Citizens of Glory

Sick Day

2012-02-12T10:07:00.001-08:00

Thankful for the live feed on sick days. :)

Friendship in Family

2012-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Kimiko, for your precious post on your blog, and all the priceless pictures. I couldn't help but repost it on my blog. We miss you all so much already, and are so thankful for the friendship we had (and still do!). We had a good cry last night, realizing what we left behind. But we look forward to what lies ahead, and are praying the Lord supplies some new sweet relationships. No to mention our prayer that the Lord brings you out here. Even if we have to wait a coupe of years. ;)

"Goodbeyes"....by Kimiko Parker

Sunday night was a night I was dreading. It was the night we were saying goodbye to Aaron, Kim, Linnea, and Natalie before they left for Kansas. I was hoping that somehow we could just skip that part, because I knew it wouldn't be easy. We'd gotten so used to having them so close and being able to walk to their house and visit them anytime we wanted. Our girls are best friends and get so excited every time they see one another. We've swapped a lot of babysitting nights. We became more than just family; we became friends.

While Sunday night was the hardest time of this transition, there have been little things and realizations here and there that have been hard, too. For example, the other morning I realized that I wouldn't ever hear an unexpected knock on the door and open it to find the Johnsons standing there, stopping by on a walk. It's also hard, because Hannah's been very sadly and pitifully saying, "I want Linnea" lately. It's hard explaining the concept of time and distance to a 3-year-old. All this to say, we are so thankful for the years we were all together and we're looking forward to continuing our friendship long distance. We are so excited for what the Lord is doing in and through the Johnson family and couldn't be more thrilled for where they are!

The week leading up to their move, we spent a lot of time with the girls while Aaron and Kim packed, painted, and prepped, so I took advantage of what time we had left and took a lot of pictures of the girls! I figured these would be pictures that not only we, but also Hannah and Linnea, would cherish. Below are a few of the pictures I took. You can see more of them here. Just beware! The link will take you to an album with 81 of these photos!

I framed this one, so Hannah could have it in her room. :)

In a bout of nostalgia, I compiled these pictures showing how Hannah and Linnea's friendship has developed over the past 2 1/2 years. It's so fun to look at how much they've changed and how they've grown into such great companions.

Hannah checking out her new cousin. She's apparently not quite sure what to think.

The first time we babysat Linnea! I love how excited Hannah is!!

Haha...this one cracks me up. This was Easter 2010.

Going in for a smooch. :)

Hannah thoroughly enjoys the role of older cousin. :)

Love the kisses!

The cutest little puppy and giraffe ever!

Hannah loves helping out her little cousin.

Helping Linnea with her buttons.

Best friends.

Sometimes Hannah shows a little too much love for Linnea's preferences. :)

Again, too much love, Hannah.

Anytime we're anywhere, walking together, they hold hands.

Stopping to chat.

Hannah makes Linnea laugh a lot!

Laughing together.

So Aaron, Kimberly, Linnea, and Natalie, we all love and miss you SO much and we are so thankful that we'll get to see you a couple times this year, Lord-willing!

We Made It!

2012-01-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

We have officially made it to Kansas, and it is not just a visit this time. :) It has been a whirlwind of a week, and we arrived a little battered, bruised and worn, but we were able to get our first good night's sleep in a long time...praise the Lord! We are so thankful for His sustaining grace this past week!

Let me first say thank you to all those who showered us with love, help and support before we left. We couldn't have done it all without you, and we are so very thankful for the body of Christ! You all were an example to me of the kind of servant I want and need to be!

Well, we are so excited to be here and the welcoming was overwhelming! According to MRBC, we have officially been "pounded". If I had any more tears left, I would have cried...the love and generosity we received in our tree of gift cards and massive pile of goods in our new home was overwhelming! Did I already use that word? :) we are eager to get to know all the people behind these gifts, and are looking forward to serving them as they have served us!

If Aaron and I have learned anything through this whole process, it is that the Lord will always take care of our needs, and often goes above and beyond what we could ever imagine. I know the path the Lord takes His children on looks different for everyone. For some it is a much harder path than others, but I am certain that our God is ALWAYS a good God! Even if His good doesn't look like our good.

Here are some pictures from yesterday. More updates and pics to come as we begin our new journey here in Kansas City! Thank you so much to all who have been praying and loving on us!

Hi-ho! Hi-ho! It's off to Kansas we go!

2011-12-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD."
~Isaiah 55:8~

This picture says a thousand words...really. This is a picture of Aaron and I singing at Mission Road Bible Church in Kansas. Yes, I did say Kansas. Most of you know this, but it is about time I finally share with the blogger world that the Johnsons are moving! Yup! That's right. And to a place we like to joke is "the middle of nowhere." :) a.k.a...Kansas!

I never in my wildest, or not so wild, dreams, would have seen this one coming. In fact, I have always informed the Lord that I never want to live in the Midwest because it is equidistant from both oceans, which to me once again means, "the middle of nowhere." Haha...how I laugh at myself. Apparently the Lord knows better than me when it comes to my human desires. But you know what else...He CHANGES human desires.

Ok...let's rewind a bit.

Aaron and I found out early on in the summer that due to budgetary reasons (mainly), he was probably going to be let go from Placerita Baptist Church. This was then confirmed in August. I won't go into all the details, but our world was turned upside down for a while. We were quite surprised, and lets just say that the sponge (our lives) was being squeezed, and the water that came out wasn't always so pretty. But to sum it all up, we are so thankful for that squeeze. The Lord showed us sin, mainly pride, that we didn't know was there. He showed us that although we thought we were loving people, that love was not exactly Christ-like, which remains unchanging through ALL circumstances!

I can say that this summer until now has been precious, because our relationship with our heavenly Father has been so much more intimate. During the time of wondering where we would go from here and what job the Lord would provide, our need for dependance on the Lord was made so real. I wish I could say that this dependance is always there, even when the practical blessing abound, but it's so easy to get caught up in self-dependance. One of my prayers through this is that we would ALWAYS see that we need Christ for everything, and that we are nothing without Him. Not only is He the ultimate provider of our monetary needs, but more importantly, He is the essential provider of our spiritual needs. And we are certainly spiritually needy people! ALWAYS!

So that is just the tip of the iceberg in lessons we are learning, but since I do not have time to write a book, let me share with you how events have unfolded since this summer. As soon as it was announced to the church body about Aaron being let go, He posted on facebook that he was looking for a new job, preferably in church ministry. Not even 24 hours later and he was on the phone with Rick Holland, who is the senior pastor at MRBC in Kansas City, Kansas. After many phone calls, a visit by the associate pastor from MRBC to PBC, and a trip that we made to visit MRBC, the Lord made it so very clear that this is where he wants us to go. We are absolutely amazed at God's grace....ABSOLUTELY!

There were fears about looking at churches, because in the beginning, Aaron was applying at churches we knew nothing about. So I started praying in the summer, "Lord, please provide a church through connections, so that we can somewhat feel like we would know the senior pastor through reputation." I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought that the Lord would have Aaron work alongside a man we have heard preach quite a few times, and have always grown and been inspired from those times we were able to sit under his teaching (at Grace Community and Resolved conference). Haha...I even remember listening to Rick and Kim's (his wife) tape series on dating when I was about 16.

About my desires...well, to be honest, when I first found out where MRBC was located, I cried. But seeing Aaron's excitement and how the Lord answered my prayer above and beyond, I haven't once looked back. And the picture above reminds me of the wonderful time we had getting to know just a portion of the people at MRBC. I can honestly say that I am completely excited to move to the middle of nowhere! :) Don't get me wrong...just the past couple of days, as Aaron is about to head into his last official week of work at PBC, the realization of all the goodbyes that will be coming in the days ahead causes my lips to quiver and my eyes to water. The goodbyes are going to be hard. Very hard. But I know the Lord will give us grace for that as well. He promises that His grace will always be sufficient, and therefore we have nothing to fear.

Aaron will be done working soon, but we are taken care of financially through the end of January, and then he will begin in Kansas the first week of February. We do not have a set date yet for moving, but we know it will be towards the end of January. If you could pray with us as we have a bit to do in order to prepare our current home to be rented out and that the Lord would provide good renters for our place. If you know of anyone who may be interested, be sure to let us know! :)

Now I just need to find me some red shoes and hit the ol' yellow brick road!

My girls...

2011-11-21T12:14:00.001-08:00

Sending you all a little bit of happiness from the Johnson home!

Best Friends...

2011-10-25T14:00:00.001-07:00

Can you tell they are cousins with that same precious smile? :)

Great Grammy and Grandpa Time!

2011-10-25T13:55:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful, short visit with my grandparents last Friday. Grammy enjoyed lots of Natalie time, and we are so thankful Grammy got to meet her!

Yeah for my Itouch!

2011-09-21T23:12:00.001-07:00

I just want to "pop in" and say that I am so very excited to discover that blogger has an app for itouch (a bday present from my wonderful hubby!)
which makes it super easy to upload pics to my blogs. I hope to get back into writing more, but for now you can at least expect pictures on a more regular basis! :)

Here is Linnea decked out in her accessories...a normal daily entertainment for me. And Natalie is wearing one of her favorite onesies, which is from Aunt Kristin...can't you tell? :) (You have to click on the picture to see the full view)

Our Family Grew By Two Feet

2011-09-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

On August 15th at 10:22pm (that's 22:22 military time) we welcomed into the world our precious daughter, Natalie Ann, weighing 6lbs. 13.5oz, and measuring 19in. long. She apparently did not want to share my birthday with me (the 16th), seeing as she was born after just 3 1/2 hours of hard but fast labor!Aaron and I weren't quite sure how we could love another child as much as we love Linnea, but let me tell you, the love has come all too easily. She is so precious and a treasured gift from God...yes, we are SO in love! And Linnea hasn't once looked back; she LOVES her little sister to pieces....always giving her hugs and kisses, asking to hold her, and asking were she is when she is not in direct eyesight (well actually, if I'm being honest, she asks where she is even if she is staring right at her...not sure why :)).

I'm finally starting to feel pretty well recovered and "normal", other than being tired all the time. But hey, this just comes with the territory. It is marvelously, wonderfully, magnificently fantastic to say that I finally have my appetite back!!!! Yeah!!!! One downside, though... I forgot what it was like to struggle with self control, because my body apparently wants to make up for all the ice cream it didn't eat over the last 9 months...uh-oh!

One blessing of these past couple weeks has been having precious time in the Word. I know...you would think this would be one thing to easily let "slide" in the new adjustment to life, but when the doctor tells you not to do any kind of work for the first few weeks, it kind of forces me to rest, giving me extra time with the Lord. So if there is one prime reason to be thankful for a somewhat painful recovery, it would definitely be that! Through some difficult circumstances this summer and an exhausting past couple of weeks, the Lord has really revealed something to me: the times that life is the hardest are the times when I am most dependent on the Lord and my relationship with Him is the most precious and beautiful thing. So I honestly can say that I am so very thankful for the trials He gives, because they cause me to strongly thirst for Him! I wish I could say I always thirst fervently for Him, but it is harder to do this in times of ease...when life is going pretty smoothly, it's harder to see our need for Him (there is no excuse, though!).

Here are LOTS of pictures from the first 24 hrs. of Natalie's life!

Linnea going to meet her little sister and bring flowers to Mommy. The flowers weighed a ton...can't you tell? :)

Holding Natalie for the first time.

Once she saw there was snack to be had, she was done with the baby. :)

Not too happy about the car seat!

So thankful...

39 weeks!!

2011-08-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts...my computer has been with the geek squad for the past couple of weeks (still is), so I have not been doing too much on the computer! Hopefully I will have it back up and running soon. :)

Here is the lovely photos of me 39 weeks pregnant! I thought I would give you both angels ;) (sorry...my dress sort of blends with the background). I have four more days until my due date! Yipee!! It truly is an amazing and wonderful to see that the Lord REALLY has brought us through these last 8 months and that the end is actually here! Praise God!! There were times when I didn't know if I would make it. Praying the Lord brings her sooner rather than later, but also praying for trust in His perfect plan, even if that means waiting a few more days...which may feel like weeks :)! We are very eager to meet the precious girl the Lord has been forming in my womb!

Johnson Family Vacation

2011-07-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

I want to start by apologizing for much of the writing, which appears to be a giant "link". I don't know what went wrong, but am frustrated with my new computer, as it doesn't let me copy and paste pictures where I want them instead of dragging each one individually (which takes forever!). Also, every time I download new pictures, new gaps are created...I fix the gaps and save it, but when I publish the post, the gaps are still there. So I tried to cut and paste the pictures using the Html, which did not work, and also somehow changed my writing to "links". So this is what you get, as I have already spent too long on this one post dragging the pics! :) Some of you probably have no clue what I am talking about, but if you do and have a solution, I would greatly appreciate some imput. thanks! :)

Well, it feels like a lifetime ago that we took our trip to AZ and the East Coast, and that's probably because it was!! Linnea still has strong memories from the trip and talks about her relatives often (out of the blue!).

We first stopped in AZ for Aaron's "little" brother's graduation from highschool, which was a sweet occasion to be around for! We were so proud of Zach, and it was fun to cheer loudly for him as he received a Christian Character award given to one boy and one girl. I think I almost cried. ;) Seriously, though! What matters more than glorifying the Lord in your daily life?!? We also had fun swimming, thrift store shopping, and just catching up with family. I will admit though, I was a much less energetic person than normal...I think really starting to feel LARGE and tired! And sadly, I was not on top of the whole camera thing during our time there, so there really are not any pictures! Hopefully Liz did better than I did!
Grampy being silly at graduation!
We then headed on out to Buffalo, NY, which was a long day of travel, but Linnea did fantastic on the plain! We were SO thankful, because the Lord made it quite clear through some other children that it could have been a MUCH harder experience! From Buffalo we drove down to visit my grandarents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. We havn't seen my grandparents since I was pregnant with Linnea, so it was an ABSOLUTE blessing to spend some time with them and allow for them to get to know Linnea! And we hadn't seen my Aunt and Uncle since the wedding, and even then, we didn't really spend much time with them, as it usually goes with weddings! It was so fun to reconnect with them. We arrived on Memorial Day, and they treated us to a yummy BBQ, a super exciting boat ride (I hadn't been on a boat in SO many years!), and more fun in their back yard. Linnea LOVED her older cousins, Michael and Joey!

Uncle Jimmy looking good drivin' the boat! :)

Linnea enjoyed scticking her feet in!

Michael had a track meet while we were there, which was SO fun to see him run! He did a great job!
It's the day after Memorial Day where the trip started to get a little hard. I came down with the stomach flu, which lasted for three days. I am so grateful that my grandparents and family were so understanding and willing to take care of me, and for my sweet, sacrificial husband, who became a single parent! Talk about trusting in God's sovereignty, as this is not what we envisioned for the majority of our time with my grandparents and family! I would have loved to have more conversation and make more memories, but the Lord had other plans! And because of this, I did not got any pics with my grandparents, but I know my Aunt has some good ones, so hopefully I can get a hold of those! ;)

The third day of my stomach flu, we drove over to the east side of NY to end our trip with Aaron's brother's family. We made a pit stop in the town I grew up in, and even got to drive by my old house, which looks exactely the same! :) We were able to spend a little over an hour catching up with my best childhood friend, which was so fun, despite me feeling so ill. And let me tell you...it was a beautiful GREEN drive...another special treat to see God's creation!

This ones for the fam ;) It really looks the SAME!

Laura and I! :)

We then arrived in West Point, NY, which is beautiful! We had a wonderful time catching up with more of the Johnson clan, and Linnea just adored her cousins! She still talks about Ben and baby Andrew! Aaron came down with a cold the first day we were there, and I was just starting to eat again, so they were so sweet and sacrifical in taking care of us and nurturing us back to health. Thank you Corry and Dan! My human self just felt so bad that we were not the best company, and couldn't have more "fun" with them, but the slogan kind of became "It is what it is," and we wanted to make the best of it! And we truly did enjoy just catching up and spending time with one another. Westpoint Military Academy is magnificent! We thouroughly enjoyed all the architecture and beauty of the campus, and had fun exploring a little around the area. We had fun walking on a bridge overlooking the Hudson

Daddy and Linnea watching a train come in...

Bena and Linnea doing what they did most of the time...having a great time playing together! Ben let Linnea where his fireman hat! :)

My sweet "little" nephew, Andrew!

Taking a tour of Westpoint!

The "gang"...yes Andrew looks as big as Linnea...and that's because he almost is! :)

Linnea enjoying being a "baby" while she still can!

Up......and Down

Aaron's parents actually flew in the last night we were there, as they were coming for a visit to NY right after us! It was fun to be together as a whole family (well, we missed the two youngest Johnson siblings), and I think "Grammy and Grampy" had a good time being with ALL of their grandchildren. :)
The trip home seemed really long...poor Aaron wasn't feeling well, and Linnea was a bit whiny, but again, it really was a smooth trip and we made it safely home! I think once we got home, we were really able to rest up and "recover" from our sicknesses! :) Even though the trip wasn't quite what we expected, we are still very thankful we got to spend time with our precious family, which doesn't happen as often as our families expand! God is SO good!

Our VERY Happy 4th!

2011-07-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July, we headed up to Northern CA about 4 hours to visit some friends who moved away last summer, and also some more friends who we havn't seen since their wedding in January! I can't tell you what a blessing it was to see our wonderful friends, John and Whitney and their new, adorable little guy, Jackson! It was wonderful to catch up and have encouraging fellowship. It was just precious to get a glimpse of what it will be like for Linnea to have a little sister. She was enamored with baby Jack and constantly asked to hold him. I figured she would get bored of holding him after a while, but we almost always had to tell her it was time to be all done, and she wasn't always quite happy with that. She also wanted to constantly "boop" (poke) him in the nose...really cute, but not such a good idea! :) We also had a great time with the Toland's in Gilroy, but will have to wait for any pics, as I havn't downloaded them yet!

Some fun videos...

2011-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

These videos are about one month old (maybe a little more for the first one). I was planning on posting them as well as a few other things while we were on vacation, but I wasn't on the computer much due to some unforeseen circumstances. More on our vacation to the east coast later! :) For now, enjoy Linnea, who has grown up so much more even since these videos!

Technically, I think these stickers are from Grammy AND Grampy... so sorry Grampy for leaving you out! :(

This is often Linnea's interaction with Hannah these days, and it is quite adorable! I wish I could have captured more how Hannah likes to be Linnea's little mommy, but you can sort of hear it in her tone of voice!

And last but not least, Linnea's harmonica jam session with Daddy!

Pride Goeth Before the Fall

2011-05-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

That would be from Prov. 16:18, and let me tell you, I have been experiencing some serious falling the last couple of days!

...It all started with me sitting in the doctor's office and watching a clip from Accent Living on "Toddlers and Temper Tantrums." I was shocked at the terrible wordly advice being given, and the horribly behaved children being shown as a demonstration of what they called a "normal stage in life that all parents will have to deal with." They were saying that parents simply need to be prepared for these "fits" and to accept them for what they are.

The basic thinking is that a parent needs to identify why their child is throwing a fit and change the circumstances to help him cope better....i.e. - make sure they get enough sleep, give them foods they enjoy eating while still trying to be healthy, try not to do things you know will upset them, etc. The kicker came when she said, "Temper tantrums are really just a normal and even healthy stage of development where a toddler is learning how to assert himself and gain some control of his life."

WOW! And what made me really sad was watching the woman sitting near me nodding at this and buying into it. I wanted to yell..."It's called SIN, and yes, ALL toddlers will be born with it, but they need to learn obedience and submission to authority, they need to be taught the gospel and how sin separates them from God, and they need to understand that their sinful actions result in consequences, not in a change of circumstances that is more to their liking!" No, they won't understand the depths of these things at such a young age, but the training begins here.

Ok...so these were some of my thoughts. And here is where the pride begins to seriously take route. I begin to think to myself, "Wow, Linnea never throws tantrums like that, because we have taught her that that is disobedience to Mommy and Daddy and disobedience to the Lord, and there will be consequences for her actions." I'm thinking we are doing a pretty good job right about now. Sure, there are days where I wonder if she will ever stop sinning and I am at a loss at how to be a godly mother, but overall, I was pretty proud of myself.

So I think the Lord decided to crank things up a notch for Aaron and I. :) Defiance and rebellion have been rearing their ugly head in Linnea, and "no" has officially become a very tempting word for her (you see...I thought this would never be a problem, because she "knows better"...haha...you see this great pride of mine!?). She enjoys throwing things when told she can't have something she wants and she likes to hit mommy and run away after she has already been spanked for something. I then start to wonder what went wrong, and feel like I'm losing any wisdom I may have had!

And this is where the serious humbling comes in. WHO AM I to think that I can control or change my daughter's heart?!? Yes, I am called to be faithful in training her up in righteousness, but I have no right to think that any change in her is because I am a "good" parent. I am starting to realize that it's true...she really is COMPLETELY in the Lord's hands, and no matter how badly I want to see her defiant, rebellious heart change towards me (and ultimately towards God), I can do nothing but bring her before the throne of grace, begging the Lord to save her little soul (as soon as possible, I usually pray!)

THEN I read an incredibly fitting post on my sister's blog! She copied and pasted a post by Kevin DeYoung, which not only gave me a good laugh, but gave me some great things to think about! I would highly recommend taking the time to read it. What I came away with is that above all, I am responsible to love my Lord and Savior so much so, that my children can witness that love on a daily basis. I want the gospel to be lived out in my life. I can't control Linnea's heart, plain and simple, but I CAN love her with the love of Christ. I am going to fail many times as a parent, or shall I say I already have, but that is where the beauty of the sovereign power of God lies...He promises to work even through my imperfections, and her salvation is in HIS hands, NOT mine!

So, after one of the hardest mornings yet for poor Linnea, who had a few spankings and three periods of sitting on her bed, I am officially humbled, leaning on the Lord for strength and wisdom, and SO thankful that HE is faithful to work out His perfect plan through imperfect me, even when it comes to parenting! May He continue to dig the pride out of me, and keep me on my knees before Him!

Photo Update!

2011-05-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the last month or so! Enjoy...

Linnea's first Easter egg hunt!

Sometimes getting ready on Sunday mornings is for some reason an emotionally difficult task....

...Thankfully once she knows we are leaving, she cheers right up!

First time in her "big girl bed"!

Having Hannah over for a sleepover...they stayed up way too late! :) ...And so it begins...

Trying on Daddy's shoes!

This would be one of our happier Sunday mornings! :)

On our way to Glendale to hear her little sister's heartbeat!

And that about sums it up! I know...I'm sorry...there are no pictures of Mommy and Daddy! We will have to make sure and get some of those next time. :)

This is Beautiful....

2011-05-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

I read this quote on girltalk a week ago, and it blessed me immensely. Evey word is beautiful, and I pray it encourages you as it has encouraged me...whether in the little or big trials.

"My grace is sufficient for thee." 2 Corinthians 12:9

"God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring--that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it....He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it--hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end." Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, March 4, morning.

Baby Johnson #2

2011-04-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to start out by saying that I am not a very big fan of belly shots...for some reason they just never turn out to be all that attractive (I am speaking of my own belly shots, of course!), but because I love my family and friends who have requested to see what I look like pregnant, I am willing to post these "lovely" photos.

This first photo was taken back at 17 weeks. I was just a "wee bit" smaller then...

And this photo was taken on Friday, at 24 weeks. As you can see, the baby and my belly have at least doubled in size, and my shirt is quite a bit shorter. :P I honestly have this inkling that I am going to be and feel HUGE by the end, but I know that it will be completely worth it!

And for those of you who do not yet know......

......Linnea is going to have a......

LITTLE SISTER!!!

(in case you couldn't tell by the pink bow :))

Can you believe the ultrasound picture! What a special treat! I have to admit that I was kind of bummed that my insurance for some reason would no longer pay for my doctor to do my ultrasounds, but required that I get them done somewhere else. Well, the Lord decided to surprise me with this being a blessing, as their equipment was much more advanced, and they were able to get this beautiful 3D picture of her face....I see a Johnson nose :)

So...there you have it. It's getting late, which means bed for me, but I just want to say that overall I can genuinely say I am thankful for this pregnancy. The Lord is in a very real way teaching me complete dependance upon Him, as it hasn't been physically easy or enjoyable, but for that, I am thankful. As headaches come often throughout my week, I find myself praying more and focusing on the gospel more, especially as I am also reading Because He Loves Me, by Elise Fitzpatrick, which has so far been a phenomenal book! It is all about applying the gospel to daily life...and I mean daily, practical life. I can truly sit here and write that God is SO good (and mean it too! :)) I am truly experiencing his very real grace in my life, and I am so grateful for all the many blessings through the hardships.

Well, I could write much more, but I need to sign out. And I can't leave without saying Happy Easter! I hope you all have had a wonderful, joyful day celebrating our risen Lord, and marveling in all that He has done for us in His sacrifice on the cross and victory over death!

Linnea

2011-04-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here is just a glimpse into the life of Linnea. She loves to wear hats, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and shoes. Yesterday, it was her snow hat, and she decided that her baby needed her hat on too!

Really...I wish there was a way to catch everything on video. She does the cutest things! I hope to get one of her reading a book...it is quite adorable!

Stay tuned for some baby #2 pictures and a couple more videos! :)

Another Fantabulous Visit!

2011-03-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Papa and Grandma (aka...my mom and dad) came for a visit a couple weeks ago, and we had a wonderful time! We mostly had Grandma for the week, as my dad was attending the Shephard's Conference, and Linnea grew quite fond of her "Baba". I think it only helped that Grandma insisted on sleeping with Linnea in her room. I still feel bad, as Linnea tends to sleep talk and babble in the morning, but hopefully it was somewhat enjoyable :).

Grandma spoiled us and took us shopping one too many times! :) Linnea still loves her Hot Wheels "Fishie" Cars that she got, seeing as Linnea loves fish. It is always such a special blessing to have family come visit and 24/7 fellowship with my mom all day long. Did I mention there were never any dishes for me to do the whole week. I got so used to walking into a miraculously clean kitchen every day, that I wasn't sure how to handle "clean-up" after meals once she had left. Thanks mom for serving me! I felt like I was on vacation for a week...not quite sure that is how it is supposed to go! Your selfless heart GREATLY blessed me! :) Here are some pics from the week.

Dad took us all out to celebrate Kimiko's b-day. Thanks Dad!

Linnea LOVES putting on different shoes (usually on the wrong feet) all day long.

Linnea is enjoying her new sunglasses, which were a gift to Hannah from their cousins, but Hannah already has the same pair...so thanks Grace and Faith! :)

They got Papa to play dollies with them!

Fun in the bath!

The girls very much enjoyed storytime with Grandma!

One of the highlights of the week was taking a hike on Kimiko's birthday. It has rained a lot here, so it was actually green!... Well some spots anyway. :)

(note: all of the beautiful hiking photos are from Kimiko's nice camera. Thanks Kimiko!)

"Baby"

2011-03-02T13:23:00.001-08:00

I think Linnea will be a very good big sister...we'll just have to get her a stroller, so our new little "peanut" won't have to lay like this on her bicycle...

How Deep

2011-02-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well...as I sit here right now, I'm feeling a bit on the nauseous side, so this won't be a long one ;). But, nauseous or not, I am still overflowing with thankfulness from a wonderful Sunday. To be honest...the morning was a somber one... My husband couldn't have picked a more beautiful, worshipful set of music to go along with the message from Mark 14, as Pastor Scott preached through the agony Christ experienced in Gethsemane.

It's hard to grasp...you know?? All that Christ suffered for us. We have never felt the wrath of God as Christ did, as He carried the sins of the world to the cross. And as believers, because of the great agony Christ suffered on our behalf, we never will! Yes...it is definitely hard to wrap my mind around such an amazing gift of love the Lord gave us, around ALL that he sacrificed for us, and around all that He is still doing for us.

And now, I can't help but post the lyrics to one of the songs we sang in church yesterday. It is by far one of my favorites...in fact the whole CD is one of my favorites, and so incredibly gospel focused. The songs often make me want to cry, but that is never a bad thing. :)

How Deep

You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing

How deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To You

You knew darkness that I might know light
Wept great tears that mine might be dried
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own

© 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

If you do not own this CD, I think it should be a must. And for one more week, Sovereign Grace is having their super sale, so go on over and get one! :)

The Big Announcement!!!

2011-01-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well.....almost all of you who read this (if not all) already know this.....buuuut, for those of you who don't.........Linnea is going to be a big sister! :) That's right! There is a precious baby growing inside of me, and we are so very excited! I should have posted this announcement long ago, as I will already be 12 weeks along tomorrow, but time has flown and i just finally went to see the doctor yestserday! I know...crazy! And probably not as smart as I could have been. :/

Nonetheless, it feels even more real and wonderful now that we have heard the heartbeat and seen our baby, and everything looks great! Aaron and I are so thankful for the life God is forming, and don't for one day want to take it for granted that He has blessed us with not only one, but two children! I'm speaking of Linnea, of course...we are not having twins! :)

I am reminding myself everyday through the nausea and fatigue that this IS indeed a blessing, and now that I have been through this once before, I know that it is definitely worth it. So, lets just say that I am smiling much more during this yucky stage than I did with Linnea. And that is all because of the Lord's good grace and His Word which is sustaining me and giving me joy in the midst of this trial.

The Lord has also decided that I learn to be unselfish and share my birthday "time" with my two children....as this one is due August 12....4 days before my birthday, and 6 before Linnea's. It may be a money-breaker month, but at least family can combine three cards or packages in one! Haha...and that makes it easy for Aaron to remember our birthdays!

Here are some pictures of our little peanut! Enjoy!

Linnea's Own Chair :)

2011-01-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

Well...Linnea just wanted to say thank you to all of her grandparents and great-grandparents for your gifts of Christmas money for her. And we wanted to show you all what we used some of it for.... Her very own IKEA chair....and she is officially in love! We had an idea we wanted to get her a chair, but just had not found the "right" one for a good price, until Aaron came across this one!

Our daughter will now of her own free will take books to her chair and read by herself for a good 15-20 minutes....like 3 different times a day. :) So, everyone is happy! Thank you for your generosity and for blessing our family!!

Backdating

2011-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, as some of you may be confused ;) I have been backdating posts...trying to catch up in order. So I have put the dates closer to when the events actually happened (for my own sake, really). That is why you may have been here a week ago, and are wondering why you didn't see these posts before. Well, that's why! :)

Love and Marriage

2011-01-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I pretty much love going to weddings. Seeing two people united as one in Christ, starting their journey of serving Him together is such an amazing thing to witness, and a sweet reminder of the purpose of my own marriage, as well as the commitment I made to Aaron on our own wedding day.

Hearing the vows of newlyweds reminds me of my own vows to Aaron, and how I have failed those promises time and again. It's in the little ways that I have failed...promising to love and respect him no matter what comes our way, promising to submit to him in all things. I often think I am a great submitter, but then I look at my heart in a situation, or asses my thoughts, and I realize that submission is not as easy as it seams! The Lord sees me heart, and knows my thoughts...he sees my inner man, which is who I really am!

It is when I have taken my eyes off of Christ that loving and respecting my husband is hardest. That is because putting my eyes on our sovereign Savior and trusting in His perfect plan is the only way I can totally submit to and respect my husband in all things. Because I know that Christ is working out his perfect plan in my husband, and will accomplish all that He desires through Him.

So, Christ has called me to have His selfless love for my husband through all things, and there is nothing like going to a beautiful Christian wedding to remind of that! BUT even more special is to have my own husband giving his first "marriage message" as he officiated his first wedding. And he did a wonderful job! :) He is a natural when it comes to speaking in front of people, and has such a passion for the things of the Lord! You would think that those two things put together would make him a great preacher, but I have yet to convince him of that. :)

Anyways, back to weddings!! Aaron officiated the wedding of our dear friends, Jared and Jenny Kline, on New Year's Eve, and it was a blast to see them get married after doing premarital counseling with them for the past several months!
And then the very next weekend we headed up to Sacramento for the long awaited wedding of my best friend from highschool! This wedding was a very special one for me, as I sort of helped instigate the relationship back in high school, and have been waiting for this day for years...5 to be exact!!! If you think is a long to time date, they were engaged for 2 years!! I don't think I would recommend it, as 6 months seemed too long to me :). But they did it! The Lord kept them together and growing while Chris went to the academy and graduated a CHP officer, while Desiree finished school WITH her teacching credential...all in 3 1/2 years!

So.... the big day finally arrived and I was SO excited for them, I think I was practically jumping up and down all day. :) The Lord has seen them through so many things these past five years, and I couldn't be more proud of them for all the things they have accomplished with the Lord's ever-present help and strength. Their wedding was beautiful, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it, and celebrate their marriage....FINALLY!! :P

Desiree and Chris...thanks for being such sweet friends...friends who love the Lord as much as I do and were there to encourage me through highschool (whether you knew it or not!) May your marriage be founded on our Solid Rock and stand firm! And may it be so sweet and wonderful, filled with many precious moments! Love you both!

Fun on the Playground

2011-01-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

Now that Linnea is a pro at walking, we like to take lots of walks, and especially go to the park and down the slides! She loves going down the slide (with a little help, of course :)), and even started climbing up a ladder the other day, by herself! I had to run to help her before she fell down. Yikes! I think almost all of her "getting hurt" incidents have been from climbing something and falling down or having that "something" fall on top of her. But even so, she has absolutely no fear!

After going down the slide a few times, she likes to take a break and walk around as much as she can. The other day, she walked our whole complex in search of her cousin, Hannah, who lives at the other end of our condos. Sad to say, she was not home, or mommy and her were napping...Linnea was not too happy and kept knocking and yelling Hannah's name.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2011-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

On January 2nd, Santa Clarita was blessed with a late Christmas present....SNOW!!! It was amazing! If Aaron and I had TV or actually checked the internet, I'm sure we could tell you how long it has been since it has snowed here (and stuck to the ground and accumulated a few inches in some places), but alas, we are out of touch with reality, so I have no idea.

Anyways, the snow brought huge smiles to my face, as I LOVE snow, and Linnea enjoyed it too! Here are some pictures!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was a pretty special one for the Johnson family, because it was our first Christmas at home! It was such a blessing to be able to attend the Christmas Eve service at our church, although I wasn't able to listen to the message due to the lack of childcare and my child's new found ability to walk...still hoping to listen to it online!

We spent the morning as a family of three...opening stockings, eating cinnamon rolls (thanks Kimiko!), reading the Christmas story in Luke, and praying and singing together. It was a truly special time. And very different from any other Christmas morning I have ever had. Much, much quieter :)

How does it feel? To be done with all the holiday craziness and to finally be putting away all those decorations that take up space in your garage for 11 months out of the year. It's amazing how quickly Christmas comes and goes, and that is why I am realizing it is so important to set our minds on things that are eternal and not on the things of this world. I want to dwell on the Savior more than on my Christmas "to-do list". The holiday business comes and goes, but the birth of our Savior (which is indeed the reason for the season) is something we can meditate on and give glory to God for all the days of our lives! His birth was the incredible beginning of the fulfillment of our God's salvation plan for us!

I love Christmas, and I pray the story of the birth of our Savior will never become ordinary to me! I am always amazed when I think about the King of the World coming down to earth as a tiny babe to live among sinners who in the end, hate Him. And it is those same sinners...you and I....that He dies for! Christ is indeed the ultimate example of what it means to be humble!

Sooo...after presents, we headed on over to a wonderful, delicious meal that my sister-in-law prepared at the Parker home, and were spoiled with even more presents from Kimiko's parents! What a treat! :) In the evening I went with them to look at some incredible Christmas lights (which apparently too many people do on Christmas Day...it was crazy! :))...Linnea melted down by the end of the day and Aaron was not feeling well from a sinus cold, so they were not able to come with us, but Linnea thoroughly enjoyed the lights when we went out a couple nights later!

Here are some pictures and videos! Enjoy!

Mmmm....messy chocolate covered pretzels....

She hung on to this ornament for a long time after...wouldn't put it down. Definitely likes it! :)

Fun with Grandma and Papa

2010-12-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

A fantastic visit from my parents, on top of beautiful high 7o degree weather, on top of church Christmas concerts made for a wonderful mid-December time! :) It was so wonderful to see my parents, and the weather was a great blessing for my mother, as it helped calm her fybromialgia flare up. Linnea warmed up to her Grandma a little more than last time, and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention, as well as a lot of time with her cousin and best friend, Hannah.

They visited during our Christmas concert weekend, so it was a very busy weekend for Aaron, who puts on the whole concert, as well as for James and I, who sing in the choir. My parents didn't mind the extra babysitting and down-time though :). I am so thankful for the parents the Lord has blessed me with, and the sweet fellowship we enjoyed and new memories made.

My parents spoiled us and bought Linnea some new clothes, as well as a few odds and ends for us around the house. Both my family and Aaron's family are amazing examples of what it is to be stewards of God's money...they are always eager to bless us by giving what the Lord has given them. They don't see money as being their own, but as a tool to use to bless others. We couldn't be more grateful!

Here are some pictures...I didn't get any of Linnea with her Papa, so we will have to make sure to try and do that next time!

Trying on Papa's shoes...

Watching the train go by at Trader Joe's

Thoroughly enjoying going through Grandma's purse...what a nice Grandma :)

Grandma watched Linnea for Christmas Concert practice

And of course, when my parents come to visit, that means extra time with Hannah!
Here are some videos for your enjoyment :)

The girls were having a blast cleaning our patio and fertilizing our neighbor's :)

Linnea started walking during my parents visit! Now she never stops!

Uncle Aaron= Entertainment around the clock

Our Very First Chritmas Tree! :)

2010-12-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Finding the right Christmas tree was exhausting for Linnea

Here is my very own pro bodybuilder

Stringing the lights on!

Linnea's first time holding an ornament...
Watching the decorating

Tah dah!! We very much enjoyed our first Christmas tree...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

I know, I know....It's Christmas Eve and here I am posting about Thanksgiving?? :) Well...I thought I would catch up before I have 3 holidays worth of pictures to put up!

We had an absolutely wonderful time hosting our first Thanksgiving. Yup! It was my first time doing all the shopping, menu planning, and much of the cooking for Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was a fantastic first experience. The Johnson clan drove out here from Arizona, and we were so excited they wanted to come all the way out here to be with us! We had a blast, made new memories, and had many sweet conversations.

Linnea warmed right up to them, too, which was such a blessing. She had a blast with so many new "playmates", and Grammy brought her a really neat, wooden tricycle that she found at a thrift store. Linnea loved it, and even a month later, she still loves it! :)

Thanksgiving Day was actually quite realxed....we spent the morning cooking, drinking coffe and chatting outside, throwing a football around at the part, eating a yummy, big lunch/dinner, sharing what we were thankful to our great God for, stuffing our face with pie, and recovering from eating too much food. :)Fun at the park!

Dinner Table

Mmmmmmmmmm.....
......more mmmmmmmmmmm......
Lots of turkey!

It was an incredibly special time, and we are so thankful for our family!!!

The day after Thanksgiving, we went on a chilly hike, and Linnea enjoyed riding in on Grampy's back (Aaron threw out his back earlier that week, and was still recovering). We just kept feeding her cheerios, and she was good to go! :)

The rest of the weekend was more of the same...hanging out and have a wonderful time just being together! Thank you Johnsons, for coming to visit! Can't wait to see you again soon! :)

"Well Done, My Child.....Enter In"

2010-11-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Heaven Minded
by Aaron Johnson
written for and inspired by our dear sister in Christ,
Karen Richardson, who has lost her battle to cancer,
but has great victory over death!

Heaven's wonders seem so far away,
Living life on earth from day to day;
Chasing dreams of carnal goals and gain...
Love the comfort, but avoid the pain.

But You desire our lives to show,
That You alone are our true home;
You don't want us living for the fog
When Your sunlight's to come!

O God, please make us heaven minded
So our yearning is set on You.
More than any earthly pleasure,
May our soul's treasure be true.

When I think Your glory I will see...
Dwell on all Your fearsome majesty;
Ponder kneeling at Your holy throne,
Marvels beyond all I've ever known.

Your kind intention has brought us close,
Your perfect love casts out our fear;
You have given life so we might live
Knowing Your reign is near!

O God, please make us heaven minded,
Kingdom glories the prize to win,
Longing for that day when You'll say,
"Well done, My child, enter in."

"Enter in, My blood has paid the price for you!
Enter in, My boundless grace has brought you through!
Well done, My child, enter in."

Karen, you will be sorely missed by so many who love you, but we also are able to greatly rejoice knowing what marvelous wonders you are experiencing right now..... Indeed we know that the Lord has said to you...."Well done, My child! My good and faithful servant, enter in!" I can only hope and pray to be a good and faithful servant in half as many ways as you were....only by the grace of God.....

Studying Hebrew and Blanket Time

2010-10-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sitting here as I eat dinner while Aaron is at church, and watching Linnea do "Blanket Time," so I thought I would take the time to put up a little video. Aaron finds studying for his Hebrew class WAY more entertaining when Linnea joins him. Apparently, Linnea likes Hebrew, too...although I'm quite convinced it has EVERYTHING to do with the way Daddy is studying with her :).

What is "Banket Time" you may ask? Well....it is one of the two structured activities my child does on a regular basis. And this is not something I have come up with on my own, but an idea given to me by my dear friend, Erin. It is exactly what is says it is...time on a blanket. Linnea spends about 30-40 minutes playing on her special blanket, playing with whatever toys/books I have put on the blanket for her. I know, it sounds cruel, and at first Linnea thought so :), but after a few days of it, she loves it (and has loved it for quite a few months now). If I wasn't taking a class two days a week, this time would be more consistent, but she probably does it about 3-4 times a week.

Why, you may ask? Well...there are a few reasons:

1) It is an opportunity for Linnea to practice living under authority. This is NOT so that I can get self gratification in a child who obeys Me and listens to ME, but ultimately to teach my daughter that she "has been made by God and has a responsibility to obey God in ALL things." ~Tedd Tripp. So, I am merely trying to teach my daughter to live under authority from an early age.

2) It helps structure our day, and therefore brings more order to the home (which therefore serves my husband). Ginger Plowman, in her book Heaven at Home, says "A wise mom will build structure and routine into her child's day for the purpose of building his character and keeping peace in the home." Believe me, having 30-45 minutes of "Pack-n-play" time in the morning after breakfast is a huge help in bringing order to the home! I know Linnea is safe, not getting into trouble, and enjoying her toys in her pack-n-play. At the same time I am able to clean up after breakfast, begin exercising, start the laundry, pick up the house, etc. Without this head start, it is a bit harder (for me!) to start off the day in an orderly fashion. The same benefits apply to "Blanket Time" after lunch!

3)It gives Linnea an opportunity to focus. Quite frankly, my little daughter isn't all that interested in toys or books (thankfully she is just now starting to enjoy looking at books on her own initiative). She is getting more and more so these days, but I am often telling her "no, don't touch this", or "no, don't eat that", or "what have you gotten into now?". So, it is fantastic for her to have boundaries in which she is forced to play with toys or look at books, without us "having" to do it with her (by saying "having", I do not mean we don't enjoy playing with or reading to our daugher...we LOVE doing these things!). And she thoroughly enjoys it!

So.....I have actually written a whole post in a somewhat decent time, and my daughter has been on her blanket not paying any attention to me the whole time! :)

Ok....now for a few clarifications of what I am not saying. I am only sharing this because I enjoy sharing parts of our life with you. I am not saying that all moms need to or even should do this. This is what is beneficial for our home and may not at all be beneficial for yours! :) Also, I am not saying that a child's day has to be one involving the same routine day after day. Our life is not like that! We should all be willing to be flexible in our daily routine or non-routine, because who knows what the Lord will bring our way.

I definitely hold fast to the biblical principles I shared of obedience to God (which means obedience to parents.....Eph. 6:1-3) and living under authority (with God being the ultimate authority....Romans 13:1-3), but the display of these principles in your home, and the means by which they are carried out will look different from home to home.

Blogging? What? I have a Blog? :)

2010-10-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

I realize that I have been absent from the blogging world for quite some time now, but want you all to know that you have nothing to worry about. :) I'm sure many of you (if not most) haven't even noticed I've been "gone", but if you have, do know that all the Johnsons are alive and well. I have much I could blog about every week...sometimes even every day, but to put it simply, blogging isn't one of my top priorities. In fact, if I am being quite honest, it really isn't on my priority list at all.

I know this saddens some of you, as most of you who read this live far away and love updates and pictures, so for that, I am most definitely sorry. To be honest, I would love to share more often about life, what God is teaching my family and I, how He is growing us, our precious daughter, and pictures, but the reason it just doesnt' happen as often as I would like is because it's not easy for me. I'm not one who can just sit down and crank out a couple paragraphs in a few minutes. Even picking out pictures and videos and then downloading them often takes more time than I have made available.

I know I could just update you on the facts of our life and put up pictures, but I neglect to do that, because I usually have something else in my mind that I would like to write about along with those things. And that "something else" would take longer to write and require more thought, which I don't make the time to do, and then I neglect to do either one. Does that make any sense or did I just totally confuse you?

Anyways, what I am TRYING to say is that because blogging isn't really a priority, it just simply doesn't happen when my priorities and things on my to-do list aren't even getting done.
Ok....that's all....there is my explanation for why I've been gone :)

What I am NOT saying is that I have given up and don't care about blogging...because that is most certainly NOT true. I love giving family and friends the joy of seeing Linnea in pictures and videos....I love sharing how the Lord is working in my life....I love catching you up on life so you know how to pray for us, just as I am able to do the same with so many others as I read their blogs. So do know...I will try harder. :)

So! In case you have been wondering what the Johnson clan has been up to these days, here is a wee little update! :)

Aaron is busy, busy, busy. :) He's working full-time at the church while taking two classes at seminary. I'm so amazed at how hard he works and I rarely hear him complain (at least not out loud!). I have realized he persues everything with a passion. Christ, the church, me, Linnea, his work (also the church :)), men he disciples or seeks to exort (still the church!), his schoolwork, eating :), exercising, etc.

So as you can imagine, with all that passion going out of him, he is quite tired. But you know what?!? It is such a beautiful picture, because CHRIST is the one giving him the passion! It is such a beautiful picture, to see the Lord working in and through my husband and giving him strength day after day after day. Aaron is so in love with the Lord, always seeking to grow and "do more", and striving to be used by God to impact the kingdom. Yes, he has weaknesses...sins he has to confess and turn from, but even in that, the gospel shines beautifully. The Lord has given me a gift I don't deserve in Aaron, and I am so very thankful.

His latest thing was trying to fix his car, which has been sitting dead at the church for nearly a week. He thought the problem might be the starter, so he took it out and had it "tested" at an auto parts store that proceeded to tell him his starter was "fine." Well after hours of trying different things to figure out what was wrong, he finally had to take it to our mechanic today, who proceeded to tell him the starter needed to be replaced (which is what Aaron thought from the beginning). I'm just so thankful that the Lord prepared Aaron's heart to hear something frustrating like that, and he was able to respond with a right heart, knowing that God had a purpose in all this...to grow him in patience and trust! :) And to remind us that saving money, though a good thing, is not always the Lord's plan!

As for me...I am constantly trying to learn how to better be a godly helper to this passionate man :). I don't verbally encourage him and thank him for all he does nearly enough...something I have recently realized and been convicted about...so I shall work on that :), because my hubby needs my encouragement and support. That's part of me being his helper!And praise the Lord for His WORD, which is my number one source of learning. I would be lost without my precious Bible and sweet relationship with Christ, and over the last month or so, I am really being reminded of just how much I need Christ for daily life. These days, Aaron is needing more encouragement and prayer, Linnea is needing more discipline and instruction...and definitely prayer, I am needing wisdom and strength....and prayer....which means I more than anything else need CHRIST! There is no day that I can live to His glory if I am relying on myself.

My schedule is pretty full with being a wife and mommy, cooking, home "duties", ministry, friendships, teaching 5 lessons a week, taking a class at Masters, having homework to do for the class, exercising, and being a student of the Word and lover of Jesus in and through all that. I am realizing life is full of choices...SO MANY choices. Every day requires making decisions about how I will spend my time. And because of that, I need to be on my knees WAY more often than I am. I shouldn't be making decisions on my own and for myself. If I am to be in the will of my Lord, than I need to be seeking His councel in all my choices! And no, I am not saying that one should pray about what to make for dinner or when to take a shower :) Although, in certain circumstances, that may be needed! :)

Oh! And this past month I went to visit my sister, her family, and my mom, and we had such a wonderful, sweet time of fellowship, catching up on life, lots of Settlers, and unfortunately...ice cream (oh boy did it taste good though! :)). It was such a blessing to spend some quality time with my nieces and nephews as well, as they are growing up so fast and becoming "little adults" now. Micah, the oldest, officially hit the double digits while I was there...it was fun for my mom and I to be able to celebrate his tenth birthday with him. Linnea fell in love with Tessie, their little dog, as I mentioned earlier...unfortunately, it turned out to be a one sided relationship, so whenever Tessie saw "the baby" coming she would often run away. :) Seriously though, the more I think about it, the more I see how blessed BOTH Aaron and I are to have such wonderful, godly families...all around! It is a precious gift from the Lord to be so close to family and to run the race that we are in together....encouraging one another, praying for one another, and keeping each other accountable.

Linnea.......oh, where to begin. She is becoming much more independent these days, developing her own little cute personality. She says, "Daddy, HI, doggy, dakee(blankee), and Tessie(my sister's dog)." She can repeat "mama", but we are still workin' on that one! :) She just started getting frustrated when she can't do things on her own....like yesterday when a book was stuck in the basket, she started screaming and kept yanking and screaming until it finally came out...she then let out one more scream which meant, "That was a ridiculous waste of my energy!" At least I think that is what she was saying (that is probably what I would have done, too!...unfortunately).

She stands and bounces and is so very tempted to take a step on her own, but a little too nervous...crawling is safer! She DID take A step yesterday when we were helping her walk back and forth between Aaron and I...but I don't know that it "counts" for her first step :). She LOVES dogs...LOVES them! Whenever she hears one barking outside she gets a big smile and says, "Doggy!" She loves to do imaginative play...it amazes me how young they start! She holds her play phone up to her ear, she wears anything stringy around her neck and wears whatever she can around her wrist as bracelets (I didn't even teach her these things! She is a natural woman! :)). She likes to brush and comb her own hair. She will pretty much copy whatever we do that she likes! :)

When she disobeys and I need to discipline her, I usually say something like "I'm sorry sweety, but you disobeyed mommy and the Lord by doing what I asked you not to do.... you need to obey mommy the first time." That may sound OK to you, but I have decided that I desperately need the scriptures in my heart so I can be sharing biblical wisdom with her when I discipline her. I figured it is never too soon to start, because these first fourteen months have FLOWN by, so she will be fourteen YEARS old before I know it! I'll share a terrific resource I have for this very purpose in a future post!

God is GOOD....I think I say that a lot, but it is oh, SO true! Our choir is memorizing Psalm 145 this season, and it has been the perfect passage to meditate on in this season of life. It is a daily reminder to bless my Lord and Savior...EVERY DAY, ALL DAY LONG. I have only memorized the first ten verses so far, but in just those ten verses, I am already reminded of SO MANY things to praise Him for..... His greatness, majesty, splendor, grace, mercy, wonderful works, power, and abundant goodness. And I have realized that all I need to do is open my eyes and take a look around, and I really can praise Him for all these things...whether I see them in the people around me, in things around me, in His creation, or in His working in my own life.

Yes....."I will extol You, my God, oh King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondeful works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness, and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, oh LORD, and Your godly ones shall bless You." ~Psalm 145:1-10~

Our Sweet Girl's Birthday

2010-09-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thought many of you who read this would enjoy some more pictures from Linnea's party, to maybe help you feel like you were there?? :) Or maybe not, but hopefully it will give you a glimpse of the joyful evening!

The Giant Cupcake Cake turned out beautiful thanks to the hard work and talent of my sister-in-law

Linnea definitely enjoyed all the attention when we sang happy birthday to her!She wasn't quite sure what to do, so daddy gave her a helping hand :)messy.....She really liked it, though! (who wouldn't like peanut butter and chocolate? :))Gift time....All the babies migrated....This is little Lucy, who's adoption was made final on Linnea's birthday, and a week before her own birthday...what a joyful day it was for her parents! :)

Linnea LOVES to drum, and absolutely loves this gift, which came with all sorts of percussion instruments inside as well. Daddy and her have been having lots of fun makin music together :)

One of Linnea's best buddies, McKenna

It was a wonderful first birthday, and she truly enjoyed the whole evening as well :) We missed everyone who couldn't be here with us to celebrate, but prayerfully there will be many more birthdays to come...although I don't know how many big parties will go along with them...whew, it's a lot of work! But it was worth it! :)

Where Did the Year Go?!?

2010-09-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Linnea is officially ONE!! Whew...I can't believe it. This is age old news to most of you, as her birthday was the 18th of August. It was a whirlwind of a time, but not a bad kind of whirlwind :).

We first had my birthday, followed by Linnea's birthday, followed by the arrival of my dear friend, Desiree, followed by Linnea's party, followed by the party of another baby girl, followed by orientation for Aaron at seminary. This all took place in one week! Whew! It was all wonderful, but yes, a whirlwind :)
Linnea....my sweet Linnea....where has the time gone? I still remember holding you in my arms for the first time, and looking into those big alert eyes with tears in my eyes. I remember the many times you fell asleep in my arms, and the many times I couldn't figure out how to get you to fall asleep.

I remember when you smiled for the first time. Oh, and when you laughed......wow, was that an amazing thing! I remember when you started babbling, and you have never stopped since. :) I remember when your first tooth popped through, and now you have SIX of them!

I remember everything...everything that babies do for the first time, things that melt mommy and daddy's heart the most and things that make us so excited! We are still waiting for you to say your first word and take your first step and to get excited about food and maybe put a couple pounds on :).

We pray for your salvation every night, we pray for wisdom from the Lord in how to raise you, we pray that we would be reminded all the time that you are the Lord's first and foremost, and that we would trust in all that He has for your life. We pray that you would grow into a godly young woman who doesn't get swayed by the things of this world, but holds fast to the Lord.

Children truly ARE a blessing from the Lord. All the joy she brings us is inexpressible, and we don't take that gift for granted...the gift of smile and laughter that comes from just being her mommy and daddy. And she is also a blessing because of the hard times. She reminds me of how helpless, unwise, and selfish I am; she points me to Christ, on whom I should DAILY depend...for ALL things. And for that....the times she is difficult....I am thankful!
~Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.~ (Psalms 127:3-5)

More to come at another time...pictures and all.... :)

Count Others MORE Significant Than Yourselves

2010-08-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Do you ever read the Bible and subconsciously put in your own "except" or "unless"that don't belong there? You know, so you will feel better about yourself, won't be as convicted, and walk away feeling like a pretty good person?

For instance, when I read "Do ALL things without grumbling or complaining" (Phil. 2:14), I like to add "except when you have every right to grumble and complain because you are unfairly treated, or because the weather is so uncomfortably hot."

or how about"Be anxious for NOTHING " ( Phil. 4:6a)....maybe I could add "unless your job or day is so stressful that you just can't help it."

Oooo, and then there is "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your Father and Mother" (Eph. 6:1-2).... I know when I was little, I liked to add "but only when they are reasonable and fair to you." (And I even have the best parents out there!)

And here is the biggy for me....one that I have only recently realized I probably add my own words to more often than I would like to admit. "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." (Phil. 2:3-4)

It has become quite evident to me that I do NOT regard ALL others as more important than myself. Plain and simple. When I get angry because I feel hurt by others, or mistreated by a cashier, or taken for granted by my family, I don't regard those people as more important than myself. You know who is most important to me in those situations...ME! And when I am afraid to reach out to people at church that I don't know, and fail to seek for ways to serve others, and don't take the time to express my love to others, I am regarding myself as more important than others. And when I don't sacrifice my own wants for the desires and needs of others, and get upset with Linnea for making my day difficult, and don't stop to listen to what my husband has to say because I am in the middle of something, I am only thinking of myself. Me, myself, I........yuck yuck yuck!!

I have been praying the Lord would humble me lately, because this prideful, selfish woman has needed it, and let me tell you, He is doing a beautiful job of answering my prayer (I know He will continue to answer this prayer until the day I die, because I will ALWAYS need humbling). Being brought low is painful, but it is so beautiful to see the Lord work in my life. The Lord has thrown me a few situations lately that have shown me how helpless I am, how loveless I can be towards others, and how much I need Christ to work in me in order to truly esteem others as more important than myself. There are NO qualifying words in these verses....because Christ did not qualify who he was going to love...there was no good thing I could have done to earn His forgiveness and love, and there was no bad thing I could have done to disqualify me from it. He freely gave me salvation, and I didn't deserve an ounce of it!

Christ hung on the cross dying....and what did He say?...."Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." (Lk. 23:34) He asked His Father to forgive the ones who were killing Him. Christ is our example to follow, for Christ, who is GOD, humbled himself to the the point of death on the cross, that we might have LIFE through HIM. He died for me! A sinner who spat in His face before He brought me to Himself.

So when HE asks me to regard others as more important than myself, I am to do so wholeheartedly with such great joy! All I have to do is look at the beautiful picture of how Christ loves me, in spite of my lack of love towards Him. His love towards me NEVER changes, no matter what I do! With my eyes fixed on the gospel and the RADICAL selfless love displayed there, I should be able to eagerly love ALL others and go out of my own way to serve and encourage ALL others in any way I can. It doesn't matter how I am treated in the grocery store, it doesn't matter if I get a "thank you", it doesn't matter if it takes time I "don't have", and it doesn't matter if makes me uncomfortable. What matters is that I be like Christ, taking my eyes off of myself that I might love and serve others....always.

"Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a mn, He humbled Himslef by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Babysitting? Jam Session? Piano Lesson?

2010-07-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

Now what would babysitting be without a jam session with Uncle Aaron?........

........Just not the same........

Home Sweet Home...

2010-07-30T08:04:00.001-07:00

We are home and our hearts are full from an absolutely wonderful time with my family! Aaron and I were seriously so blessed to see our family interact with one another in a loving, servant-minded, Christ-honoring way! Thank you family, for being shining examples of Christ to Aaron and I (and even little Linnea).

Just to catalog our trip, I'll share with you the events that unfolded. :) If you aren't into all the little details, then just look at the pictures :)

We first spent the night in Livermor, CA, visiting with Aaron's Aunt and Uncle (mine, too, now!) and had a wonderful time! It was so fun to see their old home and all the projects that have done/are doing to it. They live in a beautiful town and had a nice big TV where Aaron and I throughouly enjoyed watching the World Cup on, rather than our little computer with a blurry screen. ;)We then headed just a few more miles up to Walnut Creek and visited with some friends of ours. We had a wonderful time with them and got to play with their little 6 month old, Lilly. Linnea wasn't very patient with Lilly's inability to move, so poor Lilly was often left to fend for herself.This pic was taken after we got home from church on Sunday......too cute.

We then got to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday....we just happen to be swinging through her town on her b-day, which was a fun treat! :)

...And on up to Orroville (south of Chico) we went to see Aaron's grandparents!! It is always a pleasure to be with them. Grandpa John always keeps me laughing :) and Grandma Janet couldn't get any sweeter than she already is!....I don't think so anyways, but I suppose it is possible. :) We had fun playing Wii Fit for the first time...which was quite a hoot! We were all laughing pretty good! Unfortunately it might be a while before we are invited back...Grandpa wasn't too happy we beat him in bowling. :)Linnea feel asleep on our walk with Grandma and Grandpa...
We then stopped for the last time before our big trip at in-laws of my in-laws' sister! ;) I don't know if I explained that right, but the Clarks were so sweet and hospitable to let us stay in there home to make our drive a bit shorter for the last day. She made a yummy breakfast, and was a wonderful host!

And then FINALLY we made it to Oregon! I won't go into super detail, but the home we stayed in was super big, which was a super blessing from the Lord. We didn't at all feel like we were on top of each other, and having the beach be our back yard made it feel like paradise. Much more important than the home we were in was the many new memories I have with the most precious people in the world to me....We had sweet times of fellowship, sang songs around a campfire on the beach, had a couple family devotionals, played lots of games, went for walks/runs on the beach, went skimboarding in what felt like 40 degree weather with lots of wind (it was SO fun!), jumped over the waves and screamed at the freezing water with my nieces, enjoyed too much yummy food, lost water weight in the sauna :), went out to a seafood restauraunt, relaxed on the patio with a good book, shopped at the outlets, got too many ice cream frappucinos from a cute little coffee place in town (ok, well Aaron did :)), had a photographer do a family photo shoot on the beach, and just simply had a relaxed time!

Linnea enjoyed the beach this time (we didn't put any sticky lotion on her), which was so fun. Although she wouldn't last too long, as it was quite cold and windy on the beach. She LOVED her cousins, but was a little stinker with her Aunts and Uncles and Grandma and Papa. It took Aunt Kristin the whole week to get Linnea to smile at her! :)She adored her cousin Grace and my cousin Brooklyn. Grace was like my little mommy helper all week long, which was SUCH a blessing! I'm so sad that I didn't get a picture of Linnea with Brooklyn, though.
She pushed Linnea around in this for a good 20 minutes! Linnea LOVED it....just sat back and relaxed! Spoiled little girl....
She only let us sleep in once (7:20!), but we had fun with her in the morning while everyone else was snoozing :) She just gets cuter and cuter every day, too. She started giving Mommy and Daddy kisses, which we are just LOVING! :) Aaron and I had a wonderful time together just the two of us as well. We read the Bible together in the morning, which helped get our days off to a good start with our focuse being on the Savior! My husband was such a servant to me, always being willing to help with Linnea! Thank you, Babe! :)Every time I am with my family it is hard to say goodbye. The reason being they are such a true joy to be around. I honestly don't take for granted the fact that Aaron and I are so blessed to have such wonderful, God-loving families who are so close to one another and more importantly close to the Lord. I just have to take one look around and see that MANY families are not that way. I praise the Lord for saving each member of my family and growing us all into HIS image. They are all beautiful examples in different ways of our Savior. Thank you, family, for allowing the Lord to use you in mighty ways!

We only made one stop on our way back down, but Linnea did quite well considering...definitely some moments of screaming and crying, but overall we were very thankful. Our stop was with another Aunt and Uncle of Aaron's, and though the time was short, we had a great time. There home and the area they live in is Paradise! Literally! That's the name of the town :) And the name is justified....it is beautiful!! Their house overlooks a gorgeous green valley....woods everywhere! I miss woods! We played a couple rounds of Bananagrams, which is a very fun game, and had a delicious breakfast. Aunt Carol then took us for a walk along a canal in the woods near where they live.

I have to admit, I'm having to work at being thankful for where we live and not jealous of people who get to live in the woods or somewhere where there is green, rain, and seasons! The Lord says to give thanks in everything and to not grumble and complain. I am learning that when I really open my eyes, no matter where I am, I can see the beauty of the Lord and all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for. And trust me, the more I think, the more things I realize I am thankful for living here. The list would be too long to write at the moment. :)

So that about sums up our fun family adventures! :)

On the Road!!

2010-07-12T14:05:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to update everyone....

The Johnson family is officially on vacation!! We have been on the road since Friday and have slowly been heading up to Lincoln City Washington for a big Parker Family Reunion!! (Just our immediate family for the most part, but big enough to be called a family reunion!)

We have had wonderful visits with Aaron's Aunt and Uncle, some friends in the Bay area, and we are currently with Aaron's Grandma and Grandpa! We will make it to Loincoln City tomorrow

I want to share a sweet message from the dearest woman I know in Santa Clarita....her prayer for me is truly my prayer on this vacation, and my prayer for the rest of the Parker clan......

"If I could encourage you now, plan now for how you will continue to spend time in the word even in a house full of family...ask God for ways to serve your husband...and seek to serve and love on and enjoy that little girl of yours...even as you help her get used to new surroundings. Praying for some sweet fellowship with your mom and sister...what a blessing they are for you."

May we all depend on the Lord and grow in our deep love for Him through precious time in His Word...and may we always be looking for ways to glorify the Lord in serving one another, encouraging one another, and spuring one another on to love and good deeds. And may our fellowship truly incoorporate all those things! And may we be so thankful for the sweet new momories the Lord gives as a family!

Bed Hair

2010-07-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes her beauty sleep isn't so beautifying....

But she is STILL the cutest thing I have ever seen! :)

Brace Yourself....This is a Long One :)

2010-06-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Whew...it sure has been a while! But that is because the Johnson household has been going nonstop since "summer" started (even though summer hasn't technically started yet! :))....I'm sure the rest of you would say the same thing. For some reason, I still have the kid mentality that summer is a break, because it used to be that I would have a break from school, so summer would "slow down". Well, ever since my school days have been over, summer doesn't give me a "break" from my daily responsibilitie. But it is a wonderful busy time!

We kicked off our "summer" by taking a trip to Arizona to visit our wonderful family. It was truly a delightful, relaxing, time with the Johnson clan, and Linnea Joy was truly a "joy" :) to be around (last visit she had a bit of a difficult time sleeping, and wasn't quite herself). She napped beautifully (which was SUCH a blessing from the Lord) and grew to love Grammy, Grampy, Uncle Zach and Aunt Grace!

I tell yah, it has only gotten harder to be away from family now that we have a little girl....There are so many days where I look at her and think about how much our families' are missing out on the joys of watching Linnea grow up. The Lord knows that this is exactely where we are supposed to be, and we LOVE it here, and I can truly say we are content and thankful, but sometimes I wish family could be closer. It is indeed a desire of my heart. But MORE than that, I desire to be right where the Lord wants us, and that is right here! (Now....let it be known that we do indeed praise the Lord for James and Kimiko, who live .25 miles away :)!

......sorry for that little detour...... but since so many of you DO live so far away, let me update you on what our little girl has been up to lately.

She has been keeping mommy busy....really busy, because she is now cralwing all over the place! She started crawling shortly after my last post, which is probably why that was my last one until now :).She crawled for the first time over memorial day weekend while we were at Grammy and Grampys', which was so fun for them to see her crawl for the first time. She follows me all over the house, which is just adorable.

She finally just started popping a third tooth yesterday, and it's about time!...She has had her bottom two middle teeth for three months now, and the past few weeks she has been teething on everything and quite cranky! The third one is in a funny spot...on the bottom far right (don't know what it's called :))

She loves playing peek-a-boo. She did it for the first time in the car on our way home from Arizona.

She also went in a pool for the first time while we were there, and quite enjoyed it. She almost fell asleep on Grammy. And we went in the pool at a friends house, and floated in her little swim canopy and didn't move for ages...she once again almost fell asleep...so it's safe to say that the water relaxes her :)

She likes to eat wood...if I'm not watching her, she will most likely be scraping her bottom teeth on the edge of the coffee table....and she eats her crib. Funny child.

She just started clapping the other day, which is just so fun, and she now says more, which is clapping...we'll have to work on that one. :) I'll have to post a video of her clapping once I have it loaded.

And if our daughter is not keeping us busy, than fellowshipping with other believers has! The last month has been a wonderful time of having people over, going to others' houses, birthday parties, visiting friends out of town, and having people visit us! Right now we have two young men from New Zealand staying with us before they head to Palm Springs for the Resolved Conference. They have been enamoured with all the big stores and how everything seems to be supersized! I think they are quite overwhelmed with all the choices in a store or restauraunt....not to mention all the different options of places to shop! Aaron made them french toast for the first time, and they quite enjoyed it (I think:)).

We also hosted a neighborhood bbq last Saturday. My husband came home one sunday convicted about needing to reach out to our neighbors and not waisting any time... So 6 days later we did this bbq. We handed out invites to about 70 units, and about 30 people came! God is SO good! We got to know many different people, so it opened the door for building relationships. We were able to talk about the Lord here and there, but we didn't actually get the chance (or should I say "take" the chance) to share the gospel with anyone right then. We are praying ferevently that the Lord would give us great boldness and give us many opportunities to do so....and this bbq was hopefully one small step in the right direction.

Other than that, and even most importantly, God has been teaching me so many wonderful things this past month....honestly, there is something I would like to blog about every day....I say "oh, I should blog about that later!"...and "later" only arrives in the form of needing to go to bed. God has been convicting me of sin, particularly in the area of my tounge...I have realized how selfish I can be with my speech...I often interrupt peoples sentences (I know, people like that probably dive you crazy!). Well, it drives my husband crazy and I even do it to my own friends. Every time I do it, it grieves me...I get so frustrated with myself....but I have repented of it many times and diligently seek the Lord in prayer to help me overcome my sin...my sin of esteeming myself (my own words) as more important than others (Phil. 2:3). He is slowly growing me in this area.

There have been other sins as well that the Lord has convicted me of, but I don't want to write a book here....but needless to say, it saddened me, to the point of frustration, to the point of wanting to die so I don't have to fight this battle with the flesh every day. Frankly I came to the point of tears quite a few times, pleading the Jesus to come get me NOW!! I just want Him to win this battle and not have to fight it anymore. Then I read these precious words....

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Oh, oh, oh how precious are those words. "I" do not fight this battle alone, and it is not by my strength....how ridiculous that I forget that so many times. The Lord is my strength. The Holy Spirit is within me, fighting my flesh. I need to RELY on the Lord! And He has not forgoten me. Even when I stumble badly, he will give me new strength as I wait for Him. So it's OK to wait and anticipate His return...in fact that is a great thing! But I am not to get angry in my waiting, but I am to sore with wings like eagles!

And praise the Lord for His grace, because as you can see from what I wrote, I can easily let my frustration with my "performance" get the best of me...and that is when I have lost sight of the cross and God's grace. It doesn't matter if I have had a "good" or "bad" day, the Lord loves me the same and looks upon me as righteous!!! Because He sees Christ when He sees me!! Praise His Holy name for this. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." ~2 Cor. 5:21~

I repent of my sin and lay it completely at the cross....and leave it there.
" For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." ~Phil. 1:6~

Fun on the Course

2010-05-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official...this last Friday was the most fun I have had making a fool of myself, ever. I went golfing (And no, I don't mean mini golf...that I have done more times than I could count) for the first time in my life, and had an absolute blast. Actually, I did a bit better than I thought I would, which is definitely an encouragement to go out there again! A sweet couple from church invited us to go with them, and I was able to share her clubs.

Funny story: We were golfing at the course in their senior community, so there are a few rules to keep everyone happy. One of which was no children aloud on the golf course...you must be 18 or older. One dear gentleman felt the need to yell that rule at me across the course. "No kids are allowed here," he yelled, "You have to be 18 to play here!". Oh.....how funny, but not unexpected. We make it to about the 5th hole when a security vehicle pulls up to us on the course....sure enough, a woman who was golfing phoned it in that "Oh, my! A child is on the course!" The security guard got quite a chuckle out of it, and apologized for the inconvenience. Next time, Laura and Steve said they would make me a shirt that says in BIG BOLD LETTERS, "I AM OVER 18 YRS. OLD". Haha....I'm still chuckling.

Anyways...can't wait to go again! Aaron said we could go to the driving range for our next date. Yeah! :)

Remember Jesus Christ

2010-05-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Those are the three words our guest speaker in church wanted us to remember after walking away from Sunday's sermon, but I will remember so much more than those three words, because those three words mean so much more than just three words.

Remember.....a term we often use. "Honey, could you please remember to bring this home." "I'll try to rememebr to email you this week, or give you a call." "Remember what I told you yesterday!" We are either telling people to remember things or being told to remember things...and for me at least, it is often easy to forget rather than remember. Why? Because we tuck that little piece of information in the back of our minds, and hope to remember it later, or we write it down somewhere with the expectation that we will read what we wrote later.

If I were to ask Aaron to pick up some milk on his way home from work, he would note my request in his brain, maybe write it down, and then tuck it away for the day. He isn't going to be quoting "bring milk home" as he replies to email at work. He won't be chanting it while he practices the piano for Sunday. He won't look at his "note-to-self" every spare moment he has. He won't pray over it. No....he will either bring it to mind as he is leaving work for the day, or he will forget alltogether (NOTE: this is just an example :)....my husband is actually quite talented at remembering things).

Well....this type of "remember" that we are all familiar with is NOT what Paul is talking about in 2 Timothy 2:8.

"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David."
Paul doesn't just want us to bring Jesus Christ to thought here and there throughout our days and weeks. He doesn't want us to write Him down and hope to glance at it later. NO! Paul wants us to put JESUS CHRIST at the forfront of our minds! He wants us to remember HIM all day long. He wants us to embrace His suffering and live in His resurrection. He wants us to focus exclusively on HIM until it changes us!

Remember His sufferings...oh, how he suffered so! Nothing we experience comes close to the suffering and death of our Lord and Savior. Praise His name that He suffered the utmost suffering for us...the wrath of God; death for our sins.

Remember His resurrection...Christ defeated DEATH!! For ALL of us. Remember Jesus Christ and have no fear of death, for we shall be with HIM in the likeness of His resurrection. "Oh death where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Cor. 15: 55, 57). Remember this beloved, and have no fear if you are in Christ.

Remember His Kingship...Jesus is the promised Messiah. Christ is King and will one day claim the victory that is already HIS. He was promised from long ages ago, and WILL rule over ALL one day! We are a part of his kingdom! Remember this as you go about your day....Get excited about our future kingdom, which will NEVER be shaken, and pray "Lord, come quickly!"

---------------------------------------------
For Karen, this is no small sermon to hear. For Karen, this sermon is a hard gift from God. As the tears stream down her face, she can truly share in the sufferings of Christ. "Remember Jesus Christ and the beautiful POWER of His resurrection," she is told. For Karen to be reminded that we are to have no fear of death is no small thing...for death is crouching at her door. Tears well up in my eyes just thinking about it. I have faith in our God, who can perform a miracle in her body....I promise you I have faith and I pray often that the Lord would be gracious and do just that....HEAL her. But from our human eyes and the world's perspective, it doesn't look good.

The fact that probably half of the church was close to tears, if not crying, as they listened to Sunday morning's sermon and thought of Karen, tells you just what a beautiful woman of God she is. She is loved by the church, because she has LOVED the church...she has served the body of Christ so faithfully. She served in nursery the day before she had her stomach removed, despite the nausea and pain she was feeling from the cancer in her stomach. She has served her husband and three children as a true Titus 2 woman, and her three teenagers who love the Lord so dearly are testimony to her dedication to raising her children in the Lord.

Kent, her husband, is an elder in our church and has had his own battle with cancer, one which he has so far fought and one. But stage four stomach cancer isn't exactly a battle to be won. Only the Lord's healing hand could do that. I write this, because my heart is heavy. I think about the Richardson family every day...many times a day, and bring them to the Lord in prayer. Their oldest graduates from hisghschool in a couple of weeks. Karen is still healing from having her abdomen divided and stomach removed. There are so many decisions they need to make.

I CAN'T even begin to imagine the different emotions they all feel during the day. I know many tears are shed in that home daily, but I can tell you one thing that is true....they have a beautiful relationship with our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Tears well up in my eyes as I think of how much they love the Lord, and their hope is in HIM...and praise be to God! Karen said she wants to use her time to get to know her Lord more intimately before she meets him face to face, whenever that will be. To them, this is NOT a HOPELESS situation. Oh, the world would definitely look at it that way, but they don't have to! Because they REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST, who has suffered for them, and has victory over death. He has called them to walk the road of cancer for some unknown reason to them, but He has promised to walk the road WITH them, and grow them every step of the way.

Yes.....Jesus Christ shines brightly in that home.

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 3:8-14~

Remember Jesus Christ, beloved....every day....all day long.

Our Little Piano Player

2010-05-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Our little piano player is already progressing after some lessons with Daddy....now she can play all by herself (with mommy and daddy right by her side, of course! :)) Here are some videos for your enjoyment! (The first one was taken at least a month ago)ps...I apologize for my ridiculous baby talking voice :)....sometimes I just can't help it when talking to her. Especially when she seems to like it more than my "normal" voice.

Blessed Beyond Words

2010-04-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had the amazing privilege to hear Sandy Day's testimony. She made me laugh in the midst of crying with her sense of humor and VERY strong southern accent! She is the founder of Caleb Ministries, which ministers to women and families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, early infant death, or women who struggle with infertility or who are post-abortive.

My main reason for blogging about her ministry is because it is a huge resource for women who have been through one of these things, and I most definitely think it is something that EVERYONE should know about! We ALL know people who have suffered through at least one of these things, and I know that some of you reading this have been through something like this yourself.

Sandy Day's testimony blew my mind away....and she will tell you that the Lord carried her through ever hardship she faced, and made it for good. She said she is thankful for EVERY extreme difficulty the Lord gave her, because through each trial she grew tremendously in different areas in her walk with the Lord.

She aborted her baby at the age of nineteen, right after she became a believer. She was widowed at the age of 23 after being married for two years, to a husband who committed suicide. She was remarried to her current husband and a couple years later lost her perfectly healthy, James Caleb, at 8 months old in the womb...she delivered him stillborn. They then had trouble getting pregnant again, and after finally giving her burden to the Lord, and realizing the LORD ALONE is more than enough and always enough, she got pregnant. At about 26 weeks pregnant she went into preterm labor, and was on bedrest for 3 months. Through these things she learned to be wholly dependant upon the Lord; the incredible sufficiency of scripture; the importance of purity; the great beauty of complete forgiveness and blamelessness through the lense of Christ; the importance of memorizing scripture and taking your thoughts captive; the importance of obedience to God...and many other valuable things. Her joy eminated in the room as she gave her heart-wrenching tesimony.

I sat their and thought, "Lord, I want to be like her...I want to have memorized 7 books of the Bible by the time I am 50 (or way more, because God has graciously saved me so young!), I want to be so in love with your WORD every day of my life, I want to look back on everything in my life and praise you for it!" I have no idea what God will use in my own life to make me more like Him, but my prayer is that I would always take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), by knowing his Scriptures intimately, and that I would exult greatly in my tribulations, knowing that they produce perseverance, proven character (Christlikeness), and hope , which does NOT dissapoint, because the love of God has been poured out within my heart through the Holy Spirit whom He gave me (Roman 5:3-5).

I encourage you to check out the Caleb Ministries Website! Her testimony isn't avaiable on the web, but you can order a copy. She has some great resources available here, and also beautiful gifts to encourage thouse who have lost a baby. Her ultimate desire is to give women hope, and if they don't have Christ, to give them the gospel. Praise the Lord to see someone USE their sins and sufferings as a great means to minister to others. May we all do the same thing!

San Diegp

2010-04-23T16:55:00.001-07:00

"Weather you eat or drink, [or go on vacation] or whatever you do , do it all to the glory of God."Aaron, Linnea and I all had the privilege of taking a family vacation to San Diego the weekend after Easter...kind of as a regroup after a really busy time. The weather was absolutely beautiful there (as I hear it usually is), and it was wonderful just to be away from "real" life for a few days and to leave all responsibilities...well, not ALL responsibilities. That is pretty much impossible when you take your daughter with you (Not to say that I think she is just a "responsibility"...she is one of the greatest joys in my life, as well as one of the greatest difficulties)! :) Honestly, I think it was a small taste of what "family vacations" are going to be all about: serving your family, even on vacation, and taking great delight in doing so.

The whole delight thing didn't exactely come naturaly for our first "family vacation." Neither for Aaron or I. I think both of us selfishly wanted to get rid of our daughter for the weekend....I know, not very kind...I guess you could say we wanted to be able to go to the beach for more than 30 minutes :), but when you have a daughter who was distraught with the feel of sand (shouldn't have put her in it!), and tired from not napping, that isn't exactly a reality. :)

So, yes...vacation was an eye opener...to our sin of selfishness, and to our need for total dependence on God (yes, even on vacation), and to what exactly a family vacation will entail (and I'm sure it only gets crazier with more kids :), and hopefully more fun too!), and also to the fact that my hubby and I will have to make time away just the two of us a priority once we have the option (my daughter does not take a bottle).

Saying all this brings to mind a couple of terrific posts by the Mahaney ladies on the subject of vacation. I encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day to read them. I'm so thankful that my dear friend pointed me to them, and I literally should read them before I go on any vacation!

My hubby and I still had precious time talking during walks, in the car, during the occasional naptimes, and in the evenings...so it was still so refreshing for us as a couple! I praise the Lord for such a wonderful partner in life, and a beautiful daughter who God has entrusted to us, her parents.

Some of our discoveries on vacation:

1) Linnea loves onion! She is pretty picky when it comes to food.....so when she grabbed an onion off of Aaron's salad and started chewing it...again and again, we were shocked....what baby likes onion?!? I don't even like raw onion by itself! I tell yah....sometimes I wonder about that girl! :) (She tends to look very concerned when she discovers something new, even when she likes it)
2) Linnea very much dislikes sand! Her hands and feet were sticky from sunblock, so the sand stuck to her....she tried to get it off, and was quite upset when she couldn't! Note to self: do not stick daughter in the sand!

3) She loves her sunhat and has not once tried to take it off! What a doll! ;)
4) Vacationing in San Diego is most definitely the way to go when you have a cousin who would probably pay US to babysit our daughter...thank you Laura! What a blessing!!

Photo Shoot With Cousin Hannah

2010-04-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Linnea loves her cousin Hannah :)

Linnea: "Wow! That hair looks like a lot of fun to play with...should I go for it??"

Linnea: "What a silly question! Of course I'm going to play with it!"

Linnea: "What? I'm not doing anything"

Hannah: "Mommy, she is touching me."
Linnea: "No, I'm not (tee hee)!"Hannah: "She is definitely touching me!"
Linnea: "What? Touching her? Where?"

Linnea: "Ok, now you put me ON her lap?? You people are crazy!"Ahhhh.....much better.

Eastesr and More

2010-04-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm sure some of you were disappointed with my last post, as it contained exactly zero pictures of you know who :). Sorry about that....actually that post was supposed to just be a catch up of pictures and activities of the past few weeks, so I'm not even sure where all that writing came from....it sort of just happens sometimes :). It really is evidence of the Holy Spirit's work, though (which is SO cool!), because I didn't even know I had all that to say, but after writing it, my own heart was incredibly blessed, as well as some that have read it. What an awesome God we have!

So....here are LOTS of pictures (I may split it up into a few different posts)....you will probably look at these and think she is just the most adorable child in the whole world (just admit it), and you probably won't believe me when I tell you she enjoys screaming instead of napping and whining instead of eating and crying instead of playing by herself....but yes, she is cute enough to cover all that up for the "outside" world. She is going through another phase of not wanting to nap, which means another phase of serious sanctification for me...or shall I say sinning....unfortunately, there is definitely a fair amount of both (the sinning being the unfortunate part) that goes on during my days. Praise the Lord for His grace and unending love.

This is how I found her after a nap one time...clinging to her doggy and as happy as can be...see, Linnea! You are HAPPY when you actually take a nap....who would have thought???

Enjoying her umbrella stroller now!

Bath time! We wanted to see what she would look like with hair...

She had fun trying on her dresses! :) (Ok, ok...I had fun!)

Easter Sunday! We had a wonderful time of worship with our church body in the morning, and then spent the afternoon with my sister-in-law's family. Thank you so much Fujitas for inviting us to celebrate Easter with you! It was SUCH a blessing!

Linnea's cousin, Hannah, playing dress up on Easter :)

Our little "Pooty Bear"

Which Race are YOU Running?

2010-04-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Where do I even begin?? It has been quite some time since I have posted (well...before the post about my Dad :) Who by the way is home and on the road of recovery!)...I guess you could say blogging has not exactly been at the top of my "to do list" recently. I'm not really sure what has, though. To be honest, sometimes I feel like I am in a race and there is no finish line in sight...I'm just trying to keep up and catch my breath when I can. Other times I feel like I'm totally on top of things and really do have time to take it easy...but then I end up doing something like take a nap, or organize that long forgotten drawer, or catch up on other peoples' blogs.

You know what is kind of sad about what I just wrote, though? It's the fact that I truly often don't see a finish line in sight! And that is because I often am running the totally wrong race. I run the Kimberly's Agenda race, and not the race of Christlikeness with the finish line being eternity. Paul..........oh Paul...........my hero, my role model. If only I could be like Paul. Paul admits to being a sinner. In fact, he even calls himself the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15)...wow! that is humility. He admits to being imperfect (Phil. 3:12), weak (2 Cor. 12:10). But never do we hear of Paul being apathetic. Never do we see him doing his own thing and running his own race. No....Paul always did the will of the Father, and he ran the race of Christlikeness. He was always "pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14)

He knew what Christ had called Him to: to become like Himself. Paul went through more than I could imagine as far as persecution goes, all for the sake of the gospel, glorifying His Father and becoming like Him. He was committed to doing God's will and understood that all that happened to him was a part of God's will (Rom. 1:10; 8:27; 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:5; Eph. 5:17; 6:5-6).

I lose sight of this race. I lose sight of what I am actually supposed to be doing during my daily activities. I am supposed to be worshipping Christ in all that I do (Rom. 12:1-2). By loving Him while I love others. By serving Him while I serve others. By meditating on Him during those thoughtless times. By praying throughout my day...praising Him, confessing to Him, lifting up requests before Him. By seeking ways to encourage and serve others, even if I have to go out of my own way. By bringing to mind the truths of what is to come...glorious eternity with my Savior. There will be rewards, but the greatest reward will be meeting my Lord and worshipping Him.

I am a citizen of heaven. This is NOT my home. I am waiting for my Savior. I will someday be like my Savior.....

All these things were made possible because of the gospel. The death of my Lord....

Yes....may I run the race of Christlikeness and live in light of these prescious truths.

Update

2010-04-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

Dad's surgery went well!! He ended up having quintuple bypass surgery...crazy! Praise be to our Heavenly Father for sustaining him and the doctors and nurses!!! Thank you so much for your sweet prayers for our family...we couldn't thank you enough. The Lord's peace had definitely overcome my worry throughout the whole day, and I am so thankful!

Please continue to pray, as the first 24 hours after the surgery are very critical...and recovery will be a long process....

Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that's within me praise Him. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all He's done.

The Man Who Taught Me Jesus

2010-04-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

"Daddy" is a precious word and filled with SO many memories. "Daddy" is not a word that everyone has the privilege of saying. "Daddy" is a word that I LOVE calling my dad. "Daddy" is what Jesus is to me....my precious Abba Father, because He has adopted me into His family. So really, I feel liked the most blessed girl in the whole wide world because I have two Daddies!! One daddy showed me I was an orphan and my need for adoption, and the other Daddy gave me an eternal home, and made me His very own child.

Daddy, words can not express how the Lord has used you in my life.....you have taught me Jesus...by being like Him and showing me my need for Him. For that...I am eternally grateful. I love you SO very much. Seeing you grow in your love for the Savior and your desire to serve Him by loving the saints has been such a special gift for me. There are so many Sundays I wish I could sit under your teaching (my favorite teaching!...not to say I do not love my own pastor's teaching!), because your words capture my heart and show me more of who Jesus is. My understanding of the scriptures and the desire to know more has come in great part from you. You have always been true to the WORD, and even been persecuted for it...I feel HONORED to be called your daughter.

It's easy to let one's mind wander....but the Lord doesn't give us grace for mind-wandering....He gives us grace for today and promises it will be sufficient for EVERYTHING he gives us. So why do I feel the pain of losing my Daddy would be unbearable? Because I havn't lost him, and therefor have no need of that grace yet.

Praise be to the Lord Almighty for his beautiful sovereign control over EVERYTHING! I praise Him for causing my Father's appendix to fail...for causing him to have a mild heart attack during the removal of his appendix...for causing the doctor's to notice this and have him taken to Portland for further testing...for finding blockage in all major arteries...I praise Him because the doctor's now have a very good chance of giving my dad many more years of life and service to Him. You can read more of what happened and my Dad's heart on my sisters blog.

Tears come to my eyes knowing that my dad will be going through an extremely serious surgery tomorrow, but joy is in my heart, because we have a Savior who is SO good!! If it were not for his appendicitis, my dad would have probably had a severe heart attack in the near future...so yes, I am very thankful for that. But even more than that, I am so thankful for the beauty of glory...eternity. The fact that I am going to live FOREVER is truly incomprehensible. My mind can not grasp what that means, but I know that I will be worshiping my precious heavenly Father alongside my precious earthly Daddy....along with the rest of the precious family of God. I am SO thankful to be a child of the King!

Dad....how beautiful it is to think about how many lives you have touched...hundreds (if not thousands...seriously) of people are praying for you and will be praying for you tomorrow. And yet I know this doesn't bring pride in you heart, but rather glory to God. You see yourself as an instrument of the Lord, and you have most certainly been just that. God has used YOU to convict and grow SO many people, not to mention bring people to their knees in repentance. Thank you for your years of service to your heavenly Father.

It is because of you, Dad, that I have so much peace right now...because you are the man who taught me Jesus.

I love you Daddy, Shepherd, and Friend!!
Please be praying with us for his open heart surgery, which will start between 12:00 and 1:00pm tomorrow, and be anywhere from 4-6 hours long. Thank you!!

Little Friends and Lots of Fun

2010-03-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Linnea chews on.....

.....just about anything she can (This is a lunch box)

So...I have to say, it is fun to compare my little baby with other little babies.....there are plenty of babies to go around at church, some bigger than her, and some littler. She tries to grab at everyone's faces, but we are working on that :) She IS starting to really be more comfortable with other people and smile at them more, which is encouraging!! She is also doing quite well playing by herself in her crib for about 15 min. once our twice a day.....I'm SO proud of her, as I thought this would make her miserable :)

And my little girl is growing up...she is getting a tooth. At least, we think we see a tooth popping through, it's hard to tell when her incredibly strong tongue is doing everything it can to get my fingers out of her mouth :)

So...here are some pictures to satisfy your Linnea withdraws....

Since my little angel doesn't drink from a bottle, we have started giving her water in a cup, and she absolutely loves it!

Uncle Zach got to spend a few hours with us during his choir trip to Santa Clarita, and Linnea loved him! :)

"Oh Mom....I just love smiling for the camer..."

"Uh-oh....am I in trouble?"

"Oo, oo....I want to chew on that camera....oo, oo...I almost got it!"
Linnea's first time in the shopping cart, and Daddy let her try on hats...she doesn't look like she is enjoying it, does she?
And these next pictures are some of Linnea's friends

This is Braylin, she is 4 days younger than Linnea, but much bigger!! :)

And this is Nora...she is the daughter of one of the gals I meet with every other Wednesday. Do they look the same age (besides the hair)? Nora is 3 months older!!! I know...she is petite!!
Precious....they were holding hands. :)
And this is Jocelyne, she is two weeks younger than Linnea. She is Linnea's Sunday night band buddy, as her daddy plays in the band.

Her new favorite sleeping pose. She sleeps on her side and tilts her head upwards...poor thing, it looks SO uncomfortable, but she seems to enjoy it. When I went in to get her up this morning, she was sleeping on her stomach for the first time!! It was the most precious thing!

And this is Daddy once again making Linnea the happiest girl in the world!

Shattered Expectations

2010-03-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

Apparently a mocha frappachino isn't such a good idea at 6:30 at night......but it gives me a good excuse to be able to write. Now, what shall I choose to write about?

How about a message by John Piper I just recently listened to. The last half of his message hit me hard, convicted me, made me so thankful, and was an ever needed reminder of God's truths.....my Dad recommended it after losing my rings, and I am very grateful (Thanks Dad!)!

He addresses the sin of impatience, which he describes to be "murmuring against providence when we are forced to walk the path of obedience in an unplanned place at an unplanned pace."
So basically, impatience is when I am not pleased when my expectations are not met.

I have been struggling with having my expectations thrown out the window time after time after time lately, and have been growing impatient with myself and my daily circumstances. I am slowly but surely realizing that expecations only lead to discontent, because we NEVER know what God is going to bring our way. God uses whatever means to conform us to the image of Christ, and half the time (if not more), it isn't what we expect! So much of what Piper says and the the examples he uses have really been a great reminder of Truth and an eye-opener of God's grace toward me.....not to mention it convicted me and kicked me in the pants!

Let's start with Joseph. The one in the Bible....the Old Testament Joseph. Now HE is something to write about! Talk about a man who's expectations were shattered to pieces, time after time after time. He has this dream of becoming great, and yet His brothers throw him into a pit to die... he probably was so thrilled that they changed their mind and helped him out....only to sell him as a slave. He gets assigned to Potipher in Egypt, and becomes quite respected, only to be thrown in prison for pursuing purity. He works his way up in prison, and is able to interpret the dreams of a men who could be his "ticket" out the there, only to be forgotten for years.

How about a 14 year old girl who was labeled a Huguenot (French Protestant) and was asked to renounce her christian faith, and for refusing to do so, she was put into a tower by the sea with many other women for 38 years. She was young, beautiful and marriagable, and yet lived in a tower for 38 years!

Or how about Benjamin Warfield, a famous theologian from the old Princeton school, who's new bride was struck by lightning on their honeymoon and was paralyzed for the rest of her life. He had dreams, but God changed them.....he stayed by his wife's side for the rest of their life.

Joseph endured about 13 years of shattered expectations and rejection from so many....and yet what does he say to his brothers?

"Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, BUT GOD." ~Gen. 45:8a~

GOD sent Joseph! He didn't just "allow" this to happen to him...no, he GAVE Joseph those 13 years of turmoil and hardship. Did God have a purpose? Most certainly! Joseph says it himself..."God sent me before you to preserve life." God was growing Joseph into the leader HE wanted him to be. Did Joseph know that during those years....NO, but God DID. God used the sins of others for the GOOD of Joseph and the people. He had great purpose for Joseph's life. And Joseph was able to look back over those years, and thank the Lord.

I look at someone like Joseph, and I say "Thank you Father for being SO gracious to me at this time in my life....for using MUCH smaller trials to chisel away at my sin." My daily expectations aren't shattered quite like Joseph's were, but none the less, they are often broken.

I would expect after losing my rings to be extra careful to never lose anything again, only to have lost my wallet a few weeks later. You can only imagine the thoughts running through my head...none of which were righteous. Mostly hot anger at my own stupidity and refusing to ask God for help because I was so angry at being such a fool, and in my heart I was even angry that God would let me be such a fool. Needless to say, it took two sweet girls who found my wallet (On a sidewalk...it fell off the top of my stroller when I was walking to the grocery store, and I didn't realize it) and came to my house to return it to me, to bring me to my knees to repent in dust and ashes.

I would expect that I could get 3 simple things done in one day, like dusting, vacuuming and making dinner...things which I could have all gotten done in the matter of a few hours before I became a mother. When the day is over and the house is only half vacuumed, half dusted, and I had to ask my husband to run to the store to get me a few key ingredients I didn't realize I was missing, my expectations were once again...not met.

I would expect that my daughter would nap well, since she has been going down for naps for months now. Well....you already know about those expectations. And I'm sure if you are a mother, you realize how ridiculous that expectation even is.

If you noticed...those are all MY expectations....but GOD has different ones...better ones. God is showing me that my only expectation should be that God probably has a different plan than my own, a better one, and I am to daily surrender myself and trust in Him. Somehow I don't think we would grow very quickly if we always had our desires met. It's the difficulties that cause us to bare fruit. Isn't that what Paul says in Romans?? "We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." ~Romans 5:3-5~

So....when my husband gets home and the baby is crying, the house is a mess, dinner is only half done, I forgot to take a shower, and I feel like I have failed my wifely duties (hopefully this isn't the scenario too often)....may I remember that I am right at the center of God's wills for my life, that my expectations, no matter how "biblical" they may seem, are often not going to pan out how I would think, because God has better ways for me....even in the small, every details of my life. May I rejoice in knowing that God's grace is indeed sufficient and His power is perfected through my weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9)

"I'm in an unplanned place and I'm moving at an unplanned pace." I didn't see myself being here, but I am here by the providential hand of God. Oh, Lord, help me fight the sin of impatience and give me faith in future grace!

From Linnea

2010-03-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

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TRANSLATION:

Dear Everyone Who Reads Mommy's Blog,

I am so excited to be playing on Mommy's computer. She is such a nice Mommy! It is so nice and sunny out today. I love being outside! Mommy and me just went for a walk to Whole Foods to get me more food....mmmm, did I tell you I LOVE food!I want everyone to know that I love to eat sweet potatoes, acorn squash, cereal, and oatmeal. Oh, and I like peas as long as they are mixed with sweet potatoe. Mommy is going to have me try butternut squash, which I am sure I will like, and broccoli, which I am sure I will not like! I played with cousin Hannah on Tuesday, she got all my toys out from my basket and put them all in front of me, but when I started playing with one, she took it away. It was a fun game....she is my bestest friend. I really had fun with Uncle James, too. He entertained me! Ok, that's all. I love you all!

Love,
Linnea Joy

My Wonderful's Birthday

2010-02-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Aaron's birthday on Friday, and usually I would have posted a Happy Birthday on the day of, but we had a busy, joyous birthday day, and no time for the computer!

We brought some cookies to choir on Thursday evening to have a little b-day celbration with them. On his birthday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Egg Plantation, where they serve you a free omelet for your birthday, so we just couldn't pass that up!Then we headed on up to the freeway about an hour to visit our dear friends who just had their first baby two weeks ago. She is adorable, and Aaron said, "Honey, can we have another one? I want another baby to cuddle with me and fall asleep on me, because Linnea won't cuddle with me anymore." Oh dear...I don't know if we should visit newborns anymore ;). It was wonderful to spend time with them, to encourage one another and pray for one another and to celebrate their new little gift from the Lord with them.

His birthday dinner ended up being postponed until the next evening, because we didn't get back into town in time. So we just had some leftovers and then our friends, the Shorts, and their little baby, Jewel, joined us for angel food cake...Aaron's request every year...oh, so difficult! :) I don't have an angel food cake pan, and I don't have 2 loaf pans, so this is what I came up with! Hey, everyone got their own personal angel food cake mini loaf! It actually worked out quite well!

We spent most of the day Saturday just relaxing together, which was such a special gift and if I may say so...much needed. I think life is just simply making us tired, because on Saturday morning, we both fell asleep in the living room while Linnea took her morning nap. Yes, we woke up at 6:30 and went back to sleep at 9:00. It was wonderful! :) We went to New Moon on Saturday evening, which is one of our favorite Asian restaurants. The last time we were there was when my mom took us there for MY birthday...I actually got a little teary eyed...I think I miss my mommy. Linnea sat in a restaurant highchair for the first time, and she had a blast being adored by our waitress and anyone else that passed by!
On another note, but still concerning my husband, is a little "p.s." to my last post in regard to my rings. If there was one thing I could be most thankful for through this whole little trial, it would be my husband's unconditional love for me. He has been the example of Christ to me more clear than ever...and I don't say that lightly. To be honest, I was scared to tell my husband I had searched the whole house and couldn't find my rings anywhere. Because if I put myself in his shoes, knowing how much he paid for them and how special they were to him, I would not have been too happy with my wife for being so irresponsible.

But he has said not a single unkind word through this whole experience...NOT ONE!!! Nothing to tear me down or make me feel worse, nothing to belittle me or remind me of my faults. Not even a "you should have been more careful." No......he gave me a hug and didn't say anything (well, because all those thoughts were running through his head and if he spoke they probably would have all come out, but the point is that he DIDN'T! :)). And the next day when they were still lost he let me cry on his shoulder. And the next day when he saw me in tears looking under the bed for them the 5th time, he gave me a hug and just let me be sad.

But even beyond that, he has helped me fix my eyes on Jesus through this...he has reminded me that they are just earthly possessions and he has unconditionally loved me beyond what I could do myself. He did not give into the temptation to pour out on me the frustration and anger he felt toward me. Why? Because CHRIST is working in my husband. Because my husband has been bought with the blood of Christ and shows evidence after evidence that he truly is a child of the King. He loves the Lord above all else, and wants me to do the same. He wants to love me like Chrsit has loved me and forgive me like Christ has forgiven me.

His gracious love toward me this past week has shown me more of who Christ is.....I have wronged HIM in far worse ways and many more times a day, and yet He loves me the same, has forgiven my trespasses and is growing me day by day. I am so thankful to be adopted into Jesus' family, and SO thankful to have a husband who gives me a daily glimpse of how preciuos Christ's love is. And I say "glimpse", because I don't know if I will ever fully comprehend the vastness of Christ's love for me.

Yes.....God IS good!!!!!!!!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, accoridng to the kind intention of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His gracewhich He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him." ~Ephesians 1:3-10~

My Heart Hurts

2010-02-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

"And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son."
~Romans 8:28-29b~

I want it to be one big dream. I want them to re-appear. I want to put them back on my finger and never take them off again...even if it means getting lotion all over them. I want to be given a second chance to be responsible.

But God doesn't always give me what I want. He gives me what is BEST. That's what I keep preaching to myself every time I look at my naked hand. God has given me something to remind me many times a day that I need to rely upon His perfect peace, His glorious grace, His sovereign plan, His superior ways, and His sufficient love. He has given me a ringless finger. I have lost my wedding rings.

Tears fill my eyes just writing this, but I refuse to lie and tell you I'm ok because I know God is sovereign, or that I'm ok because they are just rings, which have no eternal value. I know God is sovereign, and I realize they have no eternal value, but my heart is sad. So sad. I DO feel silly being so grieved over something so material, but this material possession is so dearly precious to me. Nothing could replace the memory of Aaron popping out this brocken black box from his pocket with this beautiful ring in it as he asked me to marry him. It was broken because he opened it so many times to look at it as he anticipated giving it to me. I though it was the most beautiful ring in the whole world, and even though I wasn't happy knowing it must have cost him a fortune, deep down inside he made me feel like a queen. And all those memories came back every time I looked at it. Those rings never lost their brilliance in my eyes.

I have this habit of turning my rings with my thumb to make them straight, so my thumb still naturally does that, but there are no rings to turn. I try so hard to go a few hours without thinking about it, but that habit comes back, and when I feel no rings, I am reminded they are gone. And I am reminded that God is sovereign and that I need to trust in that. I am reminded that God IS GOOD, and I NEED to BELIEVE that. I am reminded that I still have EVERYTHING to be thankful for, because really...I just lost some metal and minerals (well....minerals that my husband worked really hard to pay for....), even if they are precious to me.

My sweet sister called me after receiving an email asking for prayer that we would find them, and she spoke some much needed truths to me about the goodness of God's sovereignty from the book "Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges. My heart was so comforted by the things she quoted me, and I am so thankful for her desire to give me the truth. I can't quote anything that she said exactly, but basically....God is totally and completely sovereign over every little detail of my life. He orchestrated this situation to happen for my GREAT good, testing me and refining me into the image of His Son. He wants me to learn something through this trial and wants me to TRUST in His perfect plans for my life. He wants me to respond obediently to this situation that HE has laid before me! And He doesn't want me to beat myself up over my irresponsibility, because He KNEW I would make a mistake and wants me to lean on Him and trust in HIS control over the situation.

God is GOOD. God wants my GOOD. God is using this situation for my GOOD. It is GOOD that this has happened. There is a quote that was first given to me by my sister a few years ago, and I just "happened" to come across it again this week as it was quoted in one of the books I am reading. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

"There is nothing---no trouble, no circumstance, no testing---- that van ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift my eyes up to Him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret---for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is!---That is the rest of victory!" ~Alan Redpath~

I realize that this trial is so little in comparison to what could have happened in my life, or to what is happening in many other lives, and that alone is something to be thankful for! I am saved by the king and have a wonderful, healthy husband, and beautiful, healthy daughter....I AM BLESSED beyond most in this world, and I praise Jesus for that. But, please pray for me. Pray that I would rest in the joy of what my Lord is! The tears still come and the desire to find my rings is still there, but I want my Lord to be glorified in my response to this situation, so please pray for me to that end. And of course, please pray with me that the Lord would help us find my rings.

"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs His steps." ~Proverbs 16:1,9~

What Once Was Lost Has Now Been Found

2010-02-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

(Utter amazement at Mommy's discovery!)

Soooooooo....I was beginning to think nobody loved me anymore :(.....lol. Actually, I don't think I could ever base my opinions of someone's care for me based on wether or not they comment on my blog. Now that would just be ridiculous! BUT, I really was beginning to think everyone dropped off the face of the earth! Haha...actually...you might laugh at some of the thoughts that have gone through my head.

"People who used to comment a lot must just be going through a super busy time of life right now!"

"I think my sister said something on the phone like "well you saw this in my email, but..." but I hadn't gotten an email from her or a comment....hmmm I wonder if she is commenting and for some reason I am not getting her comments. I should have said something on the phone, but I may have misheard her. But if I ask her and she isn't commenting then she will think that she has upset me in some way for not commenting, which is not the case, so I'll give it more time and see if she ever comments again :)."

"Why aren't people answering my questions in my comments on their blogs? Hmmm...same thing...must be busy."

I really am laughing out loud because doesn't that all sound SO....... pathetic?? Haha...I just want you to know I wasn't losing any sleep over this and to be honest, I really havn't been "bothered" by it, just a bit perplexed! Comments make me smile, but I get so much joy from everything else in my life, that I have been in no way shape or form grieved by my lack of comments. And I definitely have not thought that you all out there do not care about me! Haha...I laugh at all this....really, I do!!

SO........on to my remarkable REVELATION!! I HAVE been getting comments!!!!!!! I am still laughing. I used to get all my comments emailed to me, but for some reason they started going to my spam folder, which I did not realize, so I wasn't publishing them. I totally forgot their is a "comment moderation" page you can go to on your blog to publish comments, so it didn't even dawn on me to check there! BUT I went on a hunt for my lost comments today. Because deep down inside, I just knew that my sister who commented on almost every blog before is not that negligent (don't you feel special Kristin? :)) And after my little comment-hunt, I found all your comments totally lost in cyberspace!!! YEAH!!!!!!

Honestly. Yeah! Thank you SO much for your sweet comments that really DO make me smile. That encourage me. That give me new ideas and other ways of looking at things. I don't write so that I can get comments to uplift me, I write because I LOVE sharing with you all what the Lord is teaching me and our family, and giving you pictures to see, since most of you live far away. I write so that our family has something to look back on. And there are more reasons...but none of them is to fish for complements. All that to say, THANK YOU. Thank you for your precious and kind words. For your one sentence comments that sometimes make me cry because I dearly miss many of you. ALL of you are a blessing to me, both in big and little ways!

So! There you have it! If YOU were at the opposite end wondering why I hadn't posted any of your comments, now you know that it was NOT because your comments were not worthy of posting. What once was lost has now been found! Your comments are all posted for the world to see that people in fact....DO read my blog :)

Linnea Joy...a GREAT Joy!!

2010-02-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Linnea Joy has found her feet!!!!

Well...I realize it has been a while since I have posted some recent pictures and videos of Linnea, so here they are for everyone who is wondering what Linnea even looks like anymore :).

She is growing up oh so fast! She just started eating cereal about two weeks ago, and is loving it! And since she started, I have seen much improvement in her napping. I am so thankful to say that she is doing great during her naps! (for the most part)...praise the Lord! I have a better video of her eating and Aaron feeding her, but I think it was too big to download :( But this gives you a little taste of the fun of trying to keep her FOCUSED! :)

She loves to play in her exersaucer, unless I leave the room that is...She pretty much throws a fit when I leave the room...even if it is the kitchen, where she can EASILY see me from the living room. I guess she needs a full body view of me to feel like I haven't completely abandoned her...silly girl! She is quite attached to me, also...not a big fan of people that are not mommy and daddy...hopefully she will grow out of that stage soon! Haha, and I used to think that babies who didn't want to be held by anyone but their parents were spoiled...another error in my judgement (Well...I think Daddy spoils her, but I don't think I am as kind ;)).

She has also just started sitting up all by herself!!! I can't believe it! She is becoming such a big girl! She definitely still needs my supervision, but she plunges forward and falls backward less and less with each passing day!

Honestly, it is such a joy to see her grow and do so many new things. Sometimes I wish I could go back to when she was tiny and cuddle with her, but she brings so much more joy with each new day, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I must admit though that my little girl's sin is becoming more and more evident. Her high pitched scream that says "I'm not happy" is not going to make life go well with her...that's for sure. It frightens me a bit at how quickly time is going and how quickly the discipline stage is coming (if it isn't already here yet!). It's already causing me to be on my knees in prayer and to be in the Word studying so that I may be a Word-filled teacher to my daughter. One of the biggest blessings of having a child is the motivation it has given me to intimately know the Scriptures. The LAST thing I want to do is give her "Kimberly" wisdom...but the first thing I want to do is give her wisdom fro up above. For THAT is the only wisdom that could ever make a lasting change!

This next picture I just had to snap this morning! I just started teaching piano lessons, which I can already tell is going to be a blast! Linnea napped so well during the lesson this morning, and the camera (well really, me) couldn't resist snapping this one! Isn't she a doll?

"Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it....Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb [is] a reward. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them...." ~Psalm 127:1a,3,5a~

A Joyful Heart Makes a Cheerful Face

2010-02-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken." ~Proverbs 15:13~

A joyful heart..........hmmm..........this, for me, has not been a consistent pattern for the past month or so. In fact, my lack there of has made life a little more difficult. It has put strain on our marriage, has made me angry towards my daughter, has made me feel busier than I am (I just don't get as much done when I am lacking in joy), and has kept me from blogging. Those things should be no surprise, though....sin does indeed have that downward spiral effect.

Why has my heart not always been so joyful? Because my days have been long........very long. Why have they been long? Because my daughter screams a lot. Why does she scream a lot? Because I am a bad mommy.

Ok, ok.......you don't believe me. Well, hopefully I am NOT a bad mommy, but what I am going to share with you is why I havn't blogged in forever. It is because I have been afraid that whoever reads this will think I am a bad mommy, and to be honest, I didn't want anyone thinking that. Especially since for the past 30 days or so I have been wondering if I am myself! Ok...so this is the scoop...

I have been teaching Linnea how to nap on a regular basis....and she has not been too happy with Momma. Some of you are probably thinking, "well, goodness, you should have done that a long time ago," while others are probably thinking, "it's impossible to get a child to nap at the same time every day, and not very loving to let them cry a lot." Or maybe you are thinking something else, but whatever you are thinking, I have thought. I have thought so many different things, wondering if I am doing the right thing, and wondering what is right for Linnea.
I kept asking the Lord why there wasn't any specifics about raising a baby in the Bible :).
Well, Aaron and I both decided that she just needed to learn how to fall asleep on her own, because she is most definitely tired when we put her down.

So that is what we have been teaching her....how to fall asleep by herself and how to stay asleep. I have decided our duaghter is one of the most stubborn babies out there. Everyone used to say she was the perfect baby....buuut, we don't really hear that anymore :). I don't know why the poor thing fights sleep sometimes, but she sure does! This whole napping thing has gone up and down for the past month. Some days are great and some are aweful, and this is why my heart has not always been so cheerful. It is SO hard to hear your daughter scream for lengthy periods of time, and when you know it is "your fault" she is crying, it doesn't seem to help. And when you don't know if you are even doing the "right" thing, it makes it even harder.

But the Lord is SO good......I have learned something I so needed to learn through this. I am Peter. I have faith in the Lord and I know he is good, but when those winds and waves of screaming come, I start sinking. I forget on whom my faith is founded. I forget who sustains me through all things. I forget that I can't do anything good by myself. I forget that the winds and waves are from the Lord...to test my faith...to test my DEPENDANCE. I thought I had to overcome my anger and hardship (over hearing my precious girl cry) all by myself...and that this is not something the Lord could help me with, since it was my decision to let her cry. But I have been so wrong.

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." ~Philippians 4:11b-13~

I have also learned something else. I am NOT Paul. I have NOT learned to be content in whatever circumstances. I am most definitely still learning! I have been basing my joy on my circumstances, and not on the glory of the cross and the beauty and power of my great God and Savior. And look at me! I haven't even tasted what it is like to suffer need, to go hungry, or to live with humble means.

BUT...don't you love the "buts" in the Bible!! Praise be to God who brought me up out of my sinking waters. He has shown me that I need to be DEPENDANT on Him for ALL things in life. For my very being...for every decision I make...for my ability to be obedient...for my ability to be joyful. He has showm me where my source of contentment should ALWAYS be!! How thankful I am for this small trial in my life. If these are the things I need to show my my sin and make me more like Christ, than bring it on, Lord!!

I am SO thankful to the Lord to be able to tell you my daughter has started to improve! I don't know if the Lord has decided to bless me now that I have layed my burden at His feet, or if starting her on cereal has been the reason, but she is definitely improving.

So...if you think I am a bad mommy...I understand. Every mother is different, and every baby is different. Over a month ago, I probably would have said it is impossible and cruel to let your child cry herself to sleep and make her take regular naps. I think having a baby has greatly shown me how judgemental I was/am. Aaron and I laugh at the fact that we do so many things we used to judge others for doing. I am very thankful that the Lord has opened my eyes to yet another sin....and I am praying that the Lord continues to chip away at my judgemental heart. There are no rules in the Bible about when to feed your baby and when to put your baby down for a nap...parents have to make that decision for themselves! We have prayed diligently and daily for wisdom and are only doing what we feel is best for our baby girl.

Whew...so now you know! Now that I have confessed, I can come back to the blogging world! HELLO everybody! And boy, am I excited to share what God has been teaching Aaron and I, and where He has been directing our hearts................sometime. :)

Happy Anniversary!

2010-01-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today Aaron and I are celebrating a whole two years of marriage! I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but I feel as though we have been married many, many more. I feel like I know Aaron so well, and yet I am always learning new things about him. I realize more and more that I will always be "studying" my husband, because for as long as we live, there will always be more to learn!

My homework for this week in Creative Counterpart came at the perfect time! I was asked to write down all the positive things I could think of about my husband. Now this is no easy task, because I feel like the list could go on and on forever! I am everyday amazed at the Lord's work in my husband's life! I feel he is the sweetest, most sacrificial, servant-hearted husband one could ever have! (And he is married to me!) And what is most precious is the fact that he is all that he is to me because of the Lord's work in His life. All the good I see in Him is like a reflection of Christ to me. What a special gift to have the greatest example of Christ to me living in my home!

No...he isn't perfect and he has his faults...we all most certainly do, but the grace of God shines ever brighter through those! "But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." To be honest, I feel like I struggle with my own faults more than my husbands. I feel like I let him down in so many ways and I often let the burden of my sin weigh me down...but this is NOT what God wants for me! Grace has already reigned and is still reigning! He has paid for my sins, and it is His righteousness that clothes me!
That was a little detour...sorry. To sum things up, I think the most beautiful part of marriage (and there are many!) is the amazing picture of the gospel it is...and I see the beauty of this picture more and more...the more I'm forgiven by Aaron and the more I forgive him; the more he strives to love me unconditionally and the more I do the same; the more he leads me and the more I submit; the more he gives up his own "rights" and desires and the more I give up mine (well, I should anyway) ....and those are just some of the ways I see the gospel!

"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband." ~Ephesians 5:22-33~

Thank you my Love...for two wonderful years of marriage and for loving me the way you do...I love you!

Tucson Christmas

2010-01-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

After our Grand Canyon Adventures we headed on down to Tucson to spend Christmas with Aaron's family (now my family too :))...about a six hour car ride. Linnea actually did quite well during the 8 hour car ride to Tusayan, and she lasted most of the trip down to Tucson, but she decided she was through about 40 minutes before we reached our destination. She cried and screamed and cried, poor thing! But alas, we did make it!

And we had a wonderful time!! I got to experience the Johnson traditions for the first time...starting with opening one present on Christmas Eve...now they actually changed that tradition this year thanks to my brother-in-law, Zach. He put out there the idea to do a white elephant gift exchange, so instead of picking one gift to open from under the tree, we picked a gag gift from our collected pile, or stole one from someone else. My husband was the meen guy, and stole from his own mother what looks like a mechanic's suit (she was going to use it to cover up when painting...sorry Liz!). I picked my own gift and got stuck with it...it's a pajama type outfit that people used to where way back in the day (I think)...I can just picture an old man wearing it out in a log cabin somewhere. It even has a hole in the back for going to the bathroom. We got some good laughs out of it!
We may have even started a new Christmas Eve tradition thanks to my mother-in-law! The majority of us bundled up and went Christmas caroling in the neighborhood...sad to say only two neighbors were home, but we sang to the empty houses, too, just in case they were rather slow in getting to the door :) lol! We even recruited another family who was just going for a walk--it was a family who was meeting up for Christmas from all over the states, and the parents of the family live about an hour from where I grew up in NY...it is a small world.

And the traditions continued on Christmas day...Cheesy egg casserole, which was very nummy. Choreg....a yummy braided pastry/bread thing :) that was SO delicious!! Grandpa reading parts of the Christmas story and the different names for Jesus in the Bible. Opening stockings...one of which contained lots of dark chocolate (that would be mine...thank you Sweety!!), and then on to the gift giving. Then a beautiful walk outside, a yummy turkey dinner, and a birthday cake for Jesus. It was such a blessing to be with my other half's family on Christmas for the first time! Thank you Doug, Liz, Zach, and Grace for being so gracious in giving up your personal space to a bunch of wild people :) ...for feeding us, giving us a place to sleep, serving us, and for loving us!
And of course, it was Linnea's first Christmas...something which was exciting for us, but she had no clue...prayerfully someday Christmas will be a very special day for her...not because of presents under the tree, but because Christ came down from heaven, came as a man, came to live perfectly, came to be ridiculed, came to be persecuted, came to die, came to give us life eternal...prayerfully that is why Christmas will excite her.

My father-in-law got stuck with my gift :), who he named Rafaela....lol, the lady at Goodwill even wrapped it seperate for me because she said it looked like a very special piece :)

Linnea with Uncle Zach!

Bath time at Grammy and Grampy's...we tried to be modest :)

Pictures from our day-after-Christmas hike to come!

From Tusayan to Tucson

2010-01-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010!! What a busy, crazy, but blessed time the holidays have been! I thought it might be difficult to get back into "real life", but it's actually feels kind of refreshing to get back into the swing of things. Christmas was wonderful, but I don't want it to stop. I am so overwhelmed with thankfulness for my Savior and all that He did! I don't want the miracle of his birth, the example of His life, and the redeeming power of His work on the cross to ever "wear off". To be honest, the realization of all that He did and my thankfulness for it has been building probably more so after the holidays. I am so ashamed and grieved to admit that it happened to me...the business of all that comes with Christmas swallowed much of my time meditating on His Word and praying to my Savior. No matter how much I was reminded by others and God's Word of the importance of keeping Him first, and of remembering exactely who we celebrate, I failed and got distracted.

Praise God for His forgiveness! Sometimes that sounds too easy...I feel like I should be punished for my lack of worship and love...I feel like I'm supposed to feel guilty for a long time for messing up...but WOW! That's NOT what God wants for us! He has died for all my sins, and wants me to accept His forgiveness! He wants me to come to the foot of the cross in repentance, and then LEAVE it all there! He loves me just the same, even when I leave Him for other pursuits! THAT is why I am overwhelmed with thankfulness...once I saw my ugly sin for what it was, I saw the beauty of what He has done for me....Even when I leave my first love, he never lets me go...and will never! The power of the cross is FAR greater than any sin I could ever commit!

Ok....on to the beginning of our wonderful time away. On the 21st of December, Aaron, Linnea and I headed to Tusayan, Arizona...a town near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I had never been before, so we thought it would be a wonderful place to spend some time together just the three of us...and it was breathtaking. I stood there feeling so tiny at the edge of the Grand Canyon, and yet I realize that the God who created the Grand Canyon, is SO much bigger than it...and that same God who is SO big and powerfull sent His son in the form of a tiny, helpless baby to die on a cross...to save me...a vapor. He has saved me from hell and given me citizenship in heaven! What AMAZING love!!

Beautiful things like the Grand Canyon are a testimony of the great power of God and of his desire for us to enjoy his creation. To think that some things may have been created simply for us to see and enjoy God's creative beauty is incredible, and a wonderful gift I don't want to take advantage of!

AND...God could have just let us enjoy the Grand Canyon, but he decided to put a huge cherry on top...or shall I say lots of snow? It snowed...and snowed...and snowed. And it was BEAUTIFUL...We had an early white Christmas and I was praising the Lord for it. We actually couldn't even see the Grand Canyon the first day because of the snow, but thankfully it cleared up the last morning we were there.

We will have to bring her back someday when she knows what she was looking at :)

And on to Tucson we went....we'll save that for later....

Taking a Breather

2009-12-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Whew....life has been NON-STOP here in the Johnson home, but I have decided it is important to take a breather, and do a little updating. Honestly, I can't even remember all the things that have gone on in the past month, but I have not forgotten what a wonderful time we had with my parents! What a special blessing to have them for a visit.

I think I had previously shared that we were also unable to see my parents when we went up to Washington, because my mom was also sick. What I don't think I shared is that my dad had already planned a trip to come down and visit just two weeks after we would have been up there visiting. Aaron and I, and I think even Mom were kind of wondering why Dad wanted to come visit so soon after our visit up north. Well, now we know why the Lord put it on my dad's heart to come down at that exact time!! Since we were not able to see them on our vacation, I was SO eager to have them come down.

It's such a joy to see them love our daughter and enjoy her almost as much as we do! ;) Linnea gave them lots of smiles! I don't remember everything we did together, although I can't forget that Dad won almost every game we played. He said he never wins when he plays with my sister's family, so I think he might come visit more often! :)

Mom, Kimiko (my sister-in-law), and I all went to the Ladies Fall Fellowship at our church where we had yummy food, dessert, wonderful fellowship, and heard the testimony of Barbara Cameron (Kirk Cameron's mom), which was a great blessing. We had a wonderful time just being together as a family and making some new memories. Love you mom and dad!

(This is the morning of Linnea's baby dedication)

Right now, Uncle Paul is here to visit, and next week, Uncle Andrew comes for a visit...yes, life is CRAZY busy, but full of much fun and joy! We are SO thankful for the blessing of family.

Don't worry, Linnea warmed right up to her after the initial moment :)

Papa meeting Linnea for the first time!

See....she LOVES her Grandma

And I love her too!!!

Way Better Than a Degree!

2009-11-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well...I still want to post pictures from my parents' visit, but before I get to that, I just have to say how overwhelmingly thankful I am for my husband and daughter...

It is such a joy to have the privilege of serving my husband and taking care of my daughter. It's funny how I still cringe a little when I hear parents talk about their requirements for their daughters...in getting a degree for college, because it is essential for their well being. No, people don't usually say it like that, but it comes across many times that way. I cringe a little, because there is always that little fear of man in me that creeps up whenever people talk like that...I start wondering, "well, what do they think of me?", or "did I make the wrong decision in not finishing school?", or "is my family going to suffer someday because I don't have a degree?", "Am I looked down upon because I am a college drop-out?"

Yes, these things pop up in my mind sometimes, but when I think about it, I have to laugh at my ridiculousness! God...yes the Lord HIMSELF gave me NO desire to stay in college and get a degree. He gave me no convictions that it is a requirement for godliness, and he gave me every desire to be married without divided attentions. So, I have to ask myself why I doubt my own convictions, and it is most definitely my fear of man. Man, and many believers, believe it is the "right" thing to do to go to college and get a degree...and it IS the right thing to do for many people, but NOT for everyone! It is SO easy as believers to take our convictions and "write" them into the Bible as laws, but it is not right to do so! God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts...and his ways for each person are uniquely different!

What I have to realize is that the Lord put me in a unique spot by bringing a wonderful man into my life who already had a career and was ready to settle down! My parents didn't raise me to love the idea of having a career someday...they raised me to love the Lord and to become a woman who pleases Him. They raised me to love the home (although I didn't do such a wonderful job) and instilled in me a desire to be a wife and mom someday. And I am SO thankful they did! And they sent me off to college to find a godly husband :)...it's true!!! Praise be to Him, He dropped one right in front of me :) If He hadn't brought Aaron into my life, than I probably would still be in school, but the point is that He DID bring him into my life, and He DID give me the desire to marry him and serve him whole-heartedly.

So...sometimes those sinful thoughts of "what-ifs" still creep up, but I have to preach to myself that God has indeed directed my steps through my desires, and rest completely in His Word. All I need to do is open my eyes, and see that God has abundantly blessed my life.

I have a husband is who is the greatest example of Christ in my life. He serves me constantly and joyfully, and usually at the expense of his own desires. He finds ways to love me when I may be having a rough time (he brought me home a beautiful bouquet of flowers a week ago today, and they are still standing tall and gorgeous---I have said something about them everyday to him...just so he doesn't forget how much I appreciate it! ;)), and he loves his daughter more than words can say, which brings so much joy to my heart.
I have a daughter who is the most beautiful little girl in the world, and the most precious gift to our family! It is SUCH a joy and delight to take care of her everyday, and to see her smile at me ALL the time, and even try to laugh! And yes...I even love her when she is screaming at me! :)

God is SO good, and I am SO thankful that THIS is the path he has thus far chosen for me. So when those silly doubts creep up, I just need to remember that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)

And this is Daddy making Linnea "laugh"...well she tries anyway.