“The Lord is my shepherd.”Psalm 23:1a For twenty years we lived on nearly an acre of red dirt land in Oklahoma. No fences. No outdoor animals. Just three boys who came and went through our back door. No one in our neighborhood had horses, cows, or sheep. So I have no working knowledge of whatContinueContinue reading “Dwell: With the Shepherd”
Author Archives: Shelley Linn Johnson
Dwell: Psalm 23
When God handed me ‘dwell’ as my word for 2022, I anticipated learning what it means to dwell in God. I looked forward to digging into Scriptures, like Psalm 91, for great enlightenment and for inner transformation. And, I’ve not been disappointed. In the early days of January, I spent hours scouring the Bible toContinueContinue reading “Dwell: Psalm 23”
Abide: Wholly in the Holy
Our summer sure sped swiftly! While we’ve met here week after week, I’ve been growing in understanding of what Jesus means by, “remain in me as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). Remaining, that practice of dwelling or abiding, is more than prayer. It’s more than worship. Or Bible reading. Or making good choices.ContinueContinue reading “Abide: Wholly in the Holy”
Abide: Taking Up Faith
Fight, flight, or freeze. Threats, stress, and pain come at us, and we either fight back. Flee the scene. Or freeze in place. Me, I’m the one who consistently left when things got rough. Too much tension and arguing? I’d hop in my car and hurry to my friend’s house. Too much accusation and pressure?ContinueContinue reading “Abide: Taking Up Faith”
Abide: In the Social
This is the time of year my spirit starts anticipating the gathering of believers known as the New Room Conference. Every year for three days in September church leaders from around the world gather in one space to worship, pray, and take-in the love of Christ. It’s a place of humility and surrender as weContinueContinue reading “Abide: In the Social”
Abide: Planting Our Feet
Hunkered down in our windowless hallway, we listened to the battery-powered radio. News updates crackled as the howling wind forced the rain through the seams of our front windows. Hurricane Alicia threw her bolts of lightning down on Houston, flooding streets and pounding fifty year old trees to near death. I hid in the hallContinueContinue reading “Abide: Planting Our Feet”
Abide: In the Spiritual
I pushed toward the plane, whose roaring engines made it impossible to say a word to either of my sons. With a death grip on my two-year-old, I felt my determination to be strong slip a bit as I re-shifted the heavy car-seat in my other hand. A quick glance told me my six-year-old walkedContinueContinue reading “Abide: In the Spiritual”
Abide: Righting Our Hearts
Last weekend I bought a new decorative tray for my living room. The minute I walked in with it, I went straight to the ottoman and replaced the old tray with the new one. I do the same thing with other purchases. Sack in hand, I head to the closet and rip off the oldContinueContinue reading “Abide: Righting Our Hearts”
Abide: In the Emotional
During my senior year of high school, I seriously worried that no guy would want to marry me because I was such a moody mess. I cried over the smallest things. My temper flared with regularity. And, my feelings could do a ‘180’ in the time it took to walk from my bedroom to theContinueContinue reading “Abide: In the Emotional”
Abide: Protecting Our Minds
There’s a reason mothers lose their cool when their kids choose not to wear their bike helmets for their long ride to school–because moms know that if the brain inside that pretty little head is damaged, the whole person is too. Priscilla Shirer, in her Bible study, The Armor of God, draws a beautiful analogyContinueContinue reading “Abide: Protecting Our Minds”