Jackie's Journey "Ever Feel Like This?"

Do you ever just wish for more?

 Some things just have to go…once you start growing up, that is.  If you are not careful you can wish your life away!  Just suppose you had a chance for just one wish.  The most important wish in your life.

What would that wish be?

 In life we have things we hope for, things we desire and dream about, things we crave…  Even kings and queens have wishes like we do.  Wouldn’t you think that a king could have anything…just by taking it?  Look at King Saul, King David, King Solomon, Queen of Sheba…they all wished for things they couldn’t just take. Each of these “wished for” good things, bad things, irrational things, not to mention impossible and unreasonable things that were all unfulfilled desires.

 t seems to be programmed into our DNA.  We see it with Eve in the Garden of Eden! Some of us wish we were taller, shorter, healthier, stronger, thinner, smarter, wittier, richer, younger, more sparkling and vivacious…  The wish sometimes comes with lust for power and position. We have been told that “If you wish it, it will happen!” (Disney-Pinocchio-a real boy! The song, “When You Wish upon a Star…”)   Of course, we know this is untrue!  It is great in animation, but unrealistic in real life.

 Sometimes we wish we could “fudge on the truth” and get away with it.  We can’t!  Sometimes we wish ill on someone when we are mistreated.  The usual result is a case of guilt!  With all the self-help books available, it is clearly evident that we all have a built in “wisher”, full of personal desires.

 Contentment is realizing that God has provided everything thing that I need for my present happiness. (I Tim. 6: 8)   Our desires determine the choices we make.  We are controlled by them. “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” (George Eliot)  Paul said, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to be content.” (Phil. 4: 11)  “Genuine contentment is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it.”  (G.K.Chesterton)  

Most people are about as content as they make up their mind to be!

 How do you find yourself today?

 Content?  In harmony with His desires?

~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!"

Do you know how you were designed?

Ah, yes…woman…programmed and empowered with destiny and purpose!

What did God have in mind in I Peter 3: 7, when He wrote

“Husbands live with your wives in an understanding way…

as with SOMEONE WEAKER, SINCE SHE IS A WOMAN”!

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

 We know that marriage is the proving ground for development of our loyalty to God. 

I Cor. 7:11   Understanding His purpose frees us to live within our God-given design and to fulfill the beauty of His intention.

God’s design for Women is to use sensitivity 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 

 Satan’s evil design for Women is to use sensitivity, 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 is to fulfill God’s design:  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 self-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 and petty 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…how are we using our God-given sensitivity… for others, not ourselves? 

Who are you loyal to?

~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 "Action Demanded...NOW!"

The holidays can be exhausting!!  It’s already the 10th of January 2022!!  The new year approached us with stomping feet demanding ACTION!  As women, we have ceased to be operational from guests and entertaining, late nights, early mornings, continual activity, meal preparation, decorating – undecorating, gift-giving …you know the drill.

 “Life is easier than we think.  All we have to do is accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerable.”  The New Year presses us to restate our goals and priorities and take a peek back and measure what we have done by what we could have done!  Weary and recuperating we ask ourselves:

 Have we achieved the full potential of what God had planned for us?

 As we start this first month of 2022 with the Princess Parable Series, we take care to define our priorities and use them to pursue the goal we see in each area of our lives filled with purpose and direction. The secret to getting ACTION: “What the mind attends to, it considers.  What it does not attend to, it dismisses.  What the mind attends to continually,it believes and the will is set (when was the last time you read the Bible through?)  And what the mind believes, it eventually does.”  Success is not determined by the intellect, but by the will…set your sights on the goal…

 In the New Year 2015 I had never had a Princess Parable Website, Facebook page, Pinterest, Twitter or a Blog, or even read a blog.  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 are consuming! “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.

 “Our greatest danger in life is to sacrifice 

the permanent on the altar of the immediate!”

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.

 Everyone receives an equal supply of time.  The only difference 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 40-50 hours 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 regular worship (devotion, fellowship, Bible-reading)

How many hours for personal service in the name of Christ?

Will we rob God?

 We can and we do!  As women, it is easy to get busy with good things, yet too busy for the best things. What kind of stewards are we of the time God gives us?  “Today is, for all 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”. Henry Clay Trumbull

 Have a great week!

~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 "What happened...?"

How do we measure the effectiveness of the last year of our lives?  It has been said the things we have done with the last twelve months must have been reasonably important: we have traded hours, days, weeks for them that we will never again have. Have you thought about what we are trading our lives for, day-by-day?

 What tests do you apply to figure out if 2021 was a triumph or failure?

Ask yourself…

1.     Do you know God better today than you did a year ago? (This can only be a result of time spent with HIM, in HIS word and in prayer).  

2.     Are you more effective today as a Christian (woman, mom, mother, grandmother…), both in your living a practical Christian life, and in your ability to communicate your faith to others? (This comes as a result of a disciplined life, doing those things that do not come naturally). 

3.     Are there people who have been brought closer to God because of your influence in their life? (This generally demands open involvement with people, not “undercover Christianity”).  

4.     Will the course of eternity be any different because of this past year of life God gave you to invest? (This is the continual test of good stewardship!)  “Life is simple, a stewardship and not an ownership; a trust and not a gift.  With a gift you may do as you please, but with a trust you must give an account.”

 This uncomplicated test taken periodically through the year will keep us focused on our eternal-journey, which will one-day be called into account with a God who is trusting us to walk humbly and make right choices.

 Let’s face this new year, together, with new determination…

~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 "A Minute of Thought...!"

No matter what our circumstances or responsibilities, the most important work we women do is helping and encouraging people…especially by what we say!   “A woman has joy by the answer of her mouth and a word spoken in due season, how good it is.” Proverbs 15:4, 23  Kind words are always the right kind!   A wholesome tongue is a tree of life!

A careless word - may kindle strife

A cruel word – may wreck a life;

A timely word - may lesson stress

A loving word – may heal and bless.

 Years ago, after hearing the need of a family in the hospital, my husband decided to pay the required deductible of their insurance company ($16,000.00!)  This family will never know the personal sacrifice he made (he would never even word it or think of it in that way).  It spoke volumes to me, as he had been to the hospital with prayers and encouraging words for days.

 Actions are living words, the manifestation of our true convictions and beliefs.  Words alone make us hypocrites; actions make us irrefutable examples.  It has been said that we talk when we cease to be at peace with our thoughts!  

 “A minute of thought is worth more than an hour of talk!”

 We have the privilege of using God’s eternal Name, “I AM” to speak truth and life with our tongue.  For example: When I am walking with God…

 I am filled with the HOLY SPIRIT…

I am filled with FAITH.

I am filled with HOPE.

I am filled with LOVE.

I am filled with JOY.

I am filled with PEACE.

I am filled with DIVINE HEALTH.

I am filled with DIVINE ENERGY.

I am filled with DIVINE STRENGTH.

I am filled with DIVINE CREATIVITY.

I am filled with ENTHUSIASM.

I am filled with GRATITUDE.

I am filled with SELF-CONTROL.

I am filled with ENDURANCE.

I am filled with WISDOM.

I am filled with UNDERSTANDING.

I am filled with GENEROSITY.

 The great “I AM” is alive in us.

He is all these attributes.

He and I are one.  Therefore…I AM available to be 

the vessel I am designed to be for His glory…

How encouraging is that!

~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 Never Wrong!"

“Our insistence in proving that we are right is mostly always

an indication that there has been some point of disobedience.”

Utmost for His Highest

  My wise Grandmother loved barn owls and when I was small and stomped my feet demanding my own way she would say, “Little Jackie, don’t you know that pretty is, as pretty does!”  The point, of course, was that I was acting “pretty ugly” and I needed to change my attitude.

 As willful as I am in insisting “my own way” and that I am “always” right, God’s simple two-fold purpose for my life has not changed since 1963.  (1) Maintain a right relationship with God and (2) Be rightly related to my fellowman with the intent and purpose of seeing them rightly related to Him!  I’m to be the stepping-stone for another’s success…whatever the cost, personally.

 Pragmatically, to do this, by necessity I need to “choose for myself this day (and every day) whom I will serve.” Joshua 24: 15 This requires that my will is dedicated to only one Master…no divided loyalties…

 The Will has been defined as the whole man active!

 I cannot give up my will.

I must exercise it.

I must will to obey and die to my selfishness.

I must die to the pride that protects it.

I must will to walk in the light.

 When God reveals more light, it is never a question of what He will do, BUT what I will do.  My focus should not be on “where is He leading me, BUT where am I in relation to Him!  I must will to be loyal to Him…

it’s a choice!

 There are only two choices:  God’s way or Satan’s way.  I always thought there was another choice…”MY WAY”!  Spoiler alert…There is no “my way”! The truth is: I choose with my will whom I will serve on any given day. My will submits to God’s will or Satan’s will.  “The right choice manifests a huge dividend in God’s grace and blessing.   The woman “who does not desire the highest state of grace, does not desire any”.  It all hinges on the Master you choose to serve…

 Which master will it be today?

~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 Sacred Significance of Work!"

We celebrated Labor Day this month and I noticed my junk mail is full of retirement information, even burial insurance!  My friends talk about what they will do with the extra time when they stop working.  For women, the work is altered, but never stops.  While on the mission field, we used to say, “we’ll just burn out, never retire”.  With the current trend of so many… to just take the government check and lay personal responsibility to one side, retirement comes early! 

 “Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do,

he will never do all he could or can do.”

Henry Drummond

 My Dad lived 94 years and never missed a day of work or really retired.  “To be put out to pasture” was not an option.  There was no retreat when it came to the designed purpose of duty.  It is duty that binds us to our reliability and trustworthiness.  The task, whatever it is, is the obligation that unites us to a commission or assignment.  It’s a compulsion, if you are blessed with work that you enjoy.  There is an indebtedness to your labor that comes with the promise of hearing that it has been a “job well done”.  

 At 13, I worked in my Dad’s service department every day all summer.  Every summer, thereafter, I was assigned a different position in his large company and I learned a new skill.  By the time I left for college, my work experience was extensive. A strong work ethic was instilled and today it continues to serve me well.  I have a deep gratitude for my Dad and his personal discipleship in this area of my life and many others. 

 I married a driven, type A work-alcoholic. His commitment to God, his family and those in spiritual and physical need, keep him effectively functioning, continually.  There is no toiling for him…he gets up each morning, salutes His Master and enthusiastically charges into the day ahead of him!

With so much controversy regarding the need and purpose of work, I thought it might be profitable for us to look into the face of God and see what HE says about labor.  Yahoo just reported that 13% of adult men do not work!  There have been books written about the evil of work.  In our drug drenched culture, human nature is drawn toward investigating ways of dodging work and still maintaining a “no consequence” life-style. We, women, have been given a warning regarding our work…

  “Rise up you women, who are at ease and hear my voice; 

Give ear to my word, you complacent daughters.” Isa. 32:9

 Work is exemplified for us in the Proverbs woman as she “sets about her work vigorously with eager hands” (Pro. 31: 13,17) There are many categories of work mentioned in scripture: Wicked work (I Jn. 1: 11); Artistic work (Ex. 31: 4); Designer work (Ex. 39: 22,27); Regular work (Lev. 23: 25); Floral work (II Chron. 4:21) etc. Then, there is the one who is “Slack at work…he(she) is brother(sister) to one who destroys.” (Pro. 18: 9) Or the admonition to the one who “does not provide for his family..” (I Tim. 5: 8)  And although this list is not conclusive, “The rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat”! (II Thess. 3: 10)

 In the first book of the Bible we have a working God! (Gen. 1:31)   Adam and Eve were given work and cared for the garden of Eden.  Every bible character was assigned a job and we learn from each of them.  A time frame for work is noted, “Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening.” (Psalm 104: 23) Work comes with a promise: “All hard work brings a profit…” (Pro. 14: 23) The expected days to work is mentioned, “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day…”.(Ex. 23: 12) 

 “When man loses the sacred significance of work and of himself, 

as worker, he soon loses the sacred meaning of time and of life.” 

Carl F. H. Henry

~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 "A Broken Link in the Chain!"

I have had the privilege these past months to have entertained numerous angels unaware. Most were strangers to me, initially. I had just started this blog, when God began to minister its message to my own heart…

 Did you know that we will be blessed in the same degree and in equal measure to the blessings God confers on others through us?  The life we women live will either blight or bless those around us?  Every act we do is the first link in a chain of consequences so long that we cannot foresee the resulting end of it.

 The Christian ideology is a philosophy of self-denial, self-control and self-restraint.  The satanic philosophy is one of “live as you please”; “have what you want”; “don’t let anybody tell you what to do”; “it’s your life, you have a right to live it”, “It’s me first”.  When the “great Physician” applies a knife to my heart and there is pain…there is evidence of “live flesh”, a self-first attitude and a break in the chain!  If humility and a willing service do not instantly manifest themselves, then I know I have chosen the satanic philosophy and acted on it.

 God does not attack in us that which is lifeless and unresponsive.  It is the living only that must die to self-desires.  The remedy to our problem isn’t cure…it’s death!  Death to the “don’t tell me what to do” voice.   Satan loves uncrucified flesh!

 Someone once told me that when I hesitate before responding when I know the right, answer or reaction, I have already set in motion the philosophy that will destroy me. The devil did not tempt Adam and Eve to steal, lie, kill, commit adultery; he tempted them to live independently from God!  A rebellious spirit and “get out of my way” attitude will define my position every time!

 Are you aware of the acts you are occupied 

with that are affecting a break in that first link 

in the chain of resulting consequences?

 Have you checked the links in your chain, lately?

“For the Christian, life is not divided into the secular and the sacred. 

To us…all ground is holy ground, every bush a burning bush, and

Every place a temple of worship”. Dr. Bob Jones, Senior

~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 "God Has a Big Eraser!"

These were a gift from my daughters, Christina and Kim, over 40 years ago!

I have forever been intrigued by lambs.  They are docile and are crowd followers.  They are submissive and easily led.  They do not utter a sound when they lose their warm wool coats while being sheared or even when they lose their lives!  What they give is for the benefit of the lives of those who took it from them!

 Sheep are instructors of one of the most valuable character qualities known to mankind.  Without it, we find ourselves adrift and separated from both God and man.  Without it, we become angry and bitter.  The fruit of its absence is unresolved relationships and needless stress. Our children watch and adopt the same negative response to life’s situations, with the same harmful results! “Parents, so often, are the persons wondering why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.” John Locke

 I was recently talking to a young married woman in ministry, who assured me that she knew the problem she had with this other person was her problem, but she could not do what is required of her to resolve the conflict in her heart and re-establish her relationship with God.

 Are you wondering what invaluable character quality we are talking about?

 “It is nobler to forgive. ‘Love your enemies…bless them that curse you…

do good to them that hate you…pray for them that use you ill’…

these are the commands of the blessed Savior of men.”  Noah Webster

 When asking forgiveness from God, He tells us to go to the offended brother first and make things right…and then come to the altar. Matt. 6: 24 Forgiveness is when we release our offenders from angry and resentful reactions and instead look for ways to benefit their lives. 

 We always have the choice.  We can blame and poison the fountain, where those following us drink!  Who is more important in God’s eyes?  Can God forgive us, if we refuse to forgive others?  Of course not!! Eph. 4: 32  What entitlement do we have that would keep us from forgiving, as we have been forgiven? Mark 11: 25  “He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.” George Herbert  

Do you forgive others quickly?

or

Do you blame and allow your anger to become toxic?

Booker T. Washington said, “I will not permit any man to narrow 

and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”

~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 "My Prince Charming"

As an author of princess books, it seems natural to think in noble terms regarding the prince in my life.  He has, after all, been by my side for 55years!  This once dashing young man that soared into my life and swept me off my feet in Bible School, and I, celebrate another anniversary this week.

 Someone once told me that “the good things never change” and there is much to be said about those words and I am the grateful recipient of its truth. 

 I was told that I would never have a dull moment if I chose to marry him…and they were not kidding!  Ralph has always been “hyper” in every sense of the word.  His zeal has no boundaries. Keeping up with him is like “trying to harness the wind”.  Marriage is and definitely has been the proving ground for developing my loyalty to God.   It’s been quite an adventure and I am so grateful for this extraordinary man. 

~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.