Jackie's Journey "Fire of Sorrows!!"

Our family… The Day of Ralph’s Celebration of Life

 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me,

YET not my will but your will be done.”

 The day we said good-bye, this quote from C. S. Lewis kept running through my head…“When I am in the presence of God, it seems profoundly unbecoming to demand anything!”  Luke 22:42  Christ said, “What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?  But for this cause I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your Name.”

 My attitude toward every “fire of sorrow” and difficulty is, initially…please don’t let this happen!  Then reality sets in and the truth comes blaring with its message. I cannot be saved from its flames, but I can be rescued into its divine purpose by His grace!  There is no evading it, enduring it, denying it or asking, “why?”  It is a fact of life that escapes none of us.

 Grace, by my husband’s functional definition, is “God who works in you the will and power to do His will”.  Phil. 2: 13  He always gave the five factors of grace as:

Grace is:

(1) Given to every person Titus 2: 11;

(2) Given freely Eph. 2: 8;

(3) If received, we are Given more II Pet. 1; 2;

(4) Grace can be resisted Heb. 12: 15;

(5) Given to the humble. Jas. 4:6

 Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost for His Highest” this month directed our attention to making sure we saw this “fire of sorrows” from God’s point of view and realize that “the GRACE we had yesterday will not do for today”!  We are to draw on the grace of God now, in this moment…in the trenches, in every conceivable condition we find ourselves in.

 I love his checkpoint…”the proof that you are drawing on the grace of God  is that you can be humiliated without manifesting the slightest trace of anything but HIS grace!”

 With gratefulness I am drawing on the grace of  God,  

not presently…but NOW!

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: The Calling of Princess Grace

I love the name “Grace”, don’t you?   I have a granddaughter named Grace.  I love it so much we wrote a book about a Princess named Grace who was willing to walk through the danger of the Black Forest and face her fears because of the value she placed on the life of her lost little kitten!  Phil. 2:13 gives us the definition of Grace.  It means the desire and power to do what is right.  God blessed Princess Grace with the willingness and power to keep in harmony with the instruction of her authority…even in times of trouble.  This is my prayer today for the princess in your life.

“LIFE is a stewardship, not an ownership; a trust, not a gift!

With a gift you can do as you please; but with a trust you must give an account”! 

“Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight!  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before HIS eyes and to HIM we must give an account”!  Hebrews 4:13

Personally, these have always been “call to action” words to me!  They have been a strong motivating force in my life.  Those of you who know me, know I am the “little much afraid” in the book,  Hinds Feet in High Places…I am the person who forces herself to walk through the door of fear to find God’s GRACE and freedom on the other side!

The fact that God is holding me accountable has driven me to take the stewardship of my life:  as a woman, author, missionary, pastor’s wife, mother, and grandmother very seriously.  This God of love is going to hold me accountable one day…and there will be no excuses, no escape!

Scripture tells us children are a gift to us that come from the Lord with stewardship.  They are a trust given for a short time and our responsibility for that life is enormous!  Our failure to take that trust and do it God’s way, not our own way in our strength, (which is our natural inclination) will, of course, result in total failure…

I hate failure!  I am afraid of failure!  I am a failure…apart from Him!

We, moms, are commissioned by God to guard our every word, thought, action, attitude and motive.

WHY???  Why can’t we just be “ourselves” and say and do what we want?  We are thoughtful and mature women!  Right? 

Could it be because we are bent on evil… apart from him?

We are NOT full of Grace… HE is!

We are to:

Watch our Thoughts, they become words.

Watch our Words, they become actions.

Watch our Actions, they become habits.

Watch our Attitudes, they become character.

Watch our Character for it becomes our destiny!

Children are the seeds of all our finest hopes in this life.  They are our heritage. Moms…our children are watching, listening, and learning…we are the first book they read…all the time!  We cannot allow the enemy any entrance into their lives.  They deserve the opportunity to grow in grace and to become all that He has predestined them to be for His glory and purpose.  

Are you a godly steward of the trust you have been given in the life of your child?

What are your children observing?

We all fail… but what is your pattern??

I still have the privilege of looking into the face of the most precious Mother that ever lived and I see her responsibility for me wasn’t just those first years until I went away to college…she still “sets the bar” for me at 97!  I continue to watch her words, actions, habits and observe her character… and I listen and learn!  Christina and Kim, my two daughters, are still holding my “feet to the fire” and looking for an opportunity to use me as an excuse for their wrong choices (It’s always mom’s fault, isn’t it?!).  And my seven grandchildren are watching their grandma to see if her God is real!

But most importantly, God has His eyes on me and is listening, and He is holding me accountable! 

Grace is an attribute of God.  All God’s attributes are active, not passive!

     ( Love – gives; Joy- refreshes and is the reward of giving; Peace- governs, etc…).

Grace IS NOT:

·      God’s passive indulgence in letting us do what we want!  (Our present cultural philosophy – everyone is entitled and we are the exception to every rule!).

·      God’s removal of consequence when His laws are broken! (We reap what we sow!  No escape!)

·      Freedom to reject God’s commands!  (God’s law’s are NOT a “Smorgasbord”…I like this command; it works for me; I’ll keep it!....That one does NOT work for me…throw it out!

Grace IS:

·      The desire, willingness and power to do what God wants!  It is ACTIVE!

 “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  2 Tim. 2:1 

Is God’s grace ACTIVE in you? 

Have you taken stewardship of your life? 

What about the life of your child?

When God calls you into account…will you be ready?

My prayer for you is that, like Princess Grace, you will fulfill your calling, take the stewardship of the trust God has given you in your children, keep in harmony with the instruction of your heavenly authority and lastly, that your little prince and princess will follow your godly example.

~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 discipling 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.