Jackie's Journey "What are You Marked By?"

The Princess Parable Series gives little girls the princess they want so desperately to connect with, while pleasing the parents and teaching eternal values.  They are introduced to an enchanting princess they will love and learn that Godly character marks the life of a True Princess.

 A child that has conflicts with his or her parents and is rebellious can usually trace the rebellion back to a violation, neglect or misapplication of one, or more, character deficiencies.  This is the specific red flag we need, as moms, to hone in on our child’s real need for godly character development in that area. 

 Character can be defined as “ the inward motivation to do what is right according to the highest standards of behavior in every situation”.  Understanding character helps explain why things happen to us. 

 “The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” Anne Frank

 While on the mission field, living interior, an event happened that shook us all to the core.  A raging flu epidemic had struck our village with a vengeance and almost, without exception, everyone was running a high fever, having difficulty breathing and experiencing extreme malaise. The babies and mothers with tuberculosis were especially affected, but the entire village was impacted  

 Our partners, Jay and Sue, had gone on furlough, which meant we were alone.  Ralph and I were busy day and night in homes and the medical clinic giving injections and looking for the key to the strain of infection that had taken us captive.  Our medical supplies and our need to replenish the clinics medicine was at an all-time high.

 Just as dawn emerged from weeks of intense activity and challenge, I started running a fever.  I was the last to be affected by the storm, as it made its way through our small Darien family.  My fever surged to 106 degrees and we were two days by boat to the nearest hospital and emergency room. The medicine in the clinic was depleted…what was to happen to me?

 Character transcends culture, race, age, social status, religion, gender and nationality, because it deals with the daily struggles of human nature.  “Adversity doesn’t build character…it reveals it!”   Character is based on universal standards that are time-tested and recognized as being right.  It is written on every person’s heart.  I was confronted with an opportunity to watch God reveal His character to me and for me to respond in harmony with Him and His will regarding my circumstances.

 My true character stood in the doorway of reality and my surrendering to Him would determine my genuine character.  Would I be marked by Godly character or be bound in fear, doubt and unbelief?

 Maybe you are facing  a circumstance in your life that is exposing you to the real you.  It might be a terminal illness or a loss of home or maybe even, loss of a person close to you…whatever struggle stands in your path…

 “Godly character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.

Only through experience of trial and suffering

can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired,

and success achieved.”  Helen Keller

~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 "Words Have Power!"

The Princess Parable Series was penned with intentional “words” to encourage young moms to introduce their little princesses to a parable from the Word of God and give them a tool to teach biblical principle through the five  princesses’ life-lessons.

”Language is the dress of thought”. Samuel Johnson, I have two very precious friends who live in Tucson, Arizona. I don’t get to see them as often as I would like but they are the eternal connection we all hope that we are fortunate enough to find just once in our lifetime of relationships. While on furlough from the mission field these girls were eager to encouragingly nurse me back to health while I was crumpled on their living room sofa. They had just the right words that would lift my spirit and keep me going. Most of all, they offered total and complete acceptance accompanied with a joy of just sensing refuge in their presence. I recently found an encouraging note they sent me shortly after the first of our books in The Princess Parable Series was released. This is the note...

“I loaned your books to a friend, Jackie.   Her granddaughters are named Daity and Caity Belle. This was my friends comment on them:

“Thanks for the loan on the books – they are GREAT!
We had to reenact the Princess Birthday one – we baked a cake and invited the dolls – dressed up – it was quite a production. Daity really liked it
and Caity Belle liked the one about the dog – now when they dress up
they have to be those Princesses.  Sooo… I would say they are a hit!
I love that there is a great theme and then the stories at the end of the book – great illustrations and inspiring and encouraging.’

Thought you would like to hear another review. Keep up the Lord’s work on your writing. Love, Jane”

There are many ways we express ourselves, but, as women, we are exceptionally prone to WORDS...all kinds of words... lots of words...soothing words...volatile words...we love words... “The power of life and death are in the tongue.” Proverbs 18:21

Do you speak LIFE with your tongue... or DEATH?

“Speech is the index of the mind”. We have a nanosecond before every choice we make each time we entertain a thought...should I say this or should I not???  Often, we disregard the warning at that point of decision and blurt out exactly what should have been kept in the “box of better timing” or not at all!

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks...” Lu. 6:45

And too many meaningless words mark you as a fool! Ecc. 5:3

In Proverbs 15 there are 21 references to words in only 33 verses!!! There are cutting words, crude words, slanderous words, piercing words, biting words, poisonous words, burning words envious words, healing words, deceitful words, wise words, mocking words, cheerful words, timely words, prayerful words and....you fill in the blank!

Being a person of many words, I used to think if you isolate me in a remote jungle village with people who speak a different language, then the tongue would be much less of a problem.  How much damage could I do...I couldn’t speak the Kuna language...?

How many times have you been “ensnared by the words of your mouth”? Proverbs 6:2

“IF ANYONE CONSIDERS HIMSELF RELIGIOUS AND YET DOES NOT KEEP A TIGHT REIN ON HIS TONGUE, HE DECEIVES HIMSELF AND HIS RELIGION IS WORTHLESS”! Jas. 1: 26

This week, let’s be careful to:

Watch our thoughts, they become Words.                                                                                

Watch our Words, they become actions.
Watch our Actions, they become habits.
Watch our Habits, they become character.
Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny.

Watch how your circumstances change, when you change the way you speak!

“The power of LIFE and DEATH are in the tongue”!

Proverbs 18:21

~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 "War-Torn and Battle-Scarred!"

My daughters, Kim and Christina today

On May 14, 1989 my two, then, teen-age daughters gave me an NAS monogrammed black Bible for Mother’s Day, that I have loved and protected, as a dear friend for over almost 40 years.  It carries within its once blank pages a wealth of notes as God spoke to my heart and taught me life-long lessons.  I am a prolific note-taker and this Bible is packed with names, stars, highlighting, hearts and steps of action searing its pages. I read the Bible through each year so you can imagine what it looks like!

Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.  They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened a hole through the roof above his head.  Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. (Mark 2:3-4)   The note I have in the margin…” Who will you carry, Jackie?”  A simple reminder of a given responsibility. 

J.B. Philips (my favorite Bible that carried me through college) wrote, “The danger to professing Christians lies not in more glaring and grosser temptations and sins, but in a slow deterioration of vision, a slow death to daring courage and willingness to adventure with God.”  If I have lost sight of my responsibility…. I have a definable loss of vision…calling me into accountability.

Whether you are single woman, a mom or grandmother, we each carry responsibility for the short life we live here. Life is simple…a stewardship, not an ownership; a trust and not a gift.  With a gift you can do as you please, but with a trust…you must give an account. (Eph. 2:10)

As I slowly bend the pages of this war-torn Bible, I am reminded of the privilege we have been given to yield to HIS purpose and will in this life and how HE has given us everything we need to live a life that pleases HIM. (II Peter 1:2-3) No excuses for loss of vision or misuse of HIS gift.  His Word is the path through this maize called life.  The other choice…chaos and loss.

What is your choice?

“…every mouth will be silenced and the whole world

held accountable to God.”  Romans 3: 19 NIV

~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 "Darien Endurance!"

Life has a way of introducing us to the realities and expectations we have of ourselves and those that others put on us.  As parents, we tend to translate these into the lives of our children, if we are not open to instruction and correction.  When we are thrown into the floodgates of pursuits, we learn to bend, not break. We, with intentionality,  pursue excellence and put everything we have into every venture.

 One day in the Darien, the “spaghetti hit the fan” and I found myself sensing failure at everything…overwhelmed with pending defeat!  Sitting at my jungle desk with homeschool material, a linguistic box, two little princesses calling “mom” (because they needed lunch), my wash in a big basket on the front porch with the river calling, a house-full of Kuna mothers with their babies sitting in every available space in our living room (including the floor) and my heart being pulled in every direction…I finally gave in, after months of coping and burst into tears!

 I was a failure! It was hot and muggy and my head was throbbing! I was overwhelmed with it all and in that moment, in walks our partners, Jay and Sue.  Compassionately, they asked, “Why are you crying?”  My honest reply, “I am a failure as a wife, missionary, mother, language learner…why I don’t even know how to cook most of what is handed to me!  No running water, no electricity, no washing machine for three dozen diapers…” Expecting an understanding word, I was shocked to hear Jay say, “Jackie, you are a failure!”  No empathy there!

 I learned about endurance that day and how failure was my best friend because it was my reminder that I couldn’t, but He could.  Rom. 5: 3-5  He is never tired or weary and just waiting for me to surrender it all to him so He could begin to build His strength of character in me.

 Endurance is continuing to do what is right, trusting God has got the plan and  even though the difficult times overwhelm, they ultimately lead to unexpected opportunities that I would have missed if I had quit.  It is the inward strength to withstand stress and continue to trust God for whatever life might bring my way.

 Easter was this past Sunday and I am reminded again of the example He set for us in enduring the cross for me.  He is not a “quitter” and faced the horrific trek through courts, mocking, chiding, beatings, being spit upon, floggings, hanging hours on a cruel cross with ripping tendons…to complete the will of His Father …and He endured until the end…victorious!

 There is no excuse for us…HE set the bar…

Whatever our circumstance, we stick to the task with thanksgiving,

 knowing He will do it (if we get out of His way!) and

it has eternal benefit and divine purpose.

It’s a total win…win!

 “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12: 2-3

~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 "Unthinkable Sacrifice"

This Friday is “Good Friday”.  This day is “specifically set aside for us to meditate on all that Jesus suffered, all the pain, the shame, and the curse that characterized his death. My eyes well up with tears when I consider the unthinkable affliction Christ endured.

 Every year around this time—right before Easter—a certain plant comes alive on my patio with bright, red blossoms. It is commonly known as “Crown of Thorns.” 

I always enjoy parking my chair close to it to examine its delicate flowers, so thin, fragile, and brilliant with red color. But then, I take a moment and let my eyes linger on its huge, thick, nail-like thorns, rumored to be those used in the crown placed on my Saviors head.

The pain and humility Jesus physically suffered leading up to his death was a mere warm-up to the real dread he faced.

As he hung on the cross, he began to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during those hours that his body was impaled, an earthly foul odor must have wafted, not around his nose, but in his heart. He felt dirty. Human wickedness began to crawl upon his spotless being—the living excrement from our souls.

The apple of the Father’s eye began to turn brown with the rot of our sin.

I let the thought settle deep, forcing my heart to imagine the rage, the wrath of God being poured out like hot oil on the wounded heart of the Son of Man. God the Father watching as his heart’s treasure, the mirror-image of himself, sank drowning into raw, liquid sin.

There is no room for a casual sentimentality regarding the cross—as an instrument of unspeakable torture, the cross is far too gruesome for any light-hearted fondness”. Written from the heart of Joni Erikson

 After reading Joni’s article, my heart began to sing and

I took on a new, magnified, eternal gratefulness

 for all that HE did for me on the cross of Calvary… 

  How about you?

Join me today in carving out quiet time to reflect on the awful weight of Good Friday. And then, breathe a prayer of wonder and thanksgiving to our Savior

~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 "Pardon me...I am Not Wrong!"

Have you ever been grievously offended? 

Can you recall someone who deeply hurt you?

 With five little girls in “The Princess Parable Series”, there is always the challenge of learning how to maintain mutual respect and harmony.  In life, our pain often turns to anger, and if not dealt with, becomes  resentment and bitterness, which ultimately torments us and damages our peace and our health!  Bitterness is like leprosy.  It loses any sensation of pain.  People are then, unaware of when they are hurting themselves or others with their words, attitudes, and actions.

There is only one solution.Being able to forgive is an act of the will and “if we forgive others their offense, then God will forgive us.  If we choose not to forgive, God will not forgive us!”  Matt. 6:14-15  You may have a story of anguish…a time in the past where you felt betrayed and your heart was broken…your dreams shattered. 

True forgiveness disregards any thoughts of cynicism, retaliation or revenge. 

 How forgiving are you toward offenders?

Are there people you have not forgiven?

 The more we comprehend how much we have been forgiven, the easier it is for us to forgive others.  Forgiveness is mentioned over 120 times in the Old and New Testaments.  In reality, the offender is the instrument God is using to develop our character.  To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed on us by someone or something else.

 The offenses of others should cause us to become aware of others needs . It gives us the opportunity to allow God to heal them through us, instead of our self-protection with anger and self-pity…”woe is me”, victim mentality.  “God has a BIG eraser!”   We are commanded to forgive to maintain a clear conscience and to fellowship with our forgiving God.

 “Great peace have they that love thy law and NOTHING shall offend them.”

Psalm 119: 165

 Are you willing to forgive?

”I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul

by making me hate him.”  Booker T. Washington

~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 "Danger Zone!"

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”

Winston Churchill

We live in a world of conflicting ideology and duplicitous standards and convictions.  The world’s view is “conforming” with an independent spirit, wrapped in a “me first” attitude, with a demanding and rebellious entitlement issue. A godly worldview is just the opposite.  It calls for spiritual-mindedness, the focus on the success of other’s and a mighty spirit dependent on someone bigger than ourselves.

 God wants each of us to be mighty in spirit…”To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.”  One of the purposes in writing “The Princess Parable Series” was to help equip young moms to know how to build courage and “might” into the lives of their little princesses.

 To be mighty in spirit means we have a sense of our relationship with the God of the universe and we know His presence.  We are continually developing a fear of Him, which is a healthy understanding of the consequence of wrong choices and sin.  There is a requirement, with no compromise, to instantly respond to the initial promptings of God’s Spirit and to be alert to temptations and spiritual danger. 

 Learning to build our lives around basic scriptural principles and convictions is a given, no excuses; and knowing how to “bind Satan” with the springboard for prayer and rescue others from his grasp is a basic necessity.  When we teach our children to become wise and “mighty”, we realize the intense responsibility we have to be wise and mighty! 

 Are you “mighty in God’s Spirit”?

 We are in a battle for the minds and hearts of our children. 

Today is the day the battle stage is set for definitive action. 

Are you ready?  What will you do?

 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”

Zechariah 4: 6

~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 "Lest We Forget..."

Things to Remember as we face this new year:

The value of time.

The success of perseverance.

The pleasure of working.

The dignity of simplicity.

The worth of character.

The influence of example.

The obligation of duty.

The wisdom of economy.

The virtue of patience.

The improvement of talent.

The joy of originating.

The power of kindness.

 Whether you are a mother with active little ones or a grandmother facing life more simply; maybe you are a graduate student standing on the threshold of life or a seasoned adult facing life’s issues head on;  these resolutions resonate and summon the calling to value and give thanks for where we’ve been, what we learned and where we are headed. 

 Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?  You know, those hopes, dreams and aspirations projected into this future year?   I am reminded of what Tozer said, “Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will.  Refuse to be average or to surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment.” 

 What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline and a habit of making right choices that are in harmony with the will of God.  God has a plan for our lives this year.  “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge! To do the will of God is the greatest achievement!” G.Christian Weiss

 This year holds the possibilities and opportunities that will define us.  We are stewards of this life entrusted to us. “Life is a stewardship, not an ownership.  It’s a trust, not a gift.  With a gift you can do with whatever you please, but, with a trust…you must give an account!”

Let’s make this year count…

~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 My Choice!"

“I CHOOSE”

 It’s quiet.  It’s early.  My coffee is hot.

The sky is still black.  The world is still asleep.

The day is coming.  In a few moments the day will arrive.

It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.

The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day.

The calm of the solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace

Of the human race.

The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met…agendas and schedules…

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. 

It is NOW that I must make a choice.

And so, I choose.

 I CHOOSE LOVE…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.  Hatred means to love less.  I will give love freely with my motive to receive NOTHING in return.  I choose love.  Today I will love God and what HE loves. (I Cor. 13:3)

 I CHOOSE JOY…

I receive JOY when I give Love away.  Joyfulness is the spontaneous enthusiasm of my spirit when I am in fellowship with God. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.  I will see interruptions as opportunities in all the chaos around me.  I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker.  I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.  I will refuse to see any problem or situation as anything less than an opportunity to see God. I choose to get in harmony with HIM and HIS will.  (Psa. 16:11)

 I CHOOSE PEACE…

I will live forgiven.  I will forgive so that I may live.  I will allow peace to govern me today. Great peace has those who love His law and NOTHING will offend them. (Psa. 119: 165)

 I CHOOSE PATIENCE…

I will overlook the inconveniences and conflicts the day presents.  I will accept any difficult situation from GOD without giving Him a deadline to remove it.  Rather than complaining that the wait is too long or chafing at an unexpected response from someone, I will thank God for a moment to pause and for a reminder to pray.  Instead of clinching my fist at my current obligations, I will face them with gratefulness and courage. (Rom. 5:3-4)

 I CHOOSE KINDNESS…

I will be kind to the unkind because HE was treated unkindly and I deserve no less.  I will be kind to the poor because they are alone.  I will be kind to the rich because they are afraid.  I will invest whatever is necessary to heal the hurt of others. Kindness is an act. (! Jn. 3: 17)

 I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…

Nothing is won by force or coercion.  I choose to show personal care and concern in meeting the needs of others.  If I raise my voice, may it be only praise.  If I clench my fist, may it be only a prayer.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. Gentleness is an attitude or manner. (I Thess. 2: 7)

 I CHOOSE GOODNESS…

I will see the goodness in others when it is hard to find.  I will confess before I accuse. I will walk in humility, which is the gas tank for the other qualities.

 I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…

Today I will keep my promises.  My spouse will not question my loyalty.  My children will never fear that their mom will not be there for them.  I will visualize God’s future in each life.  I will use difficult times to demonstrate my commitment to God and to those HE has called me to serve.  (Jn. 15:13)

 I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL…

I am a spiritual being.  After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.  I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal.  I choose to be instantly obedient to the initial promptings of God’ Spirit.  I choose God-control. (Gal. 5: 24-25)

 To this I commit my day…understanding that my choice indicates that either I have ALL of them or that I have NONE of them. This is not a smorgasbord!  If I succeed, I will praise HIS Name and give thanks.  If I fail, I will seek God’s face in repentance, with the reminder to keep shorter accounts with HIM.

Will you join me?

~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 Surrender!"

In The Princess Parable Series, “A Royal Christmas to Remember” our five princesses are faced with exercising their loyalty in ways that resonate with us as mom’s during this time of year. Christmas is a wonderful time to put our busy lives back into Scriptural perspective.  We celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…the One who gives us everything we need to live a godly life. (II Peter 1: 3) This year 2024 is closing down…how did you do in your surrender to Him this year?

 Genuine Christianity is an unconditional surrender to His Lordship.

 Years ago, while attending the University of Arizona, I was faced with confronting my true loyalties in one of the most challenging seasons of my life.  I was invited to join a highly respected national sorority.  I had a sense of acceptance and grew to love the girls and the accountability.  After a semester of pledging, we had a night of mild hazing that culminated in stepping, individually, behind a veil for the final step of repeating a “pledge of our loyalty” and unconditional allegiance to the group…

 A few months earlier, over Thanksgiving holiday, I had attended a church service and heard for the first time in my life that I could know the God of the universe in a personal way through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, standing behind that veiled curtain, listening to the call to Theta loyalty, I was profoundly struck with the words and realized I had already given my total allegiance to the beloved Savior that we celebrate next week!  When He walked into my life, everything changed…I had no more allegiance to give.

 Time has tested on life’s stage that unconditional surrender

I made to my loving Savior and Sovereign Lord, in those college days.

This time of year calls our attention to the things most important to us.

 Where do our loyalties lie…

Have you surrendered your life to His Lordship?

~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.