by Macy Johnson
“Listen, my sons, to a father’s
instruction;
Pay attention and gain understanding.”
(Proverbs 4:1 NIV)
My four-year-old
cell phone was fine, but my husband was having problems with his. “God,” I
prayed, “Please let me know when it is your will to replace our phones.” Not
long after that prayer Jeff announced he was ready to release his cell phone to
the trade-in pile.
by Macy Johnson
“If that is how God clothes the grass
of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire,
will He not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith?”
(Matthew 6:30 NIV)
I walk a
new route. Rather than stay close to home, I now walk one mile to the highway
and back. It is hilly and takes a little longer, but this new path is much more
satisfying. My husband walked with me the first few times, but one particular
morning he had an appointment to recommend tree and foliage placement at a
German immigrant’s horse farm nearby.
by Macy Johnson
“But while everyone was sleeping, his
enemy came
and sowed weeds among the wheat, and
went away.”
(Matthew 13:25 NIV)
While
camping recently at High Falls State Park in Georgia, my husband and I hiked
the Tranquility Trail. For Jeff, it was anything but tranquil. Around every
bend in the path he pointed out invasive plants. “Elaeagnus is everywhere,” he
noted. Later that afternoon he reported his findings to the park office and met
with a grounds employee to discuss. Jeff does not take his calling as Master
Gardener lightly.
by Macy Johnson
“I have told you these things, so that
in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the
world.”
(John 16:33 NIV)
What is a
tragedy? What may be catastrophic for one person could be a walk in the park
for another.
I recently
mourned the sudden death of two friends. One was a fellow musician and the
other a bridge partner. In one sense their deaths were tragic, but in another I
rejoiced for them at the thought of seeing Jesus face-to-face!
by Macy Johnson
“The Word became flesh and made His
dwelling among us.”
(John 1:14 NIV)
Frances
Havergal (1836-1879) composed the words to the hymn, “Lord, Speak to Me.” She commented,
“If I am to write to any good, a great deal of living must go to a very little
writing. Every word comes from God. He speaks to us so we may speak to others.”
Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian minister, wrote, “Jesus didn’t come to
merely speak words that were true. He is the Word that makes us true.”
“Wonderful Words of Life” was composed by Philip P. Bliss in the late 1800’s.
He wrote, “Christ, the blessed one, gives to all wonderful words of life,
wooing us to heaven.”
by Macy Johnson
“Therefore
keep watch,
because
you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
(Matthew
24:42 NIV)
My husband, Jeff, and I recently
watched “The Tomorrow War” on Amazon Prime Video. Young soldiers suddenly appeared
from thirty years into the future to ask their parents to help them fight a war
against alien invaders. Citizens, destined to die before the war even began,
were drafted and sent into battle with weapons and minimal combat training. It
was a doomed endeavor.
by Macy Johnson
“Being confident of this, that he who
began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6 NIV)
My new transcription
project has been simmering for the better part of this past century. I recently
brought it to life and turned up the heat.
After my
father’s death in 2003 I was gifted the letters he had written to his family over
a span of fifty years. My daughter, Libby, and I labored one weekend to put hundreds
of documents in chronological order in large, oversized notebooks.
