Christy Johnson's Blog, page 3

How a Revelation Changed My Mind About Sex

Trust me. I tried. Before I was married, I did my best to be a good girl. But with every relationship, I caved in to the temptation to have sex. I thought my convictions were strong, but the temptation was more than my flesh could handle.

But so was the disappointment. Disappointment not only in myself, but in the guy who said he wanted to wait too. That he understood my convictions because his were the same.

Then the justification came to drown out the shame.

Temptation is a duel with our...

Mistletoe Market

Who would guess that selling Christmas cheer would drive out fear?

I pulled into the driveway just before the December dusk spread its blanket over the Oklahoma sky. As I opened my car door, I gasped. A mangled mess of tree branches were strewn all over my yard.

What in the world?

As my eyes adjusted to the fading sun, I realized that my brother had been by. I had asked Bruce to be on the lookout for “a little mistletoe” when he cut down trees. Was this his idea of a little? Covering every...

The Christmas Secret

Christmastime is supposed to be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. For many of us, however, it’s actually the most difficult time of the year. Expectations run high with stories on Instagram and posts on Facebook and Pinterest. And if we happen to be among those who still get what my friend Julia calls the “my-family’s-better-than-your-family” Christmas letters, all the glorious glitz and glam can make our life look miserable in comparison.

But are all those stories and photo shoots real...

My Guidepost Workshop Experience

Winning the Guideposts contest has been a dream of mine for at least a decade. I’ve made several submissions and have always anticipated the contest deadline for months prior.

This year. Not so much. The deadline blindsided me. It snuck up on me like this week in Oklahoma when Old Man Winter showed up in the middle of October. What happened to fall? Are we just skipping it this year?

Three days before the deadline I stumbled on the Guideposts website for some random reason.

Wait! WHAT??

Th...

The Darkroom

My father was a photographer in WWII and after he and my mother were married, he built a small photography business on the side. Nuptials and newborns were his venues of choice, but even at family functions, if my dad didn’t have a cigar in his hand, he was setting up his tripod. He’d position his Yashica Mat and adjust the lens. “Everyone, sit still and smile,” he’d yell as he rushed to his spot before the camera clicked.

We were taking selfies long before it was a thing.

#OldFashionedSel...

Though it Lingers

I’ve always had a God-given gift and desire to create beautiful things out of nothing. It’s something I was born with. I remember when I was about eight-years old my parents had some friends over and while they were visiting, I found an old tuna fish can, covered it with scraps of felt, glitter, and cotton balls and made a Christmas ornament. My face beamed as I showcased my creation to my parents and their friends.

I started sewing when I was ten. Creating was my passion. As I grew older,...

Character Quiz

The post Character Quiz appeared first on Christy Johnson.

9 Relationship Rationalizations that Keep you Stuck

The most well-known love junkie in the Bible is the woman who met Jesus at the well. I wish I knew her name, but the book of John only refers to her as the “woman at the well.” I always thought it’d be easier to give her a name instead of a label, so I call her Wella.

Wella lived over two-thousand years ago, but the relationship longings and feelings she felt were no different than the emotions women deal with today. But she lived in a very different culture—a society that condemned and ref...

9 Unhealthy Relationship Rationalizations

The most well-known love junkie in the Bible is the woman who met Jesus at the well. I wish I knew her name, but the book of John only refers to her as the “woman at the well.” I always thought it’d be easier to give her a name instead of a label, so I call her Wella.

Wella lived over two-thousand years ago, but the relationship longings and feelings she felt were no different than the emotions women deal with today. But she lived in a very different culture—a society that condemned and ref...

The Mirror Motive

I hear it over and over in my coaching practice. “But he said he was a Christian!”

Well…words are cheap. The mouth has to match the motive and the only way to discern whether or not a man’s motive is genuine is to watch and wait.

And forgo emotional involvement until you know: Is his motive genuine or is he mirroring you to mislead you?

One of the best ways to test motive is to see how a man handles disagreement. A controlling man won’t stand for it. But if you always agree with him, you’ll...