The Big Knockout So Anger came and knocked on my door. You see, she was an old friend so she knew the exact moment to show up. I had just watched the video of George Floyd’s murder. My eyes were pouring out what my heart felt. Pain. So much pain. Right in the middle of this life changing moment Anger clasp me in her grip. I felt her familiar heat in the back of my throat and a fire of words were simmering inside my spirit. As the days progressed, I could feel that fire keep heating up and as hard as I tried to prevent it from boiling over, I couldn’t . It boiled over and man did I feel it burn. Over the next few days I watched as our country was flipped, divided, and angry. And once satan saw he had a foothold on people with anger, he went into destruction mode. I watched people not know what to do with how they felt. Words were thrown like grenades and people were on the attack- myself included. During this time God sent three dear friends to me. One is a constant lifeline who will make me look at myself through a lens of accountability to God, no matter the situation. If you don’t know Beth White, she really is amazing. I jokingly tell her that I’m sure she wants to tape my fingers together sometimes so that I cannot type on Facebook, but what she does for me is much more powerful than that. She makes me look within. After thirty minutes I saw the root within me that I had to deal with. Yes, I was outraged, angry, and heartsick over what happened to George Floyd, still am, but it made me look at my reactions to it. My anger was about more than just that one injustice. It was about the underlying issues within myself that poured gasoline all over the fire that anger had started. The way I saw it, I could use that anger to construct or destruct and that decision was up to me. When we started Celebrate Recovery I learned so much about myself. We all know the surface stuff that we struggle with, but do we ever stop and ask ourselves where the root of our struggles come from? If we grow to where we see the root, are we ready to start the work that is required to get pull it out? It’s hard work to change behavior, but God is so faithful and just. We really don’t deserve His grace and yet He pours it from and endless spout. I saw my anger coming for me and it hit me like Earnie Shavers. He is a former heavyweight boxing champion that many have said is the hardest hitter in the history of the sport. Muhammad Ali has said no one hit him harder than Shavers. One sports writer wrote that he could “get you out of there any kind of way.’ Anger lingers until its lit and then it will do whatever it can to get you out of there any kind of way. It hits hard and it keeps you as its prisoner. In the days following George Floyd’s murder, I found myself becoming unrecognizable. It brought up so many things that I had filed under “deal with later.” We will talk more about those files in the coming weeks. God’s word says this: Ephesians 4:26-27, “And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” (NLT) I had to do some work on me and its not done. Whenever I am struggling the first thing I do is find a scripture to help lead me through what to do. In Celebrate Recovery we call these are life scriptures. Don’t have a life scripture for your anger, here are some more of mine that have helped me the past few weeks. James 1:19-20, “…be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight.” (NLT) Proverbs 29:11, “A fool gives full vent to anger, but a wise person quietly holds it back.” (NLT) Jesus knows that He has to check my stubborn nature with tough love so early one morning, He woke me up to this Ephesians 4:31-32, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (NLT) So, I took a Facebook break. I was becoming quite the keyboard fighter and it left me drained and empty. I curled up with my bible, my celebrate recovery books, and my highlighters. I let my therapist ‘hold the bucket” while I started dealing with the “deal with later” files. I acted like a three year old and clung to my momma’s skit tail and my dad’s pant leg. I surrounded myself with my mission minded friends who reminded me that heaven is our home and I choose how I spend the time in between. I decided to do what Paul instructed in the book of Romans and conquer the evil I was seeing by doing good. Romans 12:21, “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.” I also kicked satan’s teeth out by fasting, praying, and letting the stillness of God’s voice give me peace. We all get angry. Some of us struggle more than others, but it's something we all share. The question for you is what are you going to do with that anger? My prayer for anyone reading this is that you ask God to forgive you for anything that your anger did to destroy. Rather that be yourself, someone, or something. Do some self inventory and ask God to help you find the root of your anger. What makes you react the way you do? Then, I pray that you look Anger square in the eyes and punch like Earnie Shavers and knock it out! You have got this my friend, and I am in your corner! God is good ya’ll, He just is, Kisha
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus: - Copy
Six Cents I remember when she walked in. Mom walked around the serving station to greet her. When Mom came back I asked her if she knew her. “No,” she replied, “I just loved her smile.” I would later learn her name was Ms. Marie. She was known for her legendary fried apple pies. Mom started eating with her every time she would come in. One day she was searching frantically for something. Once Mom got her to calm down, she said she couldn’t find the money she wanted to give us for her meals. Mom explained that her company was payment enough and all of our meals are free. Ms. Marie reach into her pocket and pulled out six cents. It may seem like nothing to some, but to us, it meant everything because in that moment, it was everything she had. She gave us her best and her last. For the last six years we have used the saying “six cents” whenever we grow weary. Running a soup kitchen isn’t easy. There are days when we are exhausted, but then Jesus sends us something or someone to thank us for giving Him our “six cents.”
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus: Servant of Jesus
Meet Jason❤️❤️❤️ Jason would come into God’s Storehouse to eat with us. What I remember most was how patient and loving he was with his little girl. I remember the kindness in his eyes. He was so frail and the addiction was taking its toll, but he always thanked us for his meals. One day we stopped seeing him which isn’t uncommon. We’ve learned to love while people are in our grasp. The window is sometimes small. What we didn’t know was that he was in jail. He was facing 100 years, but God already had a plan. He went to jail for two years and used that time to learn more about Jesus and about the law. What I love is that his wasn’t just ”jail house religion.” Once he got home, God sent him to Tammy Harmon at the Hope House and he rebuilt his life. Want to hear something miraculous? When Jason gave his life to Christ, he meant it. He called Barry and he got baptized in the winter when Chestnut Creek water was freezing. The most amazing part was that some of our police officers who were used to arresting him stood on the banks and encouraged him. 😭😭 Jason did the work and God changed his entire life. He has been clean for 2 years! 2 YEARS! One day he was drinking an energy drink and it made him sick because it reminded him of vodka. We celebrated because at that moment he knew for sure alcohol had lost its grip🙌🏾🙌🏾 (alcohol IS a drug y’all) What I love most about Jason is that he shows up and he works hard. He is the only person I’ve ever known who can work as hard as my dad. I also love the way he honors my parents. ❤️❤️❤️ He and my dad are the men’s group leaders for our Celebrate Recovery Tribe. He has taught my dad so much about addiction. Jason, I love you!! Thank you for jumping in the trenches and leading people out of addiction.
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus
Meet Bonnie. I had known Bonnie for years and mom and I both kept inviting her to come eat with us at God’s Storehouse. Months later, she did. During this time she was in active addiction. Meth has a look. Mom and I always say it’s a hopeless look that won’t let you die. Meth tortures people and the evidence is found in their skin and especially their teeth. We also learned the heartbreak that goes along with not having teeth. Bonnie came in and before we knew it she was working to help us. We knew she was looking at spending some time in jail but we had no idea it was 10 years. The courts gave her a huge chance and she worked hard — very, very, very, hard and she turned her life completely around. Bonnie is part of the reason we started our recovery ministry. She used dope for over 20 years , but as of today she is 1,026 days clean🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 Bonnie got clean for kids.❤️ We are so proud of you Bonnie! Keep shining my beautiful friend❤️ P.S. God changes lives ya’ll. Our city is full of walking miracles. My tribe. My loves. My inspiration.
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus
Mandi: Dime Piece The moment I saw her walk through the door, I knew something was wrong. She came in with a man in town who makes me want to smack him in the head for how I’ve seen him treat women, but I closed my eyes and asked God to help me remember that the ground is level at the cross. I wasn’t sure if she was high, but she had the look. I quickly made my way over to her and introduced myself. She was skittish and very uncertain. I motioned for my mom to come over and together we made small talk, but it was clear she wasn’t looking to make new friends. We never know if we will see people again. That’s the hardest part of our ministry. I spent the first year crying every single night and begging God to watch over the people we met, especially the children. I couldn’t get this new girl’s face out of my head. I remember saying to God, “please send her back and if she is attached to (man I wanted to smack) please show her a way of escape.” What I didn’t know was that my mom was praying the same prayer. The very next week, she came back and this time she was alone. It took everything I had not to run over to her and say “you came back!” I’ve learned the hard way that hugging people who don’t know me makes me look a little crazy. So, I kept my cool and just said hello. I found out from Diedra that the girl’s name was Mandi. Diedra looked me in my eyes with desperation and said, “She was my best friend when I was in addiction. We have to help her.” When we came out of the kitchen, my mom was sitting with her and they were laughing. Next thing I knew my mom was packing her a bag food and said to me “I have to feed that baby.” It’s an ongoing joke with our soup kitchen family that when my mom starts to love you, she feeds you. She rescued a dog a few years ago that had been starved and beaten and in two weeks he was chubby and wouldn’t leave her side. What she doesn’t realize is that she doesn’t just feed us food. She feeds us all the lessons that life has taught her. She feeds us this crazy, insane, immeasurable love. She momma bears us all. Delina Thompson-Parks is the perfect combination of Claire Huxtable and Madea. She can also hit a bullseye with her pistol. And she started loving on Mandi. Next thing I knew, Mandi told me she went to church at Cornerstone and met a dear friend of mine named Brandy. “She was really nice to me and my kids” she whispered to me. Then we talked about Mike’s message. “It made me feel good. All that he was talking about in the Bible.” Again, I had to keep my cool and not explode into a mixture of tears and a Pentecostal praise break. Last Sunday, Mandi picked up her chip for 90 days. That, my friends, is because of a miracle-working God. That, my friends, is because of the body of Christ doing what God commissioned us to do – LOVE. That, my friends, is because of all the messages and texts that I send out for believers in Christ to use the most powerful weapon we have – PRAYER. That, my friends, is because on a day that my friend Brandy could have missed church, she didn’t and she encouraged another momma by simply being nice. Pay attention to the new person in church. Mandi Lynn, my beautiful Jesus-loving friend, we are so proud of you. You think we changed your life, but it’s the other way around, you gorgeous thing. Jesus fills my heart up when I see you.
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus: Servant of Jesus
Meet Diedra. I saw her rebel heart from the start. I looked and then I looked again and felt my heart drop. She looked like a friend I love dearly. She had a Punky Brewster exterior but I saw her eyes - a mixture of sadness and fear. She was tough and I felt it. Life had tried to knock her down and she was still standing. I walked to the back of the room and starting the dialogue with Jesus, “Did you send that girl in here ? I know this is you because she reminds me of (my friend, that I love dearly). I don’t want to get attached to her and I will. Send her to someone else.” I still laugh at the times I think I can argue with Jesus. I introduced myself to her. Shortly after I found out she lived with a woman I have known for decades. The lady, Kathy, was going to be camping and she asked me to check on Diedra. I did and we laugh about it now. I could always hear hesitation in her voice. Later she told me she was thinking “why is she always calling me. I don’t know her.” Here is the reason God sent her to us. She had gotten out of rehab on Friday and we met her that Sunday at Celebrate Recovery. That was February 2019. On October 30, 2018, Jesus rescued Diedra. She overdosed in a parking lot in Galax at 3pm. She woke up to paramedics beating on her window. She says she remembers waking up like she was in tunnel and seeing a church. She swallowed two more grams of meth before the cops got there and arrested her. She had the choice of rehab or jail and she chose rehab. That’s where God started her healing. Then after she left, God led her to us. She started hanging out in the soup kitchen. My mom saw that rebel heart and she tough-loved Diedra. Now, she’s one of my mom’s babies. We got to see her reconnect with her children and fall in love with Jesus. She accepted salvation sitting on my couch. She is one of the best fishermen I know. She’s also such a natural encourager and she is a Peter( Peter the discipline was mouthy and tough. If you don’t know about him, look him up) This is just a glimpse into why we stay so encouraged around people who have been in active addiction. They are rescued people and their passion for Jesus is contagious. Very quickly Diedra became the little sister I used to long for - spunky as ever and an upcoming powerhouse for Jesus! She changed my life. She took me under her wing and taught me about addiction. Addiction is a painful disease - the choice until it no longer isn’t. The robber of life. We made a deal. She would teach me about addiction and in turn I taught her about this man I worshipped named Jesus. She let me into her world, a world so foreign that kept calling out to me. She took me to my first trap house and it’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen before. Needles on the floor. Rooms in disarray. No lights or water. I will forever look at people who have overcome addiction in awe. They are the modern Lazarus. Diedra, you light up my life you dime piece!! Your faith inspires me. I also appreciate your complete honesty with me. Thank you for keeping me accountable to God. I’m thankful I get to run into battle with you. She’s a walking miracle. “I got clean for my kids. I wanted to be a mom and get my identity back because I lost who I was. There was this void I couldn’t heal until I learned about Jesus.” Diedra Cooke, the “hopedealer.” God is good ya’ll. A miracle worker. I see it every day.
Kisha Johnson, Servant of Jesus