Who Else Needs Revival in their Souls?!

Good morning!!

Who else needs a little revival in their soul this week?! Anyone else need a pick-me-up and coffee isn’t quite doing the trick?

Our boys have been sick the last couple of weeks with a croupy cough and congestion virus that has made sleep scarce and any kind of normal routine nonexistent. You know what it feels like when life gets you rocked a little sideways and you slip into survival mode? Yes! We have totally been there.

As I sat on my bench this morning, opening my bible for the first time in days I read the words of Psalm 119.

I lie in the dust; revive me by your word. Psalm 119:25 (NLT)

Yes LORD! I wrote in the margin next to these words… I completely feel like I have been rolling around in the dust, trying not to get rolled under. Anybody else know what I’m talking about?

Revive me by your word I prayed.

As I poured over these scriptures this morning and let them soak in deep the Father did revive me. He is so faithful.

I am so thankful that we have the privilege to read God’s word. I am so thankful for what the word of God gives us…

strength
comfort
perspective
encouragement
teaching
guidance

and so much more!!

I encourage you to read through Psalm 119 and let God meet you there…He will revive your soul too.

Blessings,

The Johnstons

Pause and Reflect: What has you in need of some revival this week? I encourage you to carve out some time, even if it’s just a few moments, to dig into the scriptures and let the Father revive you through his word.

Pay it Forward: Share one of the scriptures you read with a friend, a family member, or acquaintance that needs some revival in their soul too!

September 12, 2019 2

Grab Hold of Our Helper and Our Shield

O Israel, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.

O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.

All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.

Psalm 115: 9-11

Good morning,

It was around midnight when the coughing really began to come on and it was becoming more constant than intermittent. My body automatically rose from bed and walked across the hallway to our boys’ room. Checking his oxygen level, I gave him more inhaler.

As I sat on the edge of his bed, my hand on his back, I prayed. I prayed the very familiar, desperate words of healing over his body.

It seems that we try every earthly remedy to help him but the cycle continues to repeat itself. I don’t know the solution, but I do know that we will never strop trying and we will not stop believing God for the healing to come.

On this Thankful Thursday I choose to worship because God is good, even when life doesn’t feel good. He is faithful and His love encompasses us even when we are too tired to feel it. He is our protection during the storm, our place of refuge.

He is our helper and our shield, and as hard as it can be, we must trust Him. Trust Him with the right now. Trust Him with the process. Trust Him with the outcome. Trust in His plan and His purpose and that He is working all together for good. These are the truths that we must choose to stand on, even when we are tired and worn.

Blessings,

The Johnstons

Pause and Reflect: What are you praying for and believing God for?

Pay It Forward: Who around you needs prayer? Reach out this week with a card or hug of encouragement for that person.

September 5, 2019 3

The Ones That Surround Us

I will thank the LORD with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

Psalm 111:1 (NIV)

Happy Thankful Thursday!

How am I going to get it all done?

Words I have thought to myself as I’m sure you have as well. The pace that we live this life in most days is nothing short of a sprint. We cram too much in and then stress about how we are going to get it all done.

I have been guilty of this lately. On top of all normal activities, harvest season has begun!

As I pause to reflect on the past week my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for the people that the Father has put in my life to help and support me.

I’m thankful for my mom… she took five days out of her busy schedule to come up and help me with some canning last week. As we spent time over snapped green beans and crushed tomatoes we visited from the soul, something that I desperately needed.
I’m thankful for a great phone call from my sister yesterday…sometimes I just need her strength to help hold me up and tell me that my head is going to stay above water and that I’m doing a great job, even when I’m unsure that I am.
I’m thankful for a great friend who stopped by and picked up one of our boys for football practice because I was still canning peaches and definitely not going to get him there on time.
I’m thankful for a text message of encouragement from another friend… she had no idea how much I needed that encouragement on a project I am working on and it came just at the right time.

The Father is always so good at knowing what we need, when we need it. He places people in our lives to support us and encourage us at just the right time.

I am so thankful for the relationship I have with the Father and the relationships He is growing here in this season.

Blessings,

The Johnston’s

Pause and Reflect:

Think of the people who has been there to help you and support you lately. I encourage you to take the time to reach out them and send them a message of thanks and let them know how much you appreciate it.

Pay it Forward:

Is there 3 people that you could reach out to and help over this next week? Even if it is just a word of encouragement, we all need it! Drop a text, a note in the mail, it doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective!

August 29, 2019 2

Proclaim His Greatness

Good morning and happy Thankful Thursday!

To say that I have been overwhelmed with emotion the last few days is an understatement… our boys started kindergarten this week! Wow!! Where has the time gone?

It seems like it was just yesterday that we peered into those incubators at them, so tiny and frail. I remember feeling like they would never get big enough, strong enough. But day by day the Father watched over them and they grew. And one day at a time they did get stronger…

Give Thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Psalm 105:1 NLT

Where our boys started and where they are today is nothing short of the work of the Father…and I am forever thankful for the journey he placed in front of us almost six years ago. I didn’t perceive it as a blessing back then but watching Him work in our family has been astounding.

I am thankful for every single day that I have been able to spend with our boys. I am thankful for every breath he has given them. I am thankful for the new season ahead and all that He has planned for them.

What are you thankful for today?

Blessings,

The Johnstons

August 22, 2019 0

Abounding in Love and Faithfulness

Abounding – existing in or providing a great or plentiful quantity or supply (definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary)

Good morning!

I love this word… especially when it is used to express the Father’s love and faithfulness. It is great. It is plentiful. It never runs out and never gives up. It is abundant.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15

I just want to encourage you today that no matter where you have been or where you are, you belong with Jesus! His love is big enough to handle anything that you have walked through. His love is abundant and never-ending. And it’s there just for you and just for me.

This is the love that I want to tap into more…what about you?

The Johnstons

August 19, 2019 4

We Are His

Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100: 1-3

Happy Thankful Thursday!

I tend to be a bit of a control freak. It is something that I continually must keep surrendering and asking for grace on. I am mostly a control freak when it comes to our boys…with the health issues that have loomed in the past I want to control everything about their surroundings. With them starting kindergarten next week… I have been a bit of a mess.

HOWEVER, I am not in control, God is.

And this week I am so incredible thankful that He made us, and we are his. That means that our boys are also his and this fills me with so much confidence to start this new journey with them. He made them and they are his first.

When I asked Carter what he was thankful for this week he said:

drawing
his kitty
the camper
his new watch and new shoes for school

Qwade added:

having a mom and dad!!

I am so thankful for these two…

I am so thankful that God chose us to be their parents. I am thankful I have gotten to spend the better part of almost six years home with them. I am thankful that they continue to grow and mature.

If you are in a place of tug-a-war, struggling in or with a relationship, or having trouble relinquishing control, I just want to encourage you – you are not alone! I believe we all struggle at times with control, but the best thing to do is to STOP and give it to the One who is in control.

Let’ praise him today for who he is and that we are his people!

What are you thankful for today?!

Blessings,

The Johnstons

August 15, 2019 1

Mightier Than These

The floods have risen up, O LORD. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore – the LORD above is mightier than these! Psalm 93: 3-4

Happy Thursday!!

Anyone facing some hard decisions? Anyone facing something unexpected? Is anyone facing something hard? Something unplanned?

Life can be a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs, but today I am thankful that our God is bigger. He is bigger than any circumstance that comes our way.

I am thankful that He is mightier than the storm and the floods that rise against us. He is mightier than any obstacle, any unplanned, unexpected news, any trial or any pain.

HE IS MIGHTIER THAN THESE!

What are you thankful for?

Blessings!

The Johnstons

August 8, 2019 1

It Is Good

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening,

Psalm 92: 1-2

Good morning!

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.

What is it about worship that can break our hearts wide open?

I have always loved music, and I especially love some good worship music. It’s as if I can’t keep my hands or my feet still as I sing out loud to the Father. That true heart connection that happens when we open up and let Him fill us up as we surrender.

It is good to proclaim His unfailing love in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening.

This week I am thankful for

the goodness and the faithfulness of God
the battles God fights on our behalf
the work of the Spirit on the inside of us
the very Word and the privilege to read it
a heart broke wide open to be filled up by Him

What are you thankful for?

Blessings,

The Johnstons

August 1, 2019 0

Thankful Thursday!

Good morning!

As I sit and think about the last week and all that we have to be thankful for, a few on the top of my list this week would be:

the opportunity to rope at one of the biggest rodeos – Cheyenne Frontier Days

family – the support, the love and the help that family can provide is truly priceless
friends – the people who pour life into our boys and take them along as their own

a new bathroom remodel – out with the old and in with the new
and of course – these two… they make my heart smile

What are you thankful for today?

Blessings,

The Johnstons

July 25, 2019 0