Our Moves....

It's the middle of April ....already! I can't believe that we have almost lived in Tulsa for one year! In May...May 21st to be exact, it will be one year! That is a huge milestone for us. Since our marriage in 2000, we have lived in Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Colorado and now Oklahoma. Each of our boys were born in different states. JD was born in Missouri, Caleb was born in Florida and Nathan was born here.

I truly believe that God has moved us to and from each location for different reasons. Join me on a little adventure here....

Fort Smith, Arkansas: (2000-2002)

Monty and I got married in 2000. He had been living in Arkansas, working for a jewelry store, as soon as we got married, I joined him there. I had my struggles...(no Starbucks..no Chipotle...TRAGIC) We had no family there, we knew no one. However, this was the perfect place for us to begin our marriage.

We started attending a new church in Fort Smith. After attending for a few months, they hired me as the youth director. We worked side by side in ministry. Monty and I LOVED the students there. We had no kids of our own at this point, and we absolutely thrived on having students in our home. We many weekends going to youth conferences, canoe trips...we attended all sorts of plays and sporting events. We went to Denver and worked in the inner City. We went to Mexico and worked with a local church for a week.

God used Fort Smith to teach Monty and I how to work together in ministry. We learned how to lean on each other during difficult times. We will forever be greatful for our time there. Our time there came to an end when Monty headed back to school...this led us to....

Joplin, MO (2002-2004)

We moved to Joplin in August of 2002. Our time in Joplin was anything but dull. We bought our first home there. It was a cute, little starter home. We loved it. Monty started back to school at Ozark Christian College. He was working full time and going to school full time. I started working as the registrar College Heights Christian School.

Fall of 2002 we lost our first baby. We had a miscarriage on November 13, 2002. I will never forget how that felt. To know that this little life that I had come to know and love...was slipping away and there was nothing I could do about it. Yet, God surrounded us with Godly people who were amazing and supportive. A few months later we found out we were pregnant. JD arrived 9 months later September 23, 2003. He changed our lives forever. Monty graduated in May of 2004. Thus began our search for a youth ministry position...
God used Joplin as a place to give us roots...to give us a safe place, a place that will always be "home".

Palm City, Florida (2004-2005)
Florida came to us like a hurricane... Monty, JD and I flew into Florida on December 7, 2004. It is truly a day that will "live in infamy". On our flight there I had a placental abruption and went into pre-term labor. We got off the plane, handed JD to the pastor from the church that Monty was candidating at and we sped off via ambulance to the hospital. Caleb arrived 9 weeks early and spent 4 weeks in the NICU. The people at the church there were amazing. They surrounded us and took care of us when we were helpless.

I think God had us in Florida to save Calebs and my life, to help Mary Zane have a place to heal, to give Monty and I a chance to impact the students he chose for us to minister to and to teach us to rely on Him and surrender control.

Denver, Colorado (2005-2006)

We moved to Denver in August of 2005. Our 8 months there were a time of healing, re-focus and transition. God used this time to give us rest. He allowed us to be near family and to be in a place that was comfortable for both of us. Nothing major happend while we were there. It was a great repreave from the drama that had had kept the Johnsons at the top of many prayer lists. It gave us time to re-focus...and he set us on the path for the new adventure.....

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (2006 to present)

We moved here May of 2006.
God blessed us with our third son on September 6, 2006. He came by way of yet another emergency C-Section and a ruptured utereus.
We have gotten involved in a great church. JD is in pre-school. I've gotten to know several amazing ladies at a weekly Bible study and at MOPS. We have amazing neighbors. Monty is in school again heading towards the military chapliancy....
God has used this move to give me a place to "plug in". We love being here.

I know that heading towards the military life, we will have many more moves. I will meet many more people. I will have to leave friends. Ugh..I hate that part. Yet I see Gods' plan taking shape. I see His hand leading and guiding....all we have to do is follow (and pack the uhaul!)