Joy in Christ

Beginning of a New Season

2011-08-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

The Johnson family has had quite the busy and exciting weekend. Andrew officially begins classes this Wednesday, and this last weekend we have enjoyed several seminary events planned to introduce all the incoming first year students to one another, as well as the 2-4th year students, faculty and staff at Bethlehem College and Seminary. Thursday night we kicked everything off with a "Meet and Mingle" dinner where we all enjoyed pizza, brownies and root beer floats and met one another for the first time. I was happy to see so many families a part of this program who were raising young children as well. It's good to know we are not alone, and other people are making it through just fine!

Friday was orientation for all the students, and the wives were invited as well to partake in a delicious lunch with our husbands. We then broke off from our husbands and had our first "Seminary Wives" meeting where we got to know one another a little bit better and also met the wonderful women who lead up our group, Julie Stellar and Sharon Rusten. Both women were young seminary wives as well, and have many years experience now as ministry wives, and I am confident they will have a wealth of wisdom and encouragement to share with us as we walk through these next 4 years with our husbands. I am so thankful for this program and absolutely cannot wait to get to know all these women better and to hopefully develop wonderful, lasting friendships that will Lord willing go beyond even just these 4 years!

Today we went to the "seminary picnic" where we all met up at a beautiful park and simply enjoyed time together again eating hot dogs and other wonderful picnic foods. :) Tonight Andrew is at a Twins game with one of his new friends who is also an incoming 1st year student, and I think that is the perfect ending for him to a wonderful weekend! We have been in Minnesota almost a year already! We moved in September 2010 before Andrew even officially applied for the program, and it has been a long year of preparation and waiting. We are so excited to finally be starting this new season. We are certainly aware of the difficulties it will surely bring, but we know our God is faithful and strong and will give us the grace we need to endure anything that comes our way. I cannot express how blessed we feel that Andrew is able to be a part of this program. It is no doubt worth the difficult years of schooling ahead. God is good. We are thankful for his provision and trust that He will continue to provide and guide our family.

Only may He be glorified and honored in our lives. May he be shown as glorious and great as we depend upon Him these next 4 years. To Him be all the praise, honor and glory, forever!

Part 3: finally =)

2011-07-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

I know a bit of time has lapsed since I wrote part 2 of my proclaimed 4-part post discussing the book "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman. But if you will forgive my tardiness, I will continue on with part 3 and probably stop there for good. :) I obviously am not the most consistent blogger in the world, so I think cutting this down to 3 parts will be for the best.

In this section I want to basically relay to you the practical portion of this book. One of the greatest things I love about this book is that Plowman does not just tell you that disciplining our children is important and getting at the heart issue is key; she goes so much further to give practical examples of how this is done, in a wide variety of circumstances. I cannot reiterate enough how huge this was for me. Plowman equips the reader with the tools they need to put biblical training and discipline into action. There is such a wealth of examples flowing from this book that I will not possibly be able to touch on them all. I will simply try to condense it down to a few that I feel were most important and helpful to me in the broadest range of circumstances.

Heart Probing:

So we know that when we discipline our children, we don't simply want to change their outward behavior. We want to get to their hearts. We want to show them the reason they sin and disobey mommy, daddy and most importantly God, is because their hearts are sinful and selfish. But how can we possibly do this? One thing Plowman suggests is the use of heart probing questions. By asking our children heart probing questions in light of their sin and/or disobedience, we are teaching our children how to search and evaluate their own hearts for sinful motives.

For example: Every time I tell my sons to go wash their hands, they both make a mad dash for the bathroom. Each wants to get there first, and since Daniel is bigger he usually gets there just a tad ahead and then proceeds to make every effort to keep Micah out. He often times will even shove him out of the way so he can go first. Well this of course sets Micah to screaming and crying, and Daniel to bossing him about. As I set off to deal with the situation I can gently pull Daniel aside and ask him, "are you putting Micah ahead of yourself or are you being selfish?" Daniel usually responds with, "I'm being selfish." And I usually respond with "what do you think would be the kind and generous thing to do for Micah right now? How can you put him first?" And Daniel will think for a minute and respond with something like, "let him wash his hands first." Today, Daniel even added, "pull the stool up for him so he can get up and wash first." Asking Daniel these questions causes him to stop and think about his motives. He is evaluating his own heart, and while he is still only 3 years old, it is certainly a good habit to instill from a young age. And even at 3, Daniel is able to think through and respond to these questions.

Plowman offers a variety of questions that you can ask your children with regard to many circumstances, including disobedience, lying, teasing, whining, etc... And going hand in hand with these heart probing questions is the use of Scripture to reprove your children. In the example I gave above, I can remind Daniel that God's Word says to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others (like Micah) better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3) As I mentioned in a previous post, the use of God's Word in teaching our children is the most powerful tool we have! God's Word is what changes hearts, and you can never speak the Word of God too much to your children, especially in instances of discipline and correction.

Reproof ("Put off") and Encouragement ("Put On")

Plowman encourages parents to not only use Scripture to reprove our children in teaching them to put off sinful behavior, but to also teach our children to put on righteous behavior. So often we simply take our child aside, swat their bottoms, tell them why they were wrong, and then send them packing. Rebuking wrong behavior without teaching right behavior will only exasperate our children. We need to encourage them in righteous behavior before we send them back on their way. Again, with the example of Daniel and Micah, after Daniel receives his discipline and is told to put off his selfish behavior by putting Micah first, I am then to encourage him to put on righteous behavior. I should not simply say, "Don't be selfish!" But I am to ask him, as mentioned earlier, how he could show love for Micah and how he could put Micah first. As Daniel answered with "pull the stool up for Micah so he can wash first," he was thinking about how he could pursue righteous behavior the next time. So I not only reprove him, but I also encourage him to put on righteousness. Doing so in the long run helps give our children the tools they need to not only do what it takes to avoid getting in to trouble, but to live righteous lives that honor God and accord with His Word.

Avoiding the use of worldly methods of discipline:

Plowman not only encourages you in biblical, heart probing discipline. She goes a step further and tells you what NOT to do when disciplining your children, and the reasons why these methods are harmful to our children. I must admit I find myself resorting to several of these methods at times simply because the biblical way is just too much work! But it's work that is well worth the effort!

*Counting- I was impressed by Plowman's boldness to include "counting" as a worldly method of discipline. The reason counting to 3, or 10 or whatever it is is so harmful to our children is that it is teaching our children delayed obedience. Our children know that when mommy tells them to do something, they don't have to stop what they are doing right away and obey. They simply have to obey by the time mommy gets to that magic number. That's not what God expects of us. He expects us to trust him and to obey. Period. We are the authority over our children, and unless they learn to obey right away--the first time mommy makes a command-- they will not learn to trust and obey; they will simply learn how to keep getting what they want for as long as they possibly can. Their hearts are not pointed toward obedience, but toward their own selfishness. If you tell you child to come to you and you know they heard you, then you are to expect them to come immediately. Not after you count to 5. Right away. And if they don't, they are to receive discipline.

*Yelling/raising your voice/repeating yourself-- This is similar to counting, in that you are teaching your children that they do not have to obey you until you get really mad--until you start raising your voice and yelling at them. This is also teaching them delayed obedience. They don't have to obey you until you start getting red in the face and scream out your demands. And repeating yourself is also a form of delayed obedience. You should only have to tell your child one time what you want. But if you start repeating yourself and only take action after about the 4th or 5th time you tell your child to do something, they will begin to take advantage of your inconsistency and try to get away with doing what they want (selfishness) for as long as you keep up with repeating yourself. All these things are harmful for your child in the long run because you are unknowingly helping them get away with as much as they possibly can instead of teaching them that God expects complete, whole-hearted, immediate obedience. ("Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" Colossians 3:20)

*A few other examples that I lack the time or space to go into detail are threatening and warning, as well using emotional manipulation to try to get your children to obey. All these things are negative methods that will only point your children away from heart issues, but toward obedience for the mere sake of pleasing man, and not for pleasing God.

Biblical Discipline: The Rod

I know this is an incredibly controversial issue these days, even among Christians. However, I completely agree with Plowman when she states that the best way to discipline our children is also the only biblical way, and that way is "the rod" or, as it is better known, spanking. Now, first let's make something very, very clear. If you think of spanking and envision a frustrated, angry mother or father grabbing their child, turning them over on their knee and then just letting loose all their frustration into their child as they wail into them and want to cry out, "but that's abuse!!" then I will completely agree with you. Wholeheartedly. A parent should never vent their frustrations on their child. They should NEVER, EVER discipline their children in anger. That is NOT biblical discipline, and that is not what the use of the rod is about. Unfortunately for godly parents who desire to biblically discipline their children, this is the stereotype. Therefore anyone who spanks their child has the unfortunate stigma of being abusive. But the Bible is very clear on this matter:

Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly."

Proverbs 19:18 "Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction."

Proverbs 22:15 "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him."

Proverbs 29:15 "The rod and rebuke gives wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."

The use of the rod is the method that God has laid out for us to discipline our children. It is not abusive, but loving. Of course, it can be abusive if it is done as described above. We are to be gentle, and loving in our discipline. We are to have complete control of our emotions when we discipline our children. If a parent is too angry in the moment to administer discipline, then they should first seek time to calm down, seek the Lord's help, and delay discipline until they are no longer angry. A helpful hint Plowman gave was to tell your child how many times you are going to swat their bottom. That way there is control in the discipline and you are not just wailing away at their bottom. Also, if you do not feel you can walk away from the discipline and completely and freely forgive your child, then do not discipline yet. After the spanking is done, there should be nothing more to hold against your child. You should not hold a grudge, and you should let your child know with a hug that you love them and you completely forgive them. Walk away, and dwell on it no more. These are all helpful tips, I thought, in guarding against spanking unbiblically. "If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." Galatians 6:1a.

Well this certainly was a mouthful, but I hope it can be of some help and encouragement to you. Hopefully it will encourage you to get this book and read it for yourself! God really used this book to help me in my disciplining and training of my sons. Reviewing this information all over again has been a refresher for me, and I pray that many other parents out there will seek the Lord for His help and strength in raising their children to become followers of Christ! God bless you in all of your endeavors to honor Him as your supreme joy and treasure in life!

Rachelle

2011-05-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

As I read through this book, I realized I was not just learning practical tips on how to biblically reprove, discipline and train my children. Time and again, I was brought to examine my own heart in the context of training my children. As I finished the book, there were three main sin issues in my own life that God graciously brought to light, and I will expound on these here.

1. I do not have God's Word hidden in my heart as I ought.

One of Plowman's greatest arguments is that in order to truly get at our children's hearts in our teaching and training, we must be constantly speaking the Word of God to them. In every situation we address, from fights over toys to outbursts of anger, parents should always be armed with scripture to speak to our children in moments of correction. God's Word is what changes the hearts of sinners. Period. Hebrews 4:12 says,

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." If we truly desire to see our children come to see their need for Christ, then what greater gift can we give them than to faithfully speak the Word to them each day, specifically in context of their sin? God's Word is powerful to change hearts, even the hearts of children.

Enter conviction. I certainly can draw out a few scriptures when speaking to my children, but in reality, there's not much hidden away there in my heart. My first reaction was to make excuses. I have been sick after all. Two to three months of morning sickness really puts a slow on everything in my life, including the daily reading of God's Word. But honestly, I have not been pregnant all my life. I wasn't pregnant when I first put my hope in Christ at the age of 7. I didn't have morning sickness throughout my teenage years when I could have been using my time to study and know God's Word. I sadly realized that I have had a life of wasted time when it came to loving, treasuring and knowing God's Word. This was extremely difficult to come to terms with. After all, I am a Bible College graduate, married to a man who is studying to pursue full-time ministry. Shouldn't I be saturated in God's Word? Yes. But am I? Sadly, no.

2. I do not pray for my children as I ought.

There are (many) days I find myself completely exasperated. I talk to my fellow mother-friends about issues I have with my children, and we talk for hours on end on finding the right method of discipline that would be most effective for my child. I pour out my heart to my husband at the end of the day when I have faced yet another challenging day with my incredibly stubborn, high energy toddler. I whine. I complain. But I don't pray for my children. I do pray for my children in a general sense, that God would someday bring them to salvation, etc... but I don't REALLY pray for them. I don't pray for Daniel and Micah concerning specific trials we face, and for their hearts to be softened to my discipline.

And the best and most fruitful way that I can pray for my children is to pray for them directly from God's Word. It is to pray in harmony with God's perfect will for my children's' lives. I love how Plowman puts it, "When we pray from God's Word, we surrender our foolish misconceptions of what is best by acknowledging that God's ways are not our ways. To pray from the Scriptures is to seek the will of the Father rather than the will of the parent." I need to pray for my children, so much more!

3. I am not joyful in my heart when dealing with discipline issues, knowing it points them to Christ.

On our fifth or sixth conversation over some disobedience issue or another, I tend to get a bit aggravated. I start to feel a bit offended, really. How dare my son(s) directly disobey me, AGAIN! I return to the dishes that end up taking much to long to complete, angry. And I am to be joyful?! Really, now. Well the answer to that is yes. Plowman gently points out James 1:2-4:

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

I would definitely agree that training children in righteousness, disciplining them on a day to day, sometimes hour by hour basis is a trial. Without a doubt. But I am to consider it a joy to do this. Even if that is all I do some days. But why, exactly, is this a joy? Well, every time I take my child aside, discipline and reprove him, I am pointing my child to his need for Jesus and training him in His Word. If only we could view all of our children's sinful behaviors as precious opportunities to teach them, then we would all be far more joyful, and more righteous in our training. Pointing them to Christ, the greatest treasure of life, and only hope of their salvation is an incredible privilege! This is very easy to say, of course, and most difficult to achieve. However, we are to strive to have our attitudes be like that of the attitude of Christ, and we know that "his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

These three things were a bit difficult to deal with at first. But I know that I cannot dwell here in despair. Thanks to the incredible mercy and long-suffering patience of my Savior, I know that I can confess these things to Him and rely upon His strength to grow in these areas.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit." Romans 8:1-4

Don't Make Me Count to Three: Part 1

2011-05-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am finally setting out to write a few posts regarding how the Lord has been working in my heart. Unfortunately I am a sinner in constant need of correction. Fortunately, I have been saved from the bondage of sin through the death of Christ on my behalf, and therefore, I have great hope in the strength and power of God to help me overcome the sins that I so often struggle against. So, with that great hope in mind, I set forth to reveal what God has been showing me is in my heart, and share the encouragement He has given me through His Word and through the wisdom of others.

Most recently, God has used a wonderful book to convict and encourage me, the title of which happens to be the title of this post: Don't Make Me Count to Three: A Mom's Look At Heart-Oriented Discipline. This book is written by Ginger Plowman, and I intend for these next few posts to do a number a things: First, I hope to show how this book, although intended mainly to be a practical aide to mothers in the "trenches" of teaching and disciplining children, has brought three main issues of sin in my own heart to light. Second, I hope to basically give a review of the book, in that I intend to share all the wealth of incredibly helpful and practical information she gives for the day to day teaching and training of our children. Finally, I intend to expound on how drawing out the heart issues with our children, even when they are young, is incredibly important; and the practice of which, when saturated with the Word of God, will truly cause a great reward when it comes time for the harvest!

So I suppose this is to be a 4 part post. This first will serve simply as an introduction into what I hope will be a source of encouragement for others. This is, however, mainly for my own benefit. As I organize these thoughts in my mind and put to paper (or computer screen, I suppose) what I have gleaned from this book, I hope it will help these lessons stay with me well into my life as the mother of 3 beautiful children. May God also bless you as you read and consider. And also, go get this book fellow moms, and read it for yourself!! :)

Good News Galore!

2011-04-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

I realize how horrible I have been with keeping our blog updated. Our last entry just left you hanging, wondering what our future holds! Did Andrew get accepted? Well, let's face it, anybody who actually reads this will already know the answer, but just in case.....

Andrew was accepted! Andrew ended up getting a second interview in late February and received word about a week later that he had been accepted to Bethlehem College and Seminary as a Master's student on a provisional basis. Provisional basis meaning Andrew has to pass his Greek entrance exam before officially becoming a master's student at BCC! So began Andrew's studying, and so he continues to study hard almost daily as he tries to brush up on his Greek and prepare to take the test. I am certain he will do well, but we will definitely keep you all updated on that front as time goes on. He takes the test in late June, I believe, so if you think of it, keep him in your prayers!

A second round of good news was awaiting our family just one week after we found out Andrew had been accepted. Once again, you probably already know, but...

Baby #3 is on his/her way! Yeah, we were probably as shocked as you are, as we were not planning this little bundle of joy. We were hoping to have more children, but thinking at least getting Andrew halfway through his master's before that happened. But as you all know, God's plans are often not our plans! So we rejoice that the Lord has blessed us with another pregnancy and are looking forward to meeting this little one in November! :) As is the norm for my pregnancies apparently, I have been very sick with morning sickness...or rather, all-day sickness. The first several weeks after I spent pretty much flat on my back with the exception of trips to the toilet to throw up. Thanks to my doctor and the wonders of modern medicine, I have been on a prescription that has helped a great deal with my nausea and I have not been throwing up near as much! Still I am looking forward to getting out of my first trimester and ready to catch my second wind in the second trimester and get back to feeling more like myself!

Well, I wish I had some pictures to post. Unfortunately, we just bought a new computer and all our photos remain on our old computer. Until we transfer those photos, we will just have to do what we can! :) I am hoping in the next day or two (really, I am going to try!) to put up a post on some things the Lord has been teaching me in my mothering and how he has been working in my heart as of late. So stay tuned! Until then, I hope you have a blessed Easter weekend, celebrating the resurrection of Christ the Lord! Be blessed!

Rachelle :)

Update on our lives

2011-02-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to steal a few moments while I can and try to give a quick update on the latest news for our family.

We are settling in quite well now here in Minnesota. I must say too, once you get settled in for the winter, you are "in" for quite some time! We had one of the biggest blizzards the Twins Cities has seen in a long time in December, and the pile of snow outside all of our windows is our constant companion. We are on garden level, which means our windows are at ground level, which further means when the snow piles up, it pretty much is all we see all winter long! It does make for some long lonesome days indoors as we only have one car. However, I am constantly reminded how blessed we are despite the slight inconvenience of snow. Days can get especially long with two active little boys who really could benefit from at least an hour of running jumping or climbing every day! It is hard to do such things when we are stuck inside, but we manage the best we can. I remind myself that the Lord has blessed us abundantly, allowing me stay home and raise our own children, and that we are blessed with at least one car while some people have none! And not to mention the incredible spiritual blessings God has given to us through Christ! So really now, what's a few months couped up in doors when we have all that we have?!

So please folks, don't sarcastically ask me how I'm liking the snow and being couped up in the house all day, because I will gladly tell you that I am blessed beyond what I deserve and could not be more thankful! :)

As far as the REASON we moved up here to cold country is concerned, we are still just waiting for our answer! Andrew submitted his application to Bethlehem College and Seminary in December, had an interview by mid December, and we are waiting for the end of this month (february) to come around when we should finally find out if Andrew has been accepted! So the wait continues just a little bit longer. I have found that this wait has been quite sanctifying, helping me rid myself of anxiety for the future. Well, not completely rid, as I do struggle from time to time not to worry too much. I know God has a purpose in bringing us up here. Whether or not that purpose if for seminary, we do not know! But God knows. The maker and creator of the universe and the one who knitted us together in our mothers' wombs...He knows! So it is exciting! If Andrew is not accepted, there are some pretty exciting prospects, such as buying a house! So, I know either way, God will receive the glory and He will continue to direct our steps day by day!

Daniel and Micah are huge. They are growing by leaps and bounds and I LOVE being their mommy! Daniel is three now. Unbelievable to me! He talks all the time and his number one goal in life is to be just like his daddy! Not a bad choice, I must say! :) We have begun a little bit of lesson time each day, learning his alphabet and the sounds each letter makes (he's a pro at that!) and letters, shapes, all that good stuff. We will probably be homeschooling, so this is good practice! Daniel loves lesson time, which makes my job that much easier!

Micah is 15 months...16 months, actually! Wow! He walks. He runs. He climbs! He tumbles. He gets back up again and keeps moving! :) He is such a jolly little guy, smiling all the time! He is starting to talk more, and LOVES his big brother! They play together all the time and are best friends. I love it!

Andrew and I celebrated 4 years in January. What a happy 4 years we have shared! Truly, God is good to us!

Maybe eventually when we get internet access again at home, I will upload some more pictures. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen this time!

May the Lord bless and keep you all!

Rachelle <3

Moving Adventures

2010-09-03T11:29:00.001-07:00

In one week from today our little family will be on the road to Minnesota! We are packing up our life here in Louisville, Ky and moving on to Minneapolis, MN. Now, most of our readers probably already know most of the details of why we are moving to Minnesota, but for those of you who may not be filled in on all the crazy details, I will give you the WHOLE, glorious story!

Right around the time Andrew graduated from Boyce back in May, Andrew was given the name and information of a church in Wisconsin that was looking for a full-time Associate pastor. Andrew went ahead and decided to send in his resume and give it a shot! Well, the church took great interest in Andrew, although they were a little hesitant of his inexperience and young age and as a result, they were not wanting to consider him for the full time assoc. position. However, the pastor had a chance to meet up with Andrew for lunch one afternoon, and through that and other points of contact via phone calls and what not, the church really grew to have great respect for Andrew and saw a great deal of potential. The church then decided to create a whole new position for Andrew, one where he would get some good ministry experience, be over several ministries in the church, and obtain metoring and training from the other elders of the church. He would also get preaching opportunities to help him gain experience in that area as well. And the plan was, over the course of 3 or 4 years, Andrew would then transfer into the associate pastor position. The plan seemed great to us, we were greatly encouraged by their eagerness and enthusiasm to help Andrew get some much needed experience and we were pretty much all on board to move to WI by the time the church sent us the contract and the job description.

Of course there were a few downsides, mainly that this job for the first 3-4 years would only be a part-time position and Andrew would therefore have to get a second job...AGAIN. We were hoping to move away from Andrew having to work two jobs, but it was a sacrifice we were willing to make as the Lord really seemed to be moving in this situation and with little experience and no seminary training as of yet, we did not really expect for Andrew to get full-time work right off the bat. So, you do what you can, especially in this economy and you TRUST GOD! Well, we had been given 48 hours to look over the job description and contract that the church sent us, and then we were to give our verbal yes or no to the church before Andrew flew up to WI to officially sign the contract.

Well.. here's where our story takes a CRAZY turn!

Andrew received a phone call from his uncle in Minnesota about...mmm maybe 12 hours after we received the contract/job desc. from the church. So with 36 hours left to make a decision, this is what Andrew's uncle had to say....

In a nut shell, Andrew's uncle was basically wondering why Andrew was moving up to WI to take on yet again another two job work load,and wondering what Andrew thought would help him actually get a full time ministry position. Andrew told his uncle that his lack of experience, as well as his not having his Masters in Divinity yet was probably his greatest hindrance from finding anything full time that would be sufficient to support his family. His uncle then proceeded to tell Andrew how very impressed he was to see how hard Andrew worked to get through college and work two jobs to support a wife and two children. And through it all, we managed to get out of school debt free and actually, by God's grace, have some money in the bank. His uncle did not want to see Andrew have to continue to work so hard for who knows how many years, so his uncle then made him an offer. An offer which made our jaws drop. The short of it is, his uncle will give us money enough to help with living expenses if Andrew will go to school to get his M.Div. and finish it up asap. Andrew would not have to work, and he could get his M.Div done so much quicker than we had originally planned over a very slow and steady course of 8-10 years or so, and still have time with the family!

Andrew thanked his uncle for his generous offer, and asked him if he could have some time to think about it and talk it over with me. Well after about 36 hours of agonzing over what to do, we decided to go forward and take his uncle's offer. This kind of opportunity comes once in a lifetime, and Andrew knew that in the long run this would be best for our family and our future ministry. It was a hard decision, as we had grown to love this church that we were planning on serving and our answer of no came as quite a shock to them! But, they elders of this church were incredibly encouraging and kind, and expressed their great joy for Andrew to have such an opportunity and even told Andrew they would completely welcome his call in a few years when he is finished with his degree! So, that was that, and now we are Minnesota bound!

Andrew plans to work this next year for his uncle full-time, and in the meantime will be preparing his application for acceptance into Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. Lord willing, upon his acceptance he will then stop working except for one day a week, and Andrew will be able to focus almost completely on his schoolwork (which will be rigorous at the least!) and still have time with our family! Wow! This school is also Andrew's dream school, one he never imagined being able to attend once he had a family. This school is small, and requires the students upon entering to finish the degree in no more or less than 4 years. They are required to finish in 4 years and stay on the same schedule with the rest of their class throughout the entirety of the schooling. It is also a mentoring program that also provides ministering experience along the way. But, they do not recommend that the students work more than 10 hours a week, as the workload is THAT heavy and demanding. Therefore, Andrew has always ruled this path out, as there was no way of going to this school and supporting his family....
Until NOW!

We are still pretty stunned by all this, but we are excited and thankful for God's amazing provision! This is something we never would have imagined in our wildest dreams and yet God has provided this gift to us! Wow! So we rejoice in the goodness of our great God and Savior and thank Him for his blessing us through the generous gift of Andrew's uncle.

Pray for us as we get into gear and get packing and cleaning done. Pray that Andrew finishes strong at his two jobs here in Louisville, and praise God with us for keeping us these last few difficult years of schooling and work and child-rearing! God has been faithful even in difficult circumstances, and we desire for all people to look at our lives and then look to Christ and say, WOW! What an amazing, faithful and gracious God! May God receive all the glory! For HE has sustained us, HE has done this great thing, and HE is worthy!

The end of a season....

2010-05-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well friends, forgive the lack of consistency in my posts these days. We have been keeping quite busy with the wonderful celebration of Andrew's graduation! Yes, that is right, Andrew is finally done with college! We could not be more relieved or excited as we now consider what is in store for the future!

But, it is bittersweet, the passing of this season of our life. Andrew and I met as students, married as students, had children while still students (I was technically still a student when I had Daniel, graduating when he was about 7 months old!), and now that part of our life is past! Andrew has finished his schooling, Summe Cumme Laude, by the way! I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard to support our family while taking on full time schooling. God has been so gracious and good, and while we will cherish memories from this season of life, we are very eager for what lies ahead, to say the least!

We are hopeful that his days of 3rd shift at UPS are almost over and that a normal schedule will soon prevail. We are hopeful that God will open doors for full time ministry opportunities, and confident that He will continue to guide our family according to His perfect will!

And for a brief update on our two adorable boys.........
Well they are adorable, that is for sure. :) And growing like weeds, to say the least! Daniel is 2 1/2, drawing closer to 3 with each passing day and it just blows my mind! This afternoon while eating lunch, Daniel spent the whole time cheerfully talking our ears off. He never missed a beat and Andrew and I exchanged many smiles as we listened to him jabber on about his best buddy Briggs and something about baseball...? His vocabulary is continually growing, although there still are those times we just have to nod our heads and smile! He is so packed full of energy I hardly know where in the world he gets it from! Although I do hear a rumor that children suck their energy straight from their parents...just a rumor though! :) He ADORES his daddy, and just today made me smile so big as I watched him follow Andrew around the house getting ready for work. Daniel shaved while daddy shaved, got dressed for work while daddy did, and also had me tie a tie for him (one Andrew lets him have) so that he will look just like daddy! He then proceeds to his little bike and says, "bye mommy, I gonna go to work! bye! I love you! Have a good day!" Absolutely precious! And makes everything absolutely worth it!

Micah is our precious little chub! :) Quite the opposite of his brother at this age, Micah currently weighs a whopping 20 lbs! (Daniel was not even 20 lbs at 1 year of age!) He is covered from neck down in adorable fat rolls and is incredibly happy and content! He smiles all the time and loves to babble. His favorite words to babble are mama (of course!) and dada! And, at almost 8 months old now, he can do the most adorable little "trick". I ask him, "Micah, how big is God?? Soooo Big!" And as I say that, he smiles big and raises his chubby little arms above his head. So sweet! He is quite content just sitting up playing and chewing on his toys and has not ventured yet to give crawling a try. I, however, am in no big hurry for him to start crawling, so I am enjoying every minute of his immobility! :) I know all too well how quickly babies grow into mobile babies and then into toddlers, and I am in no rush!

God is beyond good to us. There are no words! We are blessed!

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment!

Daniel, a little grumpy for the camera

Daddy being silly with Daniel at the park

Andrew and I on my 25th Birthday! Yikes! 25! When did that happen?!?

Micah Mu on the swings!

Brothers, already best buds! :)

An old post worth rereading

2010-04-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a while back but thought it was a refreshing reminder to myself as well as others.....

I have recently ran across two separate examples of "Christians" who have really crushed my heart and spirit.  These two examples of "Christians" refers to nobody I know personally, but to people I have seen on TV.  One day I saw a commercial for the Tyra Show that was going to feature these 4 young Christian women who were very controversial in their stance against homosexuality.  I thought that it might be interesting to see what these "Christian" women had to say, so I watched the show (I do not make a habit of watching the Tyra Show, nor should anybody else for that matter!).  It only took a few moments of listening to these women speak out against homosexuality before I wanted to cry and call the Tyra Show, or do something, in order to apologize on behalf of all Christians for the attitude and behavior of these women! Oh, they sure knew their Scripture, quoting verses left and right about the holiness of God, and his wratch against sinners, and all the verses relating to the sin of homosexuality.   As I'm watching these women, there's no compassion on their faces, but almost smirks of hatred!  I watched them smile and smirk as they told Tyra that if homosexuals do not repent they will burn in hell.  I'm not against teaching the whole counsel fo God, which includes the penalty for our sins, but shouldn't that penalty move us to compassion?  When do Christians have the right to become so high and mighty, as if they're so far above those who have a homosexual lifestyle?  Not a single word was spoken about their own joy and salvation in Christ in realization of their own sins, and not a single word of hope was given, not a single word of Christ and His saving power.  Don't we remember what it was like without Christ?  Don't we remember that without Him and His amazing hand of mercy on our life we ourselves could be involved in just as gross of a sin?!
These women reminded me of the Pharisees.  Pharisees were experts on the Law, on interpreting the Law, and almost seemed to take joy when they could catch others not abiding by the Law.  Yet they did not please God, for they had not the love of Christ.  These women, they knew God's Word!  But what of it?  What did Christ himself call the Pharisees?  White washed tombs, a brood of vipers, and several other things that I would not be so proud of to be called.
It's not my place to say whether or not these women truly know Christ, I pray they do.  But I pray that if they do, they would be moved to compassion rather than hatred for those who are without Christ and in their sins.  The only people Christ appears to speak harshly too were the hypocritical pharisees!  To the sinners and tax collectors and prostitutes, he showed love and compassion, eating with them, healing them.  As CHRISTians, Christ is our example!
Lord keep us humble.  Keep us aware of your holiness, yes, and how you require perfection.  But also keep us ever mindful of Christ, who is our perfection!  Let us not leave that wonderful part of your redemption story out!!
There was another example, but I've gone on too long, so I'll just leave it at this for now.

Pictures

2010-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here's just a few pictures for your enjoyment!

quick update

2010-03-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I am sitting at the kitchen table with a horrenously slow wireless connection trying to give a quick update on our lives! Daniel is currently sitting in my lap, as he loves to pretend to be typing as I type! It's quite cute! Here's the latest going ons with our family!

Andrew is about half way through his last semester! Woohoo! We are just pushing through, trying to make it to graduation! We are beyond ready for this schooling journey to be over, so this last push is quite difficult,but we are almost there! Andrew is doing well with his classes though, as he's such a hard, dilligent worker!

Daniel is growing more and more, evidenced by his expanding vocabulary! He is learning catechism questions now, and is doing quite well with them! He can answer five questions now: Who made you (God), who is God? (maker of all things), out of what did God make all things (nothing), how were all things made (God spoke, and it was done) and today he learned what did God make on the first day (light). I recently had a day off thanks to my fabulous husband, where I had uninterrupted time to read pray, and put together a rough schedule of what Daniel's day will look like, from daily bible and catechism times, play times, lesson times (learning shapes and colors) and activity times. I'm hoping adding this structure to Daniel's life will help him become less whiney and give him a good sense of consistency in his life!

Micah weighed in at 15 lbs 12 oz. at his 4 months check up (now is 5 mos. and probably 16 lbs plus!) and is currently 50-75% tile in his weight, heighth and head! He's rolling over and laughing and talking up a storm! He loves his big brother, and is often laughing at his crazy antics! He is my sweet snuggle bug and I am loving this fun stage!

I am just plugging away at helping Andrew get through this schedule and taking care of my boys! God is good and faithful and am so blessed with having the awsome responsbility of caring for these two little boys! But I probably should take off as Daniel is whining up a storm wanting a snack and I really shouldn't be on the computer whlie the boys are up! :) Just wanted to get a quick upddate while I actually had some internet connection! Until next time, God bless!!

The Joy of Sanctification

2010-01-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Reader beware as you read this post. Any previous opinions you have formed about me may come crashing to a halt as you discover a weak woman struggling constantly in a battle with sin. Or perhaps your opinion of me will only be confirmed if you are one of the few who knows me all too well. Either way, my hope in this particular post is to reveal how God has been at work in the last several years (and months in particular), painfully pruning this heart of mine so that ultimately I might bear fruit for the glory of His name!

I suppose it starts a bit further back in my teenage years when I was first introduced to the Doctrines of Grace. (for those of you who are not familiar with the Doctrines of Grace, you can check out this website http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/105_The_Doctrines_of_Grace/4235_Rebuilding_Some_Basics_of_Bethlehem_The_Doctrines_of_Grace/ )

Through a string of events following my introduction to calvinism/doctrines of grace over a course of 4 years or so, which I do not have time nor space to go into today, I ultimately ended up at Boyce College, studying Biblical and Theological studies. I was preparing for the ministry, although unsure in what capacity. And, as most of you know, I soon met Andrew at Boyce, got married about a year and a half later, and well....3 years and 2 kids after that, here I am! And God has been doing some incredible work in my life since becoming a wife and mother. A work that has been painful, and yet oddly enough, joyful at the same time. And it is that work that I want to share with you!

Imagine growing up and NEVER, literally NEVER, having to struggle with anger issues. That was me. It took a lot of offenses against me to get me angry. I had many friends over the course of the years who were considered hard to get along with because of certain quirks or mannerisms or whatever it may be, because I was able to bear with them and help and encourage them with a lot more patience than most people were willing to put into a difficult relationship. Please don't misinterpret this....I am in no way boasting. I thought I had things pretty together. But by the incredible grace of God, I soon found out, I didn't (and still don't!)

Enter motherhood. Imagine a young mother feeling anger welling up in her heart that she has NEVER experienced before. Suddenly she finds herself flying off the handle over the most petty and ridiculous things like soiled underwear or incessant whining. Whoa. What just happened? How is this possible? The girl who used to bear with so much patience the offenses and sins of others is now unable to patiently bear the sins of her own children!

Toddlerhood brought to light the incredible amount of selfishness and sinfulness of my heart. And coupled with a lack of sleep with a newborn now on the scene, and it took me quite off guard! At first this realization of my anger only caused me to be incredibly grumpy and dwell in self pity. I don't think I was all that easy to live with, to be honest with you! But then God was so incredibly gracious to help me begin to reach out for help to other mothers. And wouldn't you know it, a fellow young mother in my church was struggling with the exact same thing: anger! Through the prayers and support of several of the women in my church (as well as my incredibly patient and kind husband), I began to realize how little "together" I really had things. Even 17 years into my Christian life, I have a horrendously sinful heart! And with this realization came a fresh, sweet realization of the patience and mercy of God!
Don't get me wrong, it is difficult to have your sins revealed. It is a painful process of seeing the sin, realizing the detriment it is to the gospel, and repenting! Then there is the battle to continually fight the sin, as usually it is not something that will just go away. It's a struggle, and it's hard! But to think that after so many years of having a pretty "easy" walk with the Lord, so to speak, God would love me enough to show me that hidden in my heart are sins offensive to Him, is amazing! That means God is loving me enough to help me rid of those things which are hindering me from becoming more like Christ! By patiently bearing with my sins and helping me to defeat them, God is filling my heart to the brim! That is my greatest desire and joy in life....to give glory to God! And since giving glory to God is reflecting him as glorious in all my thoughts, attitudes and actions, then there is no room for sin! But as I am unable to defeat sin on my own, I only rejoice when God helps me through the ministry of His Word, my husband, and fellow women who have been there, done that! Wow, the cross of Christ is truly amazing, truly precious and truly my ONLY salvation from sin!

God's Word has become more precious to me than it has ever been. I am weak, sinful, and am so much more aware of that now through the trial of motherhood, and I am at the same time, thankful for that! By God's grace I am striving to be patient in training and disciplining my chidren, knowing ultimately it's not about ME and my children disobeying ME. It is about pointing my children to the Gospel, showing them their sins against God, and patiently training them so that they may, Lord willing, someday embrace the truths of the Gospel for themselves. So my anger, my impatience and harshness is absolutely unnecessary and sinful, and in no way aides in the ultimate goal! God's precious Word helps me keep Christ as the center focus and gives me strength to be loving, kind and tender toward my children, even in the midst of their sin!

I'm so thankful for a loving, patient and longsuffering God, aren't you, friends?!

Happy Anniversary

2010-01-07T19:48:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Andrew and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! Andrew bought me beautiful roses and took me out to a fancy restaurant for dinner, and I woke up when Andrew got home from UPS and made him his favorite breakfast....pancakes! :) We had a wonderful day! Although I am daily mindful of how blessed I am to be Andrew's wife, it was a great day for reflection concerning our marriage. We live a pretty wild and crazy life at the moment, juggling a newborn, a busy toddler, church ministry, school and work for Andrew and of course all the little surprises in between that take us off guard! There are several days a week where I literally only see Andrew for a whole 45 minutes (awake time) before he is off to both jobs, and even then, we maybe get a few quick hellos and I love you's before we have to part! It's even less time than that when the semester us in full gear. So I am thankful to have anniversaries to remind us to slow down and just be together! Andrew is a very thoughtful husband, however, and he does try to get several "just because" date nights in without the kids so we can reconnect as often as possible.

I love my husband. :) For so many reasons, the biggest of them being that He truly helps me love and cherish Christ more. He IS a picture of Christ to me in his sacrifice, compassion, patience, selflessness and strength in leading our family in godly ways. As a result, I see Christ and His love better,and cherish Him more! Wow! Ultimately that is what it is all about! We are MOST happy when we cherish Christ! As we love and serve our Maker, Savior and Lord, we bring Him glory....and in that, we are most satisfied and most happy! So, for my husband to lead me and serve me in such a way that helps me grow spiritually and ultimately be happy in Christ, he is loving me beyond just buying me roses and trying to please me with material things and romantic charms. He is loving me as Christ loves me! Not perfectly of course, as Andrew is NOT Christ and not perfect, but with purpose and care and passion!

Did I mention that I love my husband? Well, three years and two beautiful boys later, I love him more than I did when we first confessed our love for eachother, and more than when we said our vows before God and man! Thank you, gracious and merciful Father, for the blessing of my husband! Through his love and leadership, I am learning to love you more! May you, Lord Jesus, be honored and glorified above all else in our union...may we always have a heart to worship you and bring you glory with our lives!

A Year in Review

2009-12-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

Here is a brief summary of all the wonderful things God has done in our lives in 2009....
We began the year with a wonderful surprise! We found out in late January that we were going to have another baby! Fabulous way to start the year out, I think! With that in mind, we continued on with the day to day with Andrew plugging away at work and school and myself staying home with Daniel, watching him grow like a weed!

In March, Daniel fell and broke his leg! That was quite a trial as Andrew was swamped with work and school (as usual) and I was incredibly sick with morning sickness!! But, God gave us grace, and we made it through, and Daniel was back to running around in no time!!

Morning sickness finally subsided and we were off to visit family in the summer. We went to MN to see Andrew's family in May, and my family in Vegas in June! They were sweet visits with loved ones and unfortunately never lasted quite long enough!!

We then took a mini family vacation and headed of to Chicago for a weekend! We had a great time, as we got to see the Minnesota Twins (that's baseball for you folks who may not know your sports) play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field! What a treat, especially for Andrew! Below is a picture of Daniel all suited up in his Twins gear, getting ready for the game! We won, by the way! :)

In September we had an unfortunate car crash, smashing our car up pretty well! We of course had some fun with the insurance company, but in the end it all worked out, we got our car fixed, and most importantly, nobobody was injured! All three of us (four included Micah in utero!) were in the car, and Daniel still to this day says "dada, crash!" pretty much every time we get into the car! He also loves to crash his little toy cars and his bike, whenever he can...I suppose we will never live that one down! :)

Then we just continued along with life! I think it was in June we found out we were having another boy, and decided to name him Micah Andrew! The highlight of the summer, for sure! Then we celebrated Daniel's 2nd birthday with good friends Ben and Jessica as they were passing through Louisville on their way back to WI. Daniel got a new bike for his bday, which he plays with daily! He likes to crash it, however, so we always have to keep a close eye on him! He is all boy!! :) Then,four days after Daniel's birthday, of course, Micah came! I was induced Thursday night (late) and had Micah at 2:36 am on Friday! I was so blessed with a great labor, only 6 hours long and only had to do one big push! I am so thankful for that, as I opted out of the pain meds! Yikes! It was definitely rough, but God helped me through and we were blessed with a quick recovery and even got out of that hospital a day early! Woohoo! :)

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some dear friends at our new church, and we had a great time of fellowship! Andrew and I are so thankful for this church we just started attending back in May! We are teaching 3rd-6th grade Sunday school and I am involved in our women's bible study at the moment, where we are reading through Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother. I highly recommend it to all you mothers out there! The women at my church have been an incredible blessing to me as they hold me accountable in many aspects of my life, from being a wife, mother, and even living a healthy lifestyle through smart eating and exercise! God is good to me!

We then spend Christmas with Andrew's mom, Ann, and we are so glad she was able to come stay with us! She stayed for 3 days and absolutely LOVED spending time with her grandsons and spoiling us as well! She rocked Micah to sleep often and spoiled Daniel with treats and lots of fun attention! It was great to have her with us, as she is such a blessing to us!

And now I write this, on New Years Eve, while my hubby is faithfully working hard at work! I have a horrendous cold that has really knocked me down; one that Daniel was so kind to share with Micah and myself! What a way to end the year, I guess! :) I like to think of it just as a reminder of my complete and utter need for Christ for everything, even my health! God is good regardless of our trials and looking back on this year, I am just amazed by how He has blessed us! Blessed us with hard times and fun times, but in either case, He has been sufficient, and has upheld us all with His righteous right hand! I tend to think of this verse as I look back on our past year...
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed. For I am your God, I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Praise be to God, in 2009 and in the year ahead! Blessings to you all! With much love from the Johnson family!!
Andrew, Rachelle, Daniel and Micah <3

Quick update

2009-12-15T11:26:00.001-08:00

Things are going well for us here at the Johnson household. There's not a whole lot new to update, so this will probably be a quick post! Daniel is down for his nap, and I have some house cleaning and baking to do to prepare for some company tonight, so I need to take care of most of that while the little man is down!

Andrew and I were blessed to get out of the house without either of the boys for the first time last night since before Micah was born. A sweet friend offered to take care of them, and she even cooked and fed Daniel dinner, bathed both the boys and put Daniel to bed for us! Such a wonderful break! We didn't do anything extravagant... we just got some subs for dinner and then headed over to Starbucks where we simply enjoyed some delicious holiday coffee and talked! We just caught up with eachother and enjoy eachother's company without the interruption of a fussy baby or incredibly busy toddler! It was perfect. :)

Micah had his 2 month checkup last week, and all is looking great! He is a chunky 13 lbs 4 oz (or he was last week, he's probably more than that now!) and a stocky 23 inches long! He's in the 75% tile for his weight, 25th for his height, and 50th for his head! As the doctor so kindly put it, he's our little spark plug! :) Quite the opposite from his "big" brother Daniel whom I am sure he will catch up to and pass in no time! We are having a big of a difficult time trying to get Micah to switch his days and nights over to a normal schedule! He just does not seem to like to sleep at night, and he is very stubborn! I think we are making SLOOOOW progress, but hopefully it won't take much longer to get him switched over. It's almost been 10 weeks, and I'm at the point where I'm just ready to get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time! God is giving me grace though, and has really helped me day to day as I have to function on little sleep, taking care of two beautiful little boys!

Andrew is just about to start his last semester of school in about a month, and we cannot be more thrilled to be starting this last leg! Andrew is beginning to send out applications and resumes, starting the job search so hopefully by next summer he can be set in a job and possibly we can be ready to move, wherever God opens a door! Andrew is mostly looking in Minnesota, as he truly desires to move back up north, but anything could really open up anywhere,and we are willing to go wherever God leads! So these next 5 to 6 months or so will be very interesting and possibly bringing about a lot of change for our family! We are trusting in God's timing and plan for our lives!

Well, here's a few more pictures to enjoy as well of our growing boys! I'm off to get busy with the work God has so graciously blessed me with! Peace to you all and blessings in Christ!!

Pictures

2009-12-03T19:32:00.001-08:00

Here are a few recent pictures of our two handsome and growing boys!

Micah is beginning to smile, about 7 weeks old!

Sweet brotherly love, hanging out together!

our first family picture!

Micah, weighing in at 8 lbs 7.5 ounces! He's our big boy!

Daniel riding his new bike on his birthday! This was just 4 days before Micah was born! :)

Family Blog

2009-11-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

So I decided with the birth of our second child, it would be a logical idea to sort of transform this blog into a family blog where I can easily update all our family with what's new in our life, as well as post adorable pictures of our two little boys! I unfortunately am having trouble sending pictures via email because my computer attaches them to the email incredibly huge, and so when people receive the email they are either so big they have to scroll down forever in order to see the whole pic, or they cannot open the attachment at all! So, logically, it would make sense to post picture on here, where they are automatically sized to fit, and give frequent (hopefully) updates on our family life!

I think we will definitely stick with the "Joy in Christ" theme, because as a Christian husband and wife seeking to raise our chilren to become disciples of Christ, and as we seek to serve in some way in the ministry, we ultimately find our joy in every situation of life in Christ our Lord! So this blog will also be filled with encouragment from Scripture and details of how God is working and moving in our lives both spiritually and physically.

So enjoy the updates, enjoy the pictures, and hopefully you will be encouraged by God's work in our lives! So thankful for all our family and friends and the love and support you give!!

Joy in Christ....even in the midst of Potty training!

2009-08-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well we have plugged away at several more months here at the Johnson household! We found out that we are having another boy! We are so thrilled about that and decided that we are going to name him Micah Andrew. I am actually in my 31st week now and so we don't have too much longer to go! I am so thankful that by my 14th or 15th week my nausea subsided and these last few months I have actually had energy to keep up with our big guy, Daniel! Only recently have I been feeling the fatigue really start to come back. What with my big old belly and all I suppose it's about time! But other than that, I'm doing really well! I still have yet to get swollen feet or legs, and my fingers really only swelled up one time, but have since been back to normal and I'm still able to wear my wedding ring! This is a great accomplishment for me, since with my first pregnancy I would have long since been swollen all over, including in my face! So I thank God for that, as well as the fact that I have not gained near as much weight this time around, and should only hit about the 30-35 lbs mark for the whole pregnancy! That is about half the weight I gained with Daniel! Praise God!

In other news, I have begun potty training Daniel. He's 22 months old, and I really feel like it's time! I would like for him to be trained by the time Micah comes in about 2 more months, and I think 2 years old is plenty old enough to trained to use the toilet! We've been at it for 5 whole days now, and I must admit it is so much harder than I expected it to be! For the first 4 days we pretty much had zero success, and I was pretty close to throwing in the towel. I was growing more amazed by how short my fuse was with my son who suddenly decided that if he has to be toilet trained then he is NOT going to have a good attitude and will disobey mommy in all other aspects as well! I have had to discipline Daniel more times in these last few days than I have had to do in a long time! So I have been very, VERY frustrated and been feeling pretty hopeless.

Then I remembered my great God and how even mundane things like potty training are important to him. I know that I cannot do this on my own, and so I have been asking God for His help! I have been seeking much forgiveness as I have more than a few times lost my cool with my son, and I have also been seeking wisdom as to the best way to go about this proccess that will be most beneficial for my son. So today, day 5, God blessed our efforts and helped Daniel to go pee pee in the toilet 4 times! Daniel really seemed to start to understand more the sensation of needing to pee, and started understanding the feeling of the muscles he needs to use in order to go pee pee. So anyway, as exciting as that all is (it is for me, anyway!) we finally had a successful day! Of course we still had more accidents than successes, but I cannot complain.

God has been so faithful, and I am so much more aware of my need to turn to Him to help me, even in potty training! I am not going to make the mistake again of trying to do difficult things on my own. I simply need Christ for everything, including potty training my son!
A friend reminded me of this verse...
"I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2

And I have been reading Lamentations the last few days, just as a side note, and have been greatly encouraged as well by these verses:

"Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:19-24

Here the author of Lamentations has been mourning for 3 chapters the destruction of Jerusalem and God's wrath upon the sins of Israel, and yet in the midst of this, he can call to mind the steadfast love of the Lord and His faithfulness and still have hope! Surely in the midst of my tiny, minute trial of potty training, I can remember the steadfast love and faithfulness of my great God and have hope!

Lord, you are so good to me despite what I deserve! Thank you for the joy of motherhood and thank you for the mundane trials of every day life, like potty training! For in them, you continue to show yourself faithful and good and continue to show me my great need for you!! More than anything I need to be reminded of this: I need Christ! In everything, In all things!

Good news!

2009-05-01T18:22:00.001-07:00

Well, life has continued on in the Johnson household, and since I last wrote, much has happened!
First things first....

I'm Pregnant! :) Turns out shortly after my last post, we found out that we are expecting baby number 2! I am actually about 17 weeks along now, and just have a few more weeks to go until we find out if we are to have another boy or a girl! We are most certainly blessed and cannot wait to meet this new child God has given to us! What a wonderful responsibility we have been entrusted with to nurture and raise children up, teaching them God's Word and showing them the love and attributes of God in day to day life! It is a serious and grand task, but it is a privilege to be steward of God's precious children!

What started out joyous quickly became challenging as I almost immediately got sick just as with Daniel. I was throwing up 4-5 times daily, and just felt awful and exhausted constantly. I had little relief as Andrew had to continue plugging away with the semester and keep working both jobs! And about a month or so into this difficulty, we were face with more challenges...

Daniel somehow managed to fracture his left femur with a simple, seemingy normal, everyday fall that he took, right in our living room! We could not figure out what was wrong, as the last thing on my mind was that he would have broken his leg from such a simple fall! We took him in that night, only to find that nothing seemed wrong with him clinically, and were sent home without any answer. Daniel was in so much pain that night (poor guy!) that he did not get a single wink of sleep. Therefore, neither did his pregnant and very sick mommy.....! It took us almost 2 weeks before we finally got some answers and figured out he fractured his femur! In the meantime, Daniel had to pretty much be constantly held or just camp out on the couch with mommy...which worked pretty well considering how terrible I was feeling! But we had a very scary first time trip to the hospital where Daniel underwent a bone scan, for which he had to be put under anestesia! Very scary! Thank God he did just fine, and the bone scan proved to provide answers we needed! In the end, Daniel healed up just fine, but it was indeed a very frustrating month or so of trying to get answers and waiting for our little boy to start walking again! In the midst of all this, my poor husband had to continue to keep up with homework and work full time....he was exausted as well and ended up getting bronchitis....that was fun too!

Phew! But, God proved himself to be so faithful and give us the strength we needed to pull through! I learned so much about dealing with insurance and doctors....Ireally feel like maybe I am an adult! :) I also learned a lot about myself and how I react in the midst such trials. I had never before in my life gone through a trial like I have these past few months; at least nothing that tested me and pushed me as hard as this. And I found something out about myself during this test through the fire that I am not proud of. During all this, my time in the Word fizzled out to nothing. I did pray quite a bit, but I really did not cling to God as I should have....I tried to blame some of my sinfulness on my extreme nausea and fatigue, but really, that was not a valid excuse. I simply tried to get through each day on my own. Why?!! How often have I heard that we cannot do anything in our own strength? How often have I encouraged others who were going through a rough time to wholly depend on God? And yet, in the first big test of my life, I failed! I failed to continue to cherish my time with God and my relationship with Christ! I let the struggles of the day take front seat while Christ was left somewhere in the backseat! Why? How could I fail so miserably? All I know to answer that question is because I am a wretched sinner. I think I'm strong enough, but I'm not. But what blows me away more than my wretchedness is that despite my sin, Christ still brought me through. He still gave me strength and He still loves me! His blood still atones for me! I cannot understand it, but I will cling to that great and wonderful truth. And I know that this is a huge lesson learned. A hard lesson, but I pray that through the next storm, I will cling to Christ, and cherish his Word now with more vigor and enthusiasm then ever before.

May we all have ever growing, ever abounding joy in Christ!

What a life!

2008-12-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

Well as you can tell, I'm not quite the consistent blogger, though I would like to be! Sheesh! Since I last wrote, my son started walking (at 11 1/2 months), turned 1, now likes to run everywhere and most recently decided he wants to climb on EVERYTHING! He keeps me on my toes, that is for sure! It makes me all the more eager to find out what life is like with more children added to the family!
No, seriously, I really am wanting to have more children! At least 3 more! :) I'm beginning to get that itch for baby number two, so Andrew and I are talking about when would be best to start trying! Probably within the next 4-5 months?! Hmmm! We are thinking we should try to wait just a wee bit longer so that when we have our second child, Andrew will be in his last semester of school (3 semesters left!) and therefore, we will be finished paying for school. Of course we are NOT God, and if I get pregnant this month, He will most certainly provide for our every need! And besides, we're not doing a whole lot in the way of trying to prevent getting pregnant, so who knows?! All I know is that God has truly blessed us by giving us Daniel (a honeymoon souvenir!), and whether or not he gives us more children, we will never cease to give him praise! :)
I can't believe how quickly Daniel is growing and developing. It's amazing how much he catches on to what we say and do now! I mean really, he understands a whole lot, and is beginning to communicate so more and more! The other day I put Daniel's coat on, and walked away for a second before zipping it up. I came back to him and he had grabbed the ends on both sides of the coat and was trying to put them together to zip it up himself! What a smartie pants! :) I won't bore you with every little detail of his growth, though I easily could! But I am just completely blown away every day by how much he is growing and learning. It is an amazing thing how God creates and developes little bodies and minds, from the womb to the grave! What a great and mighty God we serve!

The Road Less Traveled

2008-08-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

The other night as I lie in bed I found myself thanking the Lord for many undeserved blessings he has poured out upon me. And as I came to the blessing of my husband I found myself amazed and even tearful as I thanked God for giving me such a husband as Andrew. I don't intend for this post to be some sort of "worship" of my husband, but rather I hope to give all honor and praise to God who has shaped and formed my husband from the day he was conceived in his mother's womb, until even now as he shapes his character to reflect that of Christ.

My husband, as many already know, is not an average 21 year old college boy. In fact, my husband has taken the road less traveled among men his age. Presently, Andrew is 21 years old, has been married for 1 year and 7 months, has a 10 month old son (do the math, he's a honeymoon blessing!), works two jobs to support his family, and goes to school full time. Of course, when Andrew first intended to propose to me he was counseled on many sides (Christian and non-Christian alike) not to get married yet. He was counseled to wait at least until he was finished with school, but even more preferably to wait until he got a good steady job out of college and had some money saved up before he tied the knot. Then he would be more comfortable and his responsibilities would become well... less of a burden! Andrew was never counseled (with very few exceptions) to absolutely get married if he felt truly called to do so and if he was biblically ready to be married. He was never encouraged to be sacrificial in taking on such responsibility, but rather to be selfish, waiting until taking on responsibility wouldn't be so "hard." Thankfully, my husband listened to God, proposed to me, and married me 6 months later!

Now when people see us, they think Andrew is crazy! What kind of 21 year old would willingly give up bachelorhood to raise a family?! Andrew could easily still be in the dorms at school, working a part time job, goofing off and just cruising through life. But he didn't choose that path, and the word used to describe Andrew more often than not by others is "crazy" or "insane." But why is that? Why can't people look at Andrew and see what godly character he has? Why can't people see how devoted to his God and family he is, and see how hard he works without a single complaint, knowing God has blessed him with work in order to honor Christ and provide for his family? Unfortunately that's not the first thing MOST people see. Again, I'm not saying this to idolize my husband, but mostly to remind myself (and others) how faithful God is that He would even give men like Andrew such grace and such a heart to do what is honorable, even though it may be incredibly difficult at times.

Because people are right. It is hard to be married, still be in school and have a family! We're not denying that it isn't difficult! As I speak Andrew is at work on less than 5 hours of sleep, broken up between working 3rd shift at UPS and classes this morning. It's incredibly hard for Andrew and myself! But, despite the difficulty, you would not believe how much Christ has sanctified us, and how many opportunities we have had to see how truly faithful God is to his children! Opportunities we would have missed out on had we not had such trials. God is so much more precious to us now than ever before, and I would not miss out on the hardships of a busy, tiring and trying life for the sake of ease. Christ is so beautiful, and it is only by his amazing grace that Andrew and I can endure through these "insane" days and see His beauty!

So if you ever meet a young man who has taken the road less traveled and is providing for a wife and child(ren), don't look at him like he's crazy. Shake his hand, look him in the eye, and tell him how his example encourages you to look to Christ more than if he had just been the typical 20-something guy who could care less about responsibility and honor. Whether you think a certain path would be easier than another, never underestimate the plans God has for his children. The path to richest blessing is the one which teaches you to depend upon God more than you have ever needed before!

Just as a side note, I am NOT saying that every single 20 year old guy in college should get married! I truly do believe that some men do indeed need to wait to get married, either because they are not biblically ready to do so, or because God is using him in a great way as a single man through his college years, and possibly even beyond! I know several incredibly godly men who went all through college single and still are single, and their lives absolutely reflect Christ! But I also know all too many guys who date girls on end and have no intention of taking on responsibility. So please know, I would be foolish to think there is only one mold for all Christian men! But our society has had a negative effect on our young man and has done serious damage.

Love Grows Love by Caedmon's Call

2008-02-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

I first heard this song when I was about a week or so away from delivering Daniel. I just started bawling when I heard it! It is now one of my favorite songs ever.

you said to put on a happy face on a high school stage
but I read what you really meant in your handwriting on a Bible
waited like you told me though we knew it right away,
it took eight and a half more years to finally say
I fell in love with you and that love became something new
it keeps getting stronger than we ever could have longed love keeps growing more love

when we got the news we had to call our families
and start painting the room a nice, bright blue
our vows they started breathing and they took on flesh and blood
and we held them in our arms and tasted God was good
I fell in love with you and that love became something new
it added a name and it added a smile it keeps getting bigger every further mile
there on your bended knee we sewed the seeds of our history
they're coming up stronger than we ever could have longed
love keeps growing more love

if love is an echo of the heart the heart is a canyon
that stretches wild and free without an end
and breaks through every wall that holds us in

I'm on the other side of the world to see what changed you so
my heart breaks with the broken and it dances with the hope
you told me I would find here but I could not understand
until I'm walking here beside you hand in hand

Christ looks at the heart!

2008-01-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

In our women's Bible study at church we are going through the book of Matthew. A common theme that runs through this book is Christ's desire for the heart of the man to be clean, rather than just having an outward appearance of holiness. Christ confronts the Pharisees and Scribes for their hard heartedness and their willingness to break the commandments of God for the traditions of man.

We just read an example of this last Tuesday in Matthew 15. The Pharisees and Scribes came to Jesus in this passage of Scripture, and complained that the disciples break the tradition of men by not washing their hands before they eat. Apparently this was a big deal to them and was cause for scorn. I just LOVE Christ's response to this in verse 3 "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, 'honor your father and your mother,' and, 'whoever reviels father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, what you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the Word of God. You hypocrites!..." So instead of giving out of their abundance to help out their father or mother, they claim that their money is dedicated to God, and therefore they don't have to honor their parents by providing for them. This is not what God's Word teaches! However, for the Pharisees, as long as outwardly they look like they are really doing a service to God by dedicating their money to God, then they are in the clear. They look pious and therefore they ingnore the commandment of God! It is truly amazing how hard our hearts can be (because we are just like the Pharisees ourselves).

Christ's whole point is that our outward piety will never gain any pleasure from God, no matter how hard we try! We need Christ to transform our hearts, so that we no longer desire the applause of man, but the pleasure of Christ. Of course as Christians we know this, but how often do we forget? I forget too often, and even as a believer in the saving work of Christ I act as though I must work to remain in favor with God. Sure I believe that because of Christ's work I am saved, but then I act as though I need to work to impress God to remain in God's favor! But just as Christ saves us, he also sustains us! We are found in Him and His righteousness and thus can never loose favor with God! What an amazing truth that we can hold dear! I am so thankful for Christ. So THANKFUL!

"Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the HEART, and this defiles a person. For ourt of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." vv 17-20.

Amazing

2007-12-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

Being a mother is amazing. I am still in disbelief that God has blessed Andrew and I with the gift of parenthood! One year ago when Andrew and I married, I could not picture life being different than just the two of us. It was quite fun being able to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. We could go out for a late night date or easily leave town for a long weekend if we wanted too. Even when we found out we were expecting, a whole three weeks after we were married, it was still hard to imagine adding another member to our family!

Now, almost 3 months since Daniel was born, I can hardly remember what life was like before he was born! And I say this with joy! I don't look back on those days, as short as they were, and long for them! I look at the amazing life we have ahead of us with eager expectation! What a privilege to raise a child. To teach him to love God and to serve Him throughout the course of his life is one of the greatest blessings of life, next to marriage. O that we would have the wisdom and strength needed to direct Daniel and his brothers and sisters to come (Lord willing, of course)!

It has recently become quite a passion of mine to really stand up for the gift of children. It seems our culture has been trained to view children more as an inconvenience rather than a blessing. In fact, "mother nature" has become more valued than children! It seems we need to stop populating the earth so that nature does not become destroyed. What a bunch of hog wash! Although I am all for taking care of God's creation, I do believe that human beings are the greatest creation of all, and are of considerable more value than plants and animals. How backwards our society has become!

Anyway, people who have several children, pretty much from 4 on, are criticized and looked upon as crazy. How in the world can a person expect to think and care for their own selves when they have so many children to look after? Well, perhaps the whole purpose of our life here on earth is not to think of ourselves and our comfort, but to serve others and glorify God by producing more children who will in turn grow up and glorify God with their lives! But this isn't the thinking of modern Americans. Their thinking is more like, "A Boy for me,a girl for you, praise the Lord, now we're through!" Sigh... I guess I'm really just ranting more than anything, but I truly feel like raising a family full of children is such a blessing and a good thing! I know that God sometimes closes the womb of some, and that is in now way a reflection of their character, but for the majority of Americans, it is simply a matter of choice to be more comfortable over investing their lives in children.

When Andrew and I were at the airport a week ago, on our way to Minnesota, we were sitting next to a woman with a 8-month old little girl. We chatted a little bit and made some small talk about our children. She then asked us how many children we wanted to have. I replied that we probably wanted 5 or 6 children if the Lord was willing. Her eyes grew huge and she said, "that many?! Why do you want that many?!" She then made clear that this little girl was their first and ONLY child. Now I of course can't judge the hearts of her and her husband, but gleaning from such a reaction, they simply did not want to have to invest more of their lives into more children. Is this selfish? I don't know, I think it is, but that will probably make people mad!

I pray this thinking will not infiltrate the church, although it already has begun. Hopefully more and more Christians will glean from God's Word that children are truly a blessing and privilege and raising them is a wonderful calling. A high calling! I pray the Lord will continue to bless Andrew and I will more children in the future!

A Fresh Start

2007-12-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

I have finally joined Blogger! I don't know how many folks will actually read this, so this is probably mostly for my benefit to keep afresh new truths revealed to me through God's Word and as I begin this amazing journey of motherhood! Most of my posts will probably consist of things I am learning concerning motherhood, family life, issues concerning Biblical manhood and womanhood and theology. These all have been my growing interests and passion in the last few years since I moved out to Kentucky and I am now wondering how God is going to use these passions of mine to serve him now and in future ministry!

God has been graciously revealing so many great truths to me, especially in the last year or so since Andrew and I got married. Though these truths are indeed great, they can also be hard. For example, I was told on many occassions before I got married that marriage is one of the greatest means of our sanctification. Well, apparently, this is true! :) This last year (well, almost a year! It will be one year January 6th!) has brought about several trials that have revealed sins in my heart that were so easily hidden when I was single! And just coming to the realization of these sins can be a hard thing! But, they can also be a means of granting a fresh reminder of Christ's work on the cross and our standing in him! I won't go into detial in this post concerning these hard lessons I have learned and the sanctification that has come about, but will elaborate more in posts to come. At the moment I have a rascally little boy sitting in my lap who is getting impatient with just sitting with mommy.

By the way, I must say we have the most handsom little man named Daniel who is a huge source of joy in our lives! He's now 2 months old and his sweet little smiles and giggles and gurggles just melt my heart! Whoever said being a stay at home mom is boring and degrading (feminists mainly) has got to be insane! It is a huge blessing and privilege to teach and raise children to love God and grow into godly citizens of this world! Well, now he is hicupping and squirming so I better be off to tend to my little bambino! Blessings to you until next time!

Blessings