The Best is Yet to Come!

 by Macy Johnson

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’”

(John 20:27 NIV)

 

I felt the nudge to stop doing something I had been doing, mostly by rote. Several signals were pecking at my brain to remind me that God prepares us for all that He is preparing for us. We need to be ready for something new. We have to be available and flexible and all the things I am afraid of. I like routine - doing the same things over and over.

 

I received an email that said something I was participating in on a regular basis was going to change. Would I continue work on that project, or was this a signal to move on to something new? What could the something new be? Should I wait and trust God to reveal His will? Should I remain in my routine?

 

My sister needed a place to live. Her landlord announced that the house they were renting would be put on the market in a few months. Houses in her neighborhood were selling like hotcakes and the owner wanted in on the windfalls. Then, an unexpected, unsolicited email appeared in my sister's inbox. A house down the street was available for rent in a few months for the same price she was currently paying! My sister recognized it as a God-thing, an answer to prayer.

 

When things stop, slide across the floor, burst onto the scene, or creep around the corner, we can trust God to be in the middle of them. We can know He is in complete control of our biggest messes, making beautiful masterpieces. The best IS yet to come!

 

I will look forward to all the wonderful things headed my way. I hope you will, too!

Into Me See

by Macy Johnson

“He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name.”

(Psalm 147:4 NIV)

 

A loose definition of intimacy is “into me see.” Merriam-Webster defines intimacy  as “the state of being familiar; something of a personal or private nature.” When I think of God, I think of my personal, private relationship with His Son, Jesus. It is a relationship of surrendering my mind and heart for Him to clearly see into me as He lets me see into Him.  

Raised with Christ

 by Macy Johnson

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,

set your hearts on things above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

(Colossians 3:1 NIV)

 

 

Songs were written over many centuries to help believers recall scripture. The lyrical words guided worshippers to think about God and how the Holy Spirit works in their lives. As a teenager I sang popular Scripture Songs while driving, walking, and working through my day.

Mother's Day

 by Macy Johnson

“May your father and mother be glad;

may she who gave you birth rejoice!”

(Proverbs 23:25 NIV)

 

My husband, Jeff, and I drove to South Carolina the day before Mother’s Day. His sister flew there from San Antonio to celebrate their Aunt’s ninety-first birthday and visit with cousins. Our daughter drove down from North Carolina with her children to join in the celebration. We laughed about times gone by as we enjoyed everyone’s favorite submarine sandwiches on the warm, sunny deck and mouth-watering cake in the air-conditioned home.

Grass and Flowers

 by Macy Johnson

“The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.”

(Isaiah 40:8 NIV)

 

My husband mowed the grass in our yard one spring morning while I walked my regular route near our house. The fragrance sent me back to childhood days of tumbling in the front yard with friends. I love the smell of a freshly mown lawn.

Crawfish Boil

by Macy Johnson

“His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes,

and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.”

(Job 1:4 NIV)

 

On the first weekend in May our son, Alex, and four high school friends gathered at our home for a Crawfish Boil. It was a joyful, fun reunion for everyone.

 

Jeff, my Louisiana-native husband, has dreamed of hosting a Crawfish Boil at our house for a long time, but could never quite get it together. God made it happen in a better way by having our son and his friends bring it to us. We could never have laid it out as well as they did and been able to relax and enjoy the festivities. It was God’s perfect plan.

Islands

 by Macy Johnson

“The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

the crags are a refuge for the coneys (rock badgers).”

(Psalm 104:18 NIV)

 

There is a large island nestled close to the dam in Alabama’s Lake Martin. When the lake was formed in the 1920’s goats were stranded on the island, so the locals named it “Goat Island.” You can cruise around the island in a boat or on a jet ski and look up its steep, rocky landscape in search of goats. Some vacationers pull their boats up on the island’s sandy shores and pitch a tent for a holiday weekend or afternoon picnic. There are no bridges to Goat Island, no ways for its original inhabitants to escape.