Midwinter Word of Witness

Last week at our denomination's Midwinter Conference, I had the honor of sharing some of my story. If you'd like to watch it, here you go...


Word of Witness: Kelly Johnston from Covenant Communications on Vimeo.

I'll be honest, I was pretty nervous to do this, and felt that there are much more profound stories of God's provision that could have been shared. It was also hard to fit my story into just a few minutes. I would have loved to have bragged on my church and community a little more; I should have given props to my husband, without whom I really couldn't do this; I could have shared some of my struggles a bit more, too. But somehow it all came together, and I just hope that my words and witness were an encouragement to someone!

Lenten Journey

As I'm preparing for Lent this year, I thought I should share some of the resources I created last year. Our theme was "Journeying with Jesus to the Cross". To better visualize the journey, I created this illustration so each family could keep track of their journey through the 40 days of Lent at home, along with some short readings for each day of the journey.

On Sundays, when all the kids came forward for the children's message, we would talk about where we were on the journey, and then a few of them would color in the squares from the past week. I think the kids especially enjoyed having something hands-on to do, and the visual of drawing closer to the cross and the resurrection was helpful.

If you click the image below, you should be able to download a legal-size version of the journey printout PDF for your own use at home or at church. Happy journeying!

Prayer Ribbons

At the beginning of each new year, our church always sets aside a week (including two Sundays) especially focused on prayer. Last year and this year, the first Sunday of Prayer Week I preached on some aspect of prayer, and then the second Sunday, our service included a very truncated sermon with an extended time for prayer. This year I wanted to do something a little more hands-on and creative, and this was what I came up with that worked in our sanctuary.

I found some sheer ribbon in the floral section of Hobby Lobby ($6 for 60 feet) and purchased a roll each of silver, gold, and white. We used duct tape to adhere the ribbon to the little ledge at the bottom of our sanctuary windows, and hung the ribbon in varying lengths. 

Then I clipped a bunch of clothespins to the ribbons (I got lucky and found a big box of them among our church's craft supplies!).

We made little prayer cards in varying colors, and stuck one in everyone's bulletin. Around the edge of the card, it said "Prayers for...family - friends - neighbors..." etc. (Click here to download the PDF.)

Then, when we normally share prayer requests and I pray on behalf of our congregation, instead I invited everyone to write or draw their prayers on the prayer cards, and when they were ready, to bring them forward and clip them to one of the ribbons. If they wanted to add more than one card, there were more available next to the ribbons as well.

Psalms Mix CD for Confirmation Kids

Making mixes (once upon a time, on tape, now on CDs) has been one of my favorite things to do for people who are special to me. So, when my Confirmation class came to the Psalms in our curriculum last year, it seemed fitting to create a mix CD of music that is inspired by them. Of course, there are a million songs inspired by Israel's worship book, but I tried not to think too hard, and chose a variety of songs that I enjoy and hope my students will enjoy. I also included a few of their favorite songs (which have great Scripture references too!).

I've tried to provide links if possible to recordings of the songs (some of them are pretty random, but you can at least hear the song!). Enjoy, and feel free to adapt/borrow/steal for your ministry.

1. “Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down” – Fernando Ortega (Psalm 95)

2. “Let Everything That Has Breath” – Matt Redman (Psalm 150)

3. “How Good and Pleasant” – Sound of the New Breed (Psalm 133)

4. “Beautiful Things” – Gungor (Isaiah 2:4 and Revelation 21:4-5) * Student Pick

5. “How Majestic” – Jadon Lavik (Psalm 8)

6. “Rivers of Babylon” – The Melodians (Psalm 137)

7. “107” – Josh Garrels (Psalm 107)

8. “Psalm 126 (You Have Done Great Things)” – Charlie Hall (Psalm 126)

9. “I Lift My Eyes Up” – Vineyard Worship (Psalm 121)

10. “Your Love Is Deep” – Jami Smith (Eph. 3:17-18 & Rom. 8:38-39) * Student Pick

11. “Psalm 131” – Waterdeep (Psalm 133)

12. “Give Us Clean Hands” – Kutless (Psalm 24)

13. “40” – U2 (Psalm 40)

14. “Out of the Depths” – City Hymns (Psalm 130)

15. “Forever” – Chris Tomlin (Psalm 89)

16. “Oh Give Thanks (Psalm 136)” – Fred Hammond & Radical for Christ (Psalm 136)

17. “On Eagle’s Wings” – Justin Barnard & Shane Barnard (Psalm 19) * Student Pick

Ash Wednesday 2012

I've been busy planning my first Ash Wednesday service (along with the rest of the Lenten season)...well, I guess most of it is fairly traditional, but it's fun to be responsible for putting it all together anyway.

We'll be doing the traditional readings from the lectionary (Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10; Matthew6:1-6, 16-21), plus some responsive readings from Psalm 51:15-17 and Isaiah 58.

For music, we'll be singing "Come O Sinners, Poor and Needy," "Kind and Merciful God," "Kyrie Eleison, Have Mercy," and "What Wondrous Love Is This."

I also decided to include the Litany of Penitence (though I use the word repentance because it's more familiar for most of us) from the Book of Common Prayer. We'll pray this very exhaustive confession once all have received the imposition of ashes.

Looking forward to it!

Epiphany Season (Year B) Bulletin Cover

In these weeks leading up to the season of Lent, the gospel passages in the church lectionary introduce us to the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. In Mark 1:15, Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God has come near; the invitation to all is to repent, believe, and to come and follow him as disciples, learning how to live in the world while acknowledging Jesus as the ultimate authority and ruler.

To tie this theme together, I created this bulletin cover. I tried to find a photo of a country road here in Nebraska, since we follow Jesus right here and right now.

New Adventures in the Last Few Months

It's been quite a while since I posted anything here! It's been an interesting few months - here's the quick version:

While unemployed for a few months, I decided to act on a dream of mine and opened an Etsy shop. I worked and worked to create a variety of table linens with life-inspired, hand-designed prints. It has been so much fun creating beautiful things, sharing them with others, and receiving compensation for my hard work!

Then, at the end of November, by the grace of God, I was able to act on another dream of mine! I was installed as the Interim Pastor at the Evangelical Covenant Church in a charming little town in northeast Nebraska. Greg and I have now been settled in Wakefield for almost two months and are enjoying life here.

It has been challenging and fun to plan worship, preach on a regular basis, teach Confirmation to four wonderful junior high students, hear the stories of the people who call this church home, work with leaders in our congregation and in the community, and prayerfully discern where God is leading this body of believers.

Slowly but surely, I am finding a rhythm for how life works as a full-time pastor. I know that I need to not just use my head but use my hands and stay in touch with my creative side. I had to take a break from creating new inventory for my shop, but hope to get back at it soon!