August 23, 2008
August 22, 2008
Fishing
I always wanted to marry a farmer, but I never dated one so that was out of the question! But, I did marry a commercial fisherman, a definite cousin to farming. We don’t own hundreds of acres of land, but my husband works miles and miles of Lake Michigan. It is a faith building, faith challenging life, but it is in his blood. Although my husband has many work skills it is fishing that is his main business, for now!
Yesterday I stopped at the shed here in Gills rock and saw an all to common occurrence this year; two fisherman, two hired hands and three boxes of fish. The stainless steel counter for cleaning fish had a few whitefish on it that the guys were cleaning, but the table was mostly empty. It has been a long hard summer, nets more than empty with too many days of counting the catch on less than 10 fingers. Why? Some blame the ecology of the lake being changed due to zebra mussels brought in on the bottom of big ore carriers. Others say it is pollution or just a part of the cycle of the lake. At any rate, for us it is uncontrollable and week after week of it has had it’s cost on us. I am glad for faith in God not faith in fishing. I am glad for my work to help out and the strength to do the work. I am thankful for unmerited favor and little blessings that have surprised us. I am thankful for hope the Fall fishing will be good.
Summers like this where the work has been hard and the days long do leave a weariness in the bones. I have never felt so tired as I have felt the last few weeks, mentally and physically. There is an empty feeling in my soul which is not incriminating although sometimes others may think so, it is a season, it is a valley in the walk of my faith. I have been here before and have seen God’s hand lead me out many times in the history of my walk. What I am thankful for is the knowing that I will come out of this valley with tangible lessons learned, wisdom gained, and deeper faith. It is all GOOD, because I believe in a Sovereign and Good God Who does not fail.
John 16:33
THese things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
I serve the Overcomer of the world, what have I to fear?
As I get older I realize how precious, how very precious heaven is. NOT because it is this place where I get to see those who have gone before, but because it is NOT here! Age does give wisdom and when I look around I see how fallen this place is and I long for the perfection of heaven where God is. I get more excited all the time because the earth, even in all of it’s beauty, just does not captivate me like it once did, the longing in my soul is turned toward eternity like never before.
August 9, 2008
Brett Favre
Ok, so on Thursday night we were invited to a concert put on by all the students ( of all ages) who were involved in a Door County Blue Grass Camp. I had a long day cleaning but managed to get home and had a casserole in the oven and supper ready. Jeni was having Jason over for supper so I was wishing it was more but anyway……..
I had everything ready, we were going to eat outside under the trees so the island buffet was ready to go.
I went in to tell Rick it was about time to eat. He said that Brett Favre was doing a news conference in 8 minutes about his decision. If you follow our family you will know that we are die-hard, owning seats at Lambeau for 40 years, will sit in blizzard to watch our team, kind of a family. Well, most of us :) There has been much debate about this complicated Farve deal and so I knew what that meant. I went and told everyone what was up, encouraged them to take their potty break now because once the interview starts there would be no talking or moving in the livingroom, and then I went and put the casserole back in the oven!
It was a little more than nauseating to watch him hold up his green number 4 Jets jersey and we all felt like he was being a bugger. Even our true-blue Farve fan was saddened by what he said. It’s really too bad that this is how it went down and how his fame as a Packer had to end, but oh well.
The good thing we always remember is that sports are fun, but they have nothing to do with our real life!
Jeni got called to work, Jason ate with us, Rick and I went off to the concert and Jason stayed to watch a movie and play games with the girls.
The concert was also a dance and it was a blast. It was down-home square dancing and old fashioned line dancing. I danced the Virginia reel which is so complicated but I had so much fun! I was worried that my partner and I would have to do the lead but God in His mercy had the dance end just when we were at the head of our line. I learned that peel away does not always mean burn rubber as you drive down the road! I also learned Do-si-do, promenade, spin your corner, circle 4 (although we always ended up circling eight, but what does one expect with a bunch of blondes!). The music was so good and our friend’s young son did so well, also some young boys that I worked with in youth group. What a lot of good clean fun! If communities would get back to old-time Americana fun, I think there would be lots less trouble on the weekends. We have really lost the sense of culture and community to some degree. I think we will see more of these dances as there was good representation from all ages there, and having FUN!
No, Rick did not dance, he always pulls out the Baptist card about then :)
We made it home and had pie with everyone.
Good day
Joyce
Fair
Wednesday was fair day at our house. Rick races, it is free to get in, rides are $1, so all combined, it gives us lots of reasons to go.
WE packed our car with friends and Jeni and Jason filled their car and off we went.
We have a tradition of ALWAYS starting the fair by taking a picture with the cows. Everyone was bucking and fussing about it in my car. I called Jeni and reminded her to meet us at the cows first and she started fussing. Then, Jason, the hero of the day got on the phone with me and said,”Don’t worry Mrs. Johnson, we will be there at the cows.” What a guy. You will notice that some of the faces in the pictures don’t look all that thrilled, but it’s the tradition that counts!
Then off to the rides, wow, do we have crazy girls! They all went on the wildest rides, even Melody headed onto some spinning rides. Of course, the best was the tilt-o-whirl which we did numerous times.
We headed to the annual smorgesbord of buttered corn, pizza, buckets of french fries and cheese curds, Thunderhill burgers and nachos. Believe me, it was NOT the rides that had everyone feeling sick when we left. Oh well, it’s the fair!
Due to a torrential down-pour we had to wait an hour and a half for the races to start while they used County graders to scrape the track. We played cards and talked and did a few more rides until they gave us the go ahead to enter the grandstand.
Jason reminded me about the quarters and he came prepared, what a guy! We have always played a little game at the track, basically to keep our attention while we wait for friends or Rick to race. It is a form, um, well, errr, um,, well, kind of like betting!!! I know, I know, it sounds SO much worse than it is. As the cars enter the track everyone stands up and picks their car and the shouting begins. Melody has a book that she brings and I use to write down each person’s number. It really makes it fun to cheer on your car or take lot’s of kidding when yours starts to smoke or spins out. It is low winnings as I have never won more than $3, but boy do we have fun.
There was a nice gentleman and his son sitting in front of us and he enjoyed our antics. When I saw Rick’s heat lined up I leaned forward and told him “Sir, my husband races in the next heat and we all cheer for him, but he has five daughters who are VERY loud in their support of their father, I just don’t want you knocked out of your seat!” He laughed and asked if it was the fisherman so he must know Rick some how. Rick did OK, but there were big-dog racers in from all over the state to compete for the $1,000 dollar purse and they just roared around the track, literally taking my breath away with their speed.
We had brought some first timers with us and it was fun to see their excitement at the roar of the engines and the excitement of dirt track racing.
We headed out of the track at 11:00 but due to still having a few tickets left, we did a few more rides and then headed home. I have been known to like to close down the party! It was late when we got home, but other then missing our traditional cotton candy and funnel cake, it was a VERY good year!
One of the most precious moments of the day was running into A and B our foster boys from this winter. They recognized us and smiled, although they were shy. They were with their parents and I spoke to the dad for just a moment emphasizing to him how precious these boys are and how valuable their worth. Although it was just a moment, it did my heart good to see them.
Summer morning breakfast
What a fun morning, warm scones with fresh raspberry jam. We read from a new devotional by Brother Yun sharing his experiences from China and challenging us to be more obedient to Christ. His first book The Heavenly Man was VERY good. WE read it together a few winters ago and it really impacted us in regards to our faith, or lack of faith. It is a book that will always be on my top 20 list, maybe top ten.
As you can see, I asked everyone to look at me and Jazmin promptly turned her back to me, Terriers really have a problem with listening!
August 6, 2008
Words to think about
This morning I was studying Eph. 4. It always reveals so much more to me when I dig into the Greek meanings of the Word. Here are two verses that really made me think;
Eph. 4:22 – that you put off, concerning your former conduct (some translations say former conversation, which is interesting), the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
Put off = G = apotothemi = to give up and renounce. Renounce is a strong word it means more than just a slight pushing away, shrugging off, it means an intense and deliberate choice of the heart reflected and manifested in a change of behavior. Wow, good stuff. So if I am a new creature in Christ I will have an evident change in my behavior as I renounce my old man.
Eph. 4:24 – and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Put on = G = endyo = to sink into, envelop in, to hide in. Wow this is good. So, I renounce the old man which, let’s face it, is NOT easy, but, we then put on the new man by sinking into it, envelop in, almost the idea of falling back into a big comfy feather bed where the covers just come up around us and envelope us. Isn’t it just like God to make the new man which He created, something that we can really do with ease IF we let God do the work. I know it is a perpetual action, regeneration and renewing, but it is also a choice. Today I choose to sink into the new man, through Christ, it should look as good as it sounds, it’s God’s design.
Blessed
Joyce
Annie’s first batch of Raspberry jam.
Yesterday was another first in our house, a continuation of passages in a Johnson girl’s life…….. learning to can.
Annie, 14, picked the raspberries, mashed, measured and made the raspberry jam. The only thing I did was pour for her. It turned out beautifully. She is really coming into her own as far as stepping up to the new responsibilities that come with her age. I am so proud of her and thankful for her. She is also VERY funny. She makes the best faces and funniest comments which keep me laughing. She is also deep, she has a great mind and strong emotions and I like it so much when she shares her heart. God has allowed her to be tested and it is a beautiful thing to see her grow in her faith and love for the Lord. She shines SO bright!
Yesterday was hot. Last night after worship practice Jeni and Jason took the girls to the neighbor’s pool to do a late night swim. Jason is a water front director at the local Christian camp and so the girls played drown the lifeguard but they did not win……. yeah Jason! I was in the house talking to our friend and could hear the laughter and the shouting. They had so much fun.
Packer up-date — It is not looking good for reconciliation with Favre. Even Jeni was surprised at the attitude he took yesterday. He is losing face daily. So sad for someone who has been a Wisconsin icon. Jeni is still standing by her “man” but on shaky ground. Jeni now has a Cubs baseball cap, we knew allowing a Chicago native to “invade” would cause problems but who knew it would come to this! ;0
I am off to make scones to go with our delicious raspberry jam.
Today’s list
laundry, office, weed some in the garden, mow lawn, mop the floor and then off to the races and the county fair.
I am debating about taking dramamine as the girls will want me to go on some rides and I am not sure I could handle it.
It is going to be fun,
Blessed
Joyce
August 5, 2008
I just loaded quite a few pictures onto our site, enjoy family!!!!
I really need to load more often and then it would not take so much time, live and learn.
We really did a great job on the pickles yesterday getting dill, kosher dill, sweet sandwich, and wimpy’s relish all made. Actually I will finish the relish today as it is a two step process. I did lose two jars that cracked and that is so frustrating. I have lost a number of jars this year and am at a loss as to why.
Yesterday I had sweet conversation with one of my sisters. She was a blessing as she heard my heart and gave me wise counsel and then prayed. I have often thought about how much harder life would be without sisters and a couple dear friends. We don’t need many, Jesus had 12 and really three that He seemed most close to….. I think that may be a good model for us. Even though our home is the center for entertainment to many and we enjoy many different friends, only a few relationships are given the time to grow into real intimacy and sharing of hearts. It really is a time issue, and also a conviction issue. I love many, but I need same-pagers to be the closest, those who love God’s Word and know it, speak it and live it. Can you relate?
It is humid here……. sticky.
I am going to work in the office and try to make a safe path through the laundry room ha ha ha ha! It is out of control.
I will also go and do the floors at a home we care for. It takes 1.5 hours to vacume it and another 1.5 to wash them, it is a big house! Thank heavens they have air-conditioning.
Rick reminded me about a friend that is up and so I will give her a call this morning and meet for coffee.
I hope to go to our neighbors pool later this afternoon if it doesn’t storm. That always cools us off for the evening.
Blessings on your day
Joyce
