Running?

Today was filled with many things that had to get checked off of the list..... I had a doctors appointment for my yearly physical ( cholesterol, blood pressure, and everything else checked out great), then I had a meeting at the kids school to talk about tuition for the next year ( praying that the school and I are on the same page), third handed talked to a team member about support ( Renee was actually talking I was eavesdropping), talked to my father in law, went shopping for mother's day, and had Oasis tonight!
I am also coming off my closing weekend and haven't connected with my family for a week ( we haven't had dinner together since last Tuesday). I feel like I have been running a race, without getting very far! I made an executive decision for our family tonight; No OASIS and Family TIME! We watched American Idol and had a great dinner; then we went for a run (of course)! It was awesome to just spend some time together.
I have been running in my mind quite a bit recently too. As you read in my last blog I am starting to feel the pinch of running out of time, and feeling like I need to be more focused on getting the funds we need raised so that we can get to the field. I feel that this is the most important race that I need to be running, but with work and other schedules it is a race that I have been jogging. I am feeling that I need to step away from my current job, but the uncertainty of the ramifications of that decision has left me sleepless several times the past few weeks.
Please be praying for us, that our direction would be clear and that we are running the race God has laid before  us.

T-minus 56 weeks!

My co-worker went to watch the space shuttle launch this past week. As I reflected on the journey we are on, I wonder if we are going through some of the same feelings that an astronaut would just before launch. We have about 56 weeks before we depart for our journey to Italy to plant a church; as I think about that number it feels like both an eternity and an instant all at the same time. Much like that astronaut we have been preparing for this journey for a long time, but in the short time leading up to the launch there is still much to accomplish.

God has blessed us greatly in our fundraising efforts. We have raised almost 40% of our monthly need and our donors have been so faithful in their giving. We are so grateful to God and those who are equipping us to go. We do still have a fair amount of work to do but with God doing the preparations we are confidant that we will get there. As we send this letter out, we are hoping to meet with each of you in the very near future and will be calling you soon to talk about setting up a time to talk.

We had a chance to talk with a small group of parents from our kids’ school. It was great to share our story and a short message with them. If we have a chance to come and speak at your small group or Bible study it is a great forum to share and meet believers that are passionate about missions. Would you consider praying about us coming and sharing our story with your group?

Finally, we wanted to share some ways to keep in contact with us. Our e-mail address is listed on the side of this letter; we are trying to compile a list of e-mail addresses for each of you if you could e-mail us it would help tremendously.  We now have a Skype account; mixedupsocks is our screen name, if you have a Skype please include that information into your e-mail. Also Renee and I both have started a blog mine is koinoiawithmichael.blogspot.com and Renee’s is paxromanaiv.blogspot.com although I should admit that Renee is much better at updating her blog than I am.

            Please know that as we send this letter out to you, that we are praying for everyone who receives it. Also we would love all of you to be praying for us! We look forward to talking with you all soon, God Bless!

In Christ’s Peace,

Michael & Renee Johnson

6 Feet away; 2 or 3 feet short!

In the 12th chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians; Paul uses the image of a body as a parallel to the group of believers know as the church. It is this imagery that I would like to explore in this writing.

I have heard a trend in the US church today that goes something like, "We are all missionaries, so let's be missionaries where we are at." While this seems like a well intentioned thought; I am not sure that it is entirely accurate. It is undeniable in looking at the Great Commission passages that the entire church is responsible to carry out the task of spreading His church "to the ends of the earth".  The fact of Corinthians 12 is there is one body with many parts and not all of those parts are the same otherwise the body would not operate the way it needs to. Not everyone is a "missionary", but we all have a part to play in the mission. Another way of saying it would be "all Christians are called to ministry", so we are all pastors or all elders. While this is a great thought, it simply isn't true. I am not saying that the position of a missionary is "better" than any other part of the body of Christ, it i just unique in its purpose. Most importantly it is a part that cannot exist outside or independently of the rest of the Body but rather is interdependent on the rest of the Body! No Body = no missionaries; everyone is a missionary = no Body!

Right now I am looking at the missionary as a foot; the part that is mobile, the part that goes. We have a team of 6 adults ( and two great kids) that have signed on to be feet on our team. But we are looking for  two or three more feet to join us (maybe some more kid feet too). We know that God knows who they are and has been preparing them for this journey, we are praying that they will be faithful to answer.

We are also diving into fundraising a bit heavier this month. I cannot communicate to all of you how much we need the Body of Christ to respond to the calling God has placed in our lives. As we send out letters this month; I would ask you to consider what your role within the Body is. Without legs, bones, or muscles the feet cannot go anywhere.

Date Day

I love Wednesdays. It is my usual day off work and it is the day that my wife and I have set aside as our date day. It is not that we do anything extravagant; we generally run some errands, sometimes we go to the grocery store, but we almost always go out to eat. It is a time that we have set aside each week to focus on our relationship, we can sit together and chat. I think that it is a practice that all married couples should look into. I need that time to connect with her and I think she needs it too.

It's funny - this week life gave us a monkey wrench in the form of a snow day. With the kids being home we didn't get our usual date; although some of the same errands had to be run! And I missed that time! That is not to say the time home as a family wasn't awesome, because it was great. I just missed lunch with my wife!

Box Office Theology!

I sat down to watch a movie that I expected to enjoy for it's action sequences but I wasn't expecting a profound thought to come from it. In fact, going into watching this movie I was pretty sure that it was devoid of any artistic quality or deep thoughts. The A-TEAM was a good movie one that I really enjoyed. For the most part I was correct in thinking that there wouldn't be anything that truly challenged my brain. 

But now a day or two later I was thinking back to the movie, I found myself thinking of one particular scene. The Col., played by Liam Neeson just stepped in front of a speeding car in the middle of the desert. He is trying to get to another soldier that is in a life and death situation; and it just so happens that the van he stepped out on was being driven by a fellow Ranger.  Sometime during this discussion he says "I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that no matter how random things may appear, there's still a plan."

I like this thought; no matter what our situation is GOD is in control. Though we may not be able to see the plan, it is there. God sets everything in place to get us where we need to be or get going or draw us back to Him. No matter how random it may appear; God has a direction for our lives. It is our duty to seek His face and to walk in faith on the path He has laid before us. Sometimes we get distracted or off course and much like the movie it is often a mission of dire importance that we must complete. 


I look back at the road to missions and it would appear to be a sequence of unconnected events. Random choices that my wife and I made. But each of those steps got us closer to the calling God had for us. Each of them individually couldn't be seen as a choice for missions, but looking back at the whole it is so obvious! I love it when God works this way in our lives, or as the Col. also said "I love it when a plan comes together!" 

Life Happens

It seems I have been praying for a lot of people this week; not that I usually do not, but this week I have had a ton of specific things to pray about:
* A friend is going through training at Avant
* An extended family members father is sick
* A couple that got the news they were hoping to not hear
* A family member of mine that is sick
* Our pastor was in the hospital - stroke (doing okay)
* A co-worker that has had a rough couple of weeks

It is during times like these that I wonder "how much more can life happen". Why is everything always so hard? Shouldn't God, who loves all of these people, make life easier for His followers?

The fact is we live in a sinful and fallen world; and Jesus himself said "while you are in this world you WILL have trouble; but take heart for I have overcome the world!" God in His perfect will uses our imperfect circumstance to show His Glory and perfection. He is our refuge and shelter and has promised to not leave us. But most days Life happens, when we can give God our praise when times are hardest is when we see the most growth in our relationship with Him; that is how I see Him work in my life!

So pray with me that my friends and family can give God all of their praise, even through tear soaked eyes!

New Year, New challenges!

Dear Friends,

It has been a while since we have chatted. During the holidays I just didn't have a lot of time to write, and for that I am sorry! We did have a great time spending time with family and friends trying to soak up every moment that we had with them, knowing that this season is quickly coming to an end as we look to go on our mission soon.

It was also an eventful 1st week to 2011 for our team. We were informed that one of the other couples that had been comissioned to serve with us was going to step away from our team; in order to accomplish some other personal goals before going overseas. This has brought up a mix of emotions for Renee and I. We were nervous, sad, dissapointed, and concerned for our friends and co-laborors. I had a chance to talk with the rest of our team mates, inculding the couple leaving; we were all working through similar feelings.

As I contemplated all these events, I began to pray a read scripture. I began asking God what He was planing. I was taken to a familar passage in Romans (coincedentaly) 5:3-5 says:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I love that we can rejoice or have glory in our sufferings, and while the loss of our team member is not what most would consider "suffering" it is never the less a loss for our team. And God is building into our team perseverance, character, and hope. So while I am saddend by this trial (as some texts translate suffering) I still have hope that God is building us up for His perfect will for our team. We can take joy in the fact that He is perfecting us and while that process can be painful, it is always for the better!