C.S. Lewis regarding one's life

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s “own,” or “real” life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one ...day by day; what one calls one’s “real life” is a phantom of one’s own imagination."

C.S. Lewis

My walk with God

I was recently asked to give a talk at the WayFM Christian Business Leaders’ Breakfast on how my faith and career intersect. Afterwards some people asked for a copy of my notes and I thought I would write a narrative to make it easier to follow:

As you all know, my name is Larry Johnston and I run All Phase Painting. When Jennie first asked me to speak to you I told her I would be honored. I also said that I didn’t want to spend ten minutes boring you with all sorts of technical stuff about painting, but that I would rather talk about my job than the way I make a living. You see, I pay my bills by painting houses and offices, but my job is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone I meet.

In order to tell you how my faith intersects with my career I have to take you back almost ten years. At that time I had a pretty good job – I worked as a telemarketing manager about 30 hours per week and was making about $35,000 per year. The only real drawback was I had to work nights until about 8:00 and missed spending time with my school-age children. My wife worked as a shift manager for a car rental company making about $38,000 and from the outside we looked like a happy family. In private, though, there was a lot of fighting. I went to church regularly and my boys were very active in Sunday school. I participated in bible studies and helped out wherever needed. Because of her schedule, my wife was rarely able to attend and this became one of the cracks in the facade of our marriage – she resented my deepening faith and relationship with God as well as the time away at the church. Even though I looked pretty together on the outside, I always was aware that something was missing in my life: I KNEW I needed to be home more with the kids; I KNEW my marriage was falling apart; I KNEW that, though I spent time at the church, I was never really known. I had a tendency to stay in the background because I didn’t feel like I fit in.

I asked God to help me make sense of my life, but I wanted Him to do it on my terms: I asked Him to fix my marriage; I asked Him to bless my career; I asked for guidance in raising my kids; I asked Him to make me feel like I belonged somewhere. He and I had this conversation for about two years before I finally relented and told God He could have control of it all. That’s when God’s wrecking ball leveled everything I valued in my life.

My oldest son suffered emotional trauma from the stress of my failing marriage and I took advantage of the Family Leave Act to stay home and care for him. While staying home, I came to realize my marriage was unfixable in its current state as long as I lived in the same house with my wife. I decided to end the toxicity of our relationship by moving out in the hopes of some distance helping to fix things. I had to move with a few boxes in my car and my clothes into a friend’s basement. With nowhere to set up house, I had to leave my kids behind. I went back to work to try and rebuild my life, but within a few weeks was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells on my back and had to have a surgical biopsy done. During recovery I had an abscess that caused me to miss more work and I was let go. In less than ninety days I lost my house, my marriage, my kids, my job and my health. The only thing I had left was my relationship with God and I dove into that for all I was worth.

It was at this point God started to rebuild my life. I found a reduced-rent apartment through Colorado Homeless Families. Their organization not only allowed me to move into my own place with almost no money, they gave me furniture to furnish the place – some of which I still have today – and they allowed me to get food from their food pantry while I got back on my feet financially. I applied for and received unemployment, and since this happened around the time of 9-11 I also qualified for extended benefits. This was good because I seemed to work only sporadically over the next couple years as I tried to discern God’s will for my life and through His grace my bills always somehow got paid. It was during this time that I realized how much I enjoyed painting while working as a handyman. And I began to study God’s word daily. I dove into daily devotions and spent two years reading the entire Bible (at least most of it) with a class from church.

I also became involved in men’s ministry. I started with Promise Keepers, where I learned I had something more to offer my family than a paycheck. Promise Keepers created in me a strong desire to be a better man. The truth was I didn’t know what that looked like, so I continued to look to the Bible for examples. What I found was that every man God chose to use – Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, – all of them failed a LOT. This knowledge gave me hope that, though I had fallen, God could still use me in some way.

I then went on an experiential retreat created by my pastor and another man called Men of Faith in Mission which taught me that even before I was born, God had placed in me certain gifts (which I call my gold) that he wanted to me to use on Earth to further His Kingdom. I learned how the world in which I lived and my own shame and fear had caused me to bury my gold a long time ago. And I realized how a part of me still resisted God’s will for my life (see Romans 7:14-23). But I also saw how God could use the experiences of my broken life and the gold He had given me to glorify Him and His Kingdom on Earth. From these lessons I developed my mission statement, which I’d like to share with you:

I am Larry D. Johnston. I am a bold, caring, strong man. I have been called to use my empathy, my compassion and my strength to help create a world that fosters hope in one another, faith in God, and serenity for those around me.

I contemplated how to fulfill this mission and decided the best way would be to show other men what I had learned and help them become better husbands, better fathers and better workers and to show boys that being a man of God could be both rewarding and fun. So I started teaching other men (both young and old) these lessons in variety of ways: I became a leader for the same retreat that began my mission; I became a volunteer with our church’s high school ministry, and I try to lead by example by serving first as a deacon and then as an elder of our church.

Shortly after my first Men of Faith retreat I came up with the vision for All Phase Painting. My main motivation for opening a business had less to do with money as it did with the ability to set my own schedule – I wanted to have enough flexibility to be available for my middle-school-aged boys. As I began the process of starting the company, I realized early on that the company really isn’t mine, but belongs to God and I am just the steward of His gift. Every day I look for ways to glorify His Kingdom through the company, and ways are always coming up: from sending 75 gallons of paint to an orphanage in Mexico to painting a church office for the cost of materials, to painting a recently-retired pastor’s new home free with extra paint I had collected – I see all of these as a service that glorifies our Heavenly Father. There are other ways as well: praying with a customer preparing for surgery; taking time to tell a prospective client how God is changing me through missional work in Jamaica; sharing with people like you all the things He has done for me every opportunity I get; offering free painting certificates for fundraising at different charity events; and providing a positive, Godly environment for my employees.

I also feel very honored to be an Impact Partner with WayFM. Music was very important to me growing up (and still is). There were many years when I gave up listening to the radio because of the negative message and I wasn’t aware of stations that had an encouraging word. Knowing of a station like WayFM would have been an excellent outlet for filling that need had they been around then. It speaks to my heart to be able to help provide a positive message for today’s youth.

The last way I try to honor God through All Phase Painting is by sharing a simple message on how to live a good life. It comes from I Thessalonians 5: 16-18:

“Be joyful always” – No matter how good your circumstances, there are bad things as well; and no matter how bad your circumstances, there’s also good things. No matter how bleak your situation, there is always something to be joyful about. If you need an example, look at how children live.


"Pray continuously" – When you have a best friend, you make the time to talk to them, no matter what else is going on in your life. That’s how you become best friends. God wants to be your best friend. Get to know Him better the only way you can – by talking to Him through prayer.

“Give thanks in all circumstances” – When things are going your way it’s easy to be thankful, but it’s not during the good times we do most of our growing. We learn and grow and become stronger during the difficult times in our lives. It’s also when things are tough that we are given more chances to let God carry part of the load for us. We need to be thankful for these things too.

“This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” – If we can live out these three things, we will be living a fulfilled, joyous life, and that is all God wants for us.

Finally, I’d like to share a couple of the lessons I’ve learned over the last seven or eight years as I took this walk with God:
1. Never ask God to fix your life unless you really mean it – you never know what that might entail.
2. Realize that sometimes, in order to build the palace God has planned for you to live in He has to first tear down the shanty in which you currently reside.
3. God NEVER promises that, just because you choose to follow Him your life will be easy. In fact He promises quite the opposite – He promises that you will be reviled and hated for His name. But He also promises that He will always be with you to see you through.
4. No matter who we are, where we’ve been, or what we’ve done, we all have something to offer for the glory of God’s Kingdom – In fact sometimes it’s those very pasts that hold the key to our contribution.
5. When Jesus needed people to start His church, He didn’t look to professional priests or rabbis or Levites trained in the Torah. He chose common everyday people – laborers, shop keepers, small business owners – people like you and me. He even chose a reviled tax collector to help form His church. Perhaps He knew common people with common problems would be better suited to carry the Good News to other common people with common (and uncommon) problems and tell of the plans He has for us all.

The Gospel

The Battlefield

"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

Attributed to Martin Luther

The Journey IS the Destinantion

"The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process God calls the end." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 28

We are so goal-oriented in our culture. It seems like I am always looking for some destination or another - some benchmark that denotes my 'reaching' something : prosperity; fulfilment; success; retirement; etc. A good example for me is weddings... I remember when I was getting married how the wedding itself seemed like a destination - we spent so much time and preparation getting ready for the "Big Day" with little concern with what would follow. The reality is that day means little if the years to follow are not spent in constant care of the relationship that day celebrates.

I think all the little 'destinations' in my life are much the same. I don't think God sees my life as a series of endings so much as the process of becoming. As I do more 'becoming', I get to do more 'reaching' - as I grow deeper in my faith now, I feel more fulfilment in my life; as I stay more focused on the time and space I occupy now' I feel the success of navigating this moment; As I focus on the relationships in my life in the now, I feel prosperous in the ways I can touch the lives of those I care about.

Because when I finally do reach the ultimate destination, it won't matter how much money I made, how many toys I own, how many check marks are on my list. The only thing that will matter then is how I went through the process of living and relating with those around me and with God.

Lessons learned from helping others

I recently returned from my second mission trip to Jamaica and wanted to tell you about my experiences there. If I could live anywhere else but Colorado, it would be Jamaica. There are many reasons I feel so strongly, but most of them I can’t really put into words. There are two things, though that come to mind: First, there’s the beauty of the island itself – everywhere you look, it’s green. It seems every natural surface in Jamaica is alive with some kind of growth. It’s almost as if nature itself is challenging mankind to push it back to make room for human development. And I truly believe that man has only reached a temporary cease-fire in that battle. Secondly it’s the people – I have never been in a place where EVERYONE is so happy to see you. Nor have I ever been to a place where the quality of relationships are more important than the things you own.

Since this was a mission trip, I could stand up here and talk about the things we did and how we helped others, but instead I want to talk about how God helped us. The theme for this year’s trip was ‘be real’. Son Servants chose this theme to describe what our relationship to God and others should look like (real faith, real love, real devotion). We spent a little time every day learning how to have a more real relationship with God and the people in our lives.

I’d like to share some of the ‘real’ stuff I saw on the trip:

Real caring from the staff – We didn’t arrive at the camp until 12:30 AM on Wednesday after traveling 19 hours. The work was to begin that very morning with a wake-up call at 6:30. The staff, obviously, would need to be up prior to that, and yet everyone was awake and greeted us when we arrived. They fed us and sat with us and showed us to our rooms before they themselves went to sleep.

Real growth – some of the quieter members of our group really began to participate and share for the first time since joining Youth Group a year ago during family time. It was amazing to hear how God was touching the lives of kids who I hardly knew though we had spent some time nearly every week together.

Real love – one of the girls came back from the infirmary with tears in her eyes as she talked about one of the residents praying over her. She talked about how she had gone to this VERY sad place to bring comfort to those in need and yet SHE had been comforted. The infirmary in Mandeville, Jamaica completely changed her world-view. Now she is looking for a retirement village in her neighborhood that she can ride her bike to in order to visit the forgotten here in Denver.

Real joy – there is nothing like seeing a bunch of teenagers, covered from head to toe with dirt that stains EVERYTHING, exhausted from digging a hole 6 feet by 8 feet by 8 feet, so happy to work so hard and excited to know they’ll be doing it again tomorrow. It was very apparent that doing God’s work creates in us a joyful heart.

Real community – we not only grew closer to each other as we relied on each other, but created relationships with people we had never met – most of whom we’ll never see again – that we will continue for years to come. We overcame regional barriers with those from other parts of the country and language barriers from those in another country to touch their lives and allow ours to be touched. It was amazing to see people stop what they were doing when a neighbor came walking down the road and REALLY talk to them about their life – not just a quick “how are you” and “I’m fine” before getting back to whatever business was at hand.

Real faith – one of the members of our team shared how he had been wrestling with God about trusting God to care for him and found a peace in that relationship.

Real devotion – When one of our kids got hurt our leader dropped everything to give aid and comfort to that boy, forsaking his own need to eat to care for his wounds.

Real grace – When one of our kids’ luggage was lost in Miami for three days, not once did he complain. Not once did he remark about missing this or that, he just went on with the job at hand, and as an example of real compassion, the rest of our team banded together to make sure he had clothes to wear to the worksite, soap, shampoo, toothpaste to stay clean, blankets to use as bedding. We did our best to insure his hardship was minimized completely.

Real patience - even as the trip was winding down, with 100 tired kids and adults stretched to the end of their rope, even when nerves were wearing thin, not once did we have so much as an argument amongst ourselves. Not once were voices raised in anger. Not once were the lines of right and wrong behaviour so much as grazed, let alone overstepped.

When I went to Jamaica last time, I knew I was going down to help people who had a lot less than I did. What I didn’t realize was how these people had so much more than me in ways that really counted:

They taught me to place my worth not on what I own but on who I’ve touched in a positive way; about counting success not in how many things I scratch off my to do list but in who I’ve spent time with; That God is not found in my schedule, or my phone, or my stuff, but in the faces of every living thing He puts in front of me; That in order to receive God’s grace I must learn to hold everything else in my life lightly; That the most valuable thing I will do today (and every day) is to stop what I’m doing, no matter how important I think it to be, when God calls me through one of His creations to take a moment and share myself with that person.

One of my most poignant memories of this trip was an experience I had with our team’s mason (foreman) on the last day: WE had only known each other for six days. We had shared a little about our lives and gotten to know each other some, but not deeply, yet after we said our goodbyes, I went to get on the bus to go back to camp; Paul stood there and waited like a kid watching his best friend move away. He had concrete mixed and waiting for him to be applied to the wall – it was drying as he stood there, but watching me roll away was more important, meant more to him than doing the job that had to be done before he could go home. You see, in Jamaica they don’t own a bunch of stuff to distract them from what’s important – not the houses, not the water tanks, not the septic systems, not the concrete we poured, but the relationships we built.

All Noble Things are Difficult

"Thank God He does give us difficult things to do...[they] test us for all we are worth...God's grace turns out men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not milksops." - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 7

On more than one occasion, I have heard somebody say, "Why does life have to be so hard?" or something similar. It seems many (including myself) wish life could always be simple, always be easy, always be fun. The truth is, as I follow Jesus, life is often more difficult than I ever imagined. I am tested in ways that often make me question whether it is worth it or not. I often ask myself why God puts such a hard road in front of me.

Many live the the mistaken idea that, by accepting Christ in their lives, their lives will be easier, but that is not what Christ promised. In fact he promised the exact opposite: "You will be universally hated for my name, but anyone who stands firm will be saved." This says to me, "The world will be against you if you stand up for me." It's not that God is making my life hard, the world and all that is not of God is fighting against my determination to keep God at the center of my life.

What God does promise is He will be with me and, if I do make my stand in Him, He will help me through all that comes at me, and He has ALWAYS been faithful to that promise