Toxicity

Toxicity is a term I have heard more in the last 10 years than ever.  Want to get out of a relationship, call them toxic.   I am not saying that there are not toxic people in the world, but the term has been overused and misrepresented more and more over the years. Thinking on this inspired the following:

Toxicity

Toxicity is a name that is used

When people stand and point fingers and accuse.

When they don't want people to see

That they are the one full of toxicity.

Society has labels to put people to shame.

Toxic, homophobic anti vaxxer are some of their names.

Conspiracy theorists, misinformation and other terms are used. 

To spread their own toxic message and their thwarted views.

And when you are at the receiving end of their toxic hate. 

You search your heart looking for your mistake. 

But you won't find it there because you see. 

It's the accuser that is full of toxicity. 

We all make mistakes and sometimes say things out of hand. 

But there is a difference between being  toxic and taking a stand,

Whether it's cancel culture or someone who's woke,

Being truthful is what the prophets of old always spoke. 

We could say they were accused the same way. 

Of being toxic as they spoke against idolatry. 

Not much has changed in the last few hundred years. 

People react to truth with open heart or incite our fears. 

Society wants to erase what they are offended by

So they call it toxic and continue to live a lie 

Calling us judgmental and self righteous too. 

Angered by our message because they know it's true. 

We as Christians are expected to always be kind. 

We are the sweet loving people who agree and stay in line

But the bible has a different message that I have read. 

And it's to hear God's voice and live how I am led. 

Of course we are to love but without truth, that love is void. 

God's love restores the sinner and sometimes He makes noise. 

But at the end of the day we come to understand.

That our restoration is part of His master plan.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

Not Everyone Will Like You

I remember coming home from school when I was in one of the early grades first or second grade, and I was crying to my mom because my friend that I played with all the time just came up and said "I don't like you anymore." I was so broken-hearted.

Rejection is hard and when there's no reason for it it's even harder but it happens to all of us at one point or another. I was thinking about this when I wrote the poem below.

Not everyone will like you

Ever since I was little I remember coming home

And telling my mom “she doesn't like me anymore” and feeling all alone.

Acceptance by friends is something we long for from the start.

And it's hard when people don't like us and break our hearts.

But not everyone will like you and sometimes there's not a reason why.

We can hate them back or we can pray for them to God on high.

Acceptance has never been a guarantee in fact, God warned us long ago

That we would be rejected by the world and  have foes.

No not everyone will like you and that is a fact of life.

It's easier to hate another sometimes then make our pride a sacrifice.

We all want acknowledgment and sometimes we do it at the cost of others.

But that's not the way God's people act toward their sisters and their brothers.

So next time you're in a situation and you don't know why this person hates you so,

Pray for them and give it to God, walk away and let It go.

Be his light to all men and show that you love them even if

They betray you and try to get you in a tiff.

At the end of the day that kind of toxicity hurts them more than you.

So just pray for them to be freed from their negative point of view.

We are God's people and we have a higher call.

So just give your heart’s hurt to him and He will take care of it all.

© 2025 Sandra C Johnson 

Job's Friends

JOB’S FRIENDS

"Then Job answered the Lord and said: I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." Job 42:1-2

 Many times I have talked with people online and off who are struggling and every time I talk to them, it seems like things are no better.  I never know what to say to them...I can pray, but how can I encourage their hearts?  They've heard all the frank advice from others who have their "best interest" in mind.  What could I possibly say to make it all better?  Job's friends were also in that predicament.  They found him in his darkest hour, and wanted to help him find the answers.  WE all have read Job, and we think of this book when we struggle, especially then, for we realize that none of us have gone through such hard times....How many times have I heard it said, I feel like Job.  Job was a righteous man.  He learned a powerful lesson of God's sovereignty.  Oh we all do in these times.  How many times do we need a listening ear, instead get the advice from others like Job received?  We forget that God is in control of every detail of our lives as well as those of our friends.  Only they can hear from God, and only we can hear from Him in our darkest hour.  It's in the quiet time, when we are hurting, that we seek His face, and He makes Himself known to us in the most powerful way, and then as James says....."My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."  James 1:2-4  

Job’s Friends

Job's friends had a word to give him in his darkest time.
To encourage him, and try to give him peace of mind.
Showed him that he needed to repent, he must have sinned.
Accusation upon accusation they piled upon him.

But Job still stood His ground, and held on to God's hand.
He wouldn't accept just any word that came from the mouth of man.
He had to know what God would have him do, though it was hard to see.
Job's friends continually rebuked him for his arrogance and hypocrisy.

We all have friends who come to us in our heartache and despair.
Those who give their frank advice and truly seem to care.
Sometimes, though, they are only opinions of what they understand.
Only we can hear from God and accept all from His hand.

His discipline is there to help us walk closer to Him.
To understand His sovereignty in the earth, so in His Word we will depend.
It's not always as a punishment, but to force us to choose.
To listen to His voice, and not our friends' polished point of view.

Our friends have our best interest at the heart of their words.
They feel it their duty to share with us what they think we've never heard.
So they give advice and try to help us see.
When all the time, God is in control, and in His own time will set us free.

We all come to those times, when we fail to understand why.
We lay in the mire, and simply want to die.
What did we do...and our friends are so quick to judge us then,
And if we are weak, it's ourselves we start to condemn.

But Job knew nothing in Himself could make Him right with God.
No goods he owned or service he performed in the path he trod.  
He kept seeking the father, and hung on him so very tight,
Until God showed Himself to this man, who never failed to live in the light.

Yes, Job had his comforters, do you have them as well?
Those who have good intentions to advise you where you dwell.
Only God can give the answers and lead you through the mire.
And in time, He will pick you up and give you your heart's desire.

Seek ye first His Kingdom and His righteousness,
Amidst the storm in life every day, simply Let Jesus lift you up.
And He will carry you to a place that's safe and warm.
And deliver you from the turmoil of the present storm.

Yes, Job had comforters, but the one that comforted him the most.
Is the one that comforts us today...He's called the Holy Ghost.
Jesus promised to send Him a very long time ago.
He guides us, teaches us through every heartache and woe.

Job's friends had a word to give him in his heartache and his woe.
To point out his sin, so he would know which way to go.
He chose to wait on God, and trust Him in His plan.
We too can do the same, in our lives while trudging through this land.

God controls our destiny and our lives are in His hands.
Though things don't look easy and we may fail to understand.
Just like Job we too will be led on a clearer path.
To trust in God's sovereignty into His rest at last.

© Copyright 1998 Sandra C. Johnson

The Notebook

The Notebook

I found an old notebook the other day. 

Words from a young girl in a time far away.

Prayers for loved ones recorded in time,

And her heart recorded in rhyme. 

I found a notebook and started to read.

And as I heard myself, I couldn't believe. 

I was looking in the mirror at a younger me.

Who had faith and many dreams yet to be. 

I found a notebook and read the words. 

Many of them God alone heard. 

Some were poems and some were prayers. 

Some were silly stories I forgot were there. 

The moments written within came to light

And took me back to another place and time.

This notebook has forever embellished my past

The good, the bad and the feelings I had. 

I found this notebook out of the blue,

With words from my heart steadfast and true.

But even if I had never found this precious gem,

There is a notebook written in the hearts of all men.

Our memories and secrets are recorded there. 

Every act of faith and times we despair. 

Some memories we cherish with adoration. 

Some we hope to forget with consternation. 

But that notebook is there and we have the pen. 

Through each choice we make, we write them within. 

And at the end of our lives it's all on display.  

Every word and action every time we pray. 

This notebook holds our successes, failures and pride. 

Our hurts, fear and love that was denied. 

It chronicles the hope and faith we have too.

It records everything in plain view

But one thing this notebook is unable to record

Are the sins that were covered by Jesus our Lord.

The sins that were once in this notebook of our lives

Are miraculously deleted because of His sacrifice. 

I found a notebook which made me ponder.

On the value of life, the things we do to make life harder. 

Opportunities missed and choices we made. 

What's written within can determine our fate. 

© Sandra C. Johnson 2025

This poem was adapted into a song and can be viewed on my YouTube channel here:

Sarah Laughed

We read in Genesis 18:9-15 

9 Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Sarah Laughed

Sarah laughed when she heard the angel say. 

It won't be long and you will have a baby.

Sure enough she gave birth to a son. 

Sarah learned what it means to overcome.

I can imagine those around her laughing too. 

They must have thought her silly, none of it was true. 

But I am astonished when I think about how she laughed back then. 

A woman such as her questioning God's 

Sovereignty again and again. 

We think of Sarah as resilient and strong. 

But she too struggled with her own doubts all along. 

You see the mark of an overcomer is not someone perfectly righteous

Nor is it that person who feeds the poor and can be pious. 

No, the overcomer is the one who is aware of their sin. 

And clings to their Savior for grace from what has been. 

Sarah laughed but is proclaimed as our mother above who is free. 

She stands for the new covenant and the law of liberty. 

Though she laughed and may have struggled with fear. 

She overcame and understood as the time to give birth came near 

And so with us too, we may wonder why me. 

And question the promises He spoke setting us free.

And as we fail again and again we cannot understand. 

That God is the one to lift us up by His mighty hand. 

Just like Sarah we may laugh when God tells us to write a book. 

Or run for an office or go to school and we may take a second look. 

Meanwhile God is patiently waiting while we second guess His plan.

Because we forget it is not in our strength but in His that we stand. 

But in the end, we soon realize how futile we were to doubt. 

Just as Sarah was soon to find out. 

But Sarah represents us all as overcomers. 

And we are in good company with her and so many others. 

Yes Sarah laughed and sometimes we do too. 

But God will soon fulfill His plan as only He can do. 

© Sandra C. Johnson 2025

26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,

    you who never bore a child;

shout for joy and cry aloud,

    you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

    than of her who has a husband.”[e]

28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[f] 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Galatians 4:28-31

This poem was adapted into a song and can be viewed on my YouTube channel here:

Interrupting God

 Interrupting God

I wondered Why God was silent and didn’t hear me when I pray. 

I asked in desperation for an answer every day. 

I cried and rattled on over the frustration I felt no one would understand. 

I asked with a heavy heart, where is your great and mighty hand. 

Unknown to me as I blathered on each day asking God to intervene. 

He was talking too, explaining His will for me. 

He was trying to get a word in edgewise but I was so loud I could not hear. 

My perspective was based on my own thoughts making it all unclear.  

And we wonder why the faith of so many has waxed cold. 

We have failed to hear what to our hearts has been told. 

God has been there all along showing us which path to take. 

But fear has immobilized our perspective and altered our fate. 

We yell and scream at God and blame Him for all that has gone wrong. 

All the while forgetting we have lived in a fallen world all along. 

Of course there are going to be obstacles and storms we must walk through. 

But God is feeling our pain and He is walking through it too. 

He is there waiting, and when we pause He asks “are you done?

Because I have some answers for you, if you will stop for a moment my son. 

I have been trying to get your attention, and it took thunder and lightening. 

I was there trying to get your attention is all, though I know it was frightening. 

I have a plan and listen, stop and quit struggling on your own. 

It’s only in my strength can you navigate through the unknown. 

And there are many obstacles in this world, but I am here to help you through 

Just be still and listen for my voice in everything you do. 

I may not speak from a cloud in the sky, if I did, you would run and hide. 

So I make myself known in smaller ways of which cannot be denied.

I speak through something that you read or a testimony from a friend. 

Sometimes it's simply in your heart that you will hear within. 

There will be other times when you pray and read the words I left in the bible. 

But learn to listen and not interrupt me my child. 

I am here, but so many in this world expect a miraculous visitation. 

Or they think I am going to make life easy in some difficult situation. 

But it’s in those times, when I am teaching you how to be. 

More like my Son who died in order that from sin you can be free. 

So stop interrupting and listen, I am always here. 

My child, hold my hand and trust in me, and put away your fear.” 

You may wonder too at times, does God hear? Is he still there? 

You don’t see any evidence in any of your prayers. 

But He is there, but like a gentleman he does not force. 

When we are ready He will intervene, and in our lives will alter course. 

© Sandra C. Johnson 2025

God's Busy Today

God's Busy Today

Gods busy today so weve been lead to believe.

As man steps in and soon we are deceived. 

As we put more faith in a pastor, a priest or a pope.

We fail to hear from God and begin to lose hope.

 

God's busy today is a lie we have learned to embrace

As we live life, attend church and still fall from grace.

We have come to have faith, not in God  above, but in man. 

As we learn from man's opinions and not from God's hand. 

Gods busy today, we have come to believe

So our prayers are less and the truth we fail to perceive. 

And so we fall for the new world order theology

And humanists viewpoints and ideologies. 

But God's ways are not our ways and we need to know. 

His actions are up to Him and it's not just for show. 

He wants us all to trust him and patiently wait. 

For us to see who is the true author of our fate. 

God’s not too busy to hear every prayer. 

And He is not far away. No He is everywhere. 

But He doesn't send down great displays of brilliance and light. 

He gently intercedes on our behalf in every fight. 

God's not too busy to put understanding into our hearts

Be still and listen while His truth He imparts. 

He will show each of us His Words and His truth. 

He will accomplish all He sets out to do. 

Gods busy today is what Aaron believed as well.

As He set up a calf for worship and God's people fell. 

Things are not much different in our present time. 

Hearing God's unfiltered Word is hard to find.

We have pastors living outside of God's command 

Homosexual and woke pastors claiming they can. 

And deciding what truth to teach their people. 

Embracing the world's psychology in the church and steeple. 

God is still there though, He is calling us out. 

Making clear His word to our hearts removing all doubt 

So next time you think God is too busy, think again. 

And let Him teach you from His spirit within.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson