Growing up in the home of my grandmother, Mable Carter, I can remember that she had a cookie jar in the shape and image of a strawberry sitting on the kitchen table. Often as a youngster, she would allow me to get a cookie from the jar; however, I would try to take out more than one cookie at a time and my hand would get stuck inside of the cookie jar. As I would struggle to remove my hand she would turn and say "If you let go of the cookies, your hand will come out of the jar"! That statement has resonated within me down through the years and has inspired two opposing viewpoints to the thought of "Let Go Of The Cookies"! First, I considered the viewpoint of the person whose hand is stuck in the cookie jar. Some situations we are in are because we will not let go of the nouns that are preventing us from being released. We find ourselves stuck in frustrating predicaments and get upset when we can't figure a way out. Then, I thought from the viewpoint of the cookie jar. It has tasteful cookies placed inside of it that need to be released into the life of the person who is reaching for a snack to hold them until they can get a full course meal. This book is written to serve as that snack to empower, build, strengthen, inspire, and bridge the gap to better ministries, families, communities, friendships, relationships, fellowship, and your self-worth in a holistic way. Ponder these tasteful tidbits as you examine the cookies in your life; even discuss them amongst your peers or in a group study session. We all have some cookies in our lives whether good or bad that need to be released, so what cookies are you holding on too?"
