Jackie's Journey "Mom's Understand Sacrifice!"

Christina, my eldest daughter and my beautiful Mom

HAPPY 101st BIRTHDAY, MOM!

 “Love is not a passion.  It is the pulse of sacrifice”.

 For seventy-six years you have taught me about genuine love and Motherhood. January 2nd, you turned 101!!   I have watched you and still watch you, as you maneuver life.  You are strong and courageous, especially in these latter years without Daddy.  You face life with grace each day with acceptance of God’s Hand and timing.  You have no fear of old age which is the assumption that we still have many years of life ahead of us. “The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, IF we have the strength; yet this span is but trouble and sorrow and passes quickly and then we fly away!” (Psalm 90:10) 

 You have learned to be “satisfied in the morning with His unfailing love”.  You may not sing for joy out loud but you are glad for every day.  And you still look forward to any, or all of us coming and visiting with you.  You are a good listener and I can remember my high school friends coming home with me to talk to you, not me!  

 You are wise… precious 101-year-old Mama.  You have taught me, by example, to number my days, to be deliberate with my heritage, to think generations and to see how short and quickly life passes.  I am paying attention.  So, you see…your job is well done… but not finished yet…

 Thank you for leading the way, leaving a print for me to step into 

and showing me the pulse of sacrificial love…

I love you…

~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 "Sacrifice...??"

We are all living sacrifices…for something or someone…for good or evil!!

Some live life sacrificing for money; some for drugs and alcohol; some for reputation; some for self-gratification, etc.  Most dedicated mother’s sacrifice for their family. 

 My husband recently shared a verse with me that put the “rubber on the road” in my understanding of sacrificial living!  

 II Chronicles 12:14 says, “He did evil because 

he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord”.

 My idea of evil is unlimited in its ability to fill my imagination with what I see, hear and read in our frazzled culture today!  

In the light of God’s definition of evil, what are we really living for?

Are we shortsighted, committed to doing our own thing

 or worse yet, doing His will but on our own terms!?

 According to this verse, evil is defined as not setting our hearts on pleasing Godand His purpose for our life; not seeking the Lord, first and always. All other pursuits are considered evil from God’s point of view!

 So… I asked myself…

In my life quest, I consider my pursuits sacrificial but

am I actively setting my heart on seeking Him first in every endeavor?”

 Isa. 50:11 promises us needless defeat and suffering 

when we “light our own torches to do our own thing”.

 As busy moms and grandmas, how often do we look for God’s purpose when we are being consumed by a whirlwind of activity all around us? We are teachers, comforters, taxis, counselors, nurses… you fill in the blank!

 “All believers’ walk-in darkness”.  Isa. 50:10andThis means we are all shortsighted and blind to the immediate future. We tend to sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.  By setting our hearts on pleasing God and having his purpose first in our life, we find sacrificial living fulfilling, understanding that “all things work together for those who “set their heart on seeking God”and are called according to his purpose”.

 Are we too busy in our “life of urgency”

 to look for God’s purpose in our next interruption?

 Is it a mute point when we are fractured with wrong attitudes

 and responses because we are being inconvenienced?

“I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.  

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…”

 Can He listen to you?  

What do you set your heart on?

~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. 

Jackie's Journey "The Longest Journey"

                    "Faithful is He who calls you, who will also do it."  I Thessalonians 5: 24

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary.  Marriage is nothing less than the proving ground for developing our loyalty toward God!  My parents were married 72 years and my husband’s parents were married 47 years, so 53 years does not seem inordinately long to either of us…

I met my Prince at the University and if you were to ask our college friends they would be astounded that we are celebrating our 53rd Wedding Anniversary!  Most did not give us two years!  Ralph and I are 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 has been preeminent and a constant for the last 53 years! 

I have been blessed with a man who has loved me unconditionally and when he said “for better or worse” he meant it.  We have weathered the storms of life with near death experiences more than once and his loyalty to God and me is noteworthy.  Ralph and I continue to learn and grow together.  Choosing to live in deference is a key to our taking our two wills and finding harmony in God’s will.

Ralph’s name means “bold counselor” and that he is! He is a man of motion and direction.  He was once told he is 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 the inside out to give a total new look to a familiar verse is 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 (Ralph often rolls out of bed, stands at attention and salutes heavenward, committing his day!), and they 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 God 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 is my husband!

We have a precious heritage that is a loving reminder of our loyalty to God

and our responsibility into the third and forth generations.

God's Faithfulnes...!

Our lives are based on Proverbs 3: 5,6: Trusting the Lord with all our hearts and allowing Him to direct our paths and Matt. 6:33:  “Seeking first the King of heaven” and allowing Him to supply everything we need for life and godliness.

We are convinced that He takes the weak and confounds the mighty.  We are proof of His faithfulness…I Corinthians 2: 1-2 speaks my heart, like Paul’s, when he says, “…I did not come to you with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message was not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but God’s power”.

If we had these 53 years to do over again, we would like to serve more and better, as we were bought with the price of His blood.  Romans 6: 16-18 says, “We were slaves of sin and now are slaves of righteousness”.   We work daily on being better slaves!

Have you found your marriage to be a proving ground

for your faithfulness to God?

                                                            Christmas...53 years later!

Jackie's Journey "Another Milestone!"

My 75th Birthday Party!

Meet Alexandra Grace, my beautiful granddaughter, standing with me…

My Dad used to say, “Growing old isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative.”

To me…old age has always been fifteen years older than I am…those more seasoned and accumulated wisdom years.  My mother, who is 99 this year, has always said, “Old age is not for sissies!”  I should have married an archeologist because the older I grow, the more he would appreciate me!  I guess I agree with the words above my bed that say, “Age is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”!  I’ve had a multitude of those moments…and look forward to many more, should the Lord tarry.  He has my days numbered.

I want to take this opportunity to pen the gratitude I have in my heart. Missionaries have the privilege of meeting people from all over the world and connecting with a common eternal objective. Whether on the foreign field, in local churches in rural and urban communities or in the highways and byways…friendships, fellowship and eternal connections soon follow. 

This blog is for those of you who have reached out for me from all over the globe on the many ways available to us in this day and age.  I recently found messages on the Princess Parable website and I am sure you have been wondering why I have not responded to all your kind words and encouragements.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, especially those of you who regularly take the time to encourage me, and tell you how much I appreciate hearing from each of you and to urge you to continue to communicate what’s on your heart.  I will do my best to check the different mediums to find you.  Thank you for your patience with me and…

Thank you for all the birthday greetings

and so many reassuring words!

"Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older.

 Keep me from being too talkative, and thinking I have something

to say on every occasion.

 Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.

 Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible

that I may be mistaken.

 Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful, but not bossy;

for You know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end!"

Anonymous

~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. 

Jackie's Journey "To God be the Glory!"

Our family, with the Jay Gunsteens family, opened up the work among the Pucuro Kunas on the Colobian border in 1972

In January 2009 a team of four San Blas Island Kunas from the First Baptist Church of Panama City traveled to the Darien jungle village of Pucuro to minister to our border Kunas.   During the visit to Pucuro there were seven first-time decisions for Christ and 14 baptisms.  We received a letter of a tape-recorded message of their exciting visit. 

As I read the amazing report of our Kuna brothers and sisters, I was reminded of God’s promise…

 ”My Word will NOT return unto me void,

but WILL accomplish that to which I have sent it”.

 This is the same tribe that took us into the jungles of Panama many years earlier.  It is the same indigenous group of people that a few years after we returned to the states, we learned of the three missionary men living in our village, who were kidnapped, captured and killed.  The current chief of the village was our nearest neighbor, a dear friend and one of the first converts in those early days. 

Needless to say, I read the report with passionate interest!  As the story unfolded, I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving.  It is an amazing story of God’s faithfulness. 

The island team ministers spoke of their prepared purpose to go to Pucuro to evangelize.  Upon arriving they realized there was no need to evangelize because “everyone was a Christian already!”  They had to change their tactics and teach.  The Kunas were hungry for God’s Words.  Even the little ones would sit quietly for 1 ½ hours or more.  They kept saying, “Don’t stop.  Keep sharing with us!” 

The Island Kuna teachers talked about how the people at the Kuna church in the city sang OK, but not with the enthusiasm of their brothers in Pucuro…”Wow!  You should hear them sing.  They sing at the top of their voices and with all of their hearts.” 

They were impressed with the amazing testimonies of the Pucuro Christians.  The chief of Pucuro shared, “I was talking to my people, I said, 'Look at us.  Fifteen years ago we betrayed the Americans (3 missionary men with their families living in Pucuro) to the guerillas.  They killed the men.  Four years ago one of our chiefs was killed and some of our houses were burned (by guerillas).  Other things have happened.  Look what we have done…at what we have become.  We are bad people.  We need to come back to God'”.

When the time came to leave the people kept saying,

“Please stay another week and keep teaching us.” 

The Congreso (a Kuna village could not function without a Congreso) has become their Church service and their giving and meeting the needs of one another is done as a whole body of believers ministering to one another.  This, in itself, is a miracle transformation for a Kuna village.

I’ll close this "Praise Letter" with Wilma Forester’s (Wycliff missionaries to the Paya Kunas) editorial note: “As I think of the wonderful harvest that is coming about in Pucuro, I am very mindful of the years and years of prayer that has been lifted to the throne on behalf of the Pucuro Kunas.  During the ten silent years when the fate of the three New Tribes missionaries (David Mankins, Mark Rich, Rick Tenenoff) was unsure, people (I venture to say thousands of people) around the world were not only praying for the men, but for their wives, their families, the guerillas, AND the people to whom they had ministered…the people of Pucuro.  God’s timing is not our timing.  His ways are not our ways.  Today we have a glimpse into His plan.  Truly we serve a prayer answering God.” 

I could not agree more…

To God be the glory…

~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. 

Jackie's Journey "It's My Party...I'll Cry if I Want To...!"

“Age is an issue of mind over matter.

If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Mark Twain

It's my birthday this week…and it's a BIG ONE!  Fear of old age is the false assumption that I still have many years of life ahead of me!   We are to number our days correctly that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psa. 90: 10-12)   I’m not too far from being an antique or a legend.  However, my mother, who turned 99 January 2nd is even closer to claiming those titles!  My “young at heart” Mom gives new meaning to …“It’s not how old you are; but how you are old!”  Marie Dressler

Have I mentioned how grateful I am for my partner in life who is growing old with me?  For the last 53 years this journey has never had a dull moment!  For those of you who know us, you know that I was looking forward to growing older…not old!...with this wonderful man, thinking he would mellow with age…I’m still waiting! 

I was reminded of the advantages of aging.  You know, like…Leviticus 19: 32 that says my time has come that when I enter a room others will “stand (to show honor and respect) when (I, now qualifying as one of) your elders, enter…” and “Is not wisdom found among the aged?”(Job 12: 12)  Since I quoted Job…his three friends were trying to sympathize and comfort him with the thought, “Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.”  Quite an expectation…no pressure there!

An Almighty God who holds my journey in His hands has blessed me beyond measure.  “This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness.  Not health, but healing.  Not being, but becoming.  Not rest, but exercise.  We are not yet what we will be, but we are growing toward it.  The process is not yet finished, but it is going on.  This is not the end, but it is the road.  All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”   Martin Luther

I look forward to the future with this promise that comes with age, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you, I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isa. 46:4)  

Sooo…

 Happy Birthday

To me and to all of you

 who are embracing this year as a…BIG ONE!

~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. 

Jackie's Journey "It's Christmas Day!"

                         Welcome to our Home...Won't you come in?

It is unlikely that any of you will be reading Blogs this busy Christmas morning.  However, in the event that you are, I would love to just chat a few minutes.

By the time we reach this date in December, we are closing another year and 2018 is lapping at our heels!  Our time, up to this moment, over the last few weeks has been a blur and the beginning of a New Year seems almost inviting!  If we can just get through the next few days and events…

Many of you will be hastily pulling together and preparing a feast for family in your home or packing for a long drive or an aiport to join family and friends far away.  Some of you will be spending Christmas alone and some from a hospital bed; others will be generously serving food in shelters where hope and Christmas is wrapped in pain and difficulty.  Some of you are stressed; others, experiencing the “calm before the storm”.  Whatever your circumstance, this particular day is overflowing with the fulfilled promise of a Savior who entered time and space to meet us all just where we are…

Won’t you consider the reason for His coming and

the tremendous sacrifice and provision He made on our behalf?

We want to thank you for welcoming the message of The Princess Parable Series into your homes and hearts.  We have been so blessed by your response to the parable stories our five Princesses bring to your little princesses.  Last year, about this time, we released “A Royal Christmas to Remember”.  It has been a joy to be able to release our two newest books this year… “Daughter’s of the King Devotional” and “Princess Prayers”.

Join our five princesses this holiday season as they learn that giving is better than receiving

and that true joy comes from losing their lives serving others...! 

We look forward to this coming year with you and pray God’s richest blessing on you and yours…

Merry 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 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. 

Jackie's Journey "Purposely Thankful!"

When we attend an English speaking church, we have the privilege of sitting under a man who challenges our hearts and understands how to walk with God.  We are grateful for his faithfulness and teaching of the Word of God.  This summer, I pulled this from his Weekly Words in the church bulletin.

“The Bible tells us that ‘every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father’ (James 1:17).  God is certainly benevolent and generous to us.  He gives a variety of good things, from the gift of life in a newborn baby, to the satisfying experience of a good meal after a long day’s work.  No matter how profound or how seemingly mundane, the good we experience comes from the mind and intentionality of a gracious good God.  One of the reasons the connection between good gifts and the generous giver is so critically important to keep in mind is because, like spoiled and presumptuous children, we can easily become ingrates!  Thanksgiving is not an extracurricular activity reserved for the deeply pious or the overly thoughtful.  Being purposely thankful is at the heart of true Christianity.  To celebrate the redemption of Christ, or to be grateful for a good night’s sleep is a reflection of our awareness that God is God, and that we are utterly dependent on His kindness.  So today, be cognizant of the blessings that God is dispensing in your life, and take the time to express your sincere gratitude to the Giver of all good things.”  Pastor Mike Fabarez

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

~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. 

Jackie's Journey "Look What's Coming...!"

This coming month, in October, The Princess Parable Series will be introducing their newest release.  Titled The Daughters of the King Devotional,, it will allow our five Princesses to share their hearts and what God is teaching them through His Word.  The Princess Parable Series is committed to building character and virtue into the hearts of children around the world.  Princesses Faith, Hope, Charity, Joy and Grace are blessed to be able to communicate with your little princess the character-building life-lessons they are learning.                                    

Faith in God makes all things possible.

Hope in God makes all things endurable.

Charity in God makes all things enjoyable.

Joy in God makes all things achievable.

Grace from God makes all things rewardable.

A Biblical worldview should influence all areas of life.  Articulating that worldview within our sphere of influence is what The Princess Parable Series is all about!  While surface problems (hate, murder, anger, addiction) attract media attention, they merely reflect and are symptomatic of the deeper need we have as people…the need for character!  Character determines our actions.  Character determines our responses, regardless of the circumstances presented to us in life.   It defines us and tells others who we really are!  Character is written on the heart of every person.  It is universal and transcends culture, race, age, social status, religion, gender and nationality. 

 Godly character marks the life of a true princess!!  For years Princesses Joy, Grace, Hope, Faith and Charity have been a large part of my life and I have grown to love each of them, as distinct and separate personalities, with unique engiftments and an adventurous story to tell.  They form a cohesive body of work that speaks to the need for early development of godly character in our little princesses in a pragmatic way they can relate to with Biblical terms attached. 

I recently read, “A dear old Quaker lady, distinguished for her youthful look, was asked what she used to preserve her appearance.  She replied sweetly, “I use for the lips, truth; for the voice, prayer; for the eyes, pity; for the hand, charity; for the figure, uprightness; and for the heart, love” (Jerry Fleishman). 

The Princesses are designed to inspire godly thoughts and actions.  The key of this wise “Quaker lady’s” answer and the challenge to us is to maneuver victoriously through this new day and its many opportunities… each revealing our TRUE character through our moment-by-moment responses! 

Join us in welcoming our newest release

The Daughters of the King Devotional!

~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.