A little piece of home

Good Morning Friends!  Mighty Awesome is our God, Monday!  Yesterday began as a typical Sunday morning at church; I was finishing up my Sunday school superintendent duties, you know offering, attendance, leaving Pastor a copy of attendance on his desk…the usual; as I came out of his office I noticed we had visitors looking at our bulletin board.  I stopped, said good morning and introduced myself….the wife turned to me, took my outstretched hand and said “Tina”  then her husband shook my hand, “Keith, and this is our daughter Jessica.”  I started to ask them where they were from when Keith got the oddest look on his face, he raised his hand kind of pointing at me and slowly said, “this is a stretch, but are you from Terra Bella?”  Oh my gosh my heart leaped as I said “yes.”  He said, “you were my Sunday school teacher.”  We were both in a state of shock!  Indeed, Keith’s parents were friends of mine at my home church in Terra Bella, California….many years ago…..my mom’s family were founders of the church and Keith’s family long, long time members so our families had known each other and worshiped together for decades…..I get goose bumps right now just thinking about such a wonderful coincidence…..I was so excited as I drug them around introducing to my current church family….Keith was excited too!  I had to go finish up with the kids, Jessica was quite willing to go and meet them, so off we went.  As soon as Sunday school was over I found Keith and Tina, introduced them to more people and asked if I could sit with them.  I was so excited I wasn’t sure I could sit still and of course I had to introduce them formerly during announcements…Gosh, what a wonderful coincidence I thought all through the service, my mind raced with memories from all those years ago, smiling, remembering what a cute little boy Keith had been (nice looking man now, I must add).  After the service, as we were getting ready to say our goodbyes, Keith expressed how happy he was that we had meet again after so many years.  In a serious voice he said, “I feel like I got a little piece of home.”  Hugging him I had to agree, it was all I could do to hold back the tears as Tina expressed that even though she had not ever been to California, she felt a “piece of home too.”  As Tina and I hugged I was filled with a  special peace….a peace and joy beyond human understanding…..oh this reunion was no “coincidence”  no way…..This was our Mighty Awesome God at work with a gift of love for Keith, Tina, and me, that we didn’t even know we needed, but HE did…And the piece of home we felt was unity and love of a Christian family….shared faith in our ONE TRUE GOD and SAVIOR…..a piece of home on earth, a foretaste of the HOME we will share in heaven with our FATHER….oh my goodness….goose bumps for sure!  Father thank you for such precious, special blessings that we sure do not deserve….thank you FATHER for the awesome bond we share with YOUR children….You pour your love over us in ways that we cannot even fathom….Thank you Father, all honor, glory and praise to YOU!

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9.  Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies.  Psalm 36:5.  From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children.  Psalm 103:17.   So we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him.  1 John 4:16.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1. 

Love you all!

Memories of a duckling and a chicken hawk

Good Morning Friends!  Wonderfully wrapped in HIS loving arms Wednesday!  No friends, I am not crazy, started this yesterday and then found my services were otherwise required!!!!!  Hence……let’s add…..Thankfully loved by HIM, Thursday!  I was talking to my son, Shawn, the other day, telling him how cute our bunnies are.  “Oh yea,” he said, “there’s nothing cuter than baby bunnies and baby ducks. Do you remember when……?”  I knew immediately which memory he was about to share……Many years ago when the kids were young and we lived in California we decided we needed some ducks!  The boys, especially, loved animals and we always thought it was good for them to have the responsibility of caring for them.  Once we decided on ducks, we headed to the feed store; after careful examination of every duck, we finally agreed on the perfect  mommy and daddy ducks!  We fixed them a little shelter and filled a little wading pool for their swimming pleasure!  Oh so  proud of our ducks and beyond excited when we had ducklings, the whole family couldn’t wait for them to be covered in yellow baby- feathers and join mommy and daddy in the pool!  The boys were quite proud of their beautiful ducklings and mommy and daddy took good care of them…..Then one day, after school, Shawn and I went out to check on our family of ducks, fill the pool, check their feed…..we were happy as we walked out to the pasture, anticipating our family having fun in the pool.  As we got close we could see that most of them were indeed swimming, it was a beautiful spring day…..blue skies boasting of God’s wondrous creation….Then…..out of nowhere……Shawn and I, at the say moment, caught site of a…..oh no…..surely not…..no, please don’t let that be…..no, no……please no….but in fact there was a chicken hawk circling over the family in the pool….closer and closer….Shawn and I ran screaming towards the pool, hoping our screams would scare the vulture away…..our earnest attempts failed…..we were both sick and heartbroken as we watched, totally helpless…….the skilled hawk dived towards the pool and in one quick swoop snatched a tiny, precious baby duck, covered in fluffy, yellow-baby feathers, swimming happily with his family totally unaware of lurking danger.  Gone….in one fell swoop….Shawn and I were devastated as we stood silently watching the chicken hawk carry our duckling away….Ever since our conversation, the memory of that precious duckling’s fate has lingered in my mind……causing me to think how very vulnerable I am…..strutting through life as if I had everything under control……swimming in a pool of selfishness, misplaced priorities, edging on disaster at any time….unaware of the dangers because I am too preoccupied with today……me…..mine…..So vain, thinking no chicken hawk would dare swoop down and get me……HUH!!!!  Praise God, our fate does not ever have to be the same as our little duckling’s.  Our Heavenly Father is there watching over us, at all times…..ready to fell the hawks…..There was nothing the duckling could have done to stop his fate, but we….we have every opportunity to spend time with our Father, reading His word, growing in faith, finding comfort and strength through our prayers and conversations with HIM….He does not want us to be swooped up by this world.  No siree!!!!  He wants us as HIS very own, safe and sound, through life everlasting with HIM!  Thank you Father for loving us so much, for wrapping Your loving arms around us!

 

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am they God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  Isaiah 41:10.  Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  James 4:7.  Blessed are they that keep His testimonies and that seek Him with the whole heart.  Psalms 119:2.  Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them:  for the Lord they God, He is it that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  Deuteronomy 31:6.

Love you all!

Kathie A. Johnson

Receptionist

Administrative Services

Division of Housing

A heavenly reunion awaits...

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Thursday!  My goodness, am I ever pooped this morning!  I have, thanks to a sweet cousin with frequent flyer miles, been on a whirlwind trip to California to attend a memorial for my Aunt Ella….96 years old, she outlived 11 siblings….a good and faithful servant, sharing God’s love in so many ways all of her life….ready to meet our Father face to face!  How blessed I was to be there and share in a service of Praise and glory in her memory.  I cannot even find words to express the joy I had in seeing cousins and friends that I had not seen in many, many years….sharing memories, catching up, promising to never let so much time pass before we see, at least talk again!  A real reunion buzzing with stories, laughter, tears, pictures of kids, grandkids….overflowing with love, hugs, pictures (one cousin is a professional photographer and she brought her camera!  Can’t wait to get those pictures), joking, teasing, memories, future plans, love and more hugs!  Finally, sadly we all had to say our goodbyes and head in our separate directions….my sister and I had a 3.5 hour drive back where we would meet up with my niece and nephew, have a quick pizza and head to her house for the night….another hour and then in the morning little over an hour to the airport….we knew we had to get going, but oh my we hated the reunion to end…..as we drove off overflowing with joy, love filling our every thought, we thanked our Heavenly Father for the blessing of this time together….for the blessing of Christian family!  Cheryl and I yacked non- stop all the way to dinner and then my niece and I took it up from there, but when I finally settled down for the night, snug on Manda’s couch, in the quiet darkness, reflecting on the day I felt….peace, yes my whole body, inside and out was over taken by a peaceful…pounding….if that makes any sense….peace.  I laid still, feeling calm and relaxed……”Father, I feel You, Father….thank you for such a wonderful reunion today….You just bless us so much….thank you.”  “Oh Kathie, My precious child, you are most welcome.  I love you, it pleases Me to bless you….but Kathie….I am preparing a reunion for you and your family that will far exceed your reunion today.  I am preparing a place for you here with Me in heaven……the most magnificent reunion you could ever imagine…..you and your family of believers will be with Me in heaven someday for life everlasting with Me….Now that is a reunion for you to plan for….to count on…..look forward to…..rejoice in!  Bless you my child.”  I fell asleep with a smile on my face, in my heart….I am His child, I will have a heavenly reunion….life everlasting.  Father, rejoicing in Your love!  All glory and honor to You!!!

 

 

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to with me that you also may be where I am. John 1:1-3.  …..rejoice that your names are written in heaven.  Luke 10:21.  But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.  Philippians 3:20-21.  Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4: 4-7. 

Love you all!

 

Shunning compliments or God's Kindness?

Good Morning Friends!  Forever His, Friday!  About 4 months ago I was blessed with the opportunity to reconnect with a niece from my ex-husband’s side of the family.  Our families were very close when the kids were young, she is just a little younger than my Stacy (Stacy would have been 42 in December) and they were best friends.  After the divorce our families drifted apart,  never meant for that to happen, but somehow it does.  The events that brought her back into my life were sad ones, but the blessing in all of the sadness is that I am renewing my relationship with my beautiful niece, Natalie.  She has really reached out to my son in a serious time of need and I am ever grateful.  Most of our communication is through email (she lives in CA), so right before Christmas I emailed and asked her for her address so I could send her a Christmas card; she in turn asked for mine.   I was excited as I addressed the envelope with our Christmas picture and letter, excited to have her back in my life and looking forward to a card (hopefully a picture too) from her.  Well, I never did get a card,(she did tell me yesterday that she and her fiancé had been very sick over Christmas and cards would be late) but yesterday, at long last…..lol!  I had a precious email from her.  In my response I asked her if she got her card and how she liked our silly picture (my thought was poor girl probably wouldn’t even recognize the old woman in the picture)!  Her response surprised me!  She said I looked just like she remembered and that she sure wanted the name of my night cream and I was as beautiful as ever!  Can you imagine!  Now, I have never once considered myself beautiful, so you can imagine how flattered I was by her comments!  The sad part is, guess what I did with them……I emailed back saying the camera was kind and that I really had so many wrinkles and was not aging as gracefully as one might like…You know…I did not even acknowledge her kindness…..too busy griping about my flaws!  Wasn’t until this morning that I realized I had not even thanked her for the compliments….shameful…..contradicting kindness….Her kindness came from love and love comes from God…..in a sense…seems to me I was contradicting God’s love….Oh my goodness, even in my deepest darkest moment I would never want to shun God’s kindness….Acknowledging the kindnesses given to us, is acknowledging that we are God’s precious children, loved….cherished…..blessed with family and friends that shower us with all types of kindness….blessings from our Father….Father forgive us when we are selfish in recognizing the kindnesses shown to us….help us to acknowledge they are from YOU!  And help us to reciprocate YOUR love!

 

Every good and perfect gift (act of kindness) is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17.  Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.  Proverbs 27:9.  So we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  1 John 4:16. To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  John 1:12-13.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1.   Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2.  Whoever touches you touches the apple of God’s eye.  Zechariah 2:8.  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.  Hebrews 13:15. 

Love you all!

Beautiful Stars : Nehemiah 9:6

Good Morning Friends!  Totally trusting in our Father’s love, Tuesday!  Last night after work I dove into unpacking and laundry from our trip last week.  Our little puppy is so very glad we are home….so excited that when we take her out to potty, she wants to play so it takes forever….Last night just before going to bed, I took her out for one last time….she was being crazy and I started to get impatient until I looked up, skyward.  The sky was breathtaking…..so dark, but totally a light with thousands, maybe millions of dancing, sparkling stars…..stars expanding from one side of Lula to the other all for my delight……I stood there gazing….in awe of God’s magnificence……I felt His presence in the expanse of the dancing sky and thought, who could ever doubt HIM…..doubt that HE is real, omnipotent and omniscient….I thought of the massive ocean we had seen in California…..like the sky expanding as far as the eye could see, continuous waves pounding the sandy beaches…..comprehending the water and sand….not possible….again I thought, how could anyone ever doubt HIM…..as Holina bit my toe, I jumped and swatted her…..immediately breaking the spell I was in, pondering God’s magnificence…..I thought of the horrid 4, 5, 6 lane freeways of Southern CA, the confusion and danger as we drove them….there was no peace….no awe there, only stress and chaos….the world’s chaos so often, so easily distracts us from the magnificence of  our Heavenly Father…..the magnificence of HIS creation…..the magnificence of HIS Gift to us….HIS ONLY SON….Father, forgive us when we let life distract us from YOU, keep us ever in YOUR presence in awe of YOUR MAGNIFICENCE. Help us to go there when life has us in a traffic jam.  Love you Father, all honor, glory, and praise to YOU>

 

You alone are the Lord.  You made the heaven, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.  You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.  Nehemiah 9:6.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26.  These are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him!  Who then can  understand the thunder of His power?  Job 26:14.  The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1. 

Love you all!

June 8, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Forever His, Friday!  I’m excited about tonight….Kim and I are taking Cooper and Katy to the rodeo (well mommy’s going too, daddy has to work).  It will be so much fun watching their excitement as they take in everything going on!  Papa says we are even eating there….oh boy!  We will all have on our boots and jeans and Papa and the kids will no doubt be sporting their cowboy hats!  Good times!  I talked to Cooper early this morning and he is sooo excited; driving into work, thinking about our fun evening ahead, my mind filled with memories of earlier rodeo outings with Hailey!  When Hailey was a toddler we all lived in California rodeo -country, so we had lots of opportunities for good times at the rodeo!  We always got her duded up in her best cowgirl clothes and headed out for a day of fun!  Hailey was such a good girl , you could take her anywhere and always have a great time…..a trip to the rodeo always included cotton candy, popcorn and soda!  The funniest thing with her…..Hailey always rooted for the animals, hated it when the cowboy roped the calf, but loved the clowns….bull riding was always our favorite, but again….she was always yelling for the bull!  Memories….precious memories…..such a wonderful blessing to be able to pull out memories from years ago….especially the happy ones….All the times our kids were growing up and with the grandkids too, I am known to say…”Makin memories…..kids….we are making memories now!”  Often times I would say this as a form of encouragement for times that at the moment did not seem so fun!  Making memories…..oh how often do we do things that we hope no one remembers!!!  You know the times I am talking about….And then one day out the clear someone says….”remember when you…..”  and your heart drops.  Thinking about memories this morning,  a bible verse came to mind…..one that really made me smile and picked up my heart…..words from our Lord, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  Jeremiah 31:34.  Thank you Father…..for forgiving our mess ups and for forgetting them!  Help us to do the same to others~  Thank you for precious memories…..

 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.  Psalm 103:11-14.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32. 

Love you all!