March 28, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Totally, Thankfully, loved by HIM, Thursday!  Before I say anything this morning I want to share a verse from God’s word that popped up at me this morning!  From Psalm 100:3, “Know ye that the LORD HE is GOD:  it is HE that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture.”  I think about Jesus on the donkey…..humble……..HE IS GOD!  We are HIS sheep……Shepherds take good care of their sheep…..some days we sure don’t feel like we are being taken good care of do we….but we are if we are giving our day to God…..Roy Lessen says it so well, “Having a good day doesn’t mean having an easy or perfect day.  It means a day spent saying ‘yes’ to God’s purpose.  A day lived in the will of God is the best day anyone could ever spend.”  Seems like there is something in the air lately, people are frazzled, stressed, anxious everywhere you go…….How in the heck can we have a “good” day when life is tumbling in all around us!  There is only one way……..we must wake up, praise God for the day, thank Him for each and every minute, give the day to Him, asking Him to open our hearts and minds to know His will…..to know His will…..for the day……we don’t have to have our whole life plan at once…..One day at time……with Him…..listening to Him……hearing with our hearts and minds His will for our day….today….tomorrow….the day after…..Thank you Father for this “good day” with You!  Enable us to come humbly to You with hearts and minds open to hear Your will for us and the faith to do….All Praise and Glory to You, our Loving Heavenly Father.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24.  Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  John 10:27.  Pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.  Proverbs 5:1-2.  The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.  Psalm 33;11.  The mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.  Romans 8:6.  The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7.

Enjoy the blessing of Easter!  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson

March 26, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Tuesday!  I was really sick with the crud this weekend, so sick that I couldn’t even make it to church….I hate to miss church and Sunday, being Palm Sunday, was even more disappointing.  I love our Palm Sunday processional, walking into church waving palm branches singing “Hosanna to God in the Highest.”  We are excited and happy because we know that indeed our Jesus did suffer and die…..but most importantly He rose from the dead…..for us!  Our Savior…..I picture Him that day……He knew full well what was ahead of Him….He could have turned and ran, but instead He rode into Jerusalem willingly…..He rode on a donkey…..a donkey……as I was out feeding my donkeys last night, I couldn’t help but notice that they are not what one might call “handsome”…….big heads and ears and their fur is so rough and ungroomed….no they are not much to look at…yet Jesus rode on a donkey…..proudly….He most certainly could have rode on a stunning stallion….a flawless steed, rather than a donkey……but, the thought occurred to me, that was not what our Jesus was all about……He came humbly into the world…..born in a stable, rode on a donkey, died on a cross with criminals, buried in a borrowed tomb!  Jesus was humble…..He willingly became HUMBLE for us…..so that we might live because of His death……Jesus wants us to be humble too….He tells us in John 13:15…..”I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”  Being humble isn’t always easy.....maybe the next time we want to brag or showoff we should think about our Jesus on the back of that donkey….thank HIM and go out and show His love.  Father, thank you for the gift of Your Son…..help us to have humble spirits and willing hearts to show His love every chance we get.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:5-11.

Love you all!

March 15, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Fabulous Friday, I am His and so are you!  The last couple of days I can’t help but notice all the signs that spring is coming.  The tree across from my office is heavy with beautiful white blossoms, the grass is a vibrant green, bright yellow daffodils dot the roadsides, and every pasture has young calves happily frolicking.  The sun is shining and warm…..A wonderful time to Praise God for the wonders of His creation…..Not to be negative, but simply realistic……as beautiful as it is outside right now….in a matter of seconds it could all change….spring storms are known for damaging winds, hail, and possible tornados……Not every day is a beautiful spring day……flowers don’t always bloom and the grass is not always green……but storms pass…..and for us…..we are never alone in the storm….Our Heavenly Father is with us, shielding us from the winds, holding us through the tornados…Loving us….always and forever!  Father thank you for wonders of Your creation right now as we are enjoying special signs of spring and thank you for holding us through the storms.

Have a wonderful weekend….enjoy God’s creation.  I am including our Today from one year ago….just seemed fitting!  God Bless you.  Love you all!

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Thursday!!  Cruising into work this morning as usual, thinking about my day and praying, I remembered a dream I had last night.  When the crazy thought came into my head I immediately remembered that I had dreamed it last night; I don’t recall too much of the dream, but what I do remember left me with a worthy thought.  I was driving in someone else’s car, but I was the driver.  There was one person with me, seems like the person was not too familiar to me, anyway we were driving someplace I had never been and we were definitely on some kind of an urgent mission…..seems like there was tension in the car.  Like I said, I was the driver and what I recall is that we were driving up a very steep hill….I am talking almost straight up, like scary straight up…almost like a roller coaster.  I remember feeling stressed, but was doing my very best to not panic….I distinctly remember thinking……”I don’t think my VW would make it up this hill…….that’s it….that’s all I remember.  Here’s what I got out of it…..We never know when we head out in a day what hills we may have to climb…..what struggles we may have to overcome…..what grief or pain we may have to bear…….getting to the top depends on our power source.  The car I was driving in my dream had a powerful engine…..I am sure I made it safely to the top.  My little VW (as much as I just love it and it does awesome here), on the other hand I am not sure would have made it…….the trip would have been much more difficult!   Yep Father, I hear You, I understand…..without You as our power source……without You pushing us up our hills………without YOU….don’t even want to think about it!  Heavenly Father, thank you so much for empowering us with Your love.  Fill us with the faith- giving power of the Holy Spirit so that our faith continues to grow stronger enabling us to climb our hills with strength and confidence and filled with Your Perfect Peace.

Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.  Jeremiah 32:17.  Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its 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 17:7-8.  Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10. 

Love you all!

March 13, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Wondrously wrapped in His loving arms Wednesday!  Well, today was my first official day of trying out an alternate route to work (yesterday didn’t count because I had to take my car to the shop).  Back and forth in my head I went over the pros and cons of my choices….I finally decided I would go the Tupelo route rather than 1560.  I planned ahead and left several minutes early because I was sure it would take me longer.  It did, but not much and by leaving as early as I did the traffic was light….just got to keep watch for the deer.  Yep, must say a successful plan indeed …..”Kathie, oh Kathie….. “

“Oh good morning Father, aren’t you proud of me for picking a successful alternate route to work?”  “Well, yes, of course I am proud of you….you are My precious child, but Kathie…..I must ask you to stop a minute…..be still….and listen, just for a minute.”  “OK sure Father, You are the Boss…..right….you know, You are my AWESOME God, maker and keeper of all……freely loving and forgiving…….Oh Father……I think I know what you need to say to me.  I am so sorry!  I just took off this morning such a smarty pants thinking I was in total control of this ‘alternate route’ situation…..Father…..forgive me forgive me for charging off on my own without talking with You first…..without taking You with me…..no ‘route’ can ever be successful without YOU!”  “My dear child, you are forgiven.”

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him.  Daniel 9:9.  “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  Isaiah 1:18.  Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.  Psalm 79:9.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Revelation 1:8. 

Love you all!

March 12, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Trusting and believing Tuesday!  Good grief, I have known for a long time that CR 1600 is going to be totally redone, but haven’t given the whole process too much thought until last week….well little over a week ago I guess, “Road Closed” signs were placed strategically along the road…hummm, keep in mind this is MY route to and from work and church, so that’s 6 days a week…..OK, so I went home and told Kim, “Road Closed” signs are up….guess they are getting close.  Still I didn’t lose any sleep over it, did talk with Kathyrn about alternate routes for us…..cross that bridge when the time comes, right??????   Came to work yesterday no sign of any construction going on, never gave it a thought as I toddled home……until….I got close to intersection at Owl Creek….OH NO!  Even from a distance I could see that the road to my house was indeed….CLOSED!  All kinds of men and equipment were still working and there was no way I could continue any farther on 1600.  Of course I had a meeting at 7 and needed to cook dinner and eat first, so this delay was most inconvenient.  My first thought, I will turn right and go through Stonewall…..oh yes…..way out of my way!  However as I got to the intersection it appeared I would not be able to turn right either….oh no, now what!  I turned left and called Kim…..how do I get home….Can you imagine after all these years of living out in Lula…..I did not know how to get home if I turned left at Owl Creek……After a brief conversation with Kim, I decided to turn around and see if I could get through to the right and go through Stonewall…..at least I knew my way and that would have to be quicker right!  Well, luckily, I could ease through, I took a deep breath and figured I just as well calm down and make the best of it.  I arrived home safely about 15 minutes later than usual cooked dinner, and headed to the meeting, but I couldn’t stop thinking, about my alternate route!  Things don’t always go just as we planned do they…..just as we think they should…..Just because I won’t be able to take 1600 for a while doesn’t mean that I am not going to be able to get to work….just because the alternate route will not be my first choice…..As we travel through life, we so often make our own “route” then one day we get a big sign from our Heavenly Father…..”Road Closed”…….My precious child, He says, I have another plan for you…..Trust Me……Let Me guide you.  My ways are wiser than yours….But Father……I start to whine and list my route choices…..you know family, kids, job, finances……But, My child, your ways (routes) and not My ways….Trust and Believe in My ways for you, precious child…..I want only what’s best for you.  Father, forgive us when we want to ignore Your “Road Closed” signs…..help us to open our hearts and minds to trust, believe, and follow YOU!

“I now the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.  I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.  When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.  Proverbs 4:11-12.  God will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.  Isaiah 2:3.  Guide me in your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  Remember, O Lord, Your great mercy and love for they are of old.  Psalm 25:5-6. Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.  Proverbs 16:20.

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson

March 11, 2013

Good Morning Friends!!!  Mighty is our God, Monday!  Yesterday afternoon a neighbor came over to help Kim with some computer work for the fire department.  She brought her young sons with her, I think they are about 10 and 8.  While Kim and the neighbor were working I had the pleasure of the boys company.  They played with our new puppy and then we went outside to feed all the critters, of course they loved handing out treats to everyone.  Back inside, I needed to get a cobbler in the oven for a luncheon here at work and they were great help with that!!!  After we popped it in the oven I asked them if they would like to play Jenga (the game where small rectangle blocks are stacked into a tower and you take turns pulling one and adding them to the top…the loser is the person whose pull tumbles the tower).   They thought that would be fun, so I got out the blocks and stacked them into a tower; the tower appeared strong…..Nathan went first, then Ty, I was last….we were all successful for several turns, but after a while we had to be so careful, making sure we found a loose block and pulling it ever so carefully…..and then all of a sudden when we least expected it….Ty’s pull seemed fine….then…..it all came crashing down around us!  Blocks everywhere…the tower was gone.  Well, we rebuilt of course and played another game, which of course ended just the same…we screamed and laughed, so much fun, but after they left I couldn’t help but think how the game of Jenga reminds me of life.  We work at building our towers…..oh we think we are being careful…..building a strong, secure life and then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye……life comes tumbling down around us…..What we do when that happens depends on the source of our blocks……What have we built our lives on?  What is our foundation made of?  Job, money, possessions……or faith…..faith in the mercy and grace of our Heavenly Father?  If we build our lives on things of this earth…..we will tumble and rebuilding will be difficult….But if we….. oh gosh… one of my favorite Sunday School songs comes to mind….You might know it….The Foolish Man….remember, the foolish man built his house on the sand and when the rains came it was washed away……the wise man…he built on the rock, so when the rains came his house stayed strong…..last verse…So build your house on the LORD JESUS CHRIST!!!  The Lord Jesus Christ our ROCK….our FIRM FOUNDATION….hmmm bet we could all use a little remodeling…..Heavenly Father, fill us with the desire to build our lives with You as the Rock of our foundation so that when things tumble around us we turn to YOU and stay strong.

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sad.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  Matthew 7:24-27.  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.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.  Isaiah 26:4. 

Love you all!

March 6, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Willfully His, Wednesday!   My husband just called and was so excited….he had completed a project he had been working on for the past week in our big kennel.  He installed an injector that will automatically pump antibiotics into their water as needed, so much more efficient than trying to do it by hand for so many and so much better for the health of the dogs!  He also installed an injector in the fodder factory for nutrients…..automatically, every few hours, nutrients go to the tiny seeds enhancing their maturing process…..humph…..medication and nutrients…..injected automatically…..healthy and mature……automatically…..Wouldn’t that be wonderful for us…..if every day, automatically all the medication and vitamins we needed were injected into our bodies automatically….no more trips to the doctor, no more trips to the gym…… Healthy and fit….wow!  Well, we are not seeds or dogs and we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves…..to take care of our health….and our bodies….they are from God.  Our bodies are important, but we have lots more to worry about than our bodies…..We need to nurture our faith……work towards a faith that is mature, strong and healthy….a faith that will carry us through the wind storms…..A faith that will give Honor and Glory to our Heavenly Father…..a faith that reaches out to help others whatever the need may be……Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God…..Now God will automatically fill us……but we must go to Him…..we must make the time to hear His word….by reading and worship….We must go to Him in prayer, with praise and ask Him to strengthen our faith….Oh our Father is much better than an automatic injector…..He supplies our every need, heals us, comforts us, rejoices with us…..LOVES us!!!!  Yes our Father gave us His only Son……He forgives our sins and fills us “injects” us with His Perfect Love….His Perfect Peace….His Hope for life everlasting with Him.  Father, you have given us our earthly bodies, enable us with a desire to care for them as Your temples.  Bring us to You to hear Your word, grow in faith and willingly follow Your will for our lives.

Do you not know that your body is a  temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your won; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  You, O Lord, created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Psalm 139:13-14.  Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  Romans 10:17.  It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Ephesians 2:8.  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.

Love you all!

March 5, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Trusting in His time, Tuesday!  This morning, everyone is talking about the strong winds that started blowing last night and continue this morning……trash cans, feed barrels and trash were strewn everywhere.  The big heavy doors of my office keep blowing open….fierce, cold winds……I was feeling tossed about by the winds of life this morning…everything around me blowing out of control…..fierce and cold….then I turned my calendar and read this, “Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what He promised.”  Hebrews 10:25.  Oh yes….the winds are blowing right now, but I have the perfect hope…..if I hold firmly.  He has promised to never forsake me, He has promised to carry my burdens……if I believe….I must trust and believe firmly in His hope because He says, “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6.  The fierce winds are trying to toss me….but I am holding firmly to His promise because He tells me….”cast your cares on Me, I will sustain you:  I will never let the righteous fall.” From Psalm 55.  “It is God who …makes us stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set His seal of owner ship on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  2 Corinthians 1;21-22.   If I put all of my trust in Him the winds will not blow me because, His word tells me, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leave are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (even in the fierce winds).  Jeremiah 17:7-8.  “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”  Luke 12:32.  Thank you Father for taking my hand in the fierce winds of life and holding fast….I feel secure in Your flock.

Love you all!

March 4, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Marvelous is His plan, Monday!  One day last week I opened a kitchen drawer and while digging for something towards the bottom I saw a mouse dropping.  Well, I thought you haven’t cleaned this drawer in a while because you don’t have mice anymore.  I never gave it another thought until Saturday.  Cooper and Katy came down with Hailey to pick up pine cones and of course they had to have a snack from Nana’s famous snack drawer.  Cooper opened the drawer and they each got something.  After they left I went in to close the drawer completely and was absolutely appalled at what I saw!!!!  Oh No!  Tell me it can’t be so!!!!  No Way!!!!!  My worst nightmare…..a whole package of graham crackers nearly gone…..tiny shreds of paper, crumbs, and…..gross droppings lined the drawer.  Kim was in the living room and could hear my tirade…..what’s the matter he asked.  WE HAVE MICE!!!!!   Where are those cats we had?????   You must understand….I HATE MICE!   Kim pondered for a moment and then said…..”Uhh, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen the cats in a while!”  Duh, no kidding jack….look at this mess, yuck….gross….disgusting!  I dug around and found one package of unopened Decon, opened it and put it out in a place safe from kids, but deadly for those nasty critters feeling quite smug…..Until early this morning, that is when I leaned over to open a cupboard and a big, fat mouse came so close to my feet that I had to scream!  That’s it!!!!!!  I hollered, I am getting out the traps!!!”  As I dug around trying to find mouse traps that I had not used in ever so long (if you reach back in your memory, I wrote about having the cats quite a while ago), I felt that familiar tap on my shoulder….”Good morning, Father…any idea where I put the mouse traps?”  “Yes Kathie, just keep digging they are right there.  Kathie isn’t it funny how you haven’t even thought about those cats for so long…..you hadn’t seen any signs of having mice, so you just didn’t give them a thought….for so long they just worked and worked for you….making sure no mice got into your house…..you never gave them a thought…..not once….UNTIL………”  “ Oh Father, I get it….until I had a problem…..”  How often do we cruise along everything going along just fine …we don’t even think about our Heavenly Father, taking care of everything for us…..providing us with all our needs, day in and day out…..life is good….no real problems…so we don’t think about….saying, Thank you Father, Praise You, All Glory to You….Awesome Father, we praise You and thank you…..No….but as soon as we see some “nasty droppings”  oh yea, then all of a sudden….we call on You…..Help Father, please fix this and take care of that…..Father, please HELP ME!  Father, thank you for nasty mouse droppings to remind us that You deserve our praise all the time, every day….not just we are surrounded by “droppings”.  All Praise, Honor, and Glory to You our Awesome, Heavenly Father!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26.  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:19-20.  Rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:7.   Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!!  Revelation 7:12. 

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson