3:30am Smile

I woke up at 3:30 am today. As I looked at the clock , I smiled that knowing smile as I lay in the dark that only a momma can smile.
Twenty-nine years ago at about 3:30am today, my first child was born.

He weighed 9'4oz, and I only had 1 1/2 hours of labor.
He got the big baby of the day award at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ.
I was so glad he was here, I was two weeks over due, and it was still over 100 degrees outside.


My son Stephen is an over-comer.
He started having seizures at 18 months old.
Because of this, he developed some learning disabilities.
He has been assaulted.
He has been bullied.

Instead of all of those things being an excuse, the astounding young man is now:

Seizure free
Finishing a college degree
A light of hope to people most consider the "dregs" of society.
He has a heart to reach people who are hurting.
His great desire is to be on the mission field.

I am so very proud of this son of mine.
Happy Birthday Stephen.
God has BIG plans for you!

Chasing After Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson

Makin' A Momma Proud

My youngest daughter brought me a "home edition" of her newspaper she had created. It was entitled "News Today". She was very proud of her creation.
This newspaper had a sports section featuring Miley Cyrus playing NFL football. An entertainment section all about a drama performance (that she was in) that has 1,000,000 people in attendance. An obituary for Justin Bieber, two recipes, a game page, advertising for a vacation spot, and a story on a national Bible Bowl  champion and his brothers. My favorite story however was her front page story, that I am sharing, with permission.

(The above picture was on the front page)

REVOLT OF THE BEANIE BABIES
In a shocking turn of events these cuddly companions have revolted against the human race. The FBI has discovered robotic chips implanted in this line of popular stuffed animals. They suspect that terrorists are behind this. The government advises the public to get rid of ALL beanie babies by controlled fire or explosion.
More about this in the next issue.

I love see the creativity being cultivated in my daughter.
Now, off to burn some little stuffed animals.....and send flowers to Justin's mom, I wonder if he collected beanie babies...
(I think the little guy in the left bottom corner is the ring leader)

Chasing After Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson

The Secret Life of a Preacher's Wife- Hospitality

Hospitality:
The opening of your home to others.
Providing a friendly environment where people are put at ease so you can minister to them.
A meal. Planned. Or unplanned.
All this and so much more.

As a preacher's wife, I open my home on a regular basis. I have people in for a meal every week.  I have a Bible Study in my home every week.  I have my Bible Bowl team (  National Bible Bowl ) in my home every week. I have friends over to visit every week. I have one or two days a week my grandchildren come to my home. And there many other impromptu times that people come into my home.

Now lest you think I believe that a preacher's wife is the only one who shows hospitality, that is far from the truth. I actually learned how to be hospitable from older women in the church, long before I became the bride of the man in the pulpit. I have been shown by example what godly hospitality looks like.

As I look back over time, I see many times that I have very fond memories of, and that I was blessed that God used me and my home for His glory.

I would like to share a story of a time that my home was used to entertain His children.

My husband and I were in a ministry in the mid-west. Loving, awesome people whom we were blessed to serve. The parsonage was just across the parking lot behind the church building. It wasn't an extra large parking lot, but is wasn't an extremely small parking lot either. I would guess it would park maybe 100 cars, in four rows of about 25 each. Now that is plus or minus 5 cars per row.

Now I have 7 children. At this time, the 2 oldest were no longer living at home. One was away at college, the other had married and lived in another state with his wife. One of children is in heaven with Jesus. So that left four at home. Ages 19, 9, 7 and 5.

The setting was a typical rural setting, Safe to let kids play outside. Safe to let even my youngest three children walk across the parking lot to our home while we visited with people after the service dismissed. Safe enough to even not lock our doors to our home.

I know right now there is a momma out there who is freaking out at the thought of a 7 and 5 year old walking home alone. Really, I could see my house, and please know, I am a very serious momma. I would never put my children in danger.

Back to one particular Sunday morning.

My children had made some really good friends. It was nice since we had only been there for about 4 months. I was especially excited for my 5 yo, since he had 3 boys his age that he played with every week. On Wednesday nights, also during the weekly ladies Bible study, play dates that were scheduled, and of course Sundays.

My then 5 yo Noah, was and still is a Star Wars fan. We have at least a half dozen, if not more light sabers in our home at any given time. It was a common practice for Noah to run home right after church, get his light sabers, and for those 3 other boys to play with him in our front yard or in the now fairly empty parking lot. The adults were visiting, and boys had a blast playing. The parking lot had mostly emptied by this time, so there were always great battles between the young Jedi and the dark side.

On this particular Sunday, the other parents were ready to leave. The boys were no where in sight. I told the other mommas that I would send them back over since I was on my way back to my house.

I assumed ( you know what happens when you assume, right?) that Noah had invited them in for a drink or a cookie. That was acceptable. Learning to show hospitality early. As my husband and myself entered the house, we started calling out names. Looking for the young ones, who were NOT in the kitchen enjoying a drink and a cookie.

"Hey guys! Your mommas are ready to leave! Noah! Where are you? Come on out guys! Time to go!"

We walked to the back of our single level rancher, thinking that they were in Noah's bedroom. As we were just getting ready to walk into the bedroom on my right, which was Noah's, I caught a glimpse of something out of the bedroom on my left. That room was the master bedroom. Mine and my husband's.

I really liked this parsonage. One of the reasons was the spacious, large rooms, with large closets. Every woman loves a large closet right? We have room to store and organize many things.

AT this very moment, as three young Jedi ran past me, I realized just HOW BIG my closet was. Why? Because these guys has TOTALLY emptied it out to make a Jedi Hide-out.
Total=Completely
Nothing left in that closet, except the top shelf they could not reach.
Every box.
Every piece of clothing on a shelf.
Every piece of hanging clothing.
Every shoe.
Every tie, belt and hat.
Everything.
Everything now in the middle of my bedroom floor.

This verse came to my mind as I was standing there, looking at my pile, empty closet and watching the guys run back to their parents.

Heb 13:2  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Had I just entertained "ANGELS" without knowing it?

That is still up for debate.

My home was open the very next Sunday.

My bedroom door however was locked.

And to this day, those mommas don't know what happened.

After all, it is the secret life of a preacher's wife!

Chasing After (even) Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson

Daily Devo- Psalm 78:1-7 "What Is Important Today?"

Psalm 78:1-7

1  A maskil by Asaph. Open your ears to my teachings, my people. Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2  I will open my mouth to illustrate points. I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3  things that we have heard and known about, things that our parents have told us.
4  We will not hide them from our children. We will tell the next generation about the LORD'S power and great deeds and the miraculous things he has done.
5  He established written instructions for Jacob's people. He gave his teachings to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6  so that the next generation would know them. Children yet to be born would learn them. They will grow up and tell their children
7  to trust God, to remember what he has done, and to obey his commands.

It is Sunday morning. In our home, that means we will go worship Jesus with the Saints in Easton, Md. There is no question in my children's minds about what what we will do today. We serve Jesus as a family, we worship as a family, we strive to make our family's focus Jesus.

The first seven verses of the 78th Psalm talks about teaching our children about the Lord. It is so important that we teach our children who God is and what He has called us to do.

Now lest you think I have always done this perfectly, or do this perfectly now, let me say without reservation that I do not. But I try. It has taken many years , like 28 to be exact, to get our family focused on Jesus.

I had to be fully focused on Jesus before I could begin to lead and teach our children to put Him first in their lives. I had to work on me for years. I have to work on me daily. I have to remember verse 7:
7  to trust God, to remember what he has done, and to obey his commands.


So it is Sunday. You have two choices. You can begin, or continue to , point your children to Jesus, or you can make something else more important. Trust me, I have done both. Jesus is the better choice. It is the only choice today that will have ETERNAL benefits, or consequences. Everything else just lasts for a brief time.


The nice thing is, just because you didn't focus on Jesus yesterday, doesn't mean you can't make a different choice for today. Your children are looking to YOU and my children are looking to ME to show them what God has in store for us all.

Today, chase your children's hearts for God. You will never be sorry you did!

Chasing After Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson

Daily Devo- Luke18:15-16 "A Childlike Faith"

Luke 18:15-16

15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Lord may I never keep a child from You. With either my actions or my deeds. Really that is actually the easy part of obeying this verse. How do I receive the Kingdom like a child is a little tougher. We spend our entire adulthood trying to teach children how to grow up and love you, God. How to "properly" worship you God. How to act like someone who is walking with you God. And yet, that is not at all what this verse says. I need to look around me and see how the children view You. How they worship You. How they serve you.
This is what I see:
Children love God, simply because He is God.
Children worship with reckless abandon. The jump, sing, dance, spin with joy, and all because they are excited about singing and praising God.
Children love to serve other people simply because they love Jesus and because they accept the fact that it makes God happy.
Children will tell others everything they know about God without worrying about what they don't know, or of they will say something wrong.

God is simply who He is He in a Child's eyes. 

The difference I observe between a child and an adult is I have yet to ever see a child try to replace God with themselves. Only adults do that.
Please forgive me Lord for the times I have neglected to see the beauty of a child's faith.

Today :

I will observe the faith of the children around me.
I will watch and I will learn.
I will drop my pride so that I can see God through a child's eyes.
I will chase after their heart, so I can see His heart! 

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

Thankful? Really? Continued......#2

Remember as a child growing up saying your prayers? If you were like me, and even my kids now, it might sound something like this:
Thank you God for Mommy. Thank you God for Daddy. Thank you for my sister and my brother. Thank you for Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you for my whole family!
(As I got older, this was added)
Thank you for my children. Keep them safe. Help them grow up and and be good.

The words are so easy to say. Sometimes I forget that just SAYING I am thankful for something, doesn't necessarily make me a thankful person. So how do we get beyond the words?

I am so thankful for my family. What does that really look like? Being thankful is ... well...
a verb with an attitude! A great attitude! And lots of action.

It means respecting my husband. As a thankful wife I will meet his number one need for respect. If no actions go with the words, it really mean noting to say, "I am thankful for my husband".

Being thankful for my children. Hmm, how does that look?
It means I provide a happy, healthy place to grow up. I will prepare them to grow up and ..yes.. leave.

My job is not to keep them HERE, but prepare them for THERE! I am thankful to GOD for letting me have my children for the time that I am supposed to have them.

But, being thankful for adult children is a little different. It looks a lot like:

Being there when needed, but staying out of the way. Allowing them to develop a new family unit. Being available. Love and support without having to CONTROL the decisions!

I can tell God that I am thankful for the people He put in my family. He however, expects some action with appropriate attitude.

So, here's to respect. Training. Letting go. and being available.
All true forms of thankfulness!

Chasing Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson
womanaftergod@gmail.com
GlendaJohnson63@Twitter.com

A Funeral and a Wedding

Saturday was interesting. My day consisted of attending both a funeral and a wedding.

I must admit. My first concern was whether there was enough time to get from the funeral to the wedding. If not, at what point could I leave the funeral and not seem uncaring.

My second concern was much more, let's say, vain. HOW do I dress for a day like this?  I was baffled for a little while. Luckily, the wedding was not formal, so I found an outfit that would work for both occasions. (A fabulous pair of heels works wonders!)

The funeral was very touching. The man we were there to remember and honor had lived a long, good life. His family was grieving, but they all knew that he was in the place that he lived his entire life looking forward to, heaven.

I was touched as I listened to his children and grandchildren talk about the life he lived and the ways in which he shaped their lives. They all acknowledged their mother, the grieving widow, also as part of the legacy that this man left behind for his children , grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

It really made me ponder my own funeral. Would my children be able to say that I has left them a legacy of godliness, love and joy? Was I the example of Christ that they needed to see?

I really was challenged to reevaluate everything that I do as a mom and a wife. Not so people will sing accolades to me when I die, but so I can influence my children while I am alive!

Then I rushed off to the wedding. Made it with 10 min. to spare!

It was a beautiful fall wedding. The bride and groom were both young, pure and committed to Christ!
As I watched them commit their lives to God and to one another, something occurred to me.

What I had been a part of at the funeral just a little while before, started 60 years prior at an event not so different from this one. The young couple have an opportunity to begin a legacy right now that will lead to the joy and happy lives that will be shared at funerals years from now.

For them, it starts NOW. I got to share this with them during the reception. It was a blessing.

I am reevaluating my marriage and home life. It can be a new beginning and a chance to make adjustments starting right now.

How about you? Is there anything you need to change or adjust?
It doesn't matter if you have been married 24 hours or 24 years!

2Corinthians 5:17  Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. 

We can start new each day! We have a God that specializes in new!

Chase God's heart by being the wife and mother that is leaving an honoring legacy!

Chasing Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson
womanaftergod@gmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/GlendaJohnson63
http://www.facebook.com/BibleBowlGlenda.com

Are You Sure God?

It is one of those day. Not a bad day. It has actually been a very good and productive day. It has however been a day that in the back drop, slowly worry has started creeping in. Now as I sit here to write, I am exhausted. It is more of the mental kind verses the physical.

Have you ever noticed how worry can just zap you of you energy, joy and well-being?

As I worry I have a hard time having the energy to meet the needs of my two kids who have the flu.

*Hmm one of my reasons for worry......

As I am caring for them, I need to pack to go out of town for 3 or 4 days because my husband is having surgery about an hour and a half away from home. I am over-whelmed and too tired.

*Hmmm again one of my reasons for worry.....

As I think about my husband being in the hospital for 2 or 3 days starting tomorrow, I know I must also go with my daughter to the perinatalogist for a consultation for a pregnancy that is becoming an increasing concern for both my daughter's health and my grandchild's day after tomorrow. I know we probably have 28 more weeks of bed rest with me caring for my 16mo granddaughter. And I must care for my husband. AND I must be prepared to support my daughter and son-in-love if we have a loss .

*Hmmmm once again,the reasons for my worry.

As I write this I am tired.

Isn't it interesting that all the things that make me worry are things I need the energy to accomplish that the worry steals????

Are you tired from worrying about things. Real things. Things that are truly difficult and affect your ability to serve Jesus, or to be the wife or mom that He has called you to be?

Me too.

And once again Jesus speaks through His Word and through the Holy Spirit to me.

Mat 6:34  "So don't ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (GW)

Really? I don't have to worry about tomorrow, or the next day or the next?
Jesus said I don't have to.

Then He talks to Martha and says: 
Luk 10:41  The Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things.(GW)

She was wearing herself out worrying over things that did not need to be worried about.

He could have just as well been saying,
"Glenda! Glenda! You worry and fuss about a lot of things."

Could your name go in there as well?

As we chase after Jesus' heart we must trust that in that heart everything is already handled for us.

You see He also said:
Pro 1:33  But whoever listens to me will live without worry and will be free from the dread of disaster."

There's the issue. We dread disaster. I dread disaster.

If we will listen to Him, the worry can march it's scrawny little,  obnoxious butt right out the door!

I am choosing right now to stop the worrying.

Want to know what is amazing?

I suddenly have the energy I need to get through the rest of the day!

What will you choose?

Chasing After Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson
http://twitter.com/GlendaJohnson63
womanaftergod@gmail.com

But He Betrayed Me!

http://www.Freefoto.com

Today I am home. I should not be. I should be with Body at the church building. The flu, however, chose to invade my body and keep me home. But it did not keep me from Jesus.

As I was in fellowship with Jesus in His word I was struck by something.

Betrayal.

It seemed to permeate everything I read this morning. It shouldn't surprise me. Betrayal is everywhere.

I talk to women everyday that feel betrayed. By husbands. By children. By friends. By employers. By the church. Some betrayals are deeper than others, but betrayal is still, just that, betrayal.

So what do you do when your husband betrays you?
When a child betrays your trust?
When the church, that is supposed to show God's love and truth, betrays you?

Run to Jesus. He has been there.

Mar 14:18  While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, "I can guarantee this truth: One of you is going to betray me, one who is eating with me!"
Mar 14:19  Feeling hurt, they asked him one by one, "You don't mean me, do you?"
Mar 14:20  He said to them, "It's one of you twelve, someone dipping his hand into the bowl with me.


A close friend, one that Jesus hand picked, one he has shared three years of his life with. Betrayed him. And for all those three years, Jesus knew the betrayal was coming.
He loved him anyway.

Ok, Ok, so Judas HAD to betray Jesus for the plan. Maybe, maybe not. But just in case you need something else.

Mar 14:29  Peter said to him, "Even if everyone else abandons you, I won't."
Mar 14:30  Jesus said to Peter, "I can guarantee this truth: Tonight, before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don't know me."
Mar 14:31  But Peter said very strongly, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never say that I don't know you." All the other disciples said the same thing.

But Peter did just that. Betrayed Jesus that very night. All the other disciples ran away. In his darkest hour, those closest to him, left him alone and betrayed.

So what does this mean for you?

When you are betrayed by those closest to you, you get one step closer to being like Jesus.
That's what the purpose of life is to be, right? Become more like Jesus and point others to him.

So what do you do when you are betrayed? Let's let's see what Jesus' last words were after his betrayal:

Luk 23:34  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing."

It all lies in forgiveness.

Who do you need to forgive in your heart today? Talk with the One who has been there, then do it. There is a new day waiting for you free from the bondage betrayal puts on us.

You can beat betrayal with love and forgiveness.

Jesus did.

Chasing Their Hearts,

Glenda Johnson
twitter.com/GlendaJohnson63

Fall -A Time to Change

I know it is contrite, but fall seems to be the time of year I find it easiest to make changes in my life.  As I watch the leaves change color and give us a true pallet of beauty, I am inspired. Then, as the leaves change their location, from the branch to the ground, I realize, movement was meant to be.

So, I embrace change with a passion, and bravery like never before…

WHO AM I TRYING TO FOOL?

There are major changes going on in my life and I am scared to death! But I am inspired by my surroundings.

Let me share the “fall” of my life.

My oldest daughter is expecting her second child. We have already been blessed with a 16 mo. Granddaughter from her.  It should be a time of rejoicing. We are trying. You see, she has developed a subchorionic bleed. She is on bed rest, with a 16mo old that means Granny’s house. The change of having more people at our house is not a problem. The waiting and wondering if this bleed will end in a loss, premature labor or placental abruption is the change in my life that has me blowing around some days like the fall leaves.

My husband will also be having 2 surgeries over the next couple of months.  The first one is next week. It is a fairly complicated surgery requiring both a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon to complete it.  Suddenly, all my fall leaves seem to blowing in a crazy wind storm and I can’t seem to recognize where I am.

So, I am faced with caring for possible 30 more weeks my pregnant daughter and my recovering husband.

Oh, did I add that I home-school 3 other children still at home AND own a business?

Something needs to change. I may be Wonder Woman but I am not God.

So, I now find myself “falling” into some life changing decisions.

1^st- I must close my business. My family comes first. Always.

2^nd- I have 4 blogs and 2 books that need to be written. I keep complaining I don’t have time because of the time requirement of my business. 

Sometimes changes come about to help us reprioritize our lives.

This fall is my time to change.

I am “falling” into line with God’s will for me. Being a wife and mother are what I am called to be. Writing to encourage those other people God brings across my path can no longer be put on the shelf.

Here’s to change. It can actually be quite pretty, just look out your window…then into your heart.

What do you need to change this fall?

Chasing Their Hearts,

Glenda Johnson