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. ​

Jackie's Journey: Treasure... Really?... I Want Some!

I love Fall and look forward to it every year.  It is a lesson on death of sorts, but it brings with it the promise of new life to come in the Spring.   “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies….it remains only a single seed, BUT if it dies, it produces many seeds…”Jn. 12:24  My humble garden waves goodbye until spring and the fall leaves on the trees surrounding it burst into vibrant colors and then slowly brown and drop to the ground… waving their final farewell! 

Every thing and every one of us faces physical death.  There is no possibility of escape.  It is an undeniable reality!  Godly obedience comes with the promise of long life…but death is inevitable and we are all dying a little each day! 

What we do with the time we have here, short as it is, tells us what we value most and where our treasure is.  When, during our Fall Season of life here on earth, our treasure is eternal, not temporal,.. we carry the promise of never dying but passing from one life to another…into eternal life!

In a society where our monetary treasures are on the cusp of being devalued to nil, the temporal world is feeling pretty insecure.  If we define our “treasure” by worldly standards, we are in deep trouble! 

I was reading in Proverbs 24:4 this morning and stumbled over:

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. 

Knowledge is familiarity gained by insight to (biblical) truth, experience and accumulated acts and reports.

We are not to envy persons that  “linger over wine and sample mixed wine” or to desire their company; for their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about making trouble.” Pro. 23: 30   By wisdom a house is built…by understanding it is established; by knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Prov. 24:1  I do not think it is coincidence that these two verses follow one another.  Envy is a robber of the soul.  It is a greed that consumes time and swallows up treasured values.

So then, how do we get knowledge so we can acquire “rooms filled with rare and beautiful treasures”?

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge…” Pro. 12:1

Discipline is accepting suffering as God’s fastest path to growth and giving thanks for it! (Lam. 3:33)  The realm of tribulation becomes the home of revelation and the resource of knowledge.  

What??  Who loves discipline???

We had better love it, accept it, practice it and endorse it because scripture states,  “he who hates correction is stupid!” Pro. 12: 1 NIV   I already fight stupid!   So for me, it is imperative that I get wisdom, understanding and knowledge because I want the fruit …those ”rooms filled with rare and beautiful eternal treasures.”

So, how does Scripture say I gain knowledge?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of KNOWLEDGE. Prov. 1: 7

I need to fear the Lord!

Let’s let the Bible define “to fear the Lord”.

To fear the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.  Prov. 8: 13

I need to hate SIN!

This means no “acceptable sins” permitted:

·      No Deception

·      No Covetousness

·      No Fearfulness

·      No Loneliness

·      No Stinginess

·      No Dominance

·      No Double-mindedness

·      No Disrespect

·      No Slothfulness

·      No Presumption

·      No Apathy

·      No Hypocrisy

·      No Extravagance

·      No Wastefulness

·      No Anger

·      No Rudeness

·      No Irresponsibility 

·      Etc.!!!

Are the rooms in your house “filled with rare and beautiful treasure”? 

Why not?

~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. 

St. Nicholas

            My first Christmas after became a Christ follower, I was adamant about Santa.  I was so upset that the world focused on Santa instead of Jesus this time of year.  I mean that is what the REASON for the SEASON is, right?  So I took every ornament I had and every Christmas decoration with a Santa (even my mom’s) and I threw them away.  I was so determined to not have Santa taking over my Christmas because you do know that Santa spells SATAN if you unscramble the words, right?  I was very idealistic, and before you write me off or click off the page, let me tell you what I have experienced.

            So many of you know that Santa Claus was once a real person – a saint for that matter. He has many names: Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Noel Baba, Pere Noel, and of course, St. Nicolas.  The real Saint Nicolas lived in Myra (today’s Turkey) in the 3rd century.  He was a bishop who inherited a good sum of money.  He heard that a man’s three daughters did not have dowry to get married so he took it upon himself to bring a bag of money.  Legend has it he threw the bags of money in the windows twice for two of the daughters.   When it came the third daughter’s time, the windows were locked.  Instead, he threw it down the chimney and the money landed in a stocking.  He was so beloved throughout his town and in the church he became a saint.

            By the 12th century, women in France were making little gifts and leaving them on doorsteps for children signing them “from St. Nicholas”.  In America, they introduced Santa Claus in the 19th century as they were looking for traditions.  See, St. Nicholas’s birthday is Dec. 6th and it made sense, to them, to bring him into Christmas. 

            The problem is HE has become Christmas for most people today.  He has taken over the phrase “Believe” - which should refer to our Savior - and has changed St. Nicholas’s incredible story to stockings, chimneys, a belly like jelly, “naughty and nice” list, the North pole, elves and a flying sleigh.  Instead of the nativity scene invoking a sense of awe over the Savior and bringing us to our knees, we focus on “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house”. 

            The amazing thing is this St. Nicholas was an outspoken troublemaker in the Roman Empire.  And Emperor Diocletian (who was a really mean Caesar) wanted him to stop preaching Christianity.  St. Nick was jailed not once but twice, for spreading the news of Jesus.  His “true life” story is one of suffering, simplicity, generosity and humility.  And the nativity of Jesus is the same kind of story.

            If you would have asked me when I was 25, what we should do with Santa Claus, I would tell you to throw him out.  He should have no part of Christmas, but today I don’t agree.  BECAUSE of Santa Claus, America celebrates Christmas in a BIG way.  If it wasn’t for him, it would be a less than important holiday because the world does not know the Savior.  So I thank God that because of him, we are allowed, given the green light, to talk about Jesus.  And the make-believe story of Santa is good and pleasing and does fit this verse.  Now we are starting to celebrate even in November.  I am even okay with Christmas decoration before Thanksgiving because it gives me a longer time to talk about Jesus freely everywhere.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

            What do we as a family do with Santa?  We have taken on the tradition of St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6th (his birthday).  On the night before, the kids put their boots at under the tree at the front door.  In the morning, I fill them with oranges, chocolate and a present.  When the kids were younger, we got a picture with Santa. That night as part of Advent, we read the St. Nick book. We never wanted to lie about Santa being real so we just didn’t.  The rest of the season we focus on Jesus.  My kids are always amazed that people spend so much time on Santa during Christmas.  I always remind them that we are grateful for Santa because he keeps Christmas going.  Also it is a reminder to us how much people are looking for the Savior.

            The kids have liked the tradition as they get presents twice a month.  On Christmas morning, they do a scavenger hunt to find baby Jesus and put him in the manger.  We open three presents – like the wise men brought to Jesus.  We call them a Want, a Need and a Surprise.  We don’t really bring up Santa again except when we watch a fun movie.

             I am not saying give up Santa if he is entrenched in your celebration.  I am just giving you ideas to ponder.  I am asking you to ask yourself if Jesus has the full limelight in your home at this season. Is he front and center in your celebrating?  I think Satan likes to distract us with a lot of things, and he can use Santa just like anything else. If we are going to seize the season, we have to save Santa from taking over!

What are different ways you celebrate the season?

Won’t you join me this Sunday, Dec. 6th as we celebrate St. Nicholas Day?

~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: "Double-Minded?!"

“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”! James 1:8

Wait!...What??... Double-minded???…

I am a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, missionary, pastor’s wife,

teacher, author, speaker, etc.… and the last title I want is Double-Minded!

In the Princess Parable Series the story of Princess Hope comes from Matthew 13, The Hidden Treasure. She is called to "count the cost" if she is to find the REAL treasure! In her life lesson she learns to focus on God's promises and not the circumstances surrounding her. Her single-mindedness and loyalty to her grandmother, not to mention her determination with a lot of active creativity, become her constant companions and ultimately bring her reward and blessing.

What are the undeniable marks of a double-minded person? 

There is:

• Fear of examination; fear of being transparent with others; a need to protect reputation
• Resistance to being vulnerable to the pain of exposure
• A Plastic coating of pride, usually masked under the guise of some form of spirituality
• Hiding of sin, self and struggle
• A Protection of personal impurities
• A Secretiveness

Are you double-minded?

We are to be women of principle with loyal convictions, who cannot be bought and will not compromise.   Loyalty is demonstrated in adversity.  It is the first of 4 basic needs of man.  There is a seed of loyalty programmed into each one of us by God. 

Double-mindedness is disloyalty and springs from an independent spirit.  An unbroken will is a cause of disloyalty and double-mindedness.  The fruit is divorce, dissension, division, disharmony, distrust and …

We listen to double-minded philosophies all the time:

•  I want to serve the Lord, but I don’t want to take responsibility for myself or my life
• I want to be a disciple, but I don’t want to be inconvenienced or have any discomfort
• I want to be a servant, but on my own time
• I have temporal values, but I am totally committed to God
• I want to be honest, but I don’t want to tell the truth, at least not the whole truth
• I want to be loved, but I won’t love freely in return or be vulnerable
• I want to be pure, but I don’t want accountability or to be corrected or examined
• I want to live morally pure, but I won’t submit my body to my spirit…it feels too good the other way
• I have a bitter spirit, but I don’t want to hear about it
• I want to be loyal, but I don’t want to be single-minded!

“A loyal woman is pre-eminently a woman of one thing.  It is not enough to say that she is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted and fervent in spirit.  She only sees one thing, she cares for one thing, she lives for one thing, she is swallowed up in one thing…and that one thing is to please God.  Whether she lives or whether she dies; whether she has health or whether she has sickness; whether she is rich, or whether she is poor; whether she pleases man or whether she gives offense; whether she is thought to be wise or whether she is thought to be foolish; whether she gets blame or whether she gets praise; whether she gets honor or whether she gets the shame… for all this a loyal woman cares nothing at all.  She burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory…   This is what is meant when we speak of loyalty to the cross.”  Bishop Ryle, 1959

When my life is over will single-mindedness be my legacy? 

Will I be known as a loyal servant of my God? 

Will 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. 

Jackie's Journey: Busybodies...!

Chapter 3 of James speaks directly to those who aspire to teach.  Mothers are teachers whether they aspire to be or not!  Our children look to us for direction, protection and instruction in what is right and wrong in life.  They read our actions, words, and attitudes…continually.  They listen to our hearts and they read our spirits! 

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take ships as an example.  Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants it to go.

Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.   Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue is a small part of the body but makes great spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue!” James 3: 3-7

SeaWorld can control Shamu, a massive creature,

 but we struggle to control our own diminutive tongue!!

Scripture says “the tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison!” 

With the tongue we praise God, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  This should not be!

Do you know what I am talking about? 

Do you know what a gossip is?

How about a whisperer or slanderer?

 Can you define a busybody…?

I Peter 4:15 talks about a busybody who digs up evil reports and then spreads them through gossip, slander or whispering.   

“Let none of you suffer as a murderer

or as a thief

or as an evil doer

or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” 

According to this verse evil reporting is as wicked as murder or stealing!

We enjoy listening to evil reports because they exalt us!  All evil reports involve false information or are a distortion of facts.  They are usually given with wrong motives and cause the hearer to form inaccurate conclusions.  One of the major causes of conflict among us is our wrong response to an evil report.  We, then, attempt to resolve the conflict with unscriptural solutions.

The Whisperer secretly or privately passes on evil reports to others.

“All my enemies whisper together against me. They imagine the worst for me…”  Psa. 41:7

Among Christians, a common example of a whisperer is in the area of prayer requests. 

If the request comes with the disclaimer, “Please don’t share this with anyone, but… we need to pray about this….!”

Our response should be, “Have you asked this person if you can share this request with me?  Let’s go pray with this person together.”

In Panama at our missionary school, we sang a song called Gossip.  It went like this:

“Gossip is sharing pertinent information with someone with anyone who’s not involved with the problem or with the solution.”  The Gossiper loves to magnify and sensationalize rumors and partial information and pass it on quickly. 

Know anybody like this?

The Slanderer seeks to destroy another’s credibility or reputation with damaging facts, distortions of facts and evil suspicions.  In Numbers 14:36 the consequence for evil reporting exposes what God thinks about evil reports!

“So the men Moses sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it…

these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord”!

Ask yourself these 5 questions the next time someone approaches you with information regarding a third party:

1. What is your reason for telling me this?
2. Where did you get your information?
3. Have you spoken to those directly involved?
4. Have you personally checked out all the facts?
5. Can I quote you if I check this out?

Spirituality is not measured by how well we expose another person for whatever reason, but by how effectively we scripturally seek to see that person restored and made successful.

How do your husband and your children perceive the amount

of control you have over your tongue?

How important do you see your power of influence

in the lives of your children?

~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.