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Enjoying the journey.

25 Aug

Summer has been a very busy time with so many comings and goings! I planned on have a quiet one but it never happened! I am not complaining as it has been very adventurous and great to see God doing tons of good things. It all started off with visiting 3 countries in 7 weeks. First, Mike, Jack, my sister Linda and I went to Mozambique, Africa to visit with some missionaries there to help in supplying wells for fresh water. We had a very successful trip and plans are moving forward to support this. We had the fun time snorkeling there  and the guys went deep-sea fishing!

Mozambique Video

My sister, Linda and I in Mozambique.

Mozambique Photos

From there I went to Pinetown, South Africa to visit with my family, which is always a blessing and such fun. A week after getting home from Africa I had the privilege of co-leading a mission trip Costa Rica. We went from San Jose on a boat, ministering on an island about 1 1/2 hours out in the middle of no where! It was such a great experience to do VBS with about 100 children who had never had anything like that before and minister with a pastor there in a local church. God did some amazing stuff.

Costa Rica here we are.

Costa Rica Photos

Michael stayed behind here in the USA as he felt he had been traveling to much. Sarah was blessed to visit Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to visit with Nate’s extended family, plus she went to Orange County, California to visit with Nate’s parents and sister! She also did her share of traveling this summer. Daniel moved out into a new place of abode and is really enjoying his job with Apple, Inc. He works a fraud specialist so watch out you criminals out there! Jeremy and Kristen are anticipating the arrival of their little boy in October, so is Nana and Papa Johnson!

Kristen and Jeremy.

Baby Shower Photos

Kristen, Sarah and Baby!

We had a great baby shower and he is a blessed little boy. No name is chosen yet, so all your suggestions or favorite boy names are welcome in my comment box!!

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Busy October….

24 Oct

This has been an exciting month with lots of travel and exciting things happening. One of the highlights was going to the “Voice of Healing” conference in Dallas with some friends. We were blessed to hear some great speakers, Bill Johnson, Dr. Luepnitz and Sandra Kennedy being just some of them. I really enjoyed the teaching that was given at one of the sessions regarding Jesus when the dove came upon Him and anointed him with His presence. I have thought about that just about everyday. I also had the awesome privilege of visiting with my friend Pat, who lives in Dallas now.  Unfortunately, it all ended rather unpleasantly, right before the last session,  when I tripped on an uneven cement sidewalk and fell flat on my face! I ended up splitting the bridge of my nose open and breaking the nose! With that, we decided to leave immediately and drive back home. That evening, after my face being numb all around my nose, I pushed on it and popped the nose back into place 🙂 I heard football players and boxers do this all the time…..  My face was no longer numb and I had no black eyes. I did have a rather swollen face and looked like an Avatar character. You do not want to see a picture! All is now well and back to normal with just a slight scar on the bridge of my nose ~ makeup is great!  A week later 4 of us, including my hubby, went to Redding California for a 3 day conference called “Open Heavens.” It was with Bill Johnson, John & Carol Arnott and a great experience. The teachings were excellent and so was the ‘fire tunnel’. Redding was also beautiful with lovely weather. We visited Mt.Shasta and enjoyed the city.

This month we also were blessed to celebrate two of our children’s birthdays. Daniel on the 7th and Sarah on the 22nd October. Birthdays are always a big deal in our home and we celebrate hard. I am thankful for each day and year that we can all be together and enjoy life and God. Sarah turned 20 this birthday so it was a big one for her, no longer been a teenager! University is going well too and she is in her 2nd year working towards her BSN in nursing. Daniel was hired at Apple full time and is very excited about that. He works in the fraud department and receives full benefits. Yeah God!

Birthday Party Time Photos

Great news too, I found out that my sister, Ann and her husband Rob, will be arriving in December to be here for my birthday and Christmas!! I am so excited and ready for some celebrating. It will also be Robs birthday while they are here.  Last but not least, we had an addition to the family, Siri. I love her…..

"Siri Johnson 4S"

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Catch-Up Time

8 Oct

Well we did return from Alabama, that being in my last post but been so hectic since then. Not having posted for sometime. I will really try to write more often.  So, where to begin….  In June I lead a mission team to Maun, Botswana, Love Botswana Ministries, for two weeks with 12 other people.  It was an amazing time where we saw lots of teamwork and ministry take place. One of the biggest blessings was that Sarah was able to go too, which is a great testimony to her healing.  At the same time Michael was leading a leadership conference in Francistown, Botswana with 3 other pastors.

Click here to view album

We then met up in South Africa and visited with my family for two weeks. Michael returned home a week before us as he did not want to miss to many weeks at the church.

Click here to enjoy album

In July we send off our Kids to Kids camp with Kristen where they had a blast as usual. I then went to Port O Conner with a group of ladies for a get-away, which was a blessing.  VBS then came along and was a great success too.  August was a time for preparing for Sarah to move back onto campus at Concordia, which she was excited about.  September zoomed by with a trip to CFNI in Dallas to attend the Voice of Healing conference. It was awesome to be back in that great atmosphere and we heard and received some great teachings.  October has now arrived and we have kicked it off with celebrating Daniels birthday. He has been blessed with a new job and hired by Apple in a full-time position!!!  So there was a lot to celebrate. We mourn the lost of Steve Job and pray for his family as he ended his life fighting cancer. Apple and Pixar have lost a great man and hope the best for them in the future.  So now what?

Well…stay tuned and I promise to do better with posting.

Weekend~Celebration!

9 May

What an amazing week-end, full of celebration and surprises!  May 8th was a big day, This being mothers day and our 30th Wedding Anniversary!  On Saturday the three children organized a surprise anniversary party for us at Pappasito’s in Austin. It was fantastic and such a big surprise with about 50 or so people waiting for us. They had a cake made too with our original topper, colors and design!  Thanks you so much Kristen, Sarah, Daniel and Jeremy for making this a great 30th! My husband gave me a pearl necklace and earrings seeing that this is the year of the pearl for our anniversary.  I gave him a new tungsten wedding band 🙂  Sunday was awesome too, I had all three, well four counting my son-in-law Jeremy, kiddo’s at the house and we had a great barbecue together with lamb chops and chocolate covered strawberries! Pressies were all in order and we had a great time of celebrating together.  Church at TOLC was also a blessing with a great message from my hubby. What a great week-end and then to top it off, Michael organized a few days down the coast.  Alabama here we come ~ beach time!!

Cutting our cake~wedding topper is the one from my original cake!

Cake was delicious.

Flowers from my kiddo's for mother's day.

I love these kids!

Michael celebrating his birthday on April 16th!

The road to Calvary….

22 Apr

Excellent blog written by a friend.

This past weekend, we celebrated Palm Sunday, the feast that commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As Jesus entered the city the crowds began to proclaim ‘Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna means God saves, reassuring us that no matter what we are going through God will help us, save us, and take care of us!
Monday – was the cleansing of the temple reminding us to cry out -’clean up our hearts O God so there is never anything between us.’
Tuesday – the religious leaders got together and questioned Jesus asking what was the greatest commandment in the law – Jesus basically summed up Christianity by saying, ‘love God with everything within you and love Others!’
Wednesday – the disciples and Jesus were hanging out when Mary came in and broke an expensive jar of perfume on Jesus’ head, preparing him for his burial. This inspires us to remain devoted to our Savior giving Him our best, no matter the cost!
Thursday – was the last supper, when Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet and giving us an example of how we are to love and serve one another. The Passover feast reminds us of God’s steadfast faithfulness.
Friday – He was crucified and died an unimaginable death to take away the sins of the world! There’s a scripture I meditate on every single day, Isaiah 53:4-6 – “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” This scripture is so powerful! It’s what we celebrate at Easter – that Jesus came and really did all this for us; However, we often don’t act like it! We continue to carry it all ourselves when He really came to carry away ALL our sin, pain, sorrow, sickness, guilt & shame… So, I take this scripture and put those things back on Him, one at a time, because the weight of them is just too heavy for me! If we would just believe Him and apply these truths to our lives, we would live and walk in such freedom and victory! Maybe you need to lay something back on Jesus this week. Take the time to lay down the things that are not yours to carry and allow the beauty of the cross to saturate your heart and soul. Leave your burdens, sin, pain and brokenness at the cross.
Sunday – We celebrate the resurrection of our amazing Savior! Luke 24: 1–6 – “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He is risen!” JESUS IS ALIVE! In fact, on the door of the tomb in Jerusalem – where they believe Jesus’ body was laid it says “He is not here – He is risen.” Because Jesus is alive, we can live overcoming, victorious, resurrection power filled lives.
Philippians 3 – Paul said, “I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection.” I don’t know about you, but I want to know Him with all my heart, and receive all His love and provision that I can. We need God’s power, the Holy Spirit, that same power that raised Jesus from the dead: to live inside us, to energize us, to help us, to comfort us, to heal us, to lead and guide us, to fill us, to strengthen and empower us!!! Because Jesus is Alive, we can truly live a grace filled life of freedom and hope both now & for eternity! Join me as we celebrate the life, burial and resurrection of our Lord this Easter season.

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I’m Back…

20 Apr

It has been awhile since writing in here but here goes.
So much has been happening around here but one of the most exciting is that Sarah and I are going on a mission trip together! Here is a link to my blog with all the latest news on it all.

Silly Bands….

23 Sep

The latest craze….I would say. Everywhere I go, I cannot help notice the bunch of neon colored bands on people’s arms. I was puzzled at the obsession but after inquiring about these glowing bands, I came to find out that there was a lot more to them that meets the eye!  After discovering that once these bands are removed from the arm and placed on a surface an amazing shape takes place. Come to find out that there is a whole array of shapes, ranging from animals, figures, super heroes, extra! Well, a giraffe being my favorite animal, I was on a mission to find one. Thanks to my daughter Kristen, who knows all about these bands, being a children’s pastor, managed to retrieve one out of the goodie bag in children’s church! That is when the Lord started speaking to me. Never judge a book by its cover…..I will never look at another silly band as it is but what its image is designed to become!  There is a beautiful image in each one of us, maybe not to the eye immediately but give it space, time and a place to take shape and walla, there it is! There is a scripture that speaks about this, 1 Sam. 16:7b ~ But the LORD said to Samuel, ” For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  I have been challenge to see people as God sees them, complete in Him, giving Him glory and beautiful in His sight, not what we see on the outward but what we are created in His image to be!  He is the potter and we are the clay and He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Mike in Malawi – April 2010

20 Aug

Take a look at the video!

Worship….

4 Jul

This is a great sermon on worship, take a listen.

It is from a Wednesday night sermon at TOLC.

Majestic, Strong and Amazing!

Spring Is In the Air….

10 Mar

I love different seasons. Unfortunately, here In Austin Texas, we really do not have distinct season changes. Not to say that you cannot experience 80 degrees In the morning and by 4 pm 40 degress. The say around here, that If you dont like the weather this hour just wait and few hours and It will be totally different feel! I have been thinking about seeds lately that we have Inside of us regarding the destiny of God In our lives. There are different times for different seeds to start germinating, growing and producing fruit. Change Is not always easy and doing something that has been dormant for awhile In our hearts can also be scary. Time waits for no man so make sure you guard your seed, grow your seed and produce as much fruit that you can from that seed.  Mike preached a great sermon on Sunday regarding being In agreement with the destiny that God has placed Inside of us and one day when It Is all over, we will be empty and satisfied!  “Agreement with God”

The kids and I had fun last night when we attended the “Prom Fashion Show“ at Round Rock High School. Sarah looked beautiful In her Zebra dress and how grateful I am to have such blessings from God with these three kiddos!

Happy Children!

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