Local author Joanna Johnston will hold a book signing event at the Second Chance Store, located at 115 Second Street N.E. in Weyburn, on Monday, August 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Johnston will be signing copies of her book “Healing in the Innermost: Letting God Do What Only God Can.”
Joanne Johnston, nee Downing, is a Weyburn area native. She grew up in McTaggart and attended school in Weyburn, graduating from the Weyburn Comprehensive in 1974. She married Jim Johnston and moved to Kisbey in 1979 where she still resides today. They have two children. Their son Mike lives in Weyburn with his wife Kimberly and their two little boys. Their daughter, Danielle, passed in 2002 at the age of 18 years.
“I retired in July of 2016 and decided to follow one of my dreams which was to write a book and to encourage others along the way,” said Johnston.
“The book is about my life but I didn’t want to focus on me, but rather to write in a way that I could use what I went through to help other people get through their own loss and tough life issues. My hope is by reading my story I would be able to show the reader that when you get God involved the healing and restoration process is possible in any situation for anyone.”
“For example, one of the lessons I’ve learned on my journey, that I share is that our failures often happen when we keep addressing or try to fix the symptoms of the problems we experience or see in ourselves. I’ve discovered real healing and success happens when we take the time to dig deeper and uncover the root cause of those reoccurring symptoms,” said Johnston. “It’s like a garden. If you have a weed growing and you only pull out what you can see, you are not going to get rid of the problem because you’ve left the root behind. Unless you dig deep and remove the source, it will continue to resurface causing problems. The same thing happens in our lives. Things like fear, addictions and guilt are usually symptoms of a deeper problem we need to address.”
“I wanted to show people through my own successes that no matter who you are, what you’ve done, how old you are or where you’re at God can always restore your life. He can give you hope for the future as He has done with me. You not only get a “do over” with God, he’ll give you a “do better” plan.”
“I don’t want to make it sound like it’s going to be an easy journey. Like anything that’s worthwhile it takes work. But we’re never alone on our journey,” said Johnston. “Two of my favorite sayings are “God is never looking for perfection just participation.” and “You just have to take the first step and God will always be there to help you finish. He’ll help you along your journey to the innermost healing the way that only He can.”
It was very important to Johnston to have her book signing at the Second Chance Store. “Another lesson I’ve learned along the way is that we can help our own healing process by helping others. So, I decided to help someone else achieve their goal by giving them my support. I chose Choose Life Ministry because I saw the great need for this project and I had already been a supporter, so it was a good fit.”
The Second Chance Stores in Weyburn, Carlyle and Estevan were opened as an outreach to the ministry and all proceeds from clothing donations made to the Second Chance Stores go back to support the ministry. “I hope to bring more people into the store that have never visited before and to increase awareness of how valuable everyone’s donations are,” said Johnston. A portion of book sales sold at the Second Chance Store will also be donated back to Choose Life.
The Choose Life Ministry was founded to establish a place in Gainsborough for young women between the ages of 18 and 29, where they would have to find freedom from life-altering challenges including substance abuse, mental illness such as depression and anxiety, unexpected pregnancy, the effects of physical and/or sexual abuse, and challenges such as eating disorders and self-harm behaviors.
Residents who would like more information about Johnston, or want to know how to order her book or schedule her as a guest speaker at an upcoming website, can go online to www.lifesjourneyministry.com.
