{Baptism}

These past few weeks have been c r a z y, so my apologies for not posting this sooner. 

But the most exciting thing that has happened was I got baptized on April 10th. Honestly it was one of the best nights of my life! Words can not explain my excitement for this! (I'm sorry to everyone who's ears I talked off about how stoked i was ;) But the Lord is so kind to me! He sent His Son to Earth, to die for my sins and take away the punishment I deserve. What a joy to follow His command to be baptized! :-)

"And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

{acts 22:16}

Below the pictures I put a copy of my testimony! :-)

my mom and sweet friend Lynese brought me flowers; how gracious of them :-)

Hello, my name is Brooke Johnson. I have been blessed to grow up in a Christian home, and have been attending Grace Church all my life. Growing up I always assumed I was a Christian because I knew a lot about the Bible, and thought that I was a good person. On the inside however, my heart was desperately wicked and sinful, and simply desired my own gratification. Upon entering public high school the hypocrisy in my life became much more evident. At church I appeared as a moral, Christian girl, but at school I wanted nothing more than to be accepted and loved, would vie for the affections of others, and had no desire to please the Lord. Home life was a terrible battle between trying to look like I was doing what’s right, but at the same time trying get my way. When I would be convicted about my sin I thought as long as I asked forgiveness, and acted better I would be okay, and if I was ever confronted about my sin, I would either justify it, or try to “do better.”

My senior year I started dating someone from church and thought I was doing pretty well; I had good grades, lots of friends, and a boyfriend who made me happy. Things stayed pretty much the same until the summer after graduation, when I went with the high school group, Oneighty, to summer camp in New Mexico. Little did I know, the Lord was preparing to rock my world that week. During one of the sessions, John Macarthur taught on the basics of regeneration, and what it truly means to be made alive in Christ. In my mind I knew those characteristics he was describing were the opposite of me, and began to be convicted of my sin. A few hours later, the staff surprised us by bringing in rapper Lecrae, who would be performing for us that night. In between songs he was preaching the gospel and saying how our identity is to be found in Christ alone, if we’re truly saved, and anything else leads to emptiness and death. My stomach dropped. For the first time ever, I actually admitted to myself that I wasn’t saved, and my identity was not found in Christ. I went to find my small group leader, who talked to me about the gospel, what it truly means to be a Christian, and encouraged me to go up to my room, seek the Lord and pray. When I got to my room I had never felt more alone. The Lord had opened my blind eyes to my sinfulness, showed me His perfection, and by His grace, for the first time ever, I desired to be His servant, and have Him as Lord of my life. On the floor I cried out to the Lord, confessing my sinfulness, asking him to forgive me and save me from my own wickedness. Ephesians 2:4-5 says it best; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—”  From there I immediately went and ended the worldly relationship I was in and began to live my life as what I now was; truly regenerated in Christ. He exchanged my old, dead, sinful heart for one that beats for Him with a desire to live my life for him alone. Each day since then has been a picture of Gods gracious work in my life. I now love learning about my Savior from His word, being around His people and pursuing what Christ would have me do. My whole life has radically changed since the Lord saved me, and though I often fail miserably and have so much more to learn, I am no longer a slave to sin, but can genuinely repent and find true forgiveness in his blood. One of my favorite passages is; Psalm 62:5-8: “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him, God is a refuge for us.” I desire to be baptized in obedience to His word, and as a public declaration of my salvation.

awestruck.

"And the Lord said to Job:
'Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.'
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
'Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further." || JOB 40:1-5 ||

This particular passage of Scripture has been on my mind all week; literally. The context of these verses is absolutely beautiful, and if you want to, read chapters 38-42. After Job receives bad advice from his friends, who saw suffering solely as a result of one's sin, he finally hears some sound advice; from the Lord himself. The Lord asks Job many questions for the purpose of giving Job a proper perspective on his own state, and the Lord's magnificent and indescribable glory. 
"Can you life up your voice to the clouds, 
that a flood of waters may cover you?
Can you send forth lightenings, that they may go
and say to you, 'Here we are'?"  ||JOB 38:34-35|| 


After all of this questioning, Job is reduced to silence, seen in chapter 40 verses 1-5. The whole picture of Job laying his hand over his mouth, because he now realizes he was wrong to question God, is absolutely amazing to me. Its a picture of humility and contrition. In going through trials or circumstances that are difficult, I pray that this would be my response; weighed down and silenced by the utter power of the Lords complete, infinite, cosmic power. w o w.
How often do i lose sight of this perspective! And the Lord has definitely been quick and extremely gracious to me by always showing me his sovereign hand and His perfect character.  
"Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" ||Job 2:10a||
Genesis 3:18 talks about 'thorns and thistles' that will come as a result of the fall. Both literal thorns, and those thorns that are trials, hardships, heartbreak, and despair. But I forget this so often; that all comfort was lost in the fall. Once sin entered the world, comfort was lost, and only the Lord can bring it back; by giving Himself to us, although I am a wretched worm, undeserving of any sort of 'favor' or grace from the Lord. And Psalm 62:6 says "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."
The Lord is our only source of comfort. There have been times where i have literally felt similar to the description in Psalm 32:4b "My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer."Times where the only thing I have had to cling to was the Lord, and he has faithfully been there, comforting me, leading me back to the cross, hiding me in the shadow of His wing, and protecting me as ONLY he is capable of  doing. And he did all of this for someone who hated him, sinned against him, and who's sin nailed him to the cross. Amazing. I don't understand it one bit apart from Gods grace; He would have been equally as just and perfect if He had allowed me to burn in hell the first day I was born. 
With that; ALL I can do is lay my hand over my mouth.

Garlic {Cheese} Bread

Bread and cheese are two of my favorite things. Put them together, and I'm sold. This recipe is sooooo yummy, and simple. I love it! Once again, I don't have any pictures; forgive me!

I N G R E D I E N T S:

~ 6 slices French or Artisan Pugliese bread

~ 1/4 C butter

~ 2 cloves garlic; pressed

~ 8 T fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese 

D I R E C T I O N S:

1. Place butter and garlic in a skillet over med-low heat. Cook for 15 minutes; stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, place slices of bread on a baking sheet, and place in broiler until the tops are slightly browned. (aprox. 3-5 minutes)

3. Remove baking sheet from over and turn bread slices over. Brush tops of bread with garlic butter, and sprinkle with 1 T or more of cheese. Place in broiler, and bake for about 2 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Remove and serve.

enjoy

xo 

B

{Chile Lime} Salmon

These past few weeks have been c r a z y, which is to blame for me not posting anything in a while! But hey, I'm not complaining! The Lord has been heaping blessings upon my head these past weeks, more than I ever could have thought possible; and definitely much more than I deserve!! In the midst of things I had a chance to make this dish a few days ago for the second time, and it is definitely a winner. Its a great marinade, and super simple to throw together!

I don't have any pictures though, because i had to make it on the run, and gobbled it up before the camera even had time to get out of my bag ;)

I N G R E D I E N T S 

~ 1 pound salmon fillets (tilapia works just as good too..)

~ 1/4 C olive oil

~ 1/4 C fresh squeezed lime juice

~ 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

~ 1 T minced garlic

~ 2 t chili powder

~ 1 t ground cumin

~ 1/2 t salt

D I R E C T I O N S

1. Pat salmon dry with clean paper towels. Place salmon in a 1 gallon recloseable bag.

2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over salmon; seal bag. Gently toss to coat salmon. Refrigerated 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. (no longer than 2 hours; the citrus will begin to deteriorate the meat)

3. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil; spray with no-stick cooking spray. Remove salmon from marinade; discard bag. Place salmon, skin side down, on pan.

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees, until salmon flakes easily with a fork. (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness)

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." 

Zephaniah 3:17

Enjoy

xo

B

Creamy {Horseradish} Chive Bread

In my previous post I mentioned how I made this bread. I really enjoyed it, and its SUPER easy to whip up!

ingredients

~ 1 stick butter, at room temperature

~ 2 T horse radish

~ 2 T chopped chives

~ salt

~ 1 loaf of bread. (i used a loaf of artisan pugliese bread, but plain French bread works too :-)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Mash butter, horseradish and chives until smooth Stir in a pinch of salt. Slice bread, but not cutting all the way through the loaf. Spread mix on each piece, generously.

3. Wrap in foil, and bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

enjoy

xo

B

{Lemon Feta} Stuffed Chicken Breasts&&Asparagus with a {Dijon Vinaigrette}

Okay, so I love good food, that doesn't take all day to prepare. These are perfect spring/summer recipes, and I made the chicken, asparagus, baked bread and cookies.....in under an hour and a half; start to finish! I really liked the flavors and the way they melded. I served this meal with a creamy horseradish chive bread, which was yummy, but i think I will just serve it with plain garlic cheese bread next time, and save the chive bread for steaks or bbq meals. I am so stoked to start cooking for summer. :-) 

p.s. Its asparagus season from February-Juneish, so i'm sure I will post lots of different ways to use this yummy vegetable :-) 

Happy Cooking!

{Lemon Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts}

ingredients

~ 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

~ 1 t finely shredded lemon peel

~ 3/4 C crumbled feta cheese

~ 1 T olive oil

directions

1. Cut a pocket in each breast, through the chicken, but not through opposite sides. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 C feta, with lemon peel. Spoon mixture into each pocket, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

2. In a Large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken. cook for 18-20 minutes, or until there is no more pink. turning once. sprinkle with remaining cheese. 

{Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette}

ingredients

~ 1 lb asparagus

~ 2 t dijon mustard

~ 2 T red wine vinegar

~ 2 T olive oil

~ coarse salt

directions

1. Cut asparagus into 2 1/2 inch strips. 

2. Whisk together mustard, vinegar and 1 T olive oil

3. Heat 1 T olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus and season with salt. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus is tender. About 10-12 minutes. 

4. Remove from heat, and place asparagus in bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette, toss and serve.

xo

B

well i {recommend}.....

when i started section two of the biblical counseling classes i'm taking, I didn't quite know what to expect, because the topic was: marriage&family. The first thing I did when I got my syllabus was look at the reading list. Typically there is 9-10 books that we are required to read throughout the twelve week course. It sounds like a lot, but its definitely manageable, and a good lesson in discipline :-) Two of the books that I read this last class stuck out to me the most were: Love that Lasts, and Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage.

Okay, I'm such a woman....seriously. When i saw the cover of this book i got all excited to read it because of the cute rope heart on the front :-) Before this class I had never read any books specifically written to married couples. This book rocks. It is such an awesome commentary on what the marriage relationship is supposed to look like, as God designed it, and just gives a lot of scriptural and practical explanation on how to have a loving relationship. So much of the scripture used is applicable to how we are to interact, communicate and be long suffering in all of life's relationships. Single, married or engaged, I would definitely recommend this book. Oh, and Betsy is C.J. Mahaney's sister, which was awesome as well! 

This book is a 100 page, detailed explanation on what exactly the Bible teaches about marriage, divorce and remarriage. It definitely is rich in theology, and I found it super helpful in increasing my understanding about these issues, but definitely saw just how complicated and sad sin can make things! Jay continually stresses that divorce isn't necessarily a sin, but is always a result of sin. (If that makes no sense, or sounds funny, read the book. He does a much better job of explaining it than I ever could!)