Posts filed under Being a Wife

Jackie's Journey "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"

images-3.jpg

God designed fear for our benefit.  Its designed purpose is to keep us from harm.  It is a warning system that we are about to try something that is beyond our known ability.  Our civilization would not be able to survive without fear.

 How do you view fear?  As a friend?

How much control does fear have over your life?

 Like everything good that was created for us to use and enjoy, fear was perverted at the fall of Adam, along with everything else.  “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of Power, Love and Discipline!” II Tim. 1: 7   In its perversion, fear is used by Satan to control.  Fear of what people may think, fear to share our faith, fear of rejection, fear of old age, fear of the unknown, fear of the devil…all are responses to this control.  Fear eventually becomes a wall that leads to indifference. We become insensitive to its influence.  Parents use threats and fear to discipline their children into obedience.  Fear of rejection leads young people into bad social behavior (drugs, sex, pornography, alcohol…).  

 Fear has made a mockery of us!  It has left us in the prison of our imagination…the “what ifs” and “I give up” of life.  Rebellion and suicides are rampant in our society.  Anger is a common response to life’s situations.  We see it everywhere…in our homes, relationships, while driving…you know… there is always the angry person who attempts to control the crowd through fear. This ongoing virus is a good example of how fear is used to control the crowd…

 People fear responsibility.  My paratrooper husband tells me that the first step of training a soldier is knowledge of the enemy he has to overcome.  For our purposes, the question is:

 How do we learn to take control and use the enemy (Satan) for God’s glory?

(Satan’s only purpose is to exalt God!)

 Our job is to understand that everything in creation was intended for the purpose of using our hopes, dreams, talents, futures and abilities to extol God.  Any temptation to do otherwise, for whatever reason will end in defeat.  Satan, the created being, is no exception to this rule!  

 We are to fear two things ONLY…God and the consequence of sin. 

 Who we fear, will control us!

 Who controls you?

IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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. 

Posted on July 27, 2020 and filed under womanhood, Motherhood, Being a Wife.

Jackie's Journey "Celebrating Mama!"

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

IMG_0062.jpeg

I love you, sweet Mama…” Love is not a passion.  It is the pulse of sacrifice”.

 For seventy-seven years you have taught me about genuine love and Motherhood.  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 and be with you!  

 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 in 

and showing me the pulse of sacrificial love…

I love you!

IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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 "I AM WOMAN!"

Unknown-4.jpg

Do you know how you were designed?

A woman…empowered with destiny and purpose.

 

What did God have in mind where it is written in I Peter 3: 7

“…SOMEONE WEAKER, SINCE SHE IS A WOMAN”!

 I have no doubt at this point I have your full attention…

 God’s design for Women is to use sensitivity, instruction and the truest sense of loyalty to her husband:

(1)To equip and give her tools to fulfill her role on earth, as a giver, not a taker

(2)   To give her direction and purpose in her life

(3) To give her a sense of success and an opportunity to reflect glory back to God

(4) To know fulfillment in her calling and service

(5) To sense acceptance and appreciation for her distinction from man and to man. 

(6)   To allow her to be the completer and helpmate to her husband 

(7)   To be able to perceive the true attitudes and emotions of those around her.

 

Satan’s evil design for Women is to use sensitivity, instruction and disloyalty to cause in man:

(1)   Suspicion in place of trust

(2)   Competition in place of unity and oneness

(3)   Insecurity in place of giving refuge and comfort

(4)   Self-protection in place of exercising protectiveness

(5)   Pride of self (man’s ideas and concepts are the same as God’s!) instead of servanthood

(6)   Defensiveness and blaming wife in place of brokenness and genuine love.

 Our Goal  to fulfill God’s design is:  To learn to use Satan for God’s Glory!

 Interested??

 HOW DO WE DO THIS?

 The purpose and goal being to continually reflect glory back to God by using Satan and his co-horts and their evil, divisive thought patterns as springboards to remind us to step outside our little world of sensitiveness and offenses and pick a needy unsaved person to pray for. 

 In doing this, we reflect glory back to God, as we pour out our heart for a lost person and resist our self-life!  Of course, Satan runs when he realizes God’s power to answer that prayer!  The more we are reminded to pray by our needless offenses…the more God is glorified and our loyalty to Him is developed.  It’s a win…win!

 Our attitudes must reflect HIS grace in life’s situations

and not reflect our self-love…Psa. 119: 1-6

We make the choice…

 

OK MOM’S, HOW ARE WE USING OUR GOD-GIVEN SENSITIVITY?

 “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between

 what we are and what we could be.”  John Grimes

IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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 February Already...How's it going?"

Unknown-4.jpg

There are five keys to Success in life…

Finding the Will of God, His Desire, His Purpose, His Righteousness and His Wisdom!

 We can grab the key and walk in the light or Isaiah 50:10 talks about the Darkness…that unknown future that God desires to guide us through…you know, those mine fields of life. God’s goal for us is to lead us into our destiny…the life He has marked out for us. Heb. 12:1   Verse 11 of the same chapter is the other choice when we persist in finding our own way in the dark… and the promise is failure and torment!

 GOD’S DESIRE WILL LEAD TO OUR PURPOSE.

HIS PURPOSE WILL LEAD US TO HIS WILL.

HIS WILL WILL LEAD US TO HIS WISDOM.

THIS WISDOM WILL LEAD US INTO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HIS ABUNDANT SUPPLY AND PROTECTION.

“Wisdom is seeing life’s situations from Gods point of view and acting in harmony with Him.

So be wise my son and heed His instruction, hallow His Name, don’t walk in shame…”

HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL FILL US WITH HIS SPIRIT AND KEEPS US FROM THE DEPTH OF SIN AND RUINATION.

HIS SPIRIT WILL PRODUCE ALL OF THIS IN US AND ENABLE US TO PLEASE HIM.

 WHATEVER WE SOW…WE REAP!

 WHY IS PRAYER SELDOM ANSWERED??

WE WANT GOD TO CHANGE HIS DESIRES AND BLESS OURS!

WE WANT GOD TO CONSIDER OUR PURPOSE AND MAKE IT WORK!

WE WANT GOD TO BLESS OUR WILL!

WE WANT GOD TO USE OUR WORLDLY WISDOM!

WE WANT GOD TO GIVE UP HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR OUR SELFISHNESS!

 

God requires an initial denial of self, daily death to selfish desires and a determination to follow Him. Luke 9:23   If this is not our daily practice, then there is no need to pray for our desires, wants and longings.

 

IT IS GOD’S RIGHT TO RULE OVER HIS PEOPLE AND HIS UNIVERSE!!

 This is why it is important to pray biblically…

BECAUSE:

 PRAYING BIBLICALLY IS SOWING GOD’S PURPOSE

INTO WHAT THE 

NEXT GENERATION WILL REAP… 

! PETER 1: 3

 

How’s your prayer life going??

images.jpg
IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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 "Never Sacrifice the Permanent on the Altar of the Immediate!"

images-26.jpg

I had never had a website, a Facebook page, Pinterest account, Instagram, tweeted or read a Blog until January of 2015!  I officially welcomed a new world of technological communication with the opening of all five at once!  With its availability came a huge responsibility to use them wisely…they can become time consuming! 

 “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 real 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” …

 I know for me with this new year 2020, I am so challenged to be circumspect with the “Steps of ACTION” I am setting for myself to stay focused.

 Here are my first two:

1.  Define my goal and set the priorities necessary to hit the mark. This will fill my life with godly purpose and direction.  My commitment is to your personal success each Monday morning and my first priority will be to set a defined amount of time to reach that goal.  That will entail allowing the Word of God to “dwell richly” in me during my daily devotional and worship time with Him (Matt. 6:33).  My goal is to please Him first!  Gal.3:3 is my monitor for it admonishes and asks me “…Are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Never!…it cannot be done with eternal purpose!

2.  I am taking some of that time given each week to ask myself some important questions

  When I get to the end of this year, what do I want to look back on and say                        

 I accomplished?

  Did I give personally with my service to God, with my family, friends,                                     

  professionally…?  

 Who did I glorify…myself or my God?

 

How can I reach the full potential of what God has planned for me this year?

 “We are to press on toward the (set) goal,

forgetting the past (no bitterness)

and reach toward the future…  Philippians 3:12-14

man-772492__340.jpg
IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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 Journey Goes On..."

IMG_2468.jpeg

“Faithful is He who calls you, who will also do it”.

I Thessalonians 5: 24

 How many years have you been married?  

This past week was our wedding anniversary.  My 100-year-old mother was married 72 years and my husband’s parents were married 47 years, so 54 years does not seem inordinately long to either of us…but, on the other hand, it has certainly been the proving ground for our developing our loyalty to God!

 I met my Prince at the University and if you were to ask our college friends, they would be astounded that we are celebrating 54 years together. 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 past 54 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 necessary key to our taking our two strong wills and finding harmony in God’s will.

 Ralph’s name means “bold counselor” and that he is! He is, also, 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!  

 We were told in our early married life regarding missions that “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 fourth generations.

10801788080_IMG_4844.jpeg

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 this truth and 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 54 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?

IMG R & I_3217.jpeg
IMG ME_0062.JPG

~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

                    "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.

FullSizeRender-3.jpg

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!

                                                            Christmas...53 years later!

 

 

Jackie's Journey "How do You do in the Trenches?"

sample_3.jpg

Virtue is the positive influence my life has on others by my right responses to life’s situations. The woman in the last chapter of Proverbs sets the standard.  Who wouldn’t want to be that Proverbs 31 woman of virtue?  Our claim to fame would be we are “mighty in spirit”!  We would be noble in character, have the trust of our husband, lack nothing, be clothed in strength and dignity, our children would call us blessed and our husbands would praise us!  Sounds good to me…A “Win-win”…

The alternative, of course, is a despicable choice!  As moms, we would not want our children to accept impurity, in any of its forms, as normal and we, definitely, would not want to give them a bad example to follow, would we?  “Virtue, by definition, is the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiates from our lives as we obey God.” (Gothard)

 “There is but one virtue…the eternal sacrifice of self.”  Henry George

A vibrant Christian life is found by losing our lives in others!  “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life in others for my sake will find it.” Matt. 10:37-39  All the virtuous character qualities in the world can be summed up in the truth of that one verse…dedicated deference living for the benefit of others and the glory of God.  Not stumbling blocks, but stepping-stones!

 It would make us all declarers of truth, servants, teachers, exhorters, givers and bearers of one another’s burdens.  The body of Christ would function.  The home would be filled with God and His ways.  Our children would rise up and call us blessed.  Harmony would rule!

Who doesn’t want that?

 These are the last of the 31 virtues from last week.  These verses can be prayed into your life and the life of your husband and children.  There are 31 total…one for each day of the month (with your Proverb of the day).

16. Peace-loving.  “Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace.” (Rom. 14: 19)

 17.Joyful.  “May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (I Thess. 1: 6)

18.Perseverance.  “Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do and helpthem especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them.  (Heb. 12:1)

19.Humility. “God. Please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all.”  (Titus 3: 2)

20.Compassion. “Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of Compassion.” (Col. 3:12)

21.Responsibility.  “Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load. (Gal. 6:5)

22.Contentment.  “Father, teach my children the secret of being content in every situation, through Him who gives them strength.”  (Phil. 4: 12-13)

23.Faith.  “I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them.”  (Lu. 17: 5-6; Heb.11: 1-40)

24. A servant’s heart.  “God, please help my children develop servant’s hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men.”  (Eph. 6: 7)

25. Hope.  “May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13)

26. Willingness and ability to work.  “Teach my children, Lord, to value work ad to work at it with their heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Col. 3: 23)

27. Passion for God.  “Lord, please instill in my children a soul that follows hard after you. (Psa. 63: 8), one that clings passionately to you.”   

28. Self-discipline.  “Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.” (Prov. 1: 3)

29. Prayerfulness.  “Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kind of prayers and requests.” (Eph. 6: 18)

30. Gratitude.  “Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 5:20, Col.2: 7)

31. A heart for missions.  “Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples.” (Psa. 96:3)  (These 31 verses were given to me many years ago with no author referenced...they are too valuable not to pass on to you young mothers) 

The Proverbs 31 virtuous woman has no name and we don’t know what she looked like or her personality.  We learn of her inner character.  She understood God-control and the blessing of surrendering to Him in her choices.  She is being praised for her spiritual character…not her physical beauty or accomplishments.  Many of the virtues listed here are acknowledged in this last chapter of Proverbs.

Are you a woman of excellent character?

Do those following you see God in you… in your conversation, actions and attitudes?

 Moral Excellence is not made in crisis or in the trenches; it is only exhibited…

Crisis reflects our virtue or lack of it!

 How are you in the trenches?

jackie BLOG PIC.jpg

~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 "Virtue??"

IMG_4008.jpg

Ever wonder what that word means?  There’s a lot of talk out there regarding the desperate need for it in our present culture.  Can you give me a pragmatic definition for biblical virtue?  How would we go about building virtue into our princes and princesses?  And, by the way…

Are you a virtuous woman? Proverbs 31

We have been given everything we need to live a godly life.  There are no excuses for not living a life of moral excellence.  “For this very reason, we are to make every effort to add to our faith, moral excellence; and to moral excellence, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 

For IF you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  II Pet. 1: 3-9

There are 30-31 days in a month; just enough time to read a Proverb a day (written by the wisest man who has ever lived!) and finish the book each month.  If you prayed the 31 virtues (that I am about to share with you) along with the Proverb of the day, into the life of your child…just one each day…you would be well on your way to seeing God’s will placed into the heart of your child and a clearer understanding of your own position and calling as a parent.  Part of virtue is learning to build personal moral standards into your life, which will cause others to desire a more godly life.

Let’s take a look at a few…

1.     Salvation.  “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (Isa. 45:8; 2 Tim. 2:10)

2.     Growth in grace. “I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2 Pet. 3:18)

3.     Love.  “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them.” (Gal. 5:25; Eph. 5: 2)

4.      Honesty and Integrity. “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and protection”.  (Ps. 25: 21)

5.     Self-Control. “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do.” (I Thess. 5: 6)

6.     Love for God’s Word. “May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much more pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb.” (Ps. 19: 10)

7.     Justice. “God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do.” (Psa. 11:7, Mic. 6:8)

8.     Mercy. “May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful”(Lk. 6: 36)

9.     Respect (for self, others, authority). “Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands.”  (I Pet. 2: 17)

10. Biblical self-esteem.  “Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.”  (Eph. 2: 10)

11. Faithfulness.  “Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts.” (Prov. 3: 3)

12. Courage.  “May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions.”  (Dt. 31: 6)

13. Purity.  “Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions. (Psa. 51: 10)

14. Kindness.  “Lord, may my children always be kind to each other and to everyone else.”  (I Thess. 5: 15

15. Generosity.  “Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.” (I Tim. 6: 18-19)

“There is but one virtue…the eternal sacrifice of self.”  Henry George

All the virtuous character qualities in the world can be summed up in the truth of that one statement…dedicated deference living for the benefit of others.  It would make us all declarers of truth, servants, teachers, exhorters, givers and bearers of one another’s burdens.  The body of Christ would function.  The home would be filled with God.

Our children would rise up and call us blessed.  Harmony would rule!

Who doesn’t want that?

 Please look for the remaining 15 Virtues next Monday…I’ll see you then.

jackie BLOG PIC.jpg

~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 All About the Attitude!

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 a mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.