Jackie's Journey: Raising a Virtuous Knight

Little boys are born with an adventurous spirit!  Their priorities include competition and, at all costs, winning!  You have heard of Jedi knights and princes of kingdoms in faraway lands.  Well, young Sir Christian, like his brothers, carries with him the noble destiny of our future!

As moms we realize the privilege and responsibility of building godly character into the lives of our little fledging knights-in-the-making.  Their character and personalities begin at an early age to express the reality of the challenge, boldly and often times loudly.  The character quality of Virtue seems auspicious, yet unattainable at first sight. 

Little eyes and ears are watching, listening and imitating.  Realizing that virtue is learning to build personal, principled standards that will cause others to desire a more godly life clearly places the task in our corner first - and then in others!  I cannot teach and expect others to learn if I do not practice what I preach.  I am to be an example, not an excuse!  

Virtue is the fruit of grace as we are given light from His Word.  Our little guys are drawn toward a mommy that is sensitive toward their spirit and definite toward their will when they call for it.   

There is a thief that focuses on robbing our opportunities

to build virtue into our children.

It’s called Deception!  Time in the Word can be lost to immediate demands of responsibility and a whirlwind of activity.  Finding a “War Room” where we can be equipped to meet the challenges of virtue in our own lives and in the life of the future generation that is represented in our little knight is lost!

Our little men are watching our responses.  Crisis is the true test for our virtue.  We demonstrate what we really are spiritually in times of adversity…not when things are going smoothly!  Proverbs 24:10

What is our response when:

• We are evil spoken of
• Our loyalty has been betrayed
• Our will is crossed
• We are forgotten or neglected

Our response reveals to us if we are virtuous women or hypocrites!

Sir Christian exemplifies the character quality of Virtue.  Facing the possible loss of his mother, young Christian’s destiny, as well as his brothers’, is drastically challenged.  A chivalrous knight understands sacrifice and the laying down of one’s own life for others.  Sir Christian’s moral excellence radiates from his life as he obeys his authority and God’s word.

We hope Sir Christian will encourage and inspire your little knight as you teach him to live righteously.

~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: Raising a Wise Knight

"Raising a Wise Knight"

Little boys are born with an adventurous spirit!  They are challenged by obstacles and are great problem solvers.  This belief convinces them that they can find friendship with snakes, snails, frogs and caterpillars!  Their favorite pets are ferrets, hawks, huge dogs, bearded dragons and, of course, tarantulas! 

It is important to us that our little boys grow to be strong, bold and wise.  As their personalities develop, our task takes on tremendous significance.  We see the need for wisdom in our own lives and the need for teaching wisdom to these small ones following us, stepping into the footprint we leave behind!  Our worst nightmare is that our child will be regarded as foolish and unteachable, persuaded by every wind and doctrine, unprepared for life.

Scripture says that “wisdom is better than gold, yea, than fine gold…” Pro. 8:19   God puts great value on our being wise.  He says it is more precious than jewels (verse 11) and more valuable than riches (verse 18).  “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom…”  Pro. 4: 7  

How important is wisdom to you? 
 Do you value wisdom as God does?
 Are you a wise woman?

As our children grew we looked for the marks of a wise child:
•    A wise child will love the one who rebukes him. (Pro. 9:8)
•    A wise child loves the law of God. (Scripture) (Pro. 10:8)
•    A wise son delights the heart of his father. (Pro. 10:1)
•    A wise child listens to counsel and instruction. (Pro. 13:1)
•    A wise son controls his tongue. (Pro. 11:30)
•    A wise child seeks wise friends. (Pro. 13:20)

Can we raise a wise child in this generation?
How do we get this wisdom?

While living in Panama, our good friends, Johnnie and Ruth Jenkins, put the definition of wisdom to music:

“Wisdom is seeing life situations from God’s point of view
and acting in harmony with it. 
So be wise my son, heed my instruction, 
leave that road that leads to destruction. 
Hallow my name, don’t walk in shame…
Wisdom is…”   

As we raise our little knights to be wise, we teach them that the fruit of being wise is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (Jas. 3:17).   Is your home marked by this harmony?  Is your little knight bringing you joy or are you ragged by the end of the day?  In the first chapter of Daniel it is recorded that “God gave them (Hebrew boys) knowledge and skill in all matters of learning and wisdom…” (vs. 17-20).  The King found the young boys ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers. 

God gives wisdom to those who ask and all the keys to understanding wisdom are found in His living Word.  (Jas. 1:5; Deut. 4:6; Pro. 9:10; Pro.1:1-3; Pro.13:20: Psa. 119:98; Psa. 19:7…)  Just reading the Proverb of the day would begin to equip you with what you need to lead your fledgling young knight into wisdom!

 Sir Jonathan illustrates the character quality of Wisdom.  One night a fierce storm arrives with howling winds, bringing the surging sea into the village.  The heaving waves sweep in and swallow everything in sight!  Young Sir Jonathan awakens to a frenzied scene and a life-lesson that will eternally alter his life forever.  A noble knight sees life from God’s point of view and eminently acts in harmony with it.  This makes him a wise young man indeed.

We hope Sir Jonathan will encourage and inspire your little knight as you teach him to walk wisely.

~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. 

The Good Father

Our newest story in the Princess Parables series, A Royal Easter Story, weaves together a number of different lessons.  Just as God’s word can have many applications in just one verse, A Royal Easter Story does as well.  The beauty of using God’s word as the foundation for a story allows for a richness of many applications.

 One of the underlying storylines to teach your kids from the new story is found in Luke 11:11,12. 

"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”  

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

With Easter right around the corner, most of us will be putting together the egg hunts, Easter dinner and the highly-anticipated Easter basket.  Would you ever consider putting in rocks instead of colored eggs? Pebbles instead of jelly beans? Or a snake in place of a chocolate bunny?

Never! Right?

I love giving gifts to my kids.

Their faces light up with eyes shining with excitement.  Hugs flow freely, even with my teens.  Smiles and gratefulness follow a well-chosen gift.

I am just a little giddy inside myself.  Nothing is as good as being the giver. I especially love to grant their requests, when I can.  I always want to be the “Yes!” mom.

Our God is the “Yes!” God within His will.

The story in Luke teaches us three things, which in turn are great teaching tools in A Royal Easter Story.

Our God gives good gifts

The story is intended to be absurd, even in the 21st century.  But the stark reality is, if our fathers here on this earth treat us well, how much more our Father in Heaven does.  He longs to give us good gifts.  Not a million dollars from the lottery, but the gifts He knows will grow us and mature us into the person He has designed us to be.  As we gift Easter baskets this year, let us not forget to remind our children that God gives great gifts.  The best gift was His son for our lives.

We can pray with confidence and persistence

If God is so good to us, then we can come to him to ask for what we need.  He is our good father and wants to give us what is beneficial for us. Because of who God is and what He promises, we can pray knowing He will answer and do what is best.  We can remind our children, just as they may not always get candy for breakfast and cake before bedtime.  Neither can we expect to have prayers answered that are not wholesome for us, but we can come confidently knowing God will give us everything we need.

Because of our Heavenly Father’s character, we can treat others right

Jesus is asking us to treat others the way we want to be treated – the Golden Rule. This verse sets up the perfect story to teach kids not to worry if things don’t turn out the way they want.  God has everything under control and he has “your back”. We can treat people as ambassadors for Jesus and not worry about what we get in return.  God is already ready to give us good gifts.  We don’t need to worry; we just need to do the right thing.  This is an important truth the princesses learn in A Royal Easter Story.  They have to give up winning the race to rescue a lost little girl, but in the end, they are blessed to have done the right thing.

We are so excited for you all to read this book to your kids.  Can you tell?  Have you ordered it yet? 

A Royal Easter Story came out on Tuesday, just in time for your Easter basket!

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Raising an Alert Knight

Little boys are born with an adventurous spirit!  They see themselves as trusted warriors with swords whittled out of sticks and pieces of wood.  They visualize heroic acts of valor.  God designed them that way.  As parents, we want to encourage our little men to be strong and courageous. They will grow to know a God who is mighty and has a defined plan and purpose for their lives. 

Since we moms spend the bulk of our time with our little boys, God’s plan is for us to be the “movers and shakers” in shaping these young knights-in-the-making.  The responsibility of being alert to unpredictable dangers that will hinder our efforts is crucial.  What would you say is the key to being alert? 

Would you like that key? 

The pre-requisite to raising an alert young knight can only be accomplished as we walk in a consistent, intimate relationship with God.  When we are mighty in Spirit, little hearts learn how to watch and respond to the dangers in life. 

Are you mighty in spirit?

Are you alert to signals of danger in the life of your son?

Alertness is the awareness that a deadly enemy is stalking us. Being alert is acting quickly on signals of danger. “A wise man will hear danger and increase learning.”  Pro. 1: 5   Dangers come in many forms. We are called upon to be alert to physical, spiritual, moral, mental…. hazards in life.  Preparing our little guys to face life’s temptations is an immensely inclusive charge.  Sometimes danger seems harmless at first…a nuisance, but once we compromise a little we find it consuming us!  Little ones read our spirit and will follow our example.  We have a responsibility to act on what we know and to teach our little ones to obey God and their authority (us!).

Young Sir Alexander exemplifies the character quality of Alertness.  He is the youngest of the five brothers.  His valor and alertness are tested when he guards the palace and fearlessly and vigilantly responds to the dangers transpiring around him.

A valiant knight is alert and acts quickly to dangers in life that creep in unaware.

We trust Sir Alexander will encourage and inspire your little knight as you teach him the importance of being alert to the predators that will try to rob him of the life God has planned for him. Jeremiah 29:11

~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: Raising a Loyal Knight

“In medieval times, all knights lived by a code.  Loyalty to this high calling formed the core of every knight’s identity.  It also served to define the progress of his life.” Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis

Raising little knights can be challenging.  Little boys are born with an adventurous spirit!  They have a desire to be empowered.  These little men dream of being courageous conquerors; they are the hunters and providers.  They sense the need to become strong…the champions of good over evil…defenders of the universe! 

As you raise your little knights to be loyal, here are some practical steps that will cause learning in your little man and make loyalty a reality in his life.

My life has been filled with four little boys for the last fourteen years!  I have observed the challenges that come with raising a “modern day knight”, and I call you “blessed” if you finish the course with young knights who are loving, respectful and loyal!

Loyalty is a foundational block of our faith and calls for designated attention.  In a day when it is the least valued and our children are absent of conviction, inundated with political correctness, following their own wills, peers, Hollywood celebrities, our bad examples… the desperate need for understanding the importance of having loyalty to God, His Word, His commands, His Plan and His purpose are imperative! Teaching loyalty through respect for authority (parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers…) should be celebrated.  Blessing and protection are the promises and fruit of exercised loyalty. It should dominate all teaching opportunities with our little ones as we encourage, correct and lovingly discipline.   

A loyal knight will use difficult times to demonstrate his faithfulness to God and those he serves.  He respects those in authority and sees and responds to events in his life with obedience, understanding that protection is the blessing in the end.  Sir Andrew proves his loyalty to King and country and is given the King’s blessing for his loyal dedication and hard work.

In our newest book in the Princess Parables series, A Royal Easter Story, we introduce five valiant young cavaliers and brothers.  Each embodies a different character quality.  Sir Andrew is our example of loyalty.  His story is based on Matthew 25:14-30 and the Parable of the Talents.  We hope we will be able to bring his story to you in the next couple of years.  These chivalrous adventurers are part of the original vision we were given when the Princess Parable Books took form.  We always envisioned a series of books for those of you who have little boys and are looking for books that will challenge them to exercise honorable thoughts and actions.

We hope Sir Andrew will encourage and inspire your little knight at home as you teach him the importance of loyalty.

~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. 

What My Princesses Taught Me

I was raised without a sister in a world of boys.  I, myself, was a tomboy.

I never wore dresses as a child.  I played tackle football on the beach with my brothers and their friends.  I refused to wear a bra until 7th grade. (I needed one in 5th grade).  I had a Dorothy Hamill haircut (need I say more?). I never wanted to really be a girl.

I didn’t have lavish tea parties. I didn’t like pink. I was not into sparkly glitter at all.  Somewhere inside I hated all the silly girlie stuff.  Don’t get me wrong, my parents loved me and my mom tried.  Somewhere along the line, I missed the grandeur of being a girl.

Luckily for me, God had begun to refine me in my teen years.  I had become quite sophisticated.  I had come a long way from my custom Vans tennis shoes and Jordache jeans.  I had begun to like the finer things in life and the beauty in event planning in my 20’s.  In some circles, I was down-right “girlie”. Eventually, I got married and did get all girlie for the big day. Not that any of these things are the end-all-be-all, for sure, but the Lord was softening me for what came next.

I was going to have a girl.   

A daughter.

Not only one, but eventually, two.

Deep down inside, I was still the greasy haired, arm-twisting spitfire in 6th grade with a fresh coat of paint and fancy clothes on.  I was sure I was not prepared to raise girls. In 2 Peter 1:3 it says God has given us everything we need for this life.  But I was a skeptic, at best.

The baby years were pink.  She was darling, and I began to relax thinking, “I can do this girl thing”.  Then one day when my daughter was almost two, it happened. 

My little girl became a princess overnight. 

She wanted everything glittery, everything pink and every fluffy tulle item to wear.  She twirled and danced around like the world was her oyster.  These were uncharted waters for me.  Her singing lit up my life and her imagination made me smile.  My life would never be the same.

As I watched her naturally glide into this world of make-believe with ease, I felt the Lord pulling at the cords of confusion in my past.  You see, my daughter was not taught how to “be a princess”, she just came out that way.  Something inside her knew she had come from royalty or at the very least, she wanted to know she was beautiful and loved by the King of Kings.  At two years old, she was more confident in who she was than I ever had been.

I was somewhat jealous.  I wanted what she had. I had felt awkward and confused growing up.  I was always trying to fill this big giant hole of uncertainty with things, people and life.  You never would have caught me dead in a princess dress. 

But raising two princesses made me a fan of all things royal.  Not because Disney had fun princess stories or I like to be girlie now, but because GOD is the author of royalty.  He is the one who made it up in the first place.  He is the one who fills scripture with these noble examples.  And it was in these days of discovery that the Princess Parables were birthed.

 With God ushering me along, I began to see His love for me through my girls.  I never before owned the fact that I am a daughter of the King, who reigns on high.  I was still clinging to the “I’m a tomboy, and are you sure they are really going to let me in the gates of heaven, Lord?”

Here is what I learned about God’s love having princesses: 

• As a daughter of the king, I share in His glory as one of His heirs (Rom. 8:17).
•  He calls me beautiful (Ps. 45:10-11).
•  I am chosen to be His girl (1 Peter 2:9).
•  I am valuable because He has made me and woven me together.  He calls me wonderful (Ps 139:12-14).
• He has made me a crown that will last forever!  I get to be a real princess forever! (1 Corinthians 9:25)
• I am a treasured possession.  His Princess!  (Ex. 19:5)
• He created me – His Princess – for a purpose (Eph. 2:10).

I have started to own this royal calling He has given me over the years.  It is not about wearing the dress or donning the crown.  There is nothing wrong with being a tomboy.  As long as in your heart, you are HIS girl, God’s princess.  As long as you know whose you are and whom you serve.  There was a disconnect for me all those years, but today, I have come a long way as the author of the Princess Parables.

Thank you, my King of Kings, for entrusting me with princesses who have shown me your love in a royal way. This unrelenting love lavishes upon me a new confidence in my position as your girl.

As my girls mature, they may take off the princess dress, but may they never forget the King’s love for them.  Here is a blessing from my friend and mentor, Sally Clarkson for your family as you raise them as children of God:

May God’s richest blessings be with you as you dream, create ideas for your own family, and flourish in the creativity of mind and soul that comes with being God’s child, made in His likeness, and destined for an eternal home with Him.- The Life-Giving Home by Sally Clarkson

May God’s richest blessings be with you as you dream, create ideas for your own family, and flourish in the creativity of mind and soul that comes with being God’s child, made in His likeness, and destined for an eternal home with Him.- The Life-Giving Home by Sally Clarkson

 How are you teaching your princesses and knights God’s love for them?

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: ...Got Purpose?

A New Year!   Another Opportunity!

When you get to the end of this year, what do you want to look back on and say you accomplished…Personally? Professionally?  Spiritually? Relationally?

Would you like to make this year your most successful ever?

How fruitful would you say you were this past year?  Did you attain the goals you set?  How did you do with keeping Godly priorities?

So often we think to be successful we need a sense that we are getting more out of life…more me time, vacation time, more quality time with our children, more opportunities to develop a more mature relationship with our husbands, more exercise, less weight… “it’s all about me”!  We are blinded by kids’ schedules (practices, meets, tournaments, tutors, recitals, award ceremonies and more).  We live in a maze of taxi driving (pick-ups and drop-offs), carpools, careers, vacations, parties, sleepovers, play dates, fears and circumstances that keep us from seeing the clarity of our designed purpose.  We are forever seeking balance…

This is the opposite of what God envisions for us.  We are to live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility… not as (women) who do not know the meaning and purpose of life, but those who do…making the best use of our time, despite all the evils of these days…not being vague, but grasping firmly what we know to be the will of the Lord.  Ephesians 5:15-17

Fulfillment in life is not deciding what we want to do or become, but discovering and completing the purpose for which God made us! (Gothard)

True Success in life is measuring what we are by what we could be (always seeking His purpose and meaning of life) and what we have done by what we could have done (by His grace).  “Faithful is He who calls us who (HE) will also do it (if we get out of the way, relinquish our will and yield to His!). It is achieving the full potential God planned for us. (ATIA)  We are destined with His purpose on our life. (Col. 1:28, 29)… “it’s not about me”!

Are we focused on what God is focused on or are we hastily and thoughtlessly doing our own thing?  If we have not realized our life purpose and set eternal goals for this coming year, our present priorities to reach that goal are superfluous!  Our focus is blurred by the demands of the immediate on the altar of the permanent.

The key to a full and rich life is determined by our commitment to pleasing God.  The alternative is failure…and I hate failure!

When I was a young Christian I was challenged by Betty Scott Stams’ declaration of purpose.  She was a missionary to China and was martyred by Communists in 1949.

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life.  I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Yours forever.  Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit.  Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

While at the University, I stapled that statement of purpose inside the flap of my Bible and it is still there today…a reminder of my commitment to my God, who gave His ALL for me, to “die daily”.  “If anyone would come after me (Christ), he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23

Taken from Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die (to my will, rights, ambitions, entitlements, etc.) is gain.  It has carried me through life and has been my comfort while serving in the jungles of Panama until this day…

Where is your heart? 

What is your declaration of purpose?

~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: Courageous....I Am Not!

Once upon a time a family embarked on their first vacation that was not directly connected to ministry.  This is significant because they found themselves in the middle of a huge lake on a 75’ houseboat with six bedrooms; three bathrooms and a massive open kitchen/dining/living room, a Jacuzzi, and water slide on the second story!   The amenities are mentioned here because this family was flabbergasted at the comfort and convenience.  They could have moved in permanently!  

We are that family and this houseboat was perfect for all of us!

We had arrived the evening before and boarded just in time to load our things and find a place to fall asleep.   Some slept on the upstairs deck watching shooting stars, while others found comfy bedrooms.  Early the next morning, we headed out onto the lake.  

Ralph, my husband, Philip, my son-in-law, and I took the houseboat and everyone else loaded into the Ski boat to find a place to moor both boats for the week.  We got a late start and headed in the direction of a specific cove that had been pointed out to us on a map because we were so large and it would give us the best protection from the elements (wind, storms) that we were warned popped up unexpectedly.

We passed the entry to our cove and circled around…we missed it again…and again…  It all looked the same to us.  The sun was beginning to slip behind the mountains.  Darkness was now pressing in on us.  Somehow we had gotten separated from the Ski boat.  We needed to find our destination.  Adding apprehension to my new set of unknowns was the need to find that Ski boat!  The wind was kicking up and dusk was riding on it.  We needed both boats anchored on a sandbar and there was only one that would meet the need we had for our floating ark!  

I would like to think that I am a brave and courageous person.  After all, I had taken our two year old and delivered our second child in a foreign country as a young missionary.  I left the familiar and comfortable to live among an unreached tribe in the middle of a remote jungle.  When there was no one to suture a machete wound, give T. B. injections or deliver babies, I, with fear and trembling, stepped up to the plate!  So I must be courageous…right?

Courage is the strength from God that enables us to endure any circumstance, trial or danger with gratefulness, understanding His sovereign will.  It is demonstrating the confidence that harmonizing with God’s will brings ultimate victory regardless of present circumstance or opposition. 

“Deut. 31:6“Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord your God goes with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you.” 

God miraculously guided us into the exact place on the map that was the only “secure” spot for our houseboat!  The boys jumped off and took the iron stakes, crossed them and anchored them deep in the sandbar.  Hastily my grandson, Christopher, ignited the BBQ and soon we were settled in and looking forward to a Bible Study with Grandpa Ralph before we headed to bed.

Morning came early and everyone, except Ralph and I, loaded onto the speedboat to water ski, wake board, etc.  The day was perfect.  The lake was smooth as glass and our vacation was now in full swing.  We watched the fast boat disappear.  For hours Ralph and I enjoyed the silence and beauty of the lake.  Another boat had pulled onto our ridge sometime in the night and we were looking for an opportunity to meet them.

Out of nowhere, our solitude was interrupted by a swift and strong wind that came over the waters.  The waves were rapidly peaking at 5’!  Our boat began to sway and the moorings pulled loose from the sandbar! 

As the boat rocked… my first thought was,  “Where are the kids?!” and then…as we slipped backwards into the unknown lake, “Could we replace this massive beast if it crashed into the jagged cliffs surrounding it and sunk!?” 

Ralph was on his feet and immediately took off like a bullet!

On a dead run, he looked back and in an effort to calm my fears, yells over his shoulder, “Don’t panic, Jackie…safety is in the Lord”.   He jumps the ten feet or more from the boat to the shoreline and grabs the rope that has slipped into the lake.  All the moorings were now laying flat on the sandbar!

 “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.”  Proverbs 3: 25-26

As I am drifting alone out into the lake, panicked and screaming for Ralph, the neighbors whom we had not yet seen came running toward our landing.  The man leapt into the lake and then jumped on board with me! He grabbed the wheel, started the engine and pulled us back toward shore. He told me to keep the engine running and keep it pointed toward the sandbar.  I instantly obeyed, as he disappeared to help Ralph with the ropes and re-pounding the stakes.

 His wife began yelling at me from shore to hit the sandbar as hard and fast as I could!  That was the easiest command I have obeyed in a long time…I full-throttled that ark up onto the sandbar, not realizing the job was so well done that it took eight people to get us loose the day we left!

The storm was raging and the boat was once again secured, but our children and grandchildren were still out on the open water!  Had they found refuge in a cove or were they trying to get back to us?  My comfort came again from a biblical promise:

 “Those who respect the Lord will have security, and their children will be protected”!  Pro. 14:26

 “Jesus Christ is no security AGAINST storms, but He is perfect IN storms.  He has never promised us an easy passage, only a safe landing.”   L. B. Cowma

Ralph and I watched across the lake… praying.   Within an hour we heard the motor and saw them coming in the distance.  They had fought the waves and strong current and God had brought them to us safely.  The stories they excitedly shared were a Grandma’s nightmare!

As quickly as the storm hit, the wind subsided and calmness was restored.  The next few days were a tranquil dream… and a memory that will last a lifetime.

“We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.”  Francis de Sales

Lest I fail to put real courage in perspective, listen to the testimony of John Huss:

“When John Huss was about to be burned to death, they asked him to give up his teachings. Huss answered, “What I have taught with my lips, I now seal with my blood.’”

That is Real courage!

Whatever the New Year holds for us…let’s face it courageously…trusting our Sovereign God who is in control and calms the storms in life.

~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: "I Surrender!"

The year 2015 is coming to a close, and my commitment to blogging was for one year.  What an incredible blessing to be able to jot down thoughts and rehearse what God continues to teach me through His Word and the people and events in my life.   

All any of us has to share with others is our weakness translated into a life message for the benefit of another.  I trust God has used my flaws to manifest His strength for your benefit. 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Cor. 12: 9-10

Jim Elliot, husband of Elizabeth Elliot, who was martyred at the hand of the Auca Indians, once said:  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” 

Listen to the spirit of his devotedness…

“Father, let me be weak that I might loose my clutch on everything temporal.  My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me lose the tension of the grasping hand…Rather, open my hand to receive the nail of Calvary, as Christ’s was opened, that I, releasing all, might be released, unleashed from all that binds me now.  He thought Heaven, yea, equality with God not a thing to be clutched at.  So let me release my grasp.”

Christmas is a wonderful time to put our busy lives back in Scriptural perspective. We celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…the One who “gives us everything we need to lead a godly life! “ II Pet.1: 3  

Genuine Christianity is an unconditional surrender to His Lordship!

While attending the University of Arizona I was invited to join Kappa Alpha Theta, a national sorority.  I had a sense of acceptance and grew to love the girls and the accountability.  After a semester of initiation we had a night of mild hazing that culminated in stepping individually behind a veil for the final step of becoming a Theta.   As the pledge of loyalty was read and the words were spoken to me… I was asked to repeat them.  At that time I realized I had already pledged my loyalty to Christ. 

A few months earlier, over the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents and sisters, I had attended a church service and had heard for the first time in my life that I could know God in a personal way through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Standing behind that curtain I was struck, profoundly, when I realized I had already given my total allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ that Thanksgiving weekend!   When He walked into my life everything changed, I had no more allegiance to give.

Time has tested on life’s stage that unconditional surrender I made to my loving Savior and Sovereign Lord in those college days.

What is your present commitment? 

When we talk about a total surrendering of our lives to the Lordship of Christ, we are talking about yielding all our rights and expectations! 

·      A dying to self and self-attitudes

·      A yielding of all entitlements and self-interest

WHAT?...WAIT A MINUTE!

Don’t we run from the people and circumstances that call us into total commitment?  It is much easier to go with the flow as the secular, ungodly world dictates to us relativity, independence and “I have my rights!”   The world’s motto: “Strength only…show no weakness!”  The human struggle wants His power to do OUR will.    

Is humility a position of strength or weakness, in your opinion?

Humility is me… seeing the contrast between my spiritual condition (a sinner) and God’s holiness and then receiving His grace to live Christ-like, not Jackie-like!  

 Phil. 3:10   Grace is doing His will with His power!  It is acknowledging His presence and His power to live the Christian life.  Victory is living in that truth!   

Are you living in Victory? 

Have you surrendered your life to His Lordship?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is 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....What Is It?

While living in the Panamanian jungle, I clung to a promise in II Peter that encouraged me to keep on regardless of my sense of failure.  It says, “His power has given me everything I need for life and godliness through my knowledge of Him who called me.”  Running the medical clinic, delivering babies at night, learning to clean and cook strange rodents, fish and meat, washing in the river, dozens of diapers and no dryer, learning a new language, meeting the needs of my husband and two little girls and acclimating to 90-degree heat with 99% humidity, etc., I found my level of spirituality severely challenged.  Exhausted daily, I found the verses in II Peter to be a fresh breath of air on my dripping, overheated soul and with it came a promise I intended to claim!

I wanted to implement that promise He gave.  The provision was there to lead a godly life!  I needed to tap into “His power”, and as I kept reading, I realized His very great and precious promises were attached to verse 5.  They were given with clear and present instruction IF I was to participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires…like giving in to my anger, impatience, frustration, and believing the lies regarding my inability to accomplish the task He had called me to. 

“For this very reason, I had to make every effort to add to my faith, goodness; and to goodness, 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 I possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep me from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ.” 11 Pet. 1: 5-9 (Personalized)

Always looking for a functional definition to put the “rubber on the road”, I found these marks of Virtue:

•  “Virtue is the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s Word”.  (II Peter 1: 5) It is learning to build personal moral standards that will cause others to desire a more godly life.  It is reproducing Christ’s character in my life first and then in others.
•  Virtue is the fruit of grace as we are given light.  There is no excuse not to exemplify God’s character in my life.  I am to be an example, not an excuse!
• Virtue is the godly influence my life has on others regardless of past failures.

The opposite of virtue is hypocrisy.

• "Hypocrisy is the practice of a person who is willfully living in conflict with their soul (their mind, will, emotions)”.

Virtue is not made in crisis; it is only exhibited.  Crisis reflects our virtue.

Proverbs 24:10 says that we demonstrate what we really are spiritually in times of adversity, not when things are going smoothly!

I was teaching a group of college girls in our home and one of the girls asked my daughter if she considered me to be a virtuous woman.  She hesitated…way too long, and I became acutely aware of my need to take another look at the qualities that comprise the virtuous woman in Scripture!

Do I consider myself a woman of virtue…of godly character?

There is a thief that focuses on robbing us of the best. Time in the Word can be lost to the immediate demands of responsibility, a whirlwind of activity and finding a “War Room” where we can read and pray uninterrupted.  Little things begin to bother us and when people “bump” us, we react selfishly. 

Sound familiar?

One day away from the Word and I am aware of my desperate need and its crucial impact in my life.  Two days of skipping a time of allowing the Word to dwell richly in me and my husband and girls are intensely mindful of my desperate need!

What is my response when:

• I am evil spoken of
• My loyalty has been betrayed
• My will is crossed
• I am forgotten or neglected
• My friends forsake me
• I find compromise more inviting than maintaining claimed convictions

My response reveals to me

 if I am a virtuous women or a woman of hypocrisy/impurity.

(Impurity is ungodly contamination in any of its forms).

Which are 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 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. ​