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Tara Johnson

sharing stories through writing, speaking and singing

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wounds

Painting Rust

August 25, 2018 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

Our front door is a mess. It’s a white door with glass insets, trimmed with frosted scroll work around the edges. It would be quite lovely…were it not for the bubbled rust marring the bottom corner. When the first signs of moisture damage popped up, I wasn’t too worried. After all, it was only a little rust. We live in the south. Humidity is our bread and butter. However, after a few weeks I noticed the spots of orange spreading and taking away from the Read More

Filed Under: Walking with God Tagged With: Courage, covering our hurts, healing, hiding, hiding from healing, hiding our wounds, painting over hurt, wounds

Rods and Staffs

March 12, 2017 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

God’s presence. How I long for it. There are days when I feel nearly desperate for it. For Him. In some ways, it’s an odd longing. Didn’t Jesus already promise He’s with me until the end of the age? (Matt. 28:20) Absolutely. He said His Spirit is living inside me as a deposit of the promises yet to come. (2 Cor. 1:22) Yet, there are days when I don’t always feel Him with me. I’m not alone. When I googled “God’s presence” I racked up a Read More

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Walking with God Tagged With: broken pieces, fear, God, God's presence, Good Shepherd, grief, healing, His love abounds, Jesus, loss, pain, presence, psalms, rod and staff, suffering, wounds

Jesus Wasn’t Calling: How I Learned to Walk Away from Perfectionism and Self-Inflicted Martyrdom

February 21, 2017 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

Jesus wasn’t calling. Okay, maybe not. Obviously, Jesus is still in the calling business. Hang with me here and I’ll do my feeble best to try to explain my muddled thoughts. I have to admit it was quite a shock to realize all those years I spent doing and running, spinning my wheels and frantically trying to be a good, little Christian girl for Jesus weren’t for Him at all. They were for me. When the truth hit, it slapped me hard. I’ll never forget Read More

Filed Under: Church Life, satan's lies, Uncategorized, Walking with God Tagged With: approval, approval addiction, Christian walk, depression, idolatry, Jesus calling, knowing Jesus voice, motives, people pleasing, perfectionism, resentment, serving, unconditional love, wounds

Drowning out Silence

January 17, 2017 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

Noise can be a drug. It’s a numbing anesthesia, insulating us from pain and reality, a distraction that keeps us from looking too deeply at what haunts us most. We do the same with food, with shopping and debit cards, with possessions and degrees, with sex and alcohol, power, possessions, money, relationships, children…yet the more I consider the bombastic nature of our society, the more I believe noise has become the preferred drug of choice. By noise I don’t mean only auditory transmission, but sensory Read More

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Walking with God Tagged With: Be still, Be still and know I am God, busyness, distraction, God's presence, healing, Jesus, learning to rest, noise, quiet, silence, stillness, wounds

Writing and Living From Your Scars

June 24, 2016 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

by Tara Johnson I was recently asked to give an aspiring writer my best piece of writing advice. I could have told her to study the craft, which is extremely important, or given her a list of blog and books to follow. Also important. Or I could have given her a checklist of a thousand other steps to pursue her dream, but after much thought, I gave her my best piece of advice: write from your scars. Let me explain. Not long ago, my two Read More

Filed Under: Writing Fiction Tagged With: hiding your wounds, Letting God heal your wound, live from your scars, scars, wounds, Writing, Writing Advice

The Sidewalk

May 2, 2016 By Tara Johnson Leave a Comment

I did it again. After years of battling approval addiction, after years teaching others how to break free from the chains of people pleasing, I found myself right back at square one…I took on a task I wasn’t meant to take because I wanted to be the agreeable good girl. Someone asked something of me, but instead of requesting time to pray, I blurted out, “Sure! I’m happy to do it.” And now I’m resentful. The same old pattern. The same old struggle. Have you Read More

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Walking with God Tagged With: addiction, breaking patterns, breaking the cycle, cycles of behavior, living victorious, shame, struggle, traps, war inside, wounds

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Engraved on the Heart

Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson

Engraved on the Heart
Click to view purchasing options for Engraved on the Heart.

Latest Blog Posts

Girl from the Land of Gray

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Reader Reviews:

Sarah Sundin

Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson

“Engraved on the Heart brings Savannah, Georgia, during the Civil War to life.”… Read more “Sarah Sundin”

Award-winning Author

Robin Lee Hatcher

Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson

“Tara Johnson delivers a stirring tale of danger and hope.”… Read more “Robin Lee Hatcher”

RITA and Christy Award winner

Jocelyn Green

Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson

“Lovers of Civil War fiction will rejoice to add Engraved on the Heart to their collections.”… Read more “Jocelyn Green”

Award-winning Author

Laura Frantz

Engraved on the Heart by Tara Johnson

“Johnson weaves a tale of selflessness, and service . . .”… Read more “Laura Frantz”

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Meet Tara

Tara JohnsonTara Johnson is a writer, singer, speaker and passionate lover of stories. Tara uses fiction, nonfiction, song and laughter to share her testimony of how God led her into freedom after spending years living shackled to the expectations of others. She lives in central Arkansas with her husband and children.

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