Update

Sorry for the weird formatting issues.  I'll work on that soon.

I have not written an update in a very long time.  A lot has happened so far this year
but I just haven't had the words or inspiration to sit and write.

This year started with Bobby and our friend, Tim,
beginning a prayer class at Fellowship Church Southwest in Austin.
The class has been going well!  You can listen to recordings of the class here.

Bobby had to take a few weeks off in the middle of the class to handle family situations.
His father unexpectedly passed away this February in New Mexico.
We are all very saddened by this loss.  Bobby's dad was a brilliant man!
You can read his obituary here.  We had a trip planned to visit him this summer.
We are still going to follow through on that, it will be sad to not see him though.

Homeschooling has been tough.    Maybe I'm dealing with burnout.
I know this will be worth the sacrifice in the long run but I have a hard time
keeping myself encouraged.  I'm very grateful the older girls are going
to OneDay Academy though!

I'm not going to go on the India mission trip I wrote about in December.
Right now is not a good time to leave Bobby alone with the kids for 10 days.
I did get my passport and some other little things paid by donations
from photoshoots.  I'll have to post pictures of all the shoots I did.  I had a lot of
fun with it just got really overloaded with editing.  I can be indecisive when
picking my favorite photos.

Speaking of photos our family just got some professional pictures taken. I'm
usually the one taking pictures so it was weird to be on the other side of the camera.
I can't wait to see them!

OneChapel Austin

About a month ago we stepped out of all ministry at New Hope Church for many reasons. One reason is that we're waiting on something the Lord is doing. So while we're waiting we've been attending OneChapel in Austin and really enjoying it! If you are nearby come check it out!! Here's a little clip of it.

Ministry Update

I haven't updated on ministry in a long time due to us not knowing what was going on or what we were doing.  Our church, New Hope, recently went through some major changes and we were very serious about leaving and finding a new church but felt the Lord telling us to press through the difficult and uncertain times.  Our pastor has stepped down for a season (he may or may not return) and the elder is filling in until a final decision is made on what to do, which should be made by the end of this month.
We haven't been doing the college ministry for a few months now.  Ministry, work and family life were too much so we needed a little time to rest and focus on what is important to us, being family.   Now that we have had time to rest and wait on the Lord, we see there might be an opportunity to finally start some form of prayer ministry.  Please be praying that the Lord's will would be done and that all obstacles would be removed.  Our hearts desire has been to start a prayer ministry, that is why we went to IHOP and did the training program in 2007.  Since the training program life has been challenging and we've hit so many road blocks, which has been quite discouraging but we are finally starting to see a glimmer of hope in starting something at our church.  That glimmer of hope is a huge praise because when we first moved down to the Austin area our church was NOT for a prayer ministry. It's hard to go so many years with no one really supporting what's on your heart...
Thanks for praying! We appreciate it!

There is a mighty lot of difference between saying prayers and praying. --John G. Lake

Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. --Andrew Murray

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?-- Corrie Ten Boom

Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?....Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray. --Oswald Chambers

Do you know what prayer is? It is not begging God for this and that. The first thing we have to do is to get you beggars to quit begging until a little faith moves in your souls. --John G. Lake

If God will do whatever He wishes, regardless of whether we pray or not, then we do not need to pray at all, and the Lord's instructions on praying for the Kingdom and the Will are superfluous. But the truth is that God waits for a Remnant to rise up and to pray in agreement with His Purpose before He does anything - He will do nothing apart from the Church. Apart from HIM, we CAN do nothing; apart from US, He WILL do nothing –Chip Brogden

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8.24.2011 - Bobby speaking to the youth group

Pray we find a youth pastor so he can have a break!

Vision

For awhile now Bobby and I have had the vision to live on a farm and do daily life with a community of believers. The other morning at church I was very frustrated with the Sunday morning church lifestyle/culture and how people go to fulfill some duty placed upon them by man and not going to worship the King of the universe who loves them beyond their comprehension. So anyway back to last sunday morning, we had a guest speaker come and talk about a children's home in Georgia that runs an orphanage and rescues children from sex trafficking. My heart always breaks for those children caught up in sex trafficking, so instantly those two thoughts connect giving vision for the farm/simple lifestyle that has been on our hearts and some type of children's home. I can picture a large house full of children from all walks of life needing love and family structure on a large amount of land, living simply and off the fruit of the land, worshipping the God who created all things while finding healing for their souls.

Big vision, I know. I'm asking for your support to pray that IF this is the Lord's will that He will provide the resources necessary to do what we feel like He's calling us to do. Thank you!

James 1:27 "External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world."

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5.21.2011 - Some of the college group we took to the OneThing conference.

Update

I'm tired. I néed to finish laundry and pack and...the list goes on and on. This week has been really hard for me. I know these are the times we grow the most but they are never easy. In 10 years the kids will be 18,17,15,13 and 12 and there will be a whole different set of challenges to face. I want to enjoy these moments when my kids want to snuggle up with me and talk and ask me to make up a silly stories. I don't want to get bogged down and grow weary in this race. I don't want the challenges of head lice or my 3 yr old stopping using the toilet get to me so much. And mostly, I don't want my ideal of 'perfection' get to me.
We're taking the college/career group to the Onething conference this weekend and I'm super excited about that!! I need some refreshing! And also excited about the group we're taking and praying the Lord would encounter them in a new and mighty way. So if you think about us please pray this trip would be a great time of refreshing and renewal. Thanks!

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4.27.2011 - Youth Band - Jesse with his "guitar-o" too funny!

Errors and All

I've been thinking about writing this post for awhile but my problem with writing is that I get so hung up on proper grammar/sentence structure that I don't finish writing out my thoughts. And not to mention the format of the blog is driving me crazy, it wasn't always this way. I can't get the spaces how I want them after I hit the publish button. Not sure if it's just me that's having these problems. Maybe I'll change the format of the blog, but I like the mountain background with the rain drops... These are the things I get hung up on. I need to learn from my husband who can type out a 2 page paper in a few minutes. So here it goes, errors and all. I wrote about a trip to the passion conference, here. and how I feel the Lord is wanting me to open up and share what He's put in me. I've been wrestling with it a ton. I'd much rather post a picture, it requires much less of me.. As soon as I'm in a group setting I close myself off from communicating. Yesterday morning was a great example, I got to our college/career group Sunday school class a few minutes early and another student was already there. They asked how I was doing, I opened up and shared my frustration of Sunday morning church and a few other things. As soon as class started I felt the switch from fiery and passionate dim down and silence overtook me. It's a frustrating point to be at. Sunday church was a struggle to get through but the end revelatory point both Bobby and I took was about loving your neighbor as yourself. You love yourself right? We're called to love others as we love ourselves. Probably a duh moment for most people but it hit us in a new and different way. I started to think about my actual neighbors, I probably know them better than most people in our church and not because we talk everyday but because we are doing life next door to each other. I don't know intimate details about them but I know enough to know their basic likes and dislikes which is more than I know about most people in our church. We've been tired of Sunday morning church for a long time but are at the point of not knowing what to do. Our desire is to be surrounded by a community of believers who do life together but until that happens Bobby and I have to press in together with what we have. I'm grateful for him as my husband, who continually pushes and challenges me and doesn't tell me the things I want to hear but the things I need to hear. -----That is how we are called to love our neighbors.--- Proverbs 27:6 "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse." (ASV) "Faithful [are] the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful." (KJV) "The wounds of a friend are more to be trusted than the spontaneous kisses of an enemy." Brenton Greek Septuagint (LXX, Restored Names) So here's to me being more transparent. I'm not liking how hard I've become because I'm tired of people (Christian believers) letting me down. I miss being at IHOP-KC. I miss "weird" people who are sold out for the Lord and will do ANYTHING for him, like sell everything and move in an instant because the Lord was leading them. I miss people who are blown by the wind. John 3:8 "The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." I want to be around people who are full of Faith and will stir up my Faith. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb 11:6) I want to be surrounded by people who are not content with settling for less but want more of the deep things of the Lord and who live out Matthew 5-7 and Romans 9-11.

Passion Conference Recap

I finally have some time to sit down and recall all of the events of this past weekend's conference.

All of it started when one of the college girls wanted to go to this event, so Bobby and I said we would take a group of them. Only girls signed up so instead of getting two hotel rooms, Bobby dropped out and let another girl take his spot. The main reason I wanted to go was to spend time with Bobby without the kids so I had to switch gears into leader and girl time.

We got to the Ft. Worth Convention Center and registered. The lady signing me in asked if I was a leader. I saw she was pulling out a yellow wrist band so I glanced down the sign-in table and saw the other girls get green bands. I hesitated and asked if I had to lead anything and one of the helpers behind her chuckled and shook her head no. I said, "Ok, I'll take it as long as I don't have to lead anything." The girls and I met up and they were disappointed I received a different colored band. We left to go check into the hotel then came back and got excellent seats! Chris Tomlin started off worship and Louie Giglio was the speaker. We then had to split up into whatever color group our wrist band was. My yellow group was all of the college group leaders/pastors and we met in one of the conference rooms of the Omni hotel! Louie Giglio came back to speak to our yellow group for a few minutes then turned it over to our yellow group leader who split us up into even smaller groups of 8-9. Our family groups, as they were called, introduced themselves and we have 4 or 5 questions to each answer. One of which was - Name something you are struggling with. I answered, "I'm struggling with wanting to overcome my fear of talking. I have things to say, I just don't say them. I know the Lord is putting things in me and not only for me but for the edification of the body." The yellow group leader then told us to pick a group leader. Guess who was chosen?? Me. I laughed because I felt the set up of the Lord. I wasn't upset because I knew that was what I needed. We left our groups and went back to the conference center for David Crowder. By this time it was 11:15 pm. Uh.. I'm usually asleep by this time and definitely not ready for a LOUD concert.

We left at 12:30am and plugged Walmart into the navigation system. It's late and we're very tired by this point. The navigation system took us to Sams not Walmart. Sams is not open at 1am. We tried again and found a 24 hr Walmart. The girls were acting funny but I was so tired I didn't pay much attention to them. We get back to the hotel and I use the rest room. When I get out Mercedes jumps in my face and asks me to help her find the eyelash in her eye. Suddenly she says, "Nevermind." and walks away. I follow her into the living area of the hotel and they yell, "Suprise! Happy Birthday!" (even though it's a week away!) They got me flowers, Starbucks coffee and non-diary creamer! How sweet!! They pay attention well! :) I was so surprised! The next morning we went to our small groups first. Francis Chan was our speaker before we broke up into our "families" and I was really impressed with his openness and vulnerability. The main points that hit me were -God can use you if you are willing to be lonely and misunderstood. -It is unloving to be silent That second point hit me hard!! God's commandments are summed up into 1-Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind 2-Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:36-40) I had already confessed I don't speak out when I should. Wow. We broke up into our small groups after he spoke and only had 1 min to talk and 5 to pray. After that we met back in the conference center Charlie Hall and David Crowder led worship and Francis Chan spoke again. They gave us a picnic lunch from Jason's Deli and we walked over to the water gardens. 10,000 people from the conference were a tight fit especially because we were all scavenging for the shady spots. I really needed a coffee so one of the girls and I waited in the LONGEST Starbucks line EVER, it took us 50 min. We were going to have to stand in a line anyway for a seat... There was another session then a long break. We all took a short rest at the hotel since the 4 hours of sleep was wearing off.. After our rest and relaxation time the girls took me to Chili's for my early birthday dinner. :) John Piper was the speaker of the evening session. I wasn't too sure what to expect. His first statement was, "You should only care about what God thinks. If it's not in the Bible then blow it off." Great start! His main point was, what is the bottom of your joy?, and used the illustration of a guy wanting to get an A on his exam. Why did he want to get an A on his exam? To pass his class to become a councilor. Why did he want to become a councilor? Because one time a councilor really helped him out and he wanted to do the same. Why did he want to do the same? You get the picture. What is at the bottom or foundation of who you are? Why are you doing the things you are doing? You're not taking it to heaven. Sunday morning John Piper spoke to our yellow group. This was one of the few times he spoke without a manuscript. He emphasis was on memorizing scripture and not just one verse but whole chapters. He recited (is that the right word?) 1Cor 13 by memory. It was powerful!! Nothing like the word of God!! He encouraged us all to encourage others with scripture and not our own advise. Wow! Good stuff!! One of the guys in my group said he thought that message was for me. I agreed with him. I get fearful over my words but there is no fear in God's words b/c they're not mine. If you have a problem take it up with Him. The girls and I shared our testimonies and felt like this weekend was a great bonding time. I think they want to go to the Onething Regional Conference in Dallas in May. That will be a totally different emphasis since they focus on prayer. I'm ready!

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4.1.2011 First day of the passion concert with some of the college girls

sex trafficking

This video was shared by a friend who attends LeTourneau University and was in our youth group back in Colorado. We're amazed to see how God has worked in him. I encourage you to view the video which is only 37 min long. Towards the end one guy shares his thoughts on pornography. A paraphrase of what he said was, "Your pornography habits are feeding and supporting the sex traffic industry." If Americans could only understand the worldwide effects of the porn industry. O, Lord forgive this Godless generation. Have mercy upon us all! http://www.letu.edu/opencms/opencms/_Student-Life/spiritual-life/chapel/Spring2011/flashvideo/2011-03-30-JusticeWeekCambodia.html

Trip and update

My kind husband is watching all the kids alone while I take a weekend trip to Kansas City to go to IHOP for a weekend of prayer and visit some old friends! I'm very excited about it! Pray that my hubby will survive ;)

Oh and thank you for praying for my pregnant friend with a blood clot!! The doctors were amazed that it went away unexplained!! Awesome! The Lord is the one who heals!

The college group is coming over tonight for our discipleship/ prayer night. They are growing in the Lord and that is encouraging!

Don't worry about the pictures while I'm gone. I've already uploaded them!!

New Years Resolutions

We had a great night last night! Bobby challenged the group to contend for the deeper things of the Lord this year and to increase our prayer lives. One way to do this is to read and pray the Psalms every day. Since today is January 1 we would read Psalm 1 and pray it back to the Lord. We are trying to get away from petition only prayers and focus more on communion style prayers. People claim that "Jesus is their best friend", but how can you have a best friend if you don't talk to them and have a close relationship? We have such a personal God who loves us so much and is waiting for us to draw near to Him (James 4:8). When we stop our busy lives to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, we delight our heavenly Father's heart (Song of Solomon 4:9). I challenge you to dive deep into the Word this new year for in it is life!!

Some of the group eating dessert.

We are updating pictures for the wall in the CCG room at church so each of us took a pic in the Happy New Year hat.

The Wii was fun and entertaining. Kody and Kassidy were boxing each other.
They really got into it!

While the wii games were going on I taught Uwakima (pronounced Y-ma) how to play speed. She had never played cards before, since she grew up in Nigeria, and so the pace was slow.
She beat me once and DANCED! She's funny!

Happy New Year!

I've been trying to get to the computer all day it seems. We've been busy shopping for things for our DOG! Yep, we are taking on the challenge of being a family of seven with a dog! I'm so excited, as are the kids! I was pretty impartial to having a pet until I saw the dog my brother was "fostering". Her name is Kimchi (we may call her Kimmie) and she's a beauty! She's a black lab/boxer mix and six months old. We get her tomorrow!! My grandpa and brother are driving her down from Dallas! :)

I wanted to write out a summary of our year but I don't have time now. We are having the College and Career group from our church over to our house tonight to bring in the new year with prayer and games! What better way to bring in the new year than contending for the things of the Lord with friends. Bobby and I have been helping with this group on and off for two years and are now officially the leaders! Feels funny to be "leaders" again since we had such a long break without "doing" ministry. Ok..I really have to finish up dinner and tiding up. Have a great night!

Onething conference

Click here to watch the Onething confernce live. Misty Edwards is leading worship right now. This conference will go on through New Year's eve. Check it out!

youth event

This is a neat picture from the youth event in Plano. Each person playing is from a different place we've lived in.
Far left is Dominic from Austin, TX next is Chris from Flower Mound, TX. In the middle it Toby from Estes Park, CO. And the far right is Bobby. One benefit from moving around is making friends from all over.

Update

Thank you for all you who pray for us! Despite opportunities for discouragement,our hearts remain encouraged. We had the opportunity to lead the college discussion group last night and are beginning to teach on the disciplines of the faith (prayer, meditation, study of the Word and fasting).
The music event last weekend in Plano went well and the Lord used it to instruct our hearts personally regarding "how to" minister. Not that we've got it all figured out...far from it! But new insight on how to procede in the future.
Continue to pray for us that we will be faithful to all that God has us here in TX to do. The musical recording is going well and if you're interested in any cds let us know. We've finished two full cds that we're not marketing really in any way, but would love to share what the Lord has shared with us.
Blessings on you and your walk with the Lord!

Peace in Christ

Non-Profit Organization

Hello all,
We have recently...finally...set up our own non-profit 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization. The name is offically "A Burning and Shining Lamp". It's offical...kinda neat for us, it's a step in a direction that we've desired to go for a while now but we're actually taking it now. We don't know how the Lord is going to use it regarding the big picture but both Stacy and I felt it was where the Lord was leading us.
Regarding any financial giving, I just spoke with the New Hope treasurer yesterday and she told me it would be infinitely easier to send all donations through our non-profit rather than going through New Hope Church. It becomes very complicated with the IRS...but if everything goes through "A Burning and Shining Lamp" then it is actually more simple. We'll be including all this info in our next newsletter, but if you are praying about giving financially to the ministry please make any checks out to "A Burning and Shining Lamp" NOT "New Hope Church". The address to send donations is still: The Johnson Family P.O. Box 14 Kyle, TX 78640.
Also, we'll be heading to Dallas again this weekend to help lead the music at a youth conference in Plano. It's exciting because it is a small door to express the music the Lord has placed on our hearts. Pray that God will be abundantly glorified in these things! Praise God for His faithfulness!

Bobby

Ministry Update

Hello all,
Here's the new development in 'what' has happened thus far in this faith journey. We have been seeking the Lord's leading in how to be involved in the Church here in Austin and a few doors have opened to us. We are in prayer over them to seek the Lord's direction on these matters. First, we were asked to develop quarterly outreach events to focus on connecting New Hope with the communtiy surrounding it. The desire is not necessarily to grow the church in numbers but rather live out, regardless of what happens, the calling to preach Love to all people. We're tossing around ideas and one is to combine some of the already existing events in the field behind the Church and add an element of intentional evangelsim. Although the events are one day occurances, we can use the months prior to them as opportunities to create intentional, focused, and purposeful prayer among the congregation. You too can labor in prayer for effectiveness on these events. Another idea is that we can develop service teams to go throughout the community and help in any way that these neighborhood people might need, i.e. random fix up projects/cleaning and such. This event would open more opportunities for intentional prayer. That by serving these people it would open hearts to hear God's Love because they've seen an effort to love them unconditionally.
Also, we've been asked to develop a ministry to 'young married couples'. It will start up as a gathering of just a few but it is a wonderful opporutnity to encourage those who have just jumped into marriage.
Please pray for these things as the Lord leads you. We covet your prayers and desire for God's covering to be always upon us! Praise God for a few breakthroughs on some tangible things as we move forward by faith.

Bobby