Life with Helen Johnson

 As I write this blog I'm sat in our new kitchen in our new home. I will be sharing a blog about how the move went and maybe a few pictures, but in today's blog I want to talk about seasons God calls us into. Andy and I have been on a real journey of God preparing us for the future, and with this has come new seasons and a lot of change. It reminds me of Joshua entering the Promised Land, it took many years and a lot of preparation, but eventually God answered his promise and the Israelite's reached their destination, their home. What journey is God taking you on? Do you know what the end goal might look like? Do you need to surrender to God's plan? just some questions to think about. I want to share with you four distinct journey's we've had to go on, and what God has taught us in those seasons. #1 - Building a foundation If you imagine every blessing that God gifts you it will likely come with weight, and this requires the foundations being solid. Whether that...

 By the time you're reading this blog Andy and I would have hopefully moved into our new home, which means we're saying goodbye to our first home we shared. As excited as I am to move house, I also feel sadness in saying goodbye to our first home as a married couple. I want to share with you some of the journeys we've been on in this home and some lessons we've learnt from our first home we shared. Here is a trip down memory lane: Finally having a bedroom that was plain and simple, after spending several months in a room with pink flowery wall paper and red curtains!  Our first Christmas as a married couple, doing our best to make things look cozy with a cheap tree, as we had just spent thousands fixing our roof and buying a car! Trying to renovate the spare room by ourselves, we eventually gave in and paid for a professional to do the job. Dust and asthma are not a good combination! Our spare room after the professional did a job in 4 days we'd been trying for 4 mo...

 I am so excited for today's blog, as it's announcing something that has been a while in the making. In September 2024 when I started this blog I had no idea who the audience would be and whether people would even be interested in what I had to write. I was blown away by the response I received and in December 2024 it got me questioning the direction of this blog and how it could grow. I had originally intended on starting a YouTube channel, but personally that was quite a big feat, it takes a while to film the videos and even longer to edit them. However I recently have felt nudged again to do something more, so in early March I decided to create a new website for my blog that is going to include so much more for you and I hope will be a blessing. I hope to launch this new website in June and I do hope that you continue to join me on the journey. So, what is going to be different and what can you expect? #1 - New website with a variety of resources At present my current blog s...

I've been reluctant to write a blog on the topic of submission because in the Church there is so much divide on whether people think it's right or not. I can say with a high level of confidence that those outside of the Church likely do not agree with submission, and that is partly why I want to write this blog. I want to show you and explain why as a wife I chose to submit to my husband, even if it's something I struggle with at times and am still working on daily. If you asked my husband Andy 'does Helen submit to you?', I don't think his answer would be a 100% yes, however he does know it's something I want to improve. So let's answer the question, what is submission? In Ephesians 5:22-24 it says ' Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to ...

Being a Christian is not easy, especially in the world we live in today which promotes ways of living which are so against Biblical teaching. I've been on a journey in the last couple of months, as I felt challenged that I wasn't living my life according to scripture, I was going to church on Sunday and then the rest of the time I was reacting, responding and living as if I wasn't a Christian. I want to make it clear that I wasn't purposely trying to live a life that wasn't for God, I just wasn't actively making daily/weekly decisions that re-centered my mind and my heart to God and in His calling for my life and how I should live my life.  I was listening to a sermon the other day and it was talking about 'holy habits', I had never heard that phrase before and I wasn't quite sure what it meant at first. Essentially holy habits are daily or weekly things you chose to do which aligns your life to the teachings of the Bible and to the way we are called...

  What does it look like to be a Christian wife? What society and the Bible says are very different and I've felt challenged recently to make sure I'm taking my advice from scripture, and not from what society expects. If you follow what the Bible says chances are you will be met with more challenge and it often goes against what we're taught today and what we're used to today, however I believe if we follow scripture it will lead to a more fruitful marriage which has God right at the centre of it and that's the type of marriage we should want. In Proverbs 31:10-31 it shows us what a wife of noble character looks like. I'd encourage you to sit down and read the whole scripture, in this blog I want to pick out certain verses I have found helpful and also challenging. Verses 10-11: 'She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing' Aren't these beautiful verses? To her husband she is worth more than expensive ...

As I write this blog I feel like I'm writing it as much for myself as I am for you. I wouldn't say I've fully learnt what it means to wait for something, I have been waiting, but I wouldn't say I've been doing it successfully. I watched a video this morning that was sharing the story of a married couple who had to wait 13 years for their first child, they shared some really insightful pieces of advice and I want to encourage you with their encouragement. Before we begin I want us to ponder on Psalm 130:5 'I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I hope'. We are not promised an easy life when reading the Bible, but we are promised many things, cling on to those promises, find peace in the Word of God and trust that He is a God who provides, even if it's not the way you'd expect. 1. Our identity cannot be wrapped around the blessings of the Lord Our identity is not based on what God gives us in life, it is based in Him. When you're identi...