In Awe Podcast with Sarah Johnson

How to Shepherd like Him

For our first day of inservice this fall my superintendent showed the funny commercial where cowboys are riding around in the fields herding cats. Some days, that's definitely what this job feels like if you've ever tried to teach a cat to obey (dogs love to do tricks; cats not so much!). But I think a more apt description of my job (as a school leader) is that of a shepherd. I read John 10 this morning thinking about how much I appreciate the imagery of God as my shepherd: John 10:2 - 3 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The first thing I notice about Jesus as my shepherd is that He KNOWS me and I know Him. We have a valuable relationship and I trust that He has my best interests at heart. He knows my name and He leads me individually even as a part of the whole flock. As I imitate Jesus' example of leadership,

Acceptance, Validation and Affirmation

In a world where there is an almost greedy grappling for external validation and feedback, I find myself sometimes wondering how to center my identity in Christ alone and not in what others think of me. The acceptance of others can often be dependent upon what they might receive from that relationship while the acceptance of God is unconditional. The approval of others changes from day to day and cannot be a strong foundation for security in my value and purpose. The one thing I truly long for is to someday hear from the only true Judge, "well done, good and faithful servant." This collection of truths from the gospel of John serves to remind me that I find my acceptance, my approval, validation and affirmation from Jesus alone and my identity is firm in the Word of God. John 1:12 I am a child of God - Oh to think that He would adopt me into His family. That He would call me His own dear child, that I would be considered His inheritance, that I would have all the pri

Keeping Your Eyes Forward Focused

In 2016 I had a scary experience with my eyes. Noticing that my vision was deteriorating, I had made an appointment to see the Optometrist in the town nearest to my new location. He was an elderly doctor who had practiced forever in his little clinic. As he was examining my eyes, he asked how many fingers he was holding up to my left side. I couldn't see his hand (and I internally gulped). He proceeded to ask how long I had noticed that "curtain" in my vision. I was a bit baffled - how long had I had an entire part of my vision missing? I knew something was wrong but I didn't realize HOW wrong it was. And it had been off for a while too - a least a few months and maybe even more when I considered the fact that I had been experiencing floaters in my eyes for a year but figured that was just normal since my previous optometrist told me it was nothing to worry about. Apparently, when you see a shower of black specks in your eyes, that's NOT normal! And so

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