November 29, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  Totally Trusting in His will Thursday!  A friend asked me how she could pray for me today and after I gave her a list of current and on- going frets she replied with this, “comes to this….praying for direction; trusting God and having patience to wait for His will.”  Well said don’t you think!  Definitely not easy, but straight and to the point....and exactly what I need to do…..I thanked her for listening and praying with me and then read the quote on my daily calendar….Wow…..”God orders your days and is the Lord of all your ways.  He is not only the Lord of time, but He is also the Lord of all timing.  His timing is always perfect as He works through circumstances and people to fulfill His plans for you.  He is never late in bringing His will to you, and He will never bring you things before their time.  He knows your heart, He sees your faith, and He will fulfill all things that concern you.”  Roy Lessen.   God knows our hearts….that brings me comfort….He knows what is bothering me and He is taking care of it in His time…He is the “Lord of all timing”…..just like my friend said this morning….now the waiting is up to me…..sure glad “He is never late”.  Thank you Father…..help me to be a good and faithful waiter.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:11.  This I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail…The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him to the one who seeks Him.  Lamentations 3:2-22, 25.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy spirit.  Romans 15:13. 

Love you all!

November 28, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  Wow, it’s a wonderful Wednesday wrapped in His love!  Seems like we spend so much time worrying about balancing….balancing our diet…..you know making sure we get healthy stuff go along with the junk.  Balancing our budget so that we make sure we can pay our bills before we buy a new dress….balance is important in so many ways in our lives.  Yesterday I was responding to a missionary in Turkey that our church sponsors; I was telling him about all the activities we were planning at church and Sunday School for Christmas and as I listed them, I began to feel overwhelmed……unbalanced so to speak.  I finished my email and as I hit send, my thoughts returned to all the things I had ahead of me, programs, costumes, decorations, Hanging of the Greens, shopping, decorations, wrapping, cooking, cards, letters……Oh my gosh….I felt like screaming.  That’s when “Balance” hit me……I need to do more than balance my diet and budget….I need to “balance” my priorites….my time…..Number one priority for this season of Advent and Christmas is JESUS!!!!  JESUS is the Reason for the Season!  Without our precious Savior there would be no season worth celebrating.  So without further ado, I am asking our Heavenly Father to help me balance my Christmas activities….after all, it’s all for naught without HIM!!!!  Without JESUS…..there’s no need for a tree….the tree points to heaven, reminding us where Jesus came from and the green represents the eternal life we receive from HIM…and the lights, well….HE is the light of the world!  So, as you shop for the perfect gift for loved ones….remember the perfect gift of Jesus life….Thank Him, Praise Him and love others as He loves us…..That’s the reason for all the fuss and muss……We will all be busier in the next month, that goes without saying….but with God’s help we can “balance” our business and joyfully celebrate the birth of our Savior…..The REASON FOR THE SEASON!”  Father, thank you for the gift of your Son and the joy of celebrating His birth….keep us focused Father on what is really important and Go Tell it on the Mountain!

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and place him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2:6-12.

Love you all!

November 26, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  My goodness it’s a marvelous Monday!  Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.  We had such a fun day with family and oh what good food….truly blessed in every way.  Friday morning after breakfast we headed out to get our chores done.  Kim needed to go to Home Depot in Norman to pick up 2 air conditioners (should be the end of supplies needed for the big project); Ada store didn’t have any, hence a trip to Norman on the Friday after Thanksgiving!  Yikes!  I told him I would go with him, but might have to make a couple extra stops….if you catch my drift.  He also wanted to go by Sam’s and get his tires rotated, so we had a good day ahead of us.  First stop, lunch at I Hop (right next to Home Depot).  We had a great lunch and bravely headed into the store, knowing we would have to be patient because we were asking them to do something extra on such a busy day!  Well we were there a little over an hour, but really went pretty smooth considering….next stop Kohl’s where Kim stayed in truck while I went in to catch a few sales….oh my the line was long, but I had found just what I wanted so I decided to be patient and wait….glad I did went really fast!  Back to the truck and on to our last stop, Sam’s.  Once again a line, but not too bad, got the truck in and headed into store to shop a little while we waited.  In about 30 minutes truck was ready, so we checked out, got our key and headed to truck…we were both quite ready to be headed home!  Burr it hadn’t gotten cold out, I encouraged Kim to hurry and get the truck unlocked…Kim was using a key he had gotten made a few months ago, worked just fine in the ignition, but he never tried it in the doors…..he rarely has the need to lock…..Guess what!  Yep!!!!!  The key did not work in the door….we were locked out of our truck, after a long day in the city, and it was cold.  We had no options but to call a lock smith.  I headed back into the tire shop to see if they could recommend someone….they gave me a couple of numbers and Kim called the first one….said he would be there in fifteen minutes….now just the wait…in the cold….tired and hungry….Soon the guy showed up and in no time we were in the truck and headed home with a key that worked!  As I stood in the cold waiting for the lock smith I thought about a dear friend whose father had passed away on Thursday…I thought of her deep sadness and said a prayer for her…. That’s when it hit me….Prayer is our key and our Heavenly Father our perfect Lock Smith!!!!  He gives us the key, so that through prayer, sad, grieving hearts can be opened and filled with His Perfect Love, His Peace, the only Peace that comforts.  When there’s nothing else we can do, we have the best gift of all….the key….from our Heavenly Father….the Perfect Lock Smith.  Father, thank you for hearing our prayers….for comforting sad hearts with Your love and peace.  Help us to pray faithfully for those in need.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Matthew 5:4.  Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.  Psalm 30:10.  I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.  Jeremiah  31:13.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4.  Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.  Jude 20.  “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear, “ says the Lord.  Isaiah 55:24.

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson

November 20, 2012

Good Morning Friends!!!!!  Totally at awe in His love, Tuesday.  “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above the Heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”   My husband and I were blessed… amazingly blessed… so amazingly blessed last night that I am beyond words other than “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…..”  Father thank you, for the blessing of such special people in my life…..pour Your love and blessing on them and help me to shine and share with Your love!

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.  Psalm 95:2.  The pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.  Proverbs 27:9  Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work;  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up!  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.  Love one another deeply, from the heart.  1 Peter 1:22.

Love you all!

November 19, 2012

Good Morning Friends! Marvelous in His love, Monday!  Remember Friday I mentioned I was looking forward to going to our little cabin Friday evening?  Well, when I got home a neighbor was there visiting and we got so wrapped up in fun conversation that it got a little late to go, so I suggested to Kim that we go on Saturday after we get our chores done.  We could go earlier, more time to sit around the campfire and less stress for me getting everything ready to go, so worked out perfectly!  We were up early Saturday morning, took Cooper and Katy to breakfast, then came home and got to work.  About 4 I had everything together so we loaded the truck and headed up the hill!  Gosh I was really excited about sitting around the campfire.  First thing we did was go inside to check things out….oh shoot….wasps!  We had forgotten that last winter wasps invaded the cabin and we should have gone up and set off a bomb….well Kim thought we could go ahead and do it and just stay outside longer.  I headed out to set up outside and he set off bomb!  Gosh, the weather was perfect for a campfire, just cool enough, not to cold.  We both wore our jackets and snuggled close to the fire….I was in hog heaven!  Kim cooked on the open fire….delicious!!!!  It was getting pretty cool, so Kim went in to check on the wasp situation.  There were dead ones all over the floor, so we decided to move inside.  I started sweeping up while he started a fire in the woodstove….soon we were comfy inside, reading by the battery light and chatting away…We noticed a few wasps flittering way up high…hmmm….we kept reading, not really concerned….we figured they would settle down once the lights went out.  Soon we climbed into bed and settled into that good sleep, cozy in our cabin.  All of a sudden I felt an excruciating pain in the back of my arm….I jumped up and screamed out, “I JUST GOT STUNG!!”  No sooner had I got that out…..BAM, again….I got stung again…the other arm….by now Kim had the light on and we could see more wasps in the bed….”Let’s go home.”  I good not have agreed more…we quickly dressed, loaded all our stuff, and headed home!  My arms were both throbbing from the painful stings.  Once we were home, I told Kim I sure was glad they got me instead of him because he is allergic…oh my gosh could have been so bad for him…Hmm, a thought came to me……those stings that were painful for me, just for a minute, but didn’t really hurt me, could have been terrible for my husband…..hmmm how often does our does our Heavenly Father give us little stings….little reminders that might seem painful for just a second, but actually keep us from situations that are much worse.  You know when we have piled our cart with all kinds of things we really want….the sting….but you have bills to pay…..You overheard some unkind things about a co-worker and headed off to tell someone all about it….then the sting…..Think how many problems malicious gossip causes…..Hmmmm…..Father, make us aware of Your “stings” so that our lives always reflect You.  You know…the good old Golden Rule…do unto others as you would have them do unto you!!!! 

Be kind and compassionate to one another.  Ephesians 4:32.  As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12.Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.  Matthew 5:42.  In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  Matthew 7:12. 

Love you all!

November 16, 2012

Good Morning Friends! Forever loved by Him, Friday!!!  “That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”  Psalm 30:12.   My goodness when I read this verse at 5:30 this morning I had no idea what meaning was in it for me today!  I felt good when I read it, you know it’s Friday, looking forward to going to our little cabin tonight, Thanksgiving is coming, weather is beautiful, it’s payday….you know, just the usual, little good stuff; the feeling continued as I drove into work, but something happened when I got here.  Funny thing is nothing happened….nothing but my attitude that is….and I really don’t know why, but I was definitely sporting a bad case of the grouchies.  Darned if I don’t hate that……!!!!!  So, here it is almost 11….I have wasted a whole morning, a beautiful morning  with a case of the grouchies……After my break I took out my bible, determined to find something to kick me out of my mood.  Wouldn’t you know it….my bible opened right to Psalm 30…….I began reading…..when I got to verse 12…….I had to hang my head and ask for forgiveness…….My goodness I was being silent……I have every reason to give thanks, loud and long yet….my heart was silent.  Forgive me Father for my “grouchies” for being silent on this beautiful day that You made for me……Help me to sing Your praises everyday….even when I think I don’t feel like it!!!!  Father, thank you for loving me so very much!

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.  Psalm 28:7.  I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all heart; I will glorify your name forever.  For great is your love toward me.  Psalm 86:12.     PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW…..

Love you all!  Enjoy your weekends!

November 15, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully loved by HIM Thursday!!!!  Well my Alaska girls are officially now “Cali” girls!  I guess “Cali” is the cool way to say you are from California.  Anyway they are officially, as of last night, in their new home….new state…..new school….new friends….new climate (we are talking it was -20 when they left Fairbanks-48 in CA right now, hi of 74 today and that’s the norm)…..new lifestyle.  Wow…..those girls put a lot of faith in their dad as they pulled out of Fairbanks in their truck and trailer…..faith that he made the right decision to move them all the way to California, faith that he would drive them safely on such a very long journey (we had no contact with them for 3 days while they were going through Canada)….faith they will like their new home, school, friends…..Brave girls I say!!!!  Brave and trusting children!  As children of our Heavenly Father, we can take some lessons from my girls!  They have faith that Dad is going to take care of them…..they lean on him…..Who do we lean on?  Do we follow the plans our Heavenly Father… where do we put our faith?  Do we lean on our jobs, friends, money to get us through or do we place our lives in the all-knowing, all-loving arms of our Heavenly Father?  Do we get in HIS truck lock, stock and barrel, trusting and believing in where HE is leading us…..faithfully following HIS decisions for us……?  Or do we question Him….”Oh come on Father, are you sure you want me to teach Sunday School?”   “Father, really, you want me to apologize to him…..?”   Hmmm……what is that our Heavenly Father says about the faith of little children….Father forgive us for questioning Your will for our lives…..increase our faith so that we listen, hear and follow YOU in everything we do.

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.  1 Samuel 12:24.  For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones.  They will be protected forever….  Psalm 37:28.  “According to you faith will it be done to you….” Matthew 9:28.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9.  The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.  Romans 8:6.  Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.  Proverbs 29:25. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5.  The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in Him  Nahum 1:7.

Love you all!  

November 9, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  Forever His, Friday!  Our good friend Thomas Kinkade said, “An attitude of thankfulness can also increase your joy by increasing your sense of abundant blessing.”   It’s his quote for today on my little desk calendar;  I read it this morning when I tore off yesterday’s and thought that’s nice….didn’t really dwell on it.  Then I got an email from a friend that said she was thankful she had finally found the right color for her hair.  I emailed her back and asked her if she colored her hair herself and mentioned that I was thankful that my sweet Kathyrn had come over to my house yesterday and cleaned my floors!  She emailed back, excited for my clean floors and told me that her husband colors her hair!  Too cool I replied and told her that my husband cuts mine sometimes….I expressed how blessed we are with such sweet hubbies….yet another thank you!  She also asked me to pray for her son who is battling with his allergies….I replied that I rarely have a problem with allergies….hmmm, one more thank you!  I clicked send and felt compelled to reread Kinkade’s quote…..”An attitude of thankfulness….”   Clean floors, no allergies, Kim cooked a magnificent dinner last night, sweet grandbabies, rain in the forecast, it’s Friday, Monday is a holiday, (God Bless our veterans and those serving now), tuna (my favorite) for lunch, giving a friend a ride home tonight a chance for a good visit, bacon egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast (lovingly prepared by my sweetie), the trees are magnificent with fall colors, rain in the forecast, precious grandbabies, my dog Baby has 7 puppies, oh passed the inspection in kennels with flying colors…..gosh by heart and mind are overflowing with joy!  I am abundantly blessed, even on a seemingly bad day.....if I carry a smiling attitude….and attitude of thankfulness my joy continues to increase.  Thank you Father for the abundant blessings you shower on me every day…..every hour….every minute…..keep me ever mindful of Your love, so that I share my thankfulness with others and spread the joy!  PS would love to hear some of your thank yous today!

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.  Ephesians 5:19-20.  Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.  Colossians 3:17.  A happy heart makes the face cheerful.  Proverbs 15:13.  The cheerful heart has a continual feast.  Proverbs 15:15.  Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Philippians 4:4.

Love you all!

November 8, 2012

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His Thursday!  Big, nerve racking day at the Johnson place today…..State inspector for the kennels is coming in from Tulsa for our annual inspection!  Oh how we dread this day…even though we work hard at keeping our kennels and dogs in good condition, it’s always scary when you know they are coming to inspect everything you have and do with a fine tooth comb.  So needless to say, we have been working diligently every day this week in hopes of passing inspection with flying colors!  This morning I had to clear the clutter from the dining room table so Kim and the inspector could sit and go over things (and I cleaned the bathroom too, after all she is coming in from Tulsa).  I headed to my car just a little behind schedule, but made sure to leave my sweetie a note of encouragement; as I began my drive in my thoughts were consumed with the inspection…..being under the magnifying glass is so nerve racking…..I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful colors of leaves in the trees all around me….the colors of fall are my favorite…..a feeling of peace settled over me and my thoughts turned toward the love of our Heavenly Father……Oh Father, thank you for loving us unconditionally…. Your grace that saves us, nothing we do….just You.  Thank you for not examining us with a magnifying glass…….for just loving us…..forgiving us….through Your grace.  Father in return fill us with hearts and minds that work to bring You glory.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:8-10.  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be hold and blameless in His sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  Ephesians 1:3-10.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 1:2. 

Love you all!

November 5, 2012

Good Morning Friends!!!!! My oh my, I am glad I am HIS Monday!!!! This morning I loaded up all my bags for work (they call me the bag lady here) and headed out the door. I was feeling quite spiffy in my zebra print dress and sporting my high heels…..Now if you have ever been to my house you know about the wooden ramp that my husband built, but for those of you that haven’t let me describe it a bit; it’s a bit steep….short and steep, I guess because of the steps it was built over and the size of the screen porch. Anyway, needless to say I try to always be careful when I head down, especially when sporting the high heels…you know the ones with the thin heals. This morning was no exception, loaded my bags and headed out the door. I hadn’t taken 3 steps down the ramp when my right heal got stuck between the boards…..a first and I hope a last! My heart and mind were both racing as my leg buckled at the knee and I was headed down. Praise God, somehow I managed to get control of my body, pull my heal out, and stay on my feet! As I stood up, I took a deep breath, said a thank you prayer and headed to my car, knowing I had been blessed because I could have really hurt myself! As I got in the car I couldn’t help but think that if I wasn’t somewhat physically fit….you know, if I didn’t exercise (not as much as I should, but I do try) and eat half way healthy I very well may not have had the strength or dexterity to hold myself up and get my balance. Because I take care of myself I was able to ward off a potentially serious fall. Hmm, oh goodness don’t we face potentially serious “falls” everyday….”falls” into worldly temptations? Falls….like the temptation to gossip, ignore a friend in need, criticize unjustly….these falls might not seem too serious, but left unattended…..oh my the pain and hurt that happens. So, you are asking what does your near fall have to do with this. If we are spiritually fit….if we spend time every day with our Heavenly Father, in prayer and His word we will be able to ward off potentially serious “falls.” We will be strong and balanced in our daily lives, being spiritually healthy His light will shine brightly through us to others….well heck our light might even help others to avoid “potentially serious falls” making the world a brighter place. Heavenly Father, help us to stay fit by spending time with YOU, the most important time in our days….Help us to share your love with others, generously!

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humble with your God. Micah 6:8. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11-12. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! 2 Peter 3:18.

 

Love you all!