Happy Mother's Day!!

Noel Piper has written this: "[We've] heard it too often, somebody pontificating, 'Every day should be Mother's Day,' or 'everyday should be as significant as Christmas.'  God knows we need "especially." And it's true. God himself appointed special days for his people and gave them ceremonies to set those days off from the others.  The ceremony of a special day keeps it from slipping away like an ordinary day."

Though we often talk about the honor that should be shown our parents every day, we need opportunities to celebrate the life of our precious mothers! 

Thank you, Momma!  For being a godly wife to Daddy, a cherished mother, a wise teacher, a good friend, an excellent homemaker; for loving children; for opening your heart to little Hope; for your unfailing support; for striving to meet the standards which God has set.

I love you Momma!!

~Clara~

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 

Proverbs 31:28-29

Family Trip Part 1

Our family traveled to the West Coast for two weeks in March. Every couple years we fly to California to visit family and friends and this trip we added several other activities, pictures of which can be seen in posts to come(hopefully:)! The west-bound flights gave us many beautiful views out of the windows, with minimal cloud cover as we flew over the mountains. 

The farm fields surrounding the Sacramento area.

The second day in California, we drove up to the Lake Tahoe area to spend the weekend with grandparents and other family members. The snow was beautiful and it was snowing most of the time we were there.

At our favorite sledding hill, Daddy constructed a jump, over which we broke at least two sleds. :)

Whee!

This is one of the sleds which ended up broken by the end of the day!! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted and we had a blast together!

For quite a while before the trip, Philip said that he wanted to dig a tunnel in the snow when we were at Tahoe. Not only did he dig the tunnel pictured above, but he also made an impressively large, two-room snow fort with a tunnel connecting the two rooms! 

We spent two days skiing at a nearby slope. The first day Daddy, the two younger boys, and I skied along with Grandpa, Daddy's brother, and a cousin. It rained the whole morning on the slope making very wet and heavy snow, so we returned to the cabin around noon to play games by the warmth of the wood stove. 

The second day skiing, Mama took the older boys out and it snowed the whole day! They made some great runs and several of the rest of us went to watch them. The snow actually began to stick sometime in the afternoon and, by the time we made it "home" again, everything was covered with the beautiful white powder. 

The next day we spent most of the morning packing up and then played in the snow. We had great fun sledding down the drifts made from the snow that had fallen from the roofs of neighboring cabins. We left in the afternoon to travel down the mountains and on to our next destination.

Watch for more posts about later adventures in the trip!

~Clara~

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. 

Genesis 8:22

Highlights of Twenty-Fifteen with the Johnson's

Resurrection Sunday

In April, Luke participated in a horse show, in which he won a blue ribbon as well as champion of his class. Way to go Luke!!

Hope continues to grow and delight us with her sweet smile. We are so thankful for her: she is such a precious gift from the LORD.

Philip turned 9 this year!

Davis did a lot of work at a friend’s cabin this year by moving rock and splitting fire wood.

He also turned 16 in March

Clara participating in a homeschool choir concert

Luke enjoyed a fieldtrip to Charlestown Landing, the first settlement in Charleston.

Kyle kayaking on the Cooper River during a family outing to the BP Recreation Area.

Hope, escorted by Kyle, learned to love water play this summer. This particular trip to the river, especially, she loved splashing and knocking over Kyle’s sand “forts” he made for her.

Davis dropped a big buck this fall! He also harvested a doe: great job Davis!!

Kyle inner tubing behind a 2 story pontoon on Lake Kentucky during a trip to visit friends.

 Emilee went on an all day fishing trip with her Daddy and caught a BIG ONE!

Davis, Luke, and Clara attended summer music camp at Bob Jones University. This picture was taken of the orchestra during the final concert. Luke is playing cello, Davis is on the viola, and Clara the violin.

The family enjoying dinner with grandparents from California.

Celebrating our Papa’s 80th birthday in Minnesota.

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“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope: it is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not: they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:21-24

The Highway of Holiness

At the end of October, our family attended the 2015 NCFIC  Highway of Holiness Conference, which was held near Asheville, NC. The sermons were very beneficial and eye-opening for our family and we have come home with much to think about! I hope that these quotes will bless you as well.

“And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.”

Isaiah 35:8

~Scott Brown, President of NCFIC~

“The pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of the likeness of Christ.”

“We must purse holiness.  Salvation’s whole design is holiness.”

"God's holiness is found in everything. It is the irreducible principle.  It’s higher, deeper, and wider than all the doctrines.  Isolating the doctrine of holiness is impossible."

“We are like sand fleas on the beach, trying to describe the Himalayan Mountains as we try to describe God’s holiness.”

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~Paul Washer~

"God is distinct, separate. He is in a category all to Himself. That holiness, that distinctiveness, is demonstrated by God’s purity, His cleanness.  We need to value God.  It’s not just about our attempt to pursue sinlessness.  Don’t become a nit-picky rule-keeper, a legalist.  I do not want holiness for holiness’ sake. I want holiness for Christ’s sake.

“Sometimes I’m afraid to walk on the Highway of Holiness. To walk in the truth is to walk on a razor blade: antinomianism on one side, legalism on the other side. Taking away what God has said or adding to what God has said. The only solution is to keep my eyes fixed on Christ. When I follow Christ, I see a holiness as he walks toward Jerusalem.  I see only in Him the perfect example that holiness is manifested in love toward God. And love toward everyone else. He is not only holy in His justice, but He is holy in His mercy and grace. I want to be holy. I know the motivation for holiness: It is Christ. The goal of all holiness is Christ.

“That Someone like that would humble Himself to save someone like me is beyond overwhelming;  it’s mind-destroying! When you get your mind around this – God’s holiness – it just grabs you and carries you along. You cannot sin in light of this. You hate self and its exultation in light of this. Nothing, nothing but Christ.  And then you are on the Highway of Holiness.
 

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~Joel Beeke~

“Whenever we sin, we are not really thinking of God at that moment.  Whenever we knowingly commit a sin of omission or commission, at that very moment, we are playing the role of a practical atheist. At that moment, we are acting as though God is not.  If you really believe in God, you would not sin with impunity.”

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~Jeff Pollard~

“To love the world is to love what God hates, to esteem what God loathes, to value what God rejects, to admire what God despises, to exalt what God condemns, to accept what God rejects, to savor what God vomits out, to call good what God calls evil.”

For the month of November, you can download and listen to the keynote sermons for FREE on ncfic.org

Water Play!!

 

In early August, our family went with a sweet friend to the Edisto River in SC. We had a blast playing in the river and on the sand bars, it being low tide.

Kyle and Hope were the noisy ones with much splashing, laughing, and squealing (the squealing coming from Hope!).

Philip was the only one to bravely wade all the way across the river

Luke caught minnows by scooping up water and straining it through his hat!!

Later in August, we took a trip to Kentucky to visit family friends. All 15 of us  took a double-decker pontoon boat (w/ slide) out on Lake Kentucky and spent the day swimming, inner tubing, and having good fellowship.

The back seaters

Our brave youngin’ was cautious this time.

Emilee got in on the fun with her little friend.

The observers on the top deck got the best view. We fastened the inner-tube rope on the upper story of the pontoon and some people got wild rides with the rope being yanked in all directions!!

The smallest crew member enjoyed the tubing as well!!

best friends

 

Little munchkin with no fear.

We are so thankful for our friends’ hospitality and the wonderful day we had with them! We treasure the friendship and the memories.

With all this time spent on the water, we’ve been reminded so often of the amazing and intricate details of God’s creation. Water is amazing in all of its qualities and how it is necessary for life.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Isaiah 12:2-5