love in the light

last week, Kevin and I were house sitting for some dear friends. 

The minute I saw their window seat drenched heavily in the rays of sun,

I was mesmerized by the light. 

Light poured into this space all day, so inviting and pure. 

All I wanted to do was curl up, read a  book, and just soak myself in the light. 

So enraptured was I, that I even finagled my sweet husband to do a little shoot with me…lucky him (haha!) 

In the aftermath, as I sat looking at the pictures 

a phrase so powerful kept running through my mind…

that love in the light, is the best kind of love. 

love needs light. 

light that uncovers our darkest secrets so that they are out in the open and free to be dealt with. 

light that exposes our sin, and brings it to the forefront to be redeemed.

light that calls out our unhealthy thought patterns and forces them to be renewed. 

no relationship can thrive in the dark. 

when Kevin and I first started dating, we faced some serious storms at sea, 

where the darkness of our past had to be unearthed in order for our ship to keep sailing. 

we had to admit our failures. 

we had to own up to our past. 

and there were a lot of tears involved. a lot of hurt feelings. a suitcase full of disappointment. 

and yet, when we turned over the baggage of our darkness,

and let it sit in the light, all awkward, and bare and vulnerable, 

it soon became a thing of beauty as Kevin and I resolved to go forward together,

in a radiant step to live and love in the open. 

to be transparent, 

to be authentic,

to be real and honest and vulnerable. 

to be the secret keepers,

the lovers and pray-ers and guardians of one another.  

and where there is light, there can be no darkness at all. 

yes, i'm convinced love in the light is where the joy is at. 

Thank you Jesus, that you are the light of the world. 

and in you there is always enough light to cover us. 

Happy Valentines Day friends,

love Katie (& Kevin too!) 

{aaannnndddd, let's face it…most the time we look like this below…}

Merriest Christmas to you!

"The Savior- yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today!" 

Luke 2:11

the savior that 

liberates,

covers us in grace,

bestows mercy,

transforms us,

and 

LOVES us 

every day and forever. 

Today as Kevin and I lay in bed, I was overcome with emotion

that this baby,

this Jesus,

came as a Savior.

and has SAVED me from

death and destruction,

and this year, from fear and anxiety. 

Tears streamed down my face as the magnitude hit me.

This little baby, 

so brave and so bold,

proclaimed Peace for us all.

He is the Prince of Peace! 

Amen and Hallelujah! 

Jesus is the BEST gift of them all:) 

I hope you have the merriest of days dear friends. 

Merry Christmas,

love…The Cooks

  {peace to all the earth:) haha} 

{and JOY to all the earth!}

 {Christmas kisses for you!}

{ok, i'll pretend it's cold and put a sweater on, hehe!}

by our love

There are these moments when I see heaven on earth
as I watch a believer engage with the world in deep, humble and sacrificial ways.  

This happens every day as I watch the staff in the aftercare home pour life and love drop by drop.

 Almost a month ago we received two sweet precious girls. 

Scared and trembling they came to us. 

One child specifically feared the darkness, for in her past, the black of night only meant terror.

And I watched as little by little, day by day, this sweet blossom of a girl began to  open.

And I also watched as our staff pressed in fiercely to be by her side, 

night and day when the fears reared their evil head.

And soon the radiance of light began to replace the darkness.

beams from heaven were already crashing in.

Just last week this same child, with a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face whispered softly and gently to one of our staff…

“ I have never felt loved like I do now. It’s because you guys are Christians, isn’t it?”

friends, I cried the happiest tears my little heart could spout. 

This little girl, 

from a broken home, 

a hindu home, 

KNEW we were Christians by our love.

Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

That we are known by our love?

Our staff did not force, coerce or dictate this girl to Jesus.

Our staff member loved this sweet girl to Jesus.

A Jesus that embraced this little one’s scars,

Held up his own scars,

And said “I gave my life for you and love you higher and deeper than you even know”.

No.

There are no holes in the gospel when we choose to love people to Jesus.

When we engage with

the hurting, the broken, the scarred, the wounded, the hopeless.

Our gospel is alive and whole.

praying we can all do a little examining this weekend and find the holes that may be present in our gospel. 

much love,

Katie 

open house

it's funny how often time we compartmentalize our lives.

there is work time, play time, ministry time.

and it's really quite silly, to be honest. 

i look at jesus.

to him, it was all one. 

just time. 

to be. 

{JT sitting on Kev's lap for hours while we had company. so many hours in fact that he passed out and slept in kev's arms. too precious}

shouldn't ministry, or mission, be inched into the very fabric of every walking moving breathing moment we have? 

jesus, 

the one we pray we model,

seemed to always do his best work in the most human of circumstances. 

in his walking, in his drinking, in his eating. 

jesus needed water and sat at a well. 

hello woman at the well!

boom, 

miracle,

her life is transformed,

her town hears the gospel. 

and all because human jesus needed a drink. 

there he goes, using his humanly needs as a chance to love and share freedom. 
literally.  

{one night after Bible study, a few students stayed around to talk. So we made waffles, cause that's the normal thing to do, right? }

the divine happens to 

occur along the way. 

unexpected. 

{chef jojo helping me make peach cobbler. seriously, how can you resist that face?!?}

some really wonderful people wrote

"{these moments} will seem like interruptions, but if you begin to look for God's fingerprints in your day and in every relationship, in every coffee shop, in every conversation you have with your neighbor, there's a good chance you will begin to see God's incarnational presence" 

incarnational.

"to take on flesh"

and so we pray that we take on the flesh of Christ. 

the one who was never in a hurry,

never shooed anyone away.

but was an open house to 

the hurting, 

the broken,

the lost,

and the deprived. 

all along the way. 

a few weeks ago,

i ran home from the gym, and being that it's been hotter than the blazes this Fall,

i was a drippy mess. 

new neighbors moved in below us, and as I headed down the path towards our house, a man walked along side me that I didn't recognize. 

"hi" I beamed, "i'm katie, I live above you"

"francisco" came his reply with a smile. 

"do you have a new baby?" I asked with curiosity at the cute squeals and cries I had been hearing. 

"yes, do you want to meet her? come on in..."

now i had a to-do list longer than life, AND was making puddles from all my sweat. 

but this was a miracle- an invitation to do life with my neighbors. 

i walked in, and looked around. 

there she sat, proud mama and sweet baby. 

carmen and victoria. 

i washed my hands (and arms too!)

and held victoria for 45 minutes while I chatted with Carmen. 

despite our varied life stages, we were kindred spirits. 

i left feeling SO alive and inspired. 

this. 

this is why i moved into the neighborhood. 

to incarnate the love of Christ in relationship. 

movement towards Christ on a journey with others. 

i'm so glad my busyness didn't affect the spontaneous. 

christ owns time, and as his daughter, i have it. 

lots of it. 

so may we walk and talk and love as one. 

no compartments.

just one big open house. 

so may we surrender our time to Abba's

and may he stake a sign,

that boldly proclaims

"OPEN HOUSE"

on our home

and more importantly our hearts. 

and may the fine print read, 

come in

come in

for there is always room in the kingdom.

{story time with JT}

{precious time with our sweet god-daughter}

live as an open house today dear one. 

not a compartment. 

much love,

Katie 

"the word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. we saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like father, like son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish. "

- John 1:14, the Message 

may it be YOU

happy tuesday dearest friends

there are SO many things I want to blog about this week

my glorious weekend home in northern california, Dingle Ireland, the exciting ways Abba is brimming hope into our neighborhood redeeming despair.

too much I tell you!

but today I was humbled.

I was grounded. 

I was reminded that TIME is our life. 

and CHRIST is our confidence. 

Ann Voskamp beautifully awakens my soul,

"All you have here is one lifetime and time. is. your. life. When you spend time with someone, what you are freely giving away is your life. Do this — this is the way of God. But when you spend time with screens, what you are freely giving away might be your very soul. Isn’t this the way of insanity? Anything stealing your time, it’s stealing your life.

And that pressure you feel? To fit some mold, that very real pressure that’s trying to form you into the image of this crazy, trendy world? Resist it and write this on your heart:

What will keep you from doing much good — is caring too much what others think.

This isn’t only a phenomenon of adolescence. This can be the foolishness of adults.

What would the world look like if Christians didn’t care about keeping up with the Joneses but about keeping company with Christ?

Maybe we’d keep our souls from insecurity and our minds from insanity?

Maybe we could be brave enough to be different, have less and be more, and change the world?"

sweet Jesus, may it be YOU.
YOU that I waste my life on.
that sweet time languishes in your presence.
may reading books to 4 year old neighbors
and taking walks with sweet college girls
and payer with my husband
give way to screens.

because I only have just one life.
may it be YOU.
love Katie 

{visiting my sponsored Compassion child in Kenya}

today, you choose...

i am a new testament girl. i love me some romans, matthew and james- well, really all of it is great.

(revelation tends to be avoided at times) but i could just soak in all that Jesus goodness for hours. warm fuzzies just thinking about it.

but the old testament, that's another story. i'm not kidding when i tell you i've started to read the Bible countless times all the way through, and i always quit in leviticus. my brain hurts trying to keep all the rules straight, and that brings me back to math class in high school, and that is just a plain bad memory!

so this year i resolved to read through the whole bible. leviticus shall be conquered i cried, creepy parts and all! and guess what? it has. i found a chronological bible online, and you might as well call me their newest saleswoman.  i love this thing!

tonight, in the silence, i curled up and read this:

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him. 

for he is our life..."

- Deuteronomy 30: 19-20

ah yes.

abba is life.

He isn't just the author of life,

He IS life.

and sweet savior gives us the choice, shall we choose life, or shall we choose death?

now i don't know about you, but in theory i will choose life 10 times out of 10. if you are sane, i think you would too.

but in practice, do I?

today in my journal i wrote:

life = God

not life = husband/family

               friends/community

               work

               blog

               travel

               wedding

               me

 now these "not life" things enhance life and make it rich and beautiful. but they are not the essence and beginning of creation. strong hands that sculpted stars and poured oceans, ah yes, those are the hands of a potter that breathed love into dry bones and life into what was not.

"if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, i declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed." - Deut 30:17-18

choosing anything but the potter leads to destruction

which leads to death

i yearn to choose life.

to choose life more often.

to choose HIM more often

and today, we get to choose.

will we run to fuel on LIFE

or will we continue pouring ourselves into things that while lovely, 

do not fill, recharge, renew,

and never will.

let's choose life together.

and who knows, maybe in the process, the old testament will grow on us?

it has for me:)

love Katie 

and then love poured in

I sometimes find myself so emotionally exhausted,

or drained of all things lovely,

to feel as if i have anymore love to give. 

especially to the "hard ones". 

or even sometimes to myself. 

but this past week, 

i have been SO beautifully taken

by the fact that God's abundance is clear. 

and that HIS love will be poured into my heart. 

that i have a never-ending tap of unconditional love

that can fill

and re-energize. 

and even love the hard ones. 

i just need to ask. 

the storehouse is full, waiting to tip,

to splash and crash

LOVE

sweet love 

into the void of 

an empty bank. 

my well is HIM. 

the love that pours is HIS.

we must ask. 

and with sparkles in eyes,

He gives.

because that's His nature. 

let's ask, with heart abandon to the cause of love. 

and it will tip, and love will fill,

and Abba will be living IN us,

as it should be. 

love Katie 

the hood...my home

I know I talk a lot about my neighborhood. 

a lot. 

So today I thought I'd share more about the journey in coming here. 

it didn't exactly just happen....it was a process! 

You see, my husband and I grew up in sunny california,

spending massive amounts of time at the beach, going to disneyland, eating mexican food, etc.

ie: a wee bit insulated

but a few years ago Kevin and I started asking ourselves a question,

"does our life and marriage matter?"

 I mean, yes, we knew our lives mattered to us and our families and friends.

But beyond that, was our life and marriage making the world a more beautiful place?

Our hearts craved a vision where our marriage was about more than just "us" and being comfy.

{don't get me wrong, I still love my fro-yo and bach same as the next girl}

But man oh man, it sure can be hard gaining perspective on the deeper things in life when you live in the midst of some of the richest zip codes in the US. 

Where driving a range rover is absolute top priority.

so we figured, as christians, we'd see what the heck Jesus did when he was on earth.

{i mean, JC's a pretty good place to start when you're looking for answers, right?}

and pretty much it was this...

he hung out with the poor, the prostitutes, the hurting and the broken.

and guess what? this scared us half to death...like no joke. 

last time we checked we didn't know any poor people or prostitutes. epic fail.

so we decided to get a lil' brave, 

and ask God to show us what this might look like smack dab in the middle of our city.

aaannndddd He did.

just two miles from where Kevin grew up was an immigrant neighborhood we'd never even noticed before.

and so with our knees knocking, we decided to move in, and it changed our life. 

that was the start of our marriage on mission.

my apartment was fully stocked with loads of cockroaches, 

and mold, 

and cracking cabinets, 

and did i mention cockroaches? 

i was so afraid,
like"what the heck did I just do?" kind of afraid.
but you know what, i knew this was God's will.

and it changed our lives. 

we started to know the people in our neighborhood,
most of them immigrant families from central america. 

they became our best friends. 

they taught us what it looks like to live in community- 

mostly, to just BE.

in the last 4 years,
Kevin and I have opened our home to anyone who needed love.
daily we have kids over who want to play or read or bake.
mostly they are saying "I just want someone to love me, to notice me"
and we get that incredible privilege!

we fail a lot,
 and sometimes lock our doors while the kids pound on it.
but mostly that front door is wide open.

we have led workshops on cooking and basketball,
we have crammed 60+ ppl into our apartment for a baby shower we hosted for our neighbors
and learned all about mexican baby shower games, haha!
I started a girls group for college aged girls doing crafts and games and just hang out.
we've discipled kids, and been hurt by them.

but the bottom line is we've tried to love like Jesus.
and it's rocked our world, hard.
we're not perfect,
but i'm learning that really we just need to be available.
because when we are open is when God brings people into your life!

it's been a joy.

love Katie  

rooted and established in love

This past week, as I studied the holy scriptures on that dusty and painful walk to the cross, I was struck raw at this:

Jesus. Perfect, loving, tender, holy Jesus, was hated. I watched as he stood alone in the courtyard of the chief of priests, standing solo. I imagine his slender frame, standing eyes wide at his beloveds, hatred and accusations hurled against him.

But the Bible speaks not of a terrified Savior in the face of the crowd. No words scrawled of the Messiah fighting back, arguing, trying desperately to convince them of his Kingship, throwing down a miracle to convince the rabid mass. No.

"But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor." (Matt 27:14)

Why? Feebly I wonder how my Savior could stand it? The hurt, the pain, the hatred, the accusations. How? Didn't he want to PROVE himself? Or cry? For surely, I would have wanted to snap fingers and create a miracle that had them wishing they were rooting for me and not Barabas. Or more likely I would just break down in tears.

katie, said the great potter, here is the beauty of this passage...

King Jesus was fully rooted and established in the Father's love. Confident in the Father's love. Rooted from a place of approval of God, not approval of man. Life flowing from a place of freedom, not sown in soil of man's opinion.

And that is when the rawness began to bleed. How often am I dictated by the approval or opinions of man around me? Lord, rip the seams of this dysfunction, and bring me back to live out of a place of you and your love.

"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the man who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out is roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:5-8

So I say no, I do not want to live cursed under the approval of man.

I want to live blessed, keeping confidence in ONLY Him.

Jesus.

Sweet Jesus.

Thank you for walking this road for us.

If you want to walk the rest of these 2 weeks till Easter with us, email me and i'll send you the Lent devotions!!!

much love rooted in HIM,

Katie

found in the aftermath

This morning one expectant girl lit candles, cuddled in a blanket, and curled up to listen to the new Hillsong CD called Aftermath.

And I am not the same.

Expectant I came to my time with our sweet Savior. Expectant of being moved, of hearing His voice, of being wrapped in His arms. And while I don't always feel or hear or engage in such profound ways, today God spoke, and I listened.

First of all, if you can find the song on itunes or youtube, do it. It's called Aftermath (same as the title of their CD) Listening to it as you read the lyrics will only draw you deeper into the incredible weight of the message....

The skies lay low where You are

On the earth You rest Your feet

Yet the hands that cradle the stars
Are the hands that bled for me

In a moment of glorious surrender
You were broken for all the world to see
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath

Freedom found in Your scars
In Your grace my life redeemed
For You chose to take the sinner's crown
As You placed Your crown on me

In that moment of glorious surrender
Was the moment You broke the chains in me
Lifted out of the ashes
I am found in the aftermath

And in that moment You opened up the heavens
To the broken the beggar and the thief
Lifted out of the wreckage
I find HOPE in the aftermath

And I know that You're with me
Yes I know that You're with me here
And I know Your love will light the way

Now all I have I count it all as loss
But to know You and to carry the cross
Knowing I'm found
In the light of the aftermath

I'm sure we can all relate to coming out of a storm, raw and ragged after enduring the pain. I love how the re-occuring line is that we are FOUND in the aftermath.

Do you see how it builds?

First we are solely found by the Lord, as it says "I am FOUND in the aftermath". He sees us in our pain, and he holds us in his hands. There is still pain, but we are found. Despite whatever the "aftermath" may mean in our lives, Jesus was "broken for all the world to see" and we are "lifted out of the ashes".

Then it says "I find HOPE in the aftermath". Instead of just being found, we now cling to the promise of newness. We understand as the lyrics say that "In the moment of glorious surrender, was the moment YOU broke the chains for me". I know in situations of great pain, I struggle to understand that not only am I found, but that the chains of bondage to the hurt can truly be BROKEN. And that is HOPE, the idea that whatever weight is holding us, Jesus CAN break those. So pray boldly today that chains can and will be broken!

Then lastly, and I LOVE this...it says "I'm FOUND in the LIGHT of the aftermath". Not only are we FOUND, but we gain HOPE, and then finally we walk in the LIGHT.

We walk in FREEDOM. We SHINE in His LIGHT.

I don't know what the aftermath may mean for you, or someone you love, but HOPE prevails because "I know that you are with me, I know that you are with me, and I know your LOVE with light the way"

Happy February!

Love Katie

Reason for the Season...and no- Jesus is not from New Jersey....

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Kev and I started our first Christmas tradition as a married couple....claiming the Sunday immediately following Turkey day as "CHRISTMAS DAY" (clever, I know). We booked the whole day to prepare for Christmas...tree, decor, cookies, music, the whole 9 yards! (however the "cookies" part was evidently a little over-ambitious, but we did do the rest!)

Here we are at the Christmas tree farm. We cheated- we went to the farm to take pictures and smell the trees, but in 90 degree heat chopping down a tree and paying a premium price for it just wasn't sounding too attractive. So we opting for the cheaper tree at Home Depot! Sorry Pellisier farms, we used you for your ambiance!

{ taking in the Christmas spirit in 90 degree heat...seriously sweating...which turns out is not conducive for holiday snuggling and drinking hot beverages. Kev was so hot we actually had to turn on the AC while we set up the tree. Visions of cuddling and hot tea did not happen, but I'm not complaining...I LOVE the sun!}

{Me pretending I was in a serious christmas tree forest up in Washington! }

When we got home, we set up the tree and unfolded all the ornaments we've (or shall I say "I") been saving for years. Seriously, i'm like the biggest pack rat. My mom found a whole box of ornaments I got on a 75% off sale at Target 8 years ago (no joke, they've been sitting in cupboard for 8 years). Grandma Cook also gave us her reject ornaments (which, proved to be a bit hit and miss...the clown ornament scared the living day lights out of me for obvious reasons).

{I feel like this picture makes our tree look like the Charlie Brown tree, but I swear it's adorable and cute! }

We also found a SWEET nativity set on our honeymoon in Mexico. Now being a bit of a bargain hunter, I was over the moon discovering that the set was on sale. However, 4 months later when setting it up in our new place, I was reminded of the little fact sale items are often defective. Case in point...A NATIVITY SET WITH NO MARY AND JOSEPH!!!! Unthinkable right? Well, being the resourceful woman that I am, I borrowed an extra Angel to play Mary, and i'm pretty sure our new Joseph is a middle-aged Shepherd with white hair. But needless to say, it's still beautiful!

So, as Kevin and I were decorating our house for Christmas, our 7 year old neighbor Kasey came by. His eyes lit up when he saw our tree- excitedly asking if he could help us decorate. With a smile, I handed him an ornament, and soon Kevin was hoisting him up so that he could top our tree with our golden sparkling star. With two feet back on the ground, Kev asked Kasey if he knew why we put a star on the top of our tree. Kasey shook his head no. The magic of the Christmas story danced off Kevin’s lips, but Kasey crinkled up his nose, quizzical. Finished, Kev asked Kasey if he knew Jesus. “Does he live in New Jersey?” a small child’s voice responded. “No Kasey, Jesus lives in heaven with God, but we celebrate Christmas because it was a time when Jesus came to earth to teach us how to live and love, and how to start a relationship with him. He loves you Kasey”.

{Kasey putting the star on the tree}

And this is why Kevin and I feel called to be missionaries in our own neighborhood. Because the love of Christ is available to all, but there are so many who have never heard His name. Some who might think Jesus is a man that lives in New Jersey. Kevin and I did not move to Topaz Lane because it was a great complex, prime real estate, “safe” neighborhood or because it had a great school district. We moved to Topaz to dig deeper with our neighbors, to love them and be loved by them, and to share the beauty of our Savior’s unconditional love.

Every day for the last 2 weeks (since we put up our tree) Kasey, and his younger brother JT come and play at our house. We play cards, and share stories, and hug them, and laugh. One day Kasey came over, and because I was working, he sat and played with our nativity for 30 minutes. Finished with work, I walked over and was able to mimic the Christmas story using the nativity set. I pointed out baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, the angels and 3 wise men. Yesterday when JT came over, Kasey held up baby Jesus and said "JT, this is baby Jesus, Katie told me so!"

{I caught him playing with the Nativity...so precious...warmed my heart! }

Christmas is SOOOo wonderful for so many reason, but this season I'm reminded that the GOOD news is really good news, and is worth talking about each and every day!