God is Good to the Johnsons

Kevin & I were privileged to share our feelings about Christ today in our church congregation. I wanted to post here some of the words I shared today: I know Christ lives. He’s my Savior, Brother, and Friend. As I’ve pondered about what to share on this beautiful Easter Sunday, I’ve felt strongly that I should focus on our personal, individual relationships with Christ. I’ve learned of his life, teachings, death, and resurrection and I’ve been moved by these accounts of Him in the scriptures. But I’ve also come to know him on an individual level, and my life experiences with Him have moved me even more. I hope today I can convey how important it is to learn about Christ and then, in turn, learn from Christ as we open our hearts to Him and truly develop a personal relationship with Him. I pray for the Spirit to be here and that I can accurately convey the beautiful things Christ has taught me on a personal, individual level. Elder Nelson gave a fabulous talk just two w...

Dearest Friends, Family, and Strangers of Happenstance in the blogger world-- I had a moment of reflection the other day when my grandma told me, "Mikayla, I just can't figure it out... when I click on the link to your blog, it always looks the same. I can't see any new stories. You'll have to teach me what I'm doing wrong." I sheepishly responded that she isn't doing anything wrong. I just haven't been blogging. I'm well aware that regular blogs post on a weekly, bi-weekly, and sometimes daily basis.  I've been kinda the type to post twice in the five months of this blog's existence. And I think I've just been afraid to post anything that wasn't polished and perfect. I'mma change dat. Today I want to do summat I've been up an' trying to do since the beginning of January: Recount my 2016 blessings. Here's a few, in no particular order. Read as many or as few as you'd like. -May 23rd, 2016...

This story is a long'un, but it's worth it. Hang tight. The following photo may appear to you to be of a rather pale-looking sprout, poking its poor little leaves quite glumly out of an ill-kept flowerbed. The first time I saw this little guy I thought the same. But not anymore.  NOW I SEE A BONIFIED MIRACLE, PEOPLE!!! The story of this rather unassuming plant begins with my cleaning out our kitchen cupboards when Kevin and I had been married just shy of a month. Amidst the scattered spices in the cupboard I happened upon a small, transparent package of rather odd-looking dried-up clove-looking things. Perplexed, I asked my husband what he intended to cook with these. He snatched them out of my hands with a boyish look of excitement as he exclaimed that these are his rainbow rose seeds he ordered for less than a dollar, all the way from China! I was a skeptic. No matter how convincing those EBAY adds might have been, I was sure that these "rainbow rose s...

One of my most favorite songs is by the Nashville Tribute Band, it goes like this: "God is good! Yeah, God is good. We've come so much farther than we thought we could, Keep walking now. God is good! Yeah, God is good. One more mile behind us, yeah God is good." This song is my anthem and my reality. I know God lives! He is my father, and my friend. But recently I've gotten to thinking that I don't share that truth often enough. From February 2013 to August 2014 I kept a blog of my experiences growing closer to God and telling the people of Gig Harbor, Washington and Rosario, Argentina about him as I traveled and preached as a missionary. It was such a fulfilling experience, and brought me so much joy to share my experiences with my family, friends, and strangers through my blog hermanamikayla.blogspot.com While reflecting on that blogging experience, I felt hungry to keep sharing the reality of God's love and influence in my life. His watchcare a...