RISING ABOVE
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D
What would you rather be?
A chicken or an eagle?
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
First plane ride on a stormy day…
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
All too often I live below the clouds.
I get caught up in the
storms of life and
lose perspective.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
I get anxious, fearful and negative. I lose
my God’s-in-control
eternal perspective.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
When we live below, we get caught up in the
immediate & forget the important. We have
limited vision, we lose sight of
possibilities, potential
and God’s perspective.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
We need to rise above storms & stress,
details & To Dos, circumstances & concerns,
problems & preoccupations, pressure &
paperwork, discouragement & disappointment
And get a God-view of life.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
If we don’t keep a God-given
perspective, then we run the risk of:
*burning out
*limiting God &/or
*becoming discouraged.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
It is important that we keep a
God-given perspective,
for ourselves,
but more importantly,
FOR THE CHILDREN
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Keypoint:
We must maintain perspective
so that the children
can gain perspective.
If we’re living below the clouds,
how can we encouraged the kids
to live above the clouds?
“You can’t see it from there.”
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
So he lifted his
son up and
gave him – a
FATHER’s
view
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Abused children have a limited
view. They don’t always see the
possibilities and the promise –
just the pain and the past.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
They need the
FATHER’s view…
and God uses us
to help them!
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
The SAD
Boy
“I thought
I was being
moved again,
to another group
home.”
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
In RFKC we help the children to rise
above their negative circumstances
and see the Father’s perspective…
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
To see themselves as
GOD sees them.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
To see
themselves as
precious and
beloved children
of God
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
At RFKC we help the
children to dream,
imagine, create, play,
pretend,… to see the
possibilities and their
potential,…
to have fun
amidst their stormfilled lives.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
We must maintain a
God-perspective so that
we can help the children
gain a God-perspective.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
The children are often stuck below in the storm
of life and we’re the ones who
get to help lift them up to see
God’s perspective
on their lives.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
The children need to:
See possibilities and not just problems
See hope and healing, and not just hurt
See a future, not just failures
See potential, not just a painful past
See restoration and redemption, not ruin
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Our job is to keep perspective…
To remember WHY WE ARE HERE,
To deal with BURNOUT,
So that we can RISE ABOVE the
mundane and maintain God’s view – not
just for ourselves, but for the children.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Mephibosheth
2 Samuel 4:4
“Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named
Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a
child. He was five years old when the
report came that (his grandfather, King)
Saul and (his father) Jonathan had been
killed in battle. When the child’s nurse
heard the news, she picked him up and
fled. But as she hurried away, she
dropped him, and he became crippled.”
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Mephibosheth
(2 Samuel 9:1-
11)
King David asked,
“Is there anyone still left of the house of
Saul to whom I can show kindness for
Jonathan’s sake?”
“There is still a son of Jonathan, he is
crippled in both feet”
So King David had him brought (to him).
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Mephibosheth
King David said,
“Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you
kindness… I will restore to you all… and
you will always eat at my table.”
Two responses
“Who am I that you
should notice a dead
dog like me?”
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Many of the RFKC children think
and feel the same:
broken, abandoned, orphaned,
displaced, suffering, overcome
with low self-esteem.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Mephibosheth
God uses us to be messengers
to the children
telling them that they can dine
with the King of Kings.
“So Mephibosheth ate at David’s
table like one of the king’s sons.”
2
Samuel 9:11
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
What would you rather be?
A chicken or an eagle?
What are we more like?
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
“Those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Table Discussion
1. How can we maintain
the Father’s above-theclouds perspective?
1. What specific activities
can we do to help the
children gain the
Father’s perspective?
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D.
RISING ABOVE
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D
RFKC Examples
Bucket Ride; Mountain top
view; Boat Ride;…
Princess Salon; Fantasy
Corner (Dress-up);…
RISING ABOVE
Becca C. Johnson, Ph.D