Inspiration comes from all kinds of places. Each Christmas, I ask God to help me see the nativity with fresh eyes. I read the traditional passages from Matthew and Luke, I soak in the prophecies of Jesus’ birth from the Old Testament and look up testimonies from historians like Josephus. I’ve explored the stories of the shepherds, the Magi, Mary, …
Mother’s Day is a day I both cherish and dread. Cherish, because of the sweet bond my three living children and I share. We giggle and play, worship and love. Yet, I also dread this holiday too. Why? Because I have two babies in heaven. I wouldn’t wish them back for anything. (I often tell my audiences that I have …
For the past several weeks, I’ve sensed God pressing the word ‘chosen’ into my heart. After taking some time to mull it over, I finally looked up the chosen in the Greek. I zeroed in on the descriptor ‘select’. I’ve heard about sanctification all my life, being chosen and set aside for a specific purpose, but when I saw ‘favorite’, …
No matter how many Christmases I’ve lived through, I always feel unprepared when the calendar rolls around to December again. It doesn’t matter how early I start shopping, how many rolls of wrapping paper I buy, or how much food I freeze ahead. When the calendar hits December 25th, I’m scrambling like dog chasing after a bone. Some days, celebrating …
Each Christmas I find particular joy in digging anew into the accounts of Jesus’ birth. I’ve studied Simeon, Anna, the outposts around Bethlehem, the innkeeper, Mary…the possibilities are endless. But this year, I was giddy to discover a letter held in the Constantinople archives. This missive was a report written by a priest named Jonathan to the Bethlehem Sanhedrim, after …
Welcome to a moving, powerful conversation with my friend Tina Akridge! Tina has journeyed through impossible circumstances (a health crisis, the loss of her husband, children who have battled addiction and wandering) to discover that God remained and sustained her through it all. Tina and I chat about what it’s like to be painfully shy, the perpetual new girl, and …
Another episode of This is My Story is zooming your way! Today, I sit down with the uber-talented, mom, wife, and author extraordinaire Paula Scott! Paula and I chat about the setting of her beautiful novel River of Mercy, and Paula delves deep into the inspiration behind it, as well as her process of writing to heal. We discuss how …
Come meet my talented friend Rachel Dodge! Rachel and I chat about Southern hospitality and colloquialisms, as well as all things Jane Austen. (Rachel is a Jane Austen expert and prefers the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I knew there was a good reason why we clicked!) We chat about our earliest story inspirations–Little House, Anne of Green Gables, …
Today, I sit down with my sister from another mister…the multi-talented, multi-genre driven Sarah Bennett! (aka S.E. Clancy) Sarah and I reminisce about the first time we met in a comedy writing class…and boy, did the instructor’s words make us snicker! We chat about how a sarcastic momma survives raising teens, the lack of quality stories for young people, reader …
Join me for some quick thoughts on what it means to truly be thankful with special help from one of my heroes…Corrie Ten Boom! Links: www.TaraJohnsonStories.com Twitter: @TaraMinistry Facebook: (5) Tara Johnson | Facebook Instagram: @TaraJohnsonMinistry