JOHNSON, LINDA LEE (b. 1947) was born in Seattle, Washington, and has lived on the West Coast most of her life. She attended Chabot College in Hayward, California, and now lives in Castro Valley, California, with her husband Bruce, superintendent of Redwood Christian Schools. Linda works at the school's district office as a part-time secretary. She has two grown children and three grandchildren. She began writing lyrics in 1978, working primarily with composer Tom Fettke. The words to "Be Strong in the Lord" were written on a plane flight to her grandfather's funeral, and Tom set the song first as an anthem and later as a hymn. It can be found as hymn #514 in Hope's new hymnal WORSHIP & REJOICE (2001).