Bible times, named David.

David was a simple shepherd boy. He had seven or eight brothers and a couple of sisters. He was the youngest son of a man named Jesse. David was singled out by the Prophet Samuel and anointed as king of Israel while he was literally in a field watching sheep. Several years went by before he actually reigned as king. In the meantime, he was still a shepherd–who was also a musician—who also killed a giant with a sling and a stone, because he called on God for help. During his younger years, David was brought before King Saul to play the harp. Even though the king was pleased with David’s musical ability and trusted David to be his armor bearer, later he became extremely jealous of David.

In the years that follow, David spends a lot of time running for his life because King Saul wants to kill him. When he finally becomes king, David goes through several marriages. He commits adultery with another man’s wife and she becomes pregnant. David arranges for the man to be killed in battle. When the baby is born, it dies. One of David’s grown sons rebels against him and tries to kill him. David struggles with depression. David has physical problems—open sores that won’t heal. He wins many battles. He writes songs for God, based on his experiences. He adds other people’s compositions to his own and creates a collection of songs called, “The Psalms”. David’s life is a long list of failures and successes. God calls David, ‘the apple of His eye’. David is the father of Solomon, who is known as the wisest man who ever lived—who also succeeded his father as king. David is one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ.

David was an ordinary guy who depended on God. Some of the words he wrote were later referred to as ‘prophecy’. Because he wrote down his failures and victories, he was able to leave a legacy. What if he hadn’t bothered to do that? Or, what if he had only written down the ‘good stuff’? He couldn’t have been proud of his mistakes. But, in all of his circumstances—David was humble about his life. He was willing to admit when he was wrong. He knew his strength and any goodness in him, came from God–and he always gave God praise.

Declaration: I will embrace the sum total of my failures and successes, as the legacy of my life—knowing that both the bad and the good are a part of my ‘whole story’. I will live each day with new strength and give God praise.

Click on the video screen for the song, “Beautiful”, by Shawn McDonald

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

JANUARY 10

By Leave a Comment

Focus: Recognizing and dealing with one of the dangerous results of disappointment

James 1:19-20 (NIV)  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

I believe disappointment is a core factor that can bring about depression and dependency. Your dream job turned into a nightmare. The marriage you thought was ‘made in heaven’ ended up driving you to the brink of insanity. You lost your home. Your children turned their back on you. Your friend betrayed you.  Someone else took off with your BIG idea. Things didn’t turn out as you had hoped…

In the state of disappointment, we can be wishing for answers and be desperate for someone to understand us. But, often the minute anyone tries to approach us and offer help, we lash out with an impulsive and often insulting response that is unfair. Later, we may feel ashamed and bewildered—wondering, “Where did that come from?”

Anger is a touchy subject. It’s not fun to think about, talk about, or write about. We use all kinds of excuses to cover it up or justify the usually unplanned outbursts. Often, we blame others for the pain in our own heart that resulted from unresolved disappointment…that gave way to depression…that led to anger.

If left untended, anger can take on a life of its own. It can become ‘a place you go’, ‘a way you act’, or ‘where you live’. Anger has to go somewhere—but, it usually doesn’t just go away. It can grow, taking on different personalities and forms of expression. Sometimes you think it’s gone–and then, ‘BAM’.

Anger may be an active or passive reality in almost anyone’s life. We’ve all had experiences that would justify some type of anger.

The Bible doesn’t hide the fact that ‘anger happens’. But it does tell us how to deal with our anger.

Think of anger like gasoline. It is a known explosive. You wouldn’t light a match next to the open gas tank of your car. It would blow up–destroying your car, probably killing you and anyone else who was nearby.  You wouldn’t get in your car, turn on the ignition and then mash your accelerator to the floor and just leave it there until the car ran out of gas, would you? You would probably end up in a horrible crash, totally ruining your car, possibly harming yourself–and other people who couldn’t get out of your way…

When you are trying to recover from depression and dependency—anger is most likely something you battle with. You might see it at first as just letting off steam. But even steam can cause treacherous burns and lasting scars.

The above scripture can help enormously. The technique of being quick to listen and slow to speak is God’s method for keeping things from getting out of control. If you are ever going to get ahold of your anger, you have to make a conscious choice to stop blowing up. You have to take ownership for losing it and repent, if you fail. It might be a good idea to copy down the words of the scripture for today on some paper and put it up in some prominent places where you will be reminded of it on a regular basis while you are working to reform your ways—especially when you feel things starting to get “hot”.

Declaration: To keep from further hurting myself and others—I choose to listen and wait to respond, even though I may feel provoked. Making this decision brings me new strength.

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

JANUARY 9

By Leave a Comment

Focus: Cultivating the will to live

1 Corinthians 4:20 (NIV) For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

When I was at one of the most desperate points in my life, God gave me the blessing of being able to meet with a pastor’s wife a couple of times a week for counseling. As a person who had always been intensely private, it wasn’t easy for me to just lay my life out there before someone I hadn’t known that long. Some days, I would be able to talk—other days, I didn’t do much more than hug my knees and cry. She would listen to me and pray for me—that the power of God would heal my life–that I would become whole again—and she carefully helped me take all of the needs I spoke of before the Lord.

At the time I came to her, my life was in shambles. I had practically no hope. I was hanging on by a raveled thread. I would lie awake in bed at night begging God to just let me die—only to wake up crying in the morning because I was still alive.

There is one day I can still recall very clearly–even though many years have passed. It was the day—after several months of counseling–that would be my last session with her. I was about to leave the state where I had been living for the winter and return to my home state. I came to Nancy’s house that day with a lot of uncertainty and fear. She had become a ‘lifeline’ to me and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to make it without her encouragement.

That day, Nancy had me take out a piece of paper and write down five things that she wanted me to do. I was in the habit of writing things on yellow legal pads during those days and I dutifully wrote her instructions to me down on that kind of paper. I carried the words around with me for a long time. They became wrinkled and worn, and I’m sure I still have them somewhere. The words on that paper probably helped save my life.

She told me that I should get out of the house everyday and look around at God’s beautiful creation–and take the time to notice the sky, and take deep breaths of the fresh air.

She suggested that I find something to do with my hands–a craft of some kind that I could work on that would help me see ‘progress’.

Another important piece of advice was to stay in ‘one on one’ counseling for a while.

She told me to get involved in a ‘recovery group’, where I would be able to relate to other people and get another kind of support.

Daily physical exercise was last, but not least.

There was nothing directly spiritual about anything on the list. Nancy knew I already spent a lot of time seeking the Lord, so she didn’t have to tell me to read my Bible or pray…

What she gave me were some tangible things I could concentrate on, while I continued to recover and learn to live by God’s power. We can ‘know’ what the word of God says—we can ‘talk’ about what the word of God says and pray—but there comes a point in recovery when we have to dig in and put it to work. A point where we choose to walk again and trust God—that His power is really enough to sustain us and help us survive.

Declaration: I have new strength each day. I declare that ‘as I live’, the power of God will help me survive this battle.

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.

January 5

By Leave a Comment

Focus: Becoming free from generational curses by choosing obedience to God’s ways

Declaration: Because God is my refuge and strength, I will not fear.

Psalm 46:1-2 (NKJV) 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…

In the time of Moses, there was a family of people by the name of Korah. During the long and tedious period of wandering in the wilderness on the journey to the promised land, this family got tired of submitting to Moses. Thinking they could do a better job of leading God’s people than Moses was doing, they decided to rebel.

God was so unhappy with the Korah family’s behavior that He caused the earth to open and swallow them. Apparently some of the family survived, because generations later, we see that descendants of Korah became worship leaders in Israel.

The past history of the Korah family was a constant reminder of why they should live in obedience to God and honor His choice of leadership. They had learned valuable lessons from the mistakes of their family and made the decision not to continue in the disobedient ways of their ancestors.

Instead, they embraced the benefits of Godly living. They came to understand that obedience to God meant being entitled to having Him as their refuge and strength. It also gave them the privilege of experiencing the presence of God in worship and His help in times of trouble.

The descendants of Korah who were faithful to God became examples of God’s willingness to show mercy and restoration. Because they chose to turn from the wrong ways of the past–and live in accordance with God’s right ways, the later generation of the Korah family was elevated to a position of honor. They chose to make the declaration no matter what happened–they would continue to choose God and not fear for their future. Their words were recorded in the Bible and are remembered to this day. In fact, they were the very ones who authored this scripture, which was a song.

When you make the choice to rebel and decide to take another path–you put yourself at risk. You can no longer claim the promise of protection and strength God desires to give you. As a result, you now have to live in your own power–which in the history of the human race has never been enough. Every civilization that has turned their hearts against the one true God has eventually failed.

The pattern of depression and addiction is sometimes passed down through generations. It is a known fact that many who suffer from depression and addiction are also tormented by fear. Making a conscious choice to live in faithful obedience–and not live in fear, is a critical factor in the recovery process. Verbalizing that decision as an act of faith breaks the power of rebellion and fear as a stronghold.

To face a future filled with blessing and the absence of fear, make the decision today to declare God alone, as your refuge and strength–so that in the time of trouble and testing, you will not have to be afraid.

Declare: Because God is my refuge and strength, I will not fear. I will walk in the new strength God is giving me each day.

To subscribe to New Strength, select ‘follow’ in the upper left corner of this page.

For music selections that will help bring hope and encouragement during your recovery from depression and addiction, browse: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewStrengthMusic

All NEW STRENGTH posts are Copyright by Christina Cook Lee as of the date they were written and posted. Please request permission to re-post or re-blog. This material will be published as a book at the end of 2012, by the grace of God.