Experiencing Unfeigned Joy

My personal journey of sanctification has been a long one, requiring a considerable amount of grace from my loving Savior. I could never share every lesson that I learn throughout the day; as I seem to find myself frequently chastened by my Savior's gentle hand while I carry out the daily tasks He's called me to.

The greatest lesson He's taught me over the past months has resulted in an abundant amount of joy and peace. The lesson has consisted of enjoying my parents and doing my very best to bless them with the means I am capable.

We can all agree that the Bible gives clear commands to "Honor thy father and mother", and it puts strong emphasis and attention on the consequences of not doing so. But what does it truly mean to honor my parents? Is obeying them all that's required?

This morning I did a quick word search in Strong's Concordance about the topic of parents and the honor that's due them. You can see how importance this is to God by the long list of passages addressed to this subject. The consequences of not honoring your parents is all through the Proverbs, and we can see how it negatively effected many men and women throughout the Bible.
A subject that holds such importance to God should be heeded, right?! Should these commands be acted upon by the standards of our culture today?...

Merriam-Webster's 2009 Dictionary defines honor in this way:

one whose worth brings respect or fame, an evidence or symbol of distinction: an exalted title or rank, a person of superior standing —now used especially as a title for a holder of high office .

That's our cultures idea of showing honor. Here's what Noah Webster said in his 1828 Dictionary:

1. To revere; to respect; to treat with deference and submission, and perform relative duties to.

Honor thy father and thy mother. Ex.20.

2. A testimony of esteem; any expression of respect or of high estimation by words or actions...(emphasis added)


Honoring our parents entails much more than just obeying them because we're commanded to. It involves loving them in sincerity, resulting in our desire to act upon our love and express it to them through our words and actions! To truly honor someone, we must do all in our power to respect and bless them.

"There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers." -Proverbs 30:11

I've been convicted of how I've neglected truly blessing my parents over the years. But by applying and acting upon these truths over the past months, the Lord has blessed me so abundantly! I definitely think He was gracious in giving me the parents He did. My mother's joyful spirit and love for her children and husband; my dad's wisdom, patience, and love for the Lord... make it a pleasure to honor them! They have become my closest and dearest friends. I long for their counsel and praise God for His using them to lead me.

One Full Grocery List!

My my, how they're desperate to be rid of me!
After sitting down to write out the groceries we'd need for the week, I was distracted and left my list one the table. I hadn't gotten far in my list: only milk. But I came back to the table to find these added "items". After chuckling about my siblings sense of humor I investigated to find the culprit... *sigh!* I love you, Hannah and Josiah!

Priceless Treasures

During the week that Christie and her little ones were with us we found time to take some pictures of all the nieces and nephews. It's such a joy to watch my two older sisters, Christie and Heather, fulfilling their blessed and God-honoring roles as wife and mother.

William, Rosie, Noah, Mercy, and Davina

You can see the resemblance between Noah and Mercy!

Rosie, Mercy, and Davina

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed"

Wireless! Yay!!!

Praise the Lord for the details He gives such attention to. I never thought it would be possible to get wireless where we live, but after a visit from the repair man yesterday we now have the highest upgrade (including wireless) for no extra cost; only because we were having inconveniences. No more putting your name in a day in advance to check your email! :-)

Memories from Hannah's Birthday

One occasion I forgot to post about was my sister Hannah's 18th birthday.

In addition to our traditional celebration as a family, this year we did a little something special and had a girls night (to Hannah's surprise). With the help of a blindfold, she had no idea where we were going or that we would spend the evening with our dear friends: Sarah and Beth.

We enjoyed a dinner at Kanpai of Tokyo, followed by a walk downtown, and a delicious cake in the parking garage.
(I'm so thankful to Sarah for all the work she did to make Hannah's birthday memorable!)

Yummy chicken and fried rice at Kanpai

After many attempts/failures, we finally managed to get all of us in the shot!

(Me, Beth, Hannah, Sarah)

(No worries, she gave him dad's number!)

All of the coffee shops were unfortunately closed. Beth was a "little" disappointed!

Beth, Sarah and Hannah; posing with one of the many statues downtown

The conclusion of our evening: a Heath Bar Cake. It was even better than it looks! Because we were running low on time, we had to skip the picnic idea and enjoy the cake in the parking garage. We celebrated, tail-gated, and got many strange looks.

I'm so proud of you, Hannah! You have blossomed into a lovely woman with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. I pray the Lord will continue to bless you with wisdom beyond your years!

Playing Catch-up

After months of not posting, while staying busy with the blessings of life, I'm going to attempt to catch-up a little on some of the highlights from the past three months.

Orlando, Florida...

In February, Isaac and Christie took Matt and me with them on one of Isaac's business trips. Matt, Christie and I took the kids and palled around until the highlight of the week: SeaWorld!
We had such a wonderful time of shopping, fellowship and great food! Many wonderful memories were made and we're appreciative that Isaac included us in his plans.
Thank you guys!

Snowy Days..

We're so blessed to have this view from our front porch

David on our backyard "snow" slope

The end result of playing in the southern snow

Brusters + PJ's = FREE ICE CREAM!

Just days after we played in the snow, we were sitting outside Brusters in 80 degree weather eating ice cream. South Carolina weather!

We're Johnsons...'nuff said!

Now to the present... an encouraging week with Christie!

You can't tell from the still picture, but they were goin' full speed down the drive way! My heart skipped a beat more than once while watching them

William thoroughly enjoying his dougnut

Spring is here!

I'm afraid this is a very lacking update, as the past months have been full and blessed ones that I praise the Lord for! He has been so very faithful in graciously chastening me while working towards my sanctification.

My cup runneth over!

Blessings

The Lord is so good to us, and always has perfect timing!!!

After weeks of not blogging, I'm finally writing from Escondido, California, as I'm spending time with my dear friend, Leah. She's been here for five months now (due to her meeting, falling head-over-heels in love with, and marrying Chris :-))...so it's been amazing having full days together!

I flew in Friday night and woke up to a cup of coffee and a trip to DisneyLand; which was amazing! Who says you have to act your age?!

Yesterday afternoon we went downtown San Diego to SeaPort Village. After walking through the cute shops and sitting by the harbor we ended the evening with wonderful pizza from Sammy's Firestone Pizza.

Since I couldn't bring my camera on the trip, Leah's been kind enough to share her pics with me. So I can't take credit for the great shots!

I'm so blessed to be with Leah! I do, however, miss all of you guys at home! I've got some pictures of fancy things, Josiah... you can see those when I get back! And David, I've got a little souvenir for each of you guys! Sorry Misha, I didn't make it home in time to take down decorations...maybe next year! :)

I miss and love you all!


Praise the Lord for each blessing... He thinks of everything!