Jackie's Journey "Never Sacrifice the Permanent...!"

New Year’s Eve is tomorrow. This week brings in the New Year 2025!  Where does the time fly? I know this resonates with all of us as we attempt to fit in all the opportunities and new challenges we will be facing.  When quantifying time, there is always the “tyranny of the urgent”. 

 With “The  Princess Parables Series” and the exciting possibility of a new series for little boys around the corner, this year will be filled with time sensitive deadlines, expectations and hope for both, the present and future.

 I had never had a website, a Facebook page, Pinterest account or a Blog until January of 2015, when The Series was first released and I officially welcomed a new world of technological communication with the opening of all four at once!  With its availability came a huge responsibility to use them wisely…they can become time devouring!  

 “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.”  Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.” 

 Everyone receives an equal supply of time.  The only difference between us is in the way we spend it.  Each week brings us 168 golden hours.  We spend approximately 56 hours for sleep and recuperation.  We spend approximately 28 hours for eating and personal duties.  We spend approximately 40-50 hours for earning a living.  We have 30-40 hours left to spend just as we wish.  But how do we spend them?  How many hours for recreation?  How many hours for family communication?  How many hours for the regular worship of God (devotion, fellowship, meditation, etc.)  How many hours for personal service in the name of Christ?  Will we rob God?  We can and we do! 

 Perhaps we may be very busy with good things, yet too busy for the best things.  The great question is:  Have we made wise use of our time as good stewards of Christ?

 Henry Clay Trumbull said, “Today is, for all that we know, the opportunity and occasion of our lives.  On what we do or say today may depend the success and completeness of our entire life struggle.  It is for us, therefore, to use every moment of today as if our very eternity were dependent on its words and deeds”…

 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

making the best use of the time, because the days are evil”.  Eph. 5: 15-16

 Let’s make our time count…

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Christmas is in TWO DAYS!"

“A blanket of powdery snow covered the castle walls.  The princess sisters found themselves in a scene right out of a fairytale.  The most remarkable winter in years has arrived.  Christmas is only a night away.  Princesses Joy, Grace, Faith, Charity and Hope are surrounded by glittering gifts, a huge Christmas tree in the parlor, sparkling candles, and a dramatic night sky with one star bigger and brighter than all the others.  A sudden rap at the door of the castle puts the kingdom on immediate alert!  Will a marauding band of outlaws ruin the princesses’ perfect Christmas Eve?”

 In two days we will set time aside to gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Our seasonal book,  “A Royal Christmas to Remember” was written for your little princess to capture the true essence of why we remember the arrival of a tiny baby in a manger. 

 This is the second of our seasonal books.  Its appearance before the holiday season is perfectly timed to arrive before the Christmas crunch.  Its story is timeless, taken from Luke 12:15-21, the Parable of the” Rich Young Ruler”.  It is dedicated to the parents who strive to rescue their children from the materialistic focus of this time of year.  It is for those of you who desire to introduce your child to the person, who is the “reason for this season”…Jesus Christ.

 In Sally Clarkson’s book “Ministry of Motherhood” she wrote:

 “Children need the authentic strength that comes from the true foundation of a biblical worldview and a proper understanding of the real Christ who is worthy of their worship!  They need an unwavering moral and spiritual compass that will help them weather today’s storms and will guide them for the rest of their lives.  They also need to see what a real faith looks like when lived day in, day out, so they will have a pattern to follow.”

 The Princess Parables Series has been written with God’s worldview that teaches biblical character, eternal values and is designed to cultivate a desire to be a child of the true King of Kings!  The Series is bible-based on a parable taught by the greatest teacher that ever lived.  Each of the five books encompasses character-emphasized prince and princesses with eternal values targeted.  A Royal Christmas to Remember is written with these principles imposed onto every page. 

 Jeanna and I are blessed with the privilege of working together

 to make this Christmas book available to you.

We are wishing you the MERRIEST OF CHRISTMAS’

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas"

In life we cannot anticipate what our future holds but we know who holds the future.  In the Princess Parable Series, in our seasonal book, “A Royal Christmas to Remember”, we find our 5 princesses and 5 young knights busily preparing for the upcoming Christmas festivities.

 Opening the castle doors over the holidays is a tradition that opens the hearts of the entire village to the message of Christmas.  In an instant all their plans are dashed when a message of imminent danger arrives at their front door! The King hastily leaves with his knights to protect their kingdom.  The real meaning of Christmas quickly comes into focus. The girls choose to seize the moment of turmoil, changing their destiny and bringing joy to their father and the whole kingdom.

 December has arrived here in California and the events and activities of the season are in full swing.   Having our “castle doors” open to family, neighbors and friends is a tradition we welcome each year. 

 ♫ It’s truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. ♬  

 A few years ago, in the midst of our preparations and a very busy afternoon, I received an urgent call from Kim, my youngest daughter, who was teaching at an Elementary School a mile or so from our house.  The school had abruptly been put on “lock-down”!  There were policemen on campus and helicopters were swirling in circles overhead.   She was yet to be informed of the circumstances…but waited silently.  Was it a bomb threat, someone on campus with a gun, …what??

 Her daughter Megan Joy was in the classroom next door huddled down behind locked doors and desks!  The teachers and students had been in this imposed silence and been inaccessible for almost two hours!   Frantic, my mind immediately went to pictures of Columbine in Colorado…

 Now that… was a wake-up call!  In an instant my holiday plans took second place to the more important, as my priorities slipped back into a more realistic focus.  Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate!”  No chance of that happening here. 

 As I watched and listened to the helicopters circling, hovering overhead, my curiosity overwhelmed me.   A song that comforted me in the jungles of Panama immediately came to mind. 

♫ He is my hiding place,

He always fills my heart with songs of deliverance

whenever I am afraid, I will trust in Him … ♫   Psalm 32:7   “

 God is our strength and power and makes our way perfect.”  2 Sam. 22:33   Our sovereign God was in control and He brought His “peace that passes understanding” in the turmoil.   Two days from today families will gather to rehearse and celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world.  Christians will pause to praise their blessed promise and hope fulfilled in a manger bed.  Many will kneel and pray together giving thanks for His coming, His life and His sacrificial death in our place and His glorious resurrection.

 Will you be one of these?

 Somehow… this particular Christmas

 was a singularly outstanding one for our family…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Time Robbers!"

Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving week-end?

 These are busy days, are they not?  Friends and family gathered recently for Thanksgiving  and Christmas is just around the corner, lapping at our heels!  Preparation time, tree-decorating,  meal-planning, welcoming guests… is all-consuming.

  There is a thief that is also busy and focuses on robbing us of the best. In “The Royal Christmas to Remember” book, the five princesses are busy in the kitchen preparing for their Christmas celebration, when their activity is abruptly interrupted by circumstances beyond their control. Marauders had envaded their town and the thieves were now bursting into their kitchen! What could they do?

 As busy moms, time in the Word can be lost to the immediate demands of responsibility and the whirlwind of activity around us. The thief is at our front door! Finding a “War Room” where we can read and pray, uninterrupted, is imperative to maintaining our walk.  Little things can begin to bother us and when people “bump” us, we react selfishly or inconvenienced.

 Sound familiar?

 One day away from the Word and I am aware of my desperate need and its crucial impact in my life.  Two days of letting the thief have my private time in the Word and not allowing it to dwell richly in me, and my family is intensely mindful of my desperate need! The princesses were quick to assess their priorities and act accordingly, bringing joy to their father the king. They were tested in the thickest of all that was happening around them and passed the test with flying colors.

 When tested… what is our response when:

·      We are evil spoken of

·      Our loyalty has been betrayed

·      Our will is crossed

·      We are forgotten or neglected

·      Our friends forsake us or

·      We find compromise more inviting than maintaining claimed convictions?

 Our response reveals the REAL us,

as it did our princesses.

When confronted with the “time robber”,

Are we women of conviction or double-minded ones?

(The definition of a “double-minded” person is the practice of one who is willfully in conflict with their soul (mind, will, emotions).

 Which are you?

 Choose carefully this holiday season.

Little prince and princesses are watching and learning…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Grace of Gratitude!"

Little princesses love Fall…my sweet niece, Catherine

 It’s that time again…and it came quicker than any year in the past!  Hobby Lobby, and everyone else, has had their fall and Christmas decorations out long before Halloween!  The Princesses Hope, Grace, Charity, Faith and Joy in their A Royal Christmas to Remember book had so many decorations they asked the king for another storehouse to keep them all!

 I love the different seasons and decorating.  Fall is one of my favorites and all that it brings with it. Thanksgiving is celebrated in the fall and it comes this week!   It screams change is coming.  Did you know that Thanksgiving is not a season?  It’s a posture of the heart…

LET’S GIVE THANKS…

• For God’s grace and f orgivenewss

• for God’s blessing in our lives

• for freedom to worship as we see fit

• for God’s promise in response to our giving

• for the modern technology which enables us to receive and share the Gospel

• for the guidance of God’s Word, the Bible

• for the work of the Holy Spirit directing our paths day-by-day

• for the sustenance, the sheter, even the clothing which we take for granted

• for strength to carry-on

• for the “hope of glory” (Colossians 1: 27)

Jeanna and I are giving thanks for each one of you

that follow along with us and

THE PRINCESS PARABLE SERIES each week.

Enjoy these days of family and friend gatherings…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Sixty Year Journey!"

My husband’s birthday was yesterday!  Our 60th wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago. A lifetime of memories and markers.  My parents were married 74 years and Ralph’s parents were married 47 years, so… 60 years did not seem inordinately long and I looked forward to many more years…but God had a better plan.

 I met my Prince at Bob Jones University and if you were to ask our college friends, they would be astounded that we are celebrating 60 years!  Most did not give us two years!  Ralph and I were polar opposites in almost every way.  However, we had the one element in marriage that will guarantee longevity…we were both individually committed to “burn out” serving God wherever He led us.  My husband’s godly zeal and spiritual leadership in our home was always preeminent and a constant for the last 60 years!

 I was blessed with a man who loved me unconditionally and when he said, “For better or worse”…he meant it.  We weathered the storms of life with near death experiences more than once and his loyalty to me and to God was unwavering. “Deference living” rather than compromise, was a key to our taking our two wills and finding harmony in God’s will.

 Ralph’s name means “bold counselor” and that he was…a man of daring motion and direction.  He was once told he was “an afflicter of the comfortable and a comfort to the afflicted”.  I could write a book with all his wise one-liners, biblical formulas and scriptural definitions.  His capacity to see things in Scripture and interpret them from “inside out” to give a total new look at a familiar verse was uncanny.

 Christian missionaries are people whose passion is to make the Lord Jesus known to the whole world.  They are completely under the command of King Jesus (my Paratrooper husband would roll out of bed, stand at attention and salute heavenward, committing his day!) and missionaries will go anywhere, under any circumstances, for no pay, with poor living conditions and food, even though no one ever notices.  They know their Sovereign Lord is watching every minute and that is the only reward and joy they seek…a true missionary is someone who will risk everything for the sake of the lost of this world.  This was my husband.

 We have a precious heritage that is a loving reminder of his loyalty to God and his responsibility into the third and fourth generations.

God’s faithfulness…

 If we had these 60 years to do over again, we would like to serve more and better, as we were bought with the price of His blood. Rom. 6: 16-18 says, “We were slaves of sin and now are slaves of righteousness.”  God called my Ralph home in February, so… it’s just me now…and I work daily on being a better slave!

 However impressive or challenging your marriage may be,

 It is the genuine proof of the degree of your loyalty to God.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Price of Freedom!"

“We hold these truths to be self-evident:  That all men created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,

that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

 We are all familiar with these words but, not so well-known, the concluding words of the Declaration of Independence reads, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor.”  Fifty-six signatures of great patriots follow these profound words. These were the American heroes to the core!

 And what did they get for pledging their lives, fortunes and honor for our country? 

·      Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

·      Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

·      Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

·      Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.  He sold his home and property to pay his debts and died in rags.

·      Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.  He served in Congress without pay and his family was kept in hiding.  His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward.

·      Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

·      At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwalls had taken over his home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire.  The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.

·      Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.  The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months.

·      John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying.  Their 13 children fled for their lives.  His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste.  For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.  A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.  Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifice of the great Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. These great men were not wild-eyed, rebellious ruffians.  They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security…but they valued liberty more!

 So… this July 4th, as we celebrate our freedoms with family and friends,

take a few minutes to silently thank these founding fathers

who paid such a great price for America’s freedom?

 Freedom is never free!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.