This is it. We are finally done with our first semester of junior year at Ouachita. We are now truly preparing for our journey ahead in Spain. Bah! I am so excited, but I am terrified. It was an amazing semester, you can't even understand unless you were there. We have been blessed with the greatest friends and I am still trying to understand the greatness of this last semester. God was working and is still working in some powerful ways through my friends. I can't lie, it's so hard to leave them. It's hard to leave my youth group, and it's going to be so hard to leave my family.
BUT God is going to work in some incredible ways. He is going to grow us like crazy and it is going to be an amazing adventure.
AHH!!!!
I can't believe it's finally about here, three weeks from today.
Please be praying for us. Pray for safety. For comfort. For peace. For fun. For joy. For the temptations we will face. For wisdom. For discernment. For hearts. Pray for our families and friends. Most importantly pray that God uses us for His glory that we take advantage of the opportunities we have to share our faith.
I am soo excited! I will post pictures like crazy. Keep up with us. I will post addresses as soon as we get them! We love letters and packages!
With love and big hugs,
Johanna
Friday, December 14, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Welcome to my wonderful life. This is for all of you special people who want to stay update about my journey to Spain! It's been a crazy process and I've definitely had some overwhelming moments when I've questioned the Lord on why I'm doing this. I am going to be away from home for 4 months. I will not be able to go back and I will be missing a lot of Daddy hugs. That will be rough. I will be missing the birth of my second nephew which kills me a little. I will be away from family and friends, but I will be experiencing this amazing new culture. God is going to grow my sooo much. I can't wait to see what I learn and what the Lord teaches me. On top of it all I get to share this experience with two of my closest friends, Bethany Peevy and Hayley Hill. Who would have ever thought God would have placed us in our lives for so long and on such a crazy adventure. I will be learning Spanish and meeting new people. I will learn to live on my own and provide for myself. Above all though I will be able to see my faith when no one is there to watch. I will be able to fully experience God. I will see Him help through the struggles and push me when I need it. He will grow me and teach me so much. I can not wait! That is something to be excited for. I want my life to be His and I think this will be a real test of faith, to see if I can live it out when I'm not at home. I pray that I will. I pray that His name will be made known, that our lives will reflect what He has done in our lives.
Thank you for all your support. I pray that we have lots of prayers sent our way for this journey in our lives. It will be an amazing one, but we are not ignorant to the hardship that is likely to come with it. Pray God is at the center of our lives and that we come back with an even great love for Him.
I hope you all can experience the trip along the way! I will post lots of pictures and keep everyone updated. Don't expect consistency till we are closer to leaving too.
We will fly out of NWA on January 4, 2013!
Running to the Father's arms.
Jo
Thank you for all your support. I pray that we have lots of prayers sent our way for this journey in our lives. It will be an amazing one, but we are not ignorant to the hardship that is likely to come with it. Pray God is at the center of our lives and that we come back with an even great love for Him.
I hope you all can experience the trip along the way! I will post lots of pictures and keep everyone updated. Don't expect consistency till we are closer to leaving too.
We will fly out of NWA on January 4, 2013!
Running to the Father's arms.
Jo
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
PORTLAND
I can't believe I have been in Portland for a week. It has been an amazing adventure. I got to see one of my best friends get married to the man of her dreams to experiencing God with the ministry of Bread and Wine with Jori.
It is so funny how I was expecting to come on a trip to have fun and just vacation and yet God decided to show up. I've learned so much in just the few days I've been here. I met some of Melissa's friends from college who I loved and they just amazed me. They are so led by the Spirit and understand the love and grace of the Father. Then I went with Jori to her church and got to experience God in a new way.
It's so different here in Portland, yet God is still the same. I went on a walk this morning and just had a good little, okay long, conversation with God. I just realized how much my view of Him has grown. We as people are all different, but as believers we all worship the same unchanging God. Being around people who don't judge and view God as part of everyday life-not just at church-is so amazing, especially in such a dark place. We had what they call "Gospel Community" last night and it was just time to fellowship and grow as a body of believers. We then spent over 30 minutes in prayer, just lifting our hearts up to the Father, praying for each other, the lost, the hurting, the saved. To be honest, they pray sooo much here, so much more than I am used to in Arkansas, it was almost uncomfortable at first. Then I realized how amazing it was. Just spending time talking with our heavenly Father. That is neglected so often and it doesn't need to be.
Coming here I realize that we are all different. No one has it perfectly right. We all have our flaws, but we also have our success in the Lord. We see growth and God shining through. We see Him in our lives, we see the fruit He is producing, we see His love through others, we see Christ reigning. We see God.
I want to love people, I want to show them the love of Christ. It's a love that passes all understanding. It does not judge or condem, but it lifts up, it forgives, it shows grace. I want the people in the Bible Belt to realize that our lives don't need to be legalistic, but they need to be LOVE. We need to abide in Christ, not the world, not ourselves, not even the law. Those who have lives that we might not necessarily agree with, shouldn't be judged, but be shown love-for they are blind, they don't have the Holy Spirit guiding them. People need to see the change in us as believers, as followers of Christ. Something needs to be different about us. People need to see Christ in us-not the world. My prayer is that I can love those around me and show them the love of Christ. I want to show them how Christ has changed my life. He is my life and that's how I should live. It isn't a Sunday morning and Wednesday night thing, but an everyday, every moment-a lifestyle. I am where I am for a reason and I have my story for a reason, so people can see how Christ changed my life and how HE can change theirs. It is ALL about CHRIST-not about us. I want the world to know this. I want the world to know Him-to know that HE is the only one who saves and that He is the only one who can give us life, purpose, peace and joy. My heart is breaking for the lost. But I have such faith the Christ can and will save. He will change the hearts of so many. I'm excited for what He has in-store.
Jori and I in Downtown
"Can you take our picture, please?" "No, they want the sign. Here just let me do it."
It is so funny how I was expecting to come on a trip to have fun and just vacation and yet God decided to show up. I've learned so much in just the few days I've been here. I met some of Melissa's friends from college who I loved and they just amazed me. They are so led by the Spirit and understand the love and grace of the Father. Then I went with Jori to her church and got to experience God in a new way.
It's so different here in Portland, yet God is still the same. I went on a walk this morning and just had a good little, okay long, conversation with God. I just realized how much my view of Him has grown. We as people are all different, but as believers we all worship the same unchanging God. Being around people who don't judge and view God as part of everyday life-not just at church-is so amazing, especially in such a dark place. We had what they call "Gospel Community" last night and it was just time to fellowship and grow as a body of believers. We then spent over 30 minutes in prayer, just lifting our hearts up to the Father, praying for each other, the lost, the hurting, the saved. To be honest, they pray sooo much here, so much more than I am used to in Arkansas, it was almost uncomfortable at first. Then I realized how amazing it was. Just spending time talking with our heavenly Father. That is neglected so often and it doesn't need to be.
Coming here I realize that we are all different. No one has it perfectly right. We all have our flaws, but we also have our success in the Lord. We see growth and God shining through. We see Him in our lives, we see the fruit He is producing, we see His love through others, we see Christ reigning. We see God.
I want to love people, I want to show them the love of Christ. It's a love that passes all understanding. It does not judge or condem, but it lifts up, it forgives, it shows grace. I want the people in the Bible Belt to realize that our lives don't need to be legalistic, but they need to be LOVE. We need to abide in Christ, not the world, not ourselves, not even the law. Those who have lives that we might not necessarily agree with, shouldn't be judged, but be shown love-for they are blind, they don't have the Holy Spirit guiding them. People need to see the change in us as believers, as followers of Christ. Something needs to be different about us. People need to see Christ in us-not the world. My prayer is that I can love those around me and show them the love of Christ. I want to show them how Christ has changed my life. He is my life and that's how I should live. It isn't a Sunday morning and Wednesday night thing, but an everyday, every moment-a lifestyle. I am where I am for a reason and I have my story for a reason, so people can see how Christ changed my life and how HE can change theirs. It is ALL about CHRIST-not about us. I want the world to know this. I want the world to know Him-to know that HE is the only one who saves and that He is the only one who can give us life, purpose, peace and joy. My heart is breaking for the lost. But I have such faith the Christ can and will save. He will change the hearts of so many. I'm excited for what He has in-store.
Yeah we totally went here...soo good!!
Beth and I before the wedding!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Boasting only in the cross of Christ
O how I am learning of God's greatness. How big He is and how small I am. God deserves all of me. He is far greater than I could ever imagine. The fact I can be called His child, be able to serve Him, to worship Him, to know Him it's all the biggest honor and blessing. I am not worthy of such a gift, but gratefully, undeniably I will accept it and run with it.
This culture wants to drag me down, it wants to drag us all down. The world attacks us, Satan attacks us and even our flesh attacks us and wants to pull us away from the "breath of life", pull us away from the only hope, the only true joy, the only peace, the Only Savior- Jesus Christ.
BUT, I know my God is far greater than all of these, I know He saved me and through Him all of that can be overcome. With that fact, with that grace, I want to give Him all of me. I want to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ. I do not want to waste my life. My heart and my passion is to make His name known. My prayer for the past several months has been that "God, break my heart for what breaks yours". I have learned much of the power of prayer recently and when you pray and mean it, be ready for an answer. He answered in such a powerful way. O how my heart breaks, it breaks for the lost, it breaks for the ones wasting their lives, the ones that find themselves of this world. My hearts desire is that we as followers of Christ do not just conform to the ways of this world and then just "do" church. My prayer is that the youth of this nation will rise up, stop settling and proclaim His name to the world. We have freedom like no other people in world to share our faith- we need to take advantage of that and rise up, take courage and stop WASTING our lives. This world offers no satisfaction, no hope, no joy, no peace, but CHRIST offers it all-He gives life meaning. I pray church is not just a social thing, but a fellowship that helps build disciples for the cause of Christ.
I was in Africa for two weeks, working with a track team. I was humbled beyond comprehension. I was in a complete Muslim culture, that was so poor and so lost. They were malnourished, living in slums and in 115+ heat. Many people didn't have water, most didn't have A/C and not good food. I had time to see a completely new culture, experience things most won't. But I want our youth, our children, the children to come to see, to change, to make a difference in this world. No other time in history has had the transportation, technological and communication accessibility that we have now. Let's take heart and take advantage, not for our cause, but THE KINGDOM'S!
My heart is breaking: for the lost and for especially for the lost who think they are saved and the saved who are wasting their lives. Our God is too Big, too Great, too Worthy of all we have to give. We are to be in this world, but not of this world. I struggle with it, everyday. I am tempted by what this world has, what my flesh wants and what Satan soaks in my brain. But I do NOT want to waste my life. I do not. I want to boast in the cross of Christ. I am learning day by day and praying right along with it, for I know that it is only through God working in and through me that I will not waste my life. I am nothing, but He is everything. I am weak, but He is strong. Through Him all things are possible. My prayer is that I will rely on Him and that through Him I can be strong and I can have a productive life-a life glorifying Him. I do not know where He plans to take me, but I pray I follow.
I am running straight into His arms.
This culture wants to drag me down, it wants to drag us all down. The world attacks us, Satan attacks us and even our flesh attacks us and wants to pull us away from the "breath of life", pull us away from the only hope, the only true joy, the only peace, the Only Savior- Jesus Christ.
BUT, I know my God is far greater than all of these, I know He saved me and through Him all of that can be overcome. With that fact, with that grace, I want to give Him all of me. I want to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ. I do not want to waste my life. My heart and my passion is to make His name known. My prayer for the past several months has been that "God, break my heart for what breaks yours". I have learned much of the power of prayer recently and when you pray and mean it, be ready for an answer. He answered in such a powerful way. O how my heart breaks, it breaks for the lost, it breaks for the ones wasting their lives, the ones that find themselves of this world. My hearts desire is that we as followers of Christ do not just conform to the ways of this world and then just "do" church. My prayer is that the youth of this nation will rise up, stop settling and proclaim His name to the world. We have freedom like no other people in world to share our faith- we need to take advantage of that and rise up, take courage and stop WASTING our lives. This world offers no satisfaction, no hope, no joy, no peace, but CHRIST offers it all-He gives life meaning. I pray church is not just a social thing, but a fellowship that helps build disciples for the cause of Christ.
I was in Africa for two weeks, working with a track team. I was humbled beyond comprehension. I was in a complete Muslim culture, that was so poor and so lost. They were malnourished, living in slums and in 115+ heat. Many people didn't have water, most didn't have A/C and not good food. I had time to see a completely new culture, experience things most won't. But I want our youth, our children, the children to come to see, to change, to make a difference in this world. No other time in history has had the transportation, technological and communication accessibility that we have now. Let's take heart and take advantage, not for our cause, but THE KINGDOM'S!
My heart is breaking: for the lost and for especially for the lost who think they are saved and the saved who are wasting their lives. Our God is too Big, too Great, too Worthy of all we have to give. We are to be in this world, but not of this world. I struggle with it, everyday. I am tempted by what this world has, what my flesh wants and what Satan soaks in my brain. But I do NOT want to waste my life. I do not. I want to boast in the cross of Christ. I am learning day by day and praying right along with it, for I know that it is only through God working in and through me that I will not waste my life. I am nothing, but He is everything. I am weak, but He is strong. Through Him all things are possible. My prayer is that I will rely on Him and that through Him I can be strong and I can have a productive life-a life glorifying Him. I do not know where He plans to take me, but I pray I follow.
I am running straight into His arms.
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