Archive — Jody Johnston
2 Jul
Mountains Become Hills
Gas prices have now officially gotten too high for me. I am riding my bike around my hometown, and I have to tell you, it isn’t the best way to get around. It is hot outside, and I work up a sweat without the sun burning into the back of my neck giving me a very unusual tan. I have gotten in biker shape though! Now that I think about it, my rides aren’t as bad as they use to be; actually, I love to ride my bike!
11 Jun
Refuse? No this is Garbage!
I had an experience yesterday. It was one of the experiences that really gets you thinking straight again. This experience happens occasionally, but this time it happened at the wrong time. The garbage men forgot to pick up my trash! It would’ve been ok if they forgot last week, but not yesterday. See, yesterday I had A LOT of garbage; it was overflowing! I noticed my neighbors’ trash had been picked up, but not mine! I had to get rid of my trash; because if I added any more, my driveway was sure to be the neighborhood’s animals feeding ground! So I loaded the entire trashcan into the back of the car and headed out in search of the garbage men.
20 May
Me + Math = Impossible
Math has not been my best subject in school. In fact, it is my worst subject. When I got my report card in the middle of this past semester, I realized I might not pass the class. To bring up my grade to a “C” I was going to have to get at least a “B” on the rest of my tests. The problem was I hadn’t even made a “C” on any of my tests! In higher math everything you learn builds on what you learn next, so passing was looking impossible. I knew that there was no way I could pass on my own. I came to the realization that I needed help.
12 May
Balancing Act
What happens when you neglect one thing and focus on another? You get really good at what you focused on and worse at what you neglected. If you knew me, you’d know that I always say “repetition is a great thing.” I don’t always “get” a lesson the first time, but I’ve got this one finally!
3 May
Seeking to Pursue
Recently I went on a trip with some friends I like to hang out with. We were all sitting around one night and I asked my buddies, “What do you think it takes to grow in your relationship with Christ?”
Now I asked the question to stir up some conversation, but I have to admit I was very surprised at their answers. When I say “surprised,” I’m not referring to the good kind of “surprised.” I was saddened how they responded. My heart was hurt and I felt so discouraged. Their answers focused on church attendance on Sundays and “being a good person” the rest of the week. No one mentioned pursuing the love that God gives or becoming more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The best word I can find in the Bible to describe the type of growing I was talking about is “seeking.”
I discovered that the word “seek” appears in the Bible more than 150 times. In order to grow in our relationship with Christ we must pursue that growth, and want it.
14 Apr
Growing Above Maintenance
Rock climbing is my favorite thing to do. It’s technical; every problem is different and requires thought to solve. I also have to be strong enough. I have to rely on my strength to keep me from falling. The type of climbing I do doesn’t use a harness. If I lose my grip I fall. When I climb indoors the floor is covered with padding but outside the only padding I have is a small pad.
I climb once a week. It’s great! I get to climb with other climbers and see the progress we make as we climb from week to week.
10 Apr
Moving In!
I have been taught a lesson that I won’t ever forget. It brought an attitude adjustment as well as a spanking, spiritually that is. My lesson came through learning about the slave trade in our country. This lesson has changed my life-style. So here it is; check it out.
Masters of plantations in the South began to feel convicted about owning slaves and mistreating them so badly. There were masters who would get so convicted that in the middle of the night, so no one would know, take their slaves to the edge of the property of the plantation and tell them they were free. One of three things would then happen to those free slave families. One, they would be captured by others and put back into the slave circuit. Two, they would be shot by other plantation owners who felt threatened and feared an anti-slave movement. Or three, they would make it to the North and live a life looked down upon as a sub-human race. By setting those slaves free the masters weren’t doing much for them, just easing their own conscience.
12 Mar
Have I Trained Enough?
Have I trained enough? How long does training take? What will the results be? Those are three questions that haven’t stopped repeating in my head since my last post about training my core.
6 Mar
Training My Core
I spend a lot of my free time working out and training. Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of energy into training for bouldering (rock climbing without a harness, up boulders). Having strong muscles helps, but the secret to being a good climber is having a strong core. I was trying to climb a competition route when I found this out. After falling from the top several times, and finally giving up, an onlooker suggested I spend some time on specific muscles in my training. The next week I finished the route my first try! When I started focusing on what mattered, I got stronger.
25 Feb
Whoa
Whoa! I watched this video and two things happened: I couldn’t stop smiling, and I couldn’t stop crying.
