Confession

I have a wonderful sister in Christ who is a dentist. It has been her dream to open her own dental practice for ten years. She is loving, caring, hardworking, and most of all compassionate! (I know, I have
 sat in her chair more than once!)

On Wednesday Dr. Ijeoma Tagbo  had her official grand opening of the ten year old dream! It was wonderful, attended by the Chamber of Commerce, and many local government officials. She was so excited and so honored to have approximately 100 people come to the event.

She addressed the crowd after she cut the ribbon.

(The ribbon cutting with the officials.Dr. Tagbo is holding the HUGE pair of scissors)


The message she had for this crowd was one of thanks. To God. To Jesus. She publicly proclaimed that her success and her fulfilling this dream was only possible through God's blessing and her Savior Jesus! She spoke for about 10 minuets confessing Him to the people, then she said other thank you's.

Luke 12:8-9
⁸ “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 

Dr. Tagbo confessed Jesus in a very public way.

The question for myself and you, is when was the last time we confessed Jesus and His wonderful gifts to someone?

Let's chase after His heart by telling others!

Chasing After Thier Hearts,

Glenda

The Secret Life of a Preacher's Wife- The Test

My name is Glenda.
I am a preacher's wife.
And I have a secret.
As a matter of fact, I have a secret life, that only God and other preacher's wives see.

And I am going to give you a peak inside.
Everything I am about to say, is the truth. (Though my friend, and fellow preacher's wife Mandy Richmond says you won't believe it!)
I hope if you are reading this and you are married to the man in the pulpit, you will get a chuckle and know you are not alone.
If you are not married to the man in the pulpit, (please don't desire to be, but that's another blog post) I hope you get a glimpse of the life of the woman that is probably sitting alone on the second pew.

So here we go.


My husband preaches that we are not to just read and know scripture, but to live it out. This is about the day Romans 7:15 became my nemesis.

My husband was preaching is a small southern town. I mean population of 2000 and that includes counting the college students that they lump together with this towns population. And the college has 1000 students. So that leaves about 1000, (and I think they are counting flies) to establish small.
I loved that congregation. Lovely people. We knew everybody in town. And everybody in the Church.

So the stage is set. For my colonoscopy.

Now most you, if you have to have this test done, you make an appointment, show up, get some feel good medicine so you don't remember, wake up, talk to your doctor and go home.

For me it goes like this; I make my appointment. The head nurse of that unit tells me on Sunday, "Oh I see you are coming to see me next week!".
Ugh. Remember, this is a colonoscopy.
The day arrives, I go back and  am introduced as the preacher's wife. Patient hat comes off, Preacher's wife hat comes on. I greet and chat with everyone in the room as I am prepped. Don't know why I changed hats, no one was looking at my head! Ugh.
The nurse member of our congregation gives me something to make me forget what is going on. As I am getting this medicine I am told I will be awake, I just won't remember anything.

This is where you and I might differ some. I begin praying fervently, "Lord, please let me be nice. Please don't let me say anything that might not be appropriate. Please let these women see Jesus (although I was sure they WERE NOT going to find Jesus where they were looking at that moment)!

Sometime during my procedure, the meds starting wearing off, and I began a conversation in my head with myself that went something like this:
"Oh that hurts"
"This really needs to stop NOW"
"Ok, be nice Glenda. be careful, don't say anything you shouldn't"
"Ok ladies this needs to stop"

I then said quietly to the nurses, "Umm, ladies, excuse me but that hurts." They looked at me , rolled me over to my other side and started pushing on my tummy. Not the response I was looking for.

Then Romans 7:15 comes into play.
 "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate."
In my head again, " This has to stop now or I'm going to take someone out!!"
"Jesus, God, Church, Husband is the preacher."
"Ok say it louder, but nicely!"

I spoke aloud again. Quite loudly to make sure they heard me this time.

"LADIES! This really MUST stop now. I have had quite enough!"

My nurse who goes to our church, must have heard me then because she came up to where my head was, and gave me some more meds because the next thing I remember is waking up with my husband and the doctor.
I started to get panicky because I wondered if I was rude, or mean to the nurses. After all, a preacher's wife cannot do that!

I saw my nurse at church the following Sunday, and I asked her, " Was I rude or mean to you or your staff when I had the test done?" She was confused at the question but said no. I then recounted my conversation with her and she looked horrified.
"You aren't supposed to remember that!"
I smiled at her,winking and said, "That's ok, there are a few things from that day I hope YOU don't remember!"

Such is the "Secret Life of a Preacher's Wife".

Chasing After Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson

Football And Joy

It is football season. I love football. I am a home team girl through and through!

 Go Ravens!

 

Go Easton Warriors!!! Local High School team; Our kids are home schooled!

                         

                                       

And unless they are playing the Ravens: Go Cardinals! (I was born and raised in AZ, what can I say!)

But My 9yo son, Noah, he LOVES LOVES LOVES football. Right now, every move he makes in the house is a football play. Most every conversation has game stats from some game he has watched in the last week. He can explain, with enthusiasm, the play of the game that was the pinnacle of that game.
 
Which is interesting.

He doesn't play the game in an organized sport.

Until a couple of Fridays ago when I took him to a Easton Warriors High School game, he had never seen a live game.

SO why the passion for the game? Why does joy just pour out of him while watching football?

I have been really enjoying watching my joyful son. And pondering his attitude.

This is what I have observed:
My son always has a song and beat going. He is always, and I mean always singing. 90% of the time it is what most would label as "worship" songs.  But he really likes Dan Smith parodies.(http://www.whitedj.com) He just SINGS!! Or he is dancing to a beat that can only be heard in his head.

It was while I saw him dancing that it hit me.

The song he was hearing in his head that caused him to dance, was actually,
IN HIS HEART!

Psa 71:23  

My lips will sing with joy when I make music to praise you. My soul, which you have rescued, also will sing joyfully.

My son finds overwhelming joy in football, because the joy is already there!
He is a joyful child.
(except with food, he is a picky eater. He has grown into being more joyful with that too!)

When you have a heart that is filled with joy, it spills out in everything you do. I see this with my son so wonderfully. He sings while he does his school work. He sings while he does his chores. He sings while he is playing.
All the time.
His joy spills out!

Matthew 18:3

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This verse has always been very meaningful. I love the fact that we are to become like the children, not make them into stuffy adults!

I think , that as I watch my boy, I have glimpse  of what Jesus meant when He said it. Jesus saw joy in little children.

Why this joy?

They have very few cares in this world. They don't worry where the next meal is coming from. They trust it will be there when they are hungry.

They don't worry about where they will sleep. They know where their bed is. They trust that it will be there waiting at bedtime.

They don't worry about what they will wear. Clothes are in the drawer

We have been given a life of hope, security, love, and an eternity with King Jesus, who, died for us! Why are we not singing, dancing and overflowing with joy every moment of our lives?

Could it be we lack trust in our "Father"?

Matthew 6:25-34 

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I will choose today, to trust and live in the abundant joy that Jesus has called us to!

This song helps me to remember this very fact!

Trading My Sorrows

Chasing After Their Hearts,


Glenda Johnson
womanaftergod@gmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/GlendaJohnson63
http://www.facebook.com/BibleBowlGlenda