Video Blog - Austria Bound

We are excited to board the plan Thursday night for our two week visit to Austria! (Can you tell?!?!) We also just got some video editing software a few weeks ago that we've been practicing with. The result?

Here are our thoughts on our visit to Austria...

Vision Trip Thoughts from nate johnson on Vimeo.

Why I'm Thankful for One Smooth Stone...

Today was my last official day of full-time employment at One Smooth Stone. Wow! When I started here back on May 2, 2005, I never would have imagined how much of an impact this place would have on my life and who I have become as a person. I'm so thankful for every person and each experience I've had over these last 6 years.

Here are the top 10 reasons why I am thankful for One Smooth Stone
(Dave Letterman style…please insert drum rolls and breaking glass sound effects at your own discretion):

I’m thankful for…

10. The delicious (and sometimes expensive) foods I’ve been able to try when out on events or at client dinners. I’ve discovered some of my favorite restaurants and foods because of this job!

9. The chance to travel all over the country and the world. Favorite places have included Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and Hawaii.

8. The ways I’ve become even more “type A” in my ability to plan things (didn’t think it was possible, huh?) and I can now manage a detailed project from start to finish.

7. Learning how to mentor and coach a new employee, which reinvigorated my love for counseling and mentorship and taught me about how to best guide and encourage someone on their journey

6. Financial provision for my life up to this point. Especially through the financial crisis, I’m thankful I’ve had a steady and dependable job to allow me to do everything else I do in life!

5. A challenging job that has pushed me out of my comfort zones and forced me to learn new skills.

4. The opportunity to take on leadership roles right out of college, which allowed me to discover news gifts and skills I didn’t know I had.

3. The experience I’ve gained as a communicator and marketer, which I now look forward to putting to use in our ministry.

2. Spending 6 years at a company that is built on a biblical foundation, where everyone treats each other with respect and where prayer and giving back is an integral part of the culture.

1. The lifelong friendships I have made with my co-workers, with whom I’ve endured fun times, late nights and memorable experiences. I'll miss you guys!

Who moved my cheese?

In December of 2004, I finished my last semester at Wheaton College and came home for my final "Christmas break" before starting full-time work. I remember very clearly how I was feeling at that the time - the mixture of emotions I faced as a major life change was on the horizon. I was sad that my college experience was over, uncertain about entering the working world, disappointed that I was graduating a semester before most of my friends, and exhilarated that "real life" was on the horizon. Change was both scary and exciting.

To help process this change, I purchased and read the book Who Moved My Cheese. This book helped me process how to cope with and process the approaching transition , seeing the positive in it rather than focusing on what I felt like I was losing as I said goodbye to a phase of my life.

I have been revisiting many of these feelings and thoughts in recent weeks as I approach another major life change - leaving my full-time position at One Smooth Stone. I have worked at OSS for almost 6 years and concluding my time there will be the first in a series of changes and goodbyes as we prepare for Austria. My colleagues have become good friends and over my 6 years, I have grown up there, going from bright eyed, naive and fresh out of college to experienced in our industry, married and a least a little more mature (or so I'd like to think...)

Saying goodbye to One Smooth Stone will be hard. I have so many memories and walking away will mean I will not be making more of them. This can easily feel like a loss. But at the same time, I am overcome with excitement about what I will gain. Leaving my job means getting to Austria is that much closer and I am eager to begin our life there. I guess that is how change is - full of emotional contradictions and a rollercoaster of feelings.

What I keep going back to is my constant - God's unchanging nature. The same God who walked me through my departure from college and the last 6 years of my life will be with me through this transition and will go with us to Austria. It says in the book of James, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." God does not change. Ever. If I'm the mouse and God is the cheese, I never have to worry about the cheese moving...no matter what. When I am struggling with change in the coming months, my prayer is that God's constancy will be my on-going comfort and solice - my rock to stand on.

How do you cope with change?

I was blind but now I see...

A few days ago, Nate and I were climbing and I got whacked in my right eye by my climbing rope. Not a big deal at first (I recovered after a few minutes), but when I woke up Friday morning, I knew something wasn't right. Friday afternoon, I went to see an Ophthalmologist and learned that I had scratched my cornea. After a few uncomfortable tests and a prescription, I was sent on my way.

Friday night and Saturday were supposed to be a "spiritual retreat" for us. We went up to Evanston, IL to stay in a hotel and spend time in prayer and meditation. But Friday night and most of Saturday were really rough for me...my vision was blurry and I was in pain. It took me about 3 hours to fall asleep and on Saturday, I spent 3 - 4 hours laying down with my eyes closed to give them a rest.

I write all of this not to seek out sympathy, but to share the lessons God taught me over the last 24 hours. I was very frustrated when we arrived in Evanston... I had been looking forward to this retreat and having time to relax and renew. Instead, all I could think about was my eye and how uncomfortable I was. I was discouraged that it seemed like our spiritual retreat would be ruined for me. However, God took a bad situation and used it for good. Here are a few things I learned through this experience...

• God speaks when we are quiet and still. Most people who know me know that I don't sit still very well. Even when I have free time, I fill it with something. With my eye, I was forced to lay still for hours... I couldn't even read or study or watch TV. So Nate read scripture to me and I spent time praying, meditating (we read some of Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline) and napping. In the end, it was very restful and spiritually rejuvenating. God used the situation to remind me what it means to actually rest. Hopefully, he won't have to use injury to teach me this lesson again in the future!

• Oh, what joy the blind man must have felt... When Jesus heals the blind man (recounted in Mark 22), Jesus told the man not to tell people about his healing experience. It must have been so difficult to keep that inside! When I was without sight for only 24 hours, I was desperate to get my eyes back to normal. 24 hours! That is nothing compared to a lifetime. I can only imagine the joy the blind man felt and how much he wanted to shout it from the mountain tops.

• Our bodies are fragile. My eye was injured in such a quick instant. And just as quickly, any of our bodies would be taken from us. How much more should we use every day to glorify God and live out the gospel! I forget this all the time and I assume that each day, I will wake up alive and healthy. Instead, I should be living with a sense of urgency, striving to use my time of earth as well as I can while I am still here.

• It's ok to depend on someone else. I've always been pretty self-sufficient and independent...but being incapacitated meant I needed help from Nate. It was really freeing to ask for help and receive it. It's probably no surprise that I act self sufficient in my relationship with God, as well as my relationships with other people. Being forced to depend on Nate reminded me that I should also function with dependence on God. Simple concept, but hard to put into practice. In life, I act like I can see clearly and make my own decision, when in actuality I truly am "blind" with sin and need God to lead me.

In case you're wondering, my eye is now improving and should be healed in a few days. But hopefully I'll ponder these things I've learned even after I can see again!

What I'm Learning About Titus

I’m currently working through an inductive bible study with my mentor on the book of Titus. (Haven’t heard of an inductive study? It’s basis is using scripture to study scripture. Check it out.) We had a great first meeting this morning where we worked through our thoughts on the first lesson together. Here are some highlights of what I’m learning…

• In his letter to Titus, Paul talks a lot about the importance of good deeds. Not good deeds that can save us or earn us salvation, but good deeds that are a reflection of the sound doctrine by which we live our lives. A lot of people say that Paul is “all about grace” and James is “all about works”…but I think Titus is a good example of Paul emphasizing the importance of living out our faith through actions. “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)
  


• Paul established the several churches in Crete and then left Titus in charge to lead and appoint elders. But the text infers that Titus was young for a leadership position like this. Paul urges Titus to not let people disregard him because of his youth, but to be an example in his leadership and godly nature. This is an important thing for Nate and I to keep in mind - that God can use us to serve and lead, even though we are young.
  


• The best defense against the opposition? Living a life that is above reproach. If we focus on integrity and godly doctrine, the evil one will have no footing to stand on. “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7 – 8)

Feel free to share comments...any other insights on this book? What are you learning from your bible studies right now?

Look Mom...I'm a radio star!

When we were in Colorado at WorldVenture, we were interviewed by Hans Finzel, the organization's president, about our decision to serve God in Austria. It was a really fun experience to participate in a radio show recording in a studio - complete with fancy microphones and headsets (the production geek in me definitely came out...) But beyond that, we enjoyed putting into words our experience being led to missions and the need we see in Austria.

Our interview was edited and posted as an episode of WorldVenture's on-going podcast, Missions on the Frontline.
You can listen to the final version here: Mission on the Frontline - 12/1/2010

Comment on this post to let us know how we did! And please - be nice :)

WorldVenture Appointment Service

As part of our 2 weeks at the WorldVenture headquarters last month in Littleton, CO, Nate and I participated in an "appointment celebration service". All of the newly appointed missionaries were given the opportunity to briefly share their story with the WorldVenture staff, family, mentors and some retired missionaries living in the area. It was a wonderful time to celebrate God's work in the lives of each of the new missionaries and pray for the journey ahead. Our appointment class of 15 people are headed all over the world - Africa, Europe, and southeast Asia - and it is exciting to think about where we will all be in a few years time.

Here is a video from the service, including an introduction from Linda Gawthrop (from the HR/recruiting department of WorldVenture) and our 3-minute presentation:

Appointment Recognition Service - WorldVenture from Bethany Johnson on Vimeo.

Thoughts on Austria...

It's finally official - Austria is the country! For the last few years as we've been preparing for this major life transition into missions, we were moving towards commiting to moving to Austria. However, I was purposely holding back until it was official. I know myself well, and I know that when I get excited about something and it doesn't pan out, its really hard for me to let go and move on. So until Austria was officially the country to which we were being sent, I completely held back on letting myself get "emotionally attached" to this new nation. I didn't research it, I didn't look at it on a map, I didn't teach myself anything new about Austria.

Now that we know we are going to Austria, I've begun educating myself. Here are a few things I've learned...

1. The official language of Austria is german, but I have heard from the missionaries that live there that the german spoken in Austria is slightly different than that which is spoken in Germany. Austrian german is a bit of a dialect.

2. Austria borders Italy. I am horrible with geography and until a few weeks ago, all I knew was that Austria was somewhere in central Europe. Now I know that Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Switzerland and Lichtenstein to the west, and Slovenia and Italy to the south. I absolutely adore Italy (only been there once and can't wait to go back) and I'm excited to be so close to gelato, tuscany, and Cinque Terra.

3. The Austrian flag looks like this. I embarassed myself when we were out in Colorado when I saw this flag on someone's paper and asked "which country is that?" When they told me, "Austria", I quickly backpedaled and explained that I still had a lot to learn about the country I am moving to :)




4. The spiritual need in Austria is huge. I had a sense of this going in, but the more people I talk to who live in Austria, the move amazed I am at the spiritual darkness that exists there. Things like alcoholism, abortion and suicide are prevalent, and Austria is becoming a hub for sex trafficking from eastern European nations. The population is less than 1% evangelical Christian. Most Austrians appear indifferent to religion and spirituality, and others are dabbling in the occult or converting to Islam. Living and doing ministry there will be hard and slow.

That is only the beginning. I have so much to learn and I am excited to see how God will shape my heart with a love for this beautiful, culturally-rich nation.

Living radicallly...?

Our small group has recently started reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. The basic premise of the book is that God really loves us...and therefore, we should be willing to display a crazy amount of love for those around us. Francis challenges his readers to live "radically", to step outside comfort zones and fight against the "comfortable" Christianity that is common in the American church.

The most recent chapter stirred up quite a bit of discussion in our group about what it really means to live radically and why its important. Some of Francis Chan's statements are a little extreme and they didn't sit well with everyone. Here are a few examples:

"Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict."

"A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions or commitments are piled on top of it."

"Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty."

"Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but beside that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever."

I don't think these are all meant to be taken literally or that they apply to everyone. Maybe you are someone who enjoys professional sports, but don't take this hobby to an unhealthy or idolatrous level. Or maybe you don't drink or swear...but you also try to stand out from the crowd for your faith in others ways. These extreme statements are meant to knock you over the head and make you think...they may make us uncomfortable. But I think Francis' goal is to cause his readers to be challenged in a new way to look at their life and discern where God may be pushing them to change.

Maybe not everyone is meant to sell their belongings and live on the street to be a witness for Jesus. This would be radical, but its not everyone's calling. But what kind of radical does God want you to embrace? Where can you step out of your comfort zone to demonstrate a crazy love for others?

Francis says, "The goal of American Christianity is often a nice marriage, children that don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involved suffering."

I think Francis is right. Living in a country where we are not persecuted for our faith can lead us to be comfortable, to fit in with the Christian sub-culture, and to assume that "radical" is for other people. But reading this book, I'm challenged to confront my comfortable lifestyle and to critically ask the question, "How can I live more radically for Jesus? What does He want me to do?"

Highlights from Devil's Lake Climbing

A few weeks ago, we went climbing at Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, WI. It was a really fun weekend of camping and climbing with some Chicago friends and MN family/friends. It was the first time I (Bethany) had climbed outside on actual rock and it was a good learning experience for me. Here are some highlights from our adventure!

Devil's Lake Climbing Highlights from Bethany Johnson on Vimeo.

Johnson Cooking Adventures

One thing we LOVE to do together is cook. And we recently bought an HD flip video camera. The result? The first video in a series we have entitled "Johnson Cooking Adventures". Enjoy getting a taste of what it's like to cook in our kitchen! Episode 1... Fettuccine with Asparagus and Tomato.

Baptism Photos

Here are photos from my baptism this morning. I was baptized by Susan Shelley, the children's pastor at Parkview. She and her husband, Marshall, have become friends of ours because they lead the 20-somethings group at the church and a few months ago, Marshall became Nate's boss at Christianity Today. Before I was baptised, I read my testimony to the congregation.

Thanks to those who came out to watch! There was a row of 8 people right at the front, cheering me on :) It was a very memorable, spiritual, blessed moment for me and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. It's also fun to reflect on the fact that in less than 5 months, another big event in my life will take place on that same stage!



Susan talks about how she knows me.


I share my testimony.


I am fully immersed!