Jackie's Journey: Jungle Fire!

Fires can be devastating!  In the jungle there is no 911, no

Fire Department, Fire Fighters or fire hoses and trucks… 

One afternoon the entire village stood on the riverbank and watched across the swift moving waters as a raging fire approached our settlement.  Like a tornado it swept across the forest floor consuming everything in its path.  The entire area was a patchwork quilt of gardens planted with bananas, rice, yucca, corn, and sugarcane…

Many of the new believers had fields laden with produce, as did their unbelieving neighbors.  Shocked at what we were watching, the believers began to pray.  Could that fire jump across the river?  The blaze began to pick its fields to blister as it “zigzagged” toward us.

 To our utter astonishment the fire leapt over the believers’ fields and consumed the others.  Not one field of a believer was touched!  God’s demonstration of Sovereign control over the elements of that wildfire was undeniable. 

God was in that fire!

“And I myself will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord,

and I will be its glory within.” Zechariah 2:5

Since time and memorial the Darien jungle and its unpredictability had ruled!  Whether it was the fluctuating weather, the epicenter earthquake, the remote isolation, the absence of communication to the outside world, the challenge of transportation or the miscellany of wild animals, poisonous insects, army ants, snakes and vampire bats…we were captive to the jungle around us. This was one of those days when my mind concurred with the reality. 

We all stood amazed at God’s presence in that most obscure place.  He had been there all along.  The boldness of His Sovereignty was magnified in that raging fire. The assurance that regardless of the circumstance we were experiencing, we were “…shielded by God’s power…” (I Pet. 1:5) was our pre-eminent thought as we stood “shaking in our boots”.  The promise that “the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all day long” was as real that day as it ever would be.  We surely sensed that covering as we surveyed His handiwork!

While buried in the jungle, I often sang a song taken from Psalm 32:7.  “You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and you surround me with songs of deliverance, whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You…”   Delivered and protected, standing on the edge of the Pucuro River, I was reminded of the truth “God makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants”! Psa. 104: 4

Ralph, my husband and God’s servant, teaching in our Kuna house.

We are saved to serve, called to be “flames of fire”.  Alive, dancing through life, consumed with the burden on His heart… controlled by His sovereign will.

“HE makes his ministers a flame of fire…” Psalm 104:4

~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. 

3 Ways to Be a Light in Your World!

“Does anything I do matter? I mean, all I do is prepare meals, do dishes, fold laundry and change diapers. Then, I repeat the same thing the next day. I wanted to be a missionary when I was single. Today, I don’t feel like I advance the Kingdom of God at all. Maybe some day, when the kids are grown I will have time . .  .” Anonymous Mom confessions

Have you ever felt this way?  I know I have, especially when the kids were little and I worked.

But I want to encourage you today to think of yourself, like God does in Matthew 14. 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 14:14-16

Your kids ARE your mission.  They are our first God-given priority. YOU are the light of Christ they experience each day. YOU are building into them character and whispering the secrets of the kingdom in their lives.  You are shaping them and creating the next world-changer through every diaper you change and every meal you make.  You are teaching them what it looks like to serve others and how to respond to difficult situations with grace and wisdom. YOU are doing all this! But the days are slow and the work is monotonous.  Yes, it is true!

Beyond our husbands and our kids, I see God giving me opportunities within the framework of my daily life. I have just had to adjust my thinking. In my sphere of influence, there are people who need Jesus.  I have other moms in my life, parents with each sports team my kids are in and neighbors who God has given around me.  I also have people who come into my life for a specific time – a divine moment, I call it. All of these gifts can give me a God-given opportunity to “be a light in this world”.

Here are three different ways God has shown me how to “give light” around my daily activities that require no travel or degree to do, even as a mom.  Just a little bit of preparation and well thought-out plans to make an ordinary moment into a divine appointment.

Wherever I am, people are willing to talk about their lives.  So I take Jesus’ lead and ask questions. Of course, my job is to actively listen to a new friend I have met at the park or a parent at one of my kids’ soccer games.  I have learned everyone has a story. While engaging in this person’s life there are 3 things I can do to “shine light” into the conversation. 

Most of the time, an opening in conversation will happen and gives me an opportunity to do one of three things. 

Share my testimony

Through lots of practice, I have gotten my testimony down to three minutes.  I have the short version or the long version ready to go to share about Jesus when the opportunity arises.  I ask God to show me the best place and almost always the conversation leads easily to share.

Share what God has been Teaching me

Other times I am prompted to share what the Lord is teaching me through my quiet times in the morning—whether it is a verse or an example from life.  I am always looking for a way to carefully insert it into a casual conversation.  Again seeking the Lord for the right timing.

Pray for those who are hurting

Lastly, when speaking with another mom, oftentimes hurts or trials will be the topic we end up on because there is so much hurt and pain in this world.  I find it easy to tell people I will pray for them, but God is stretching me out of my comfort zone to just stop and pray right then and there with them. Most always the person, Christian or not, will accept prayer.   

Singing “This Little Light of Mine” with my kids can really be acted out in our lives with just simple acts.  The hardest part for me has been just keeping focused.  I tend to be lazy and forget that every interaction with another person can be a divine appointment. I get caught up in the story or my own excitement to share things going on in my life, but just a simple bit of pre-planning and focus can bring “light” to every conversation.

I know many of you share and bring light to the world around you.  What are other ways we could be a light to the world around us?

~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: Conflict

Conflict…the plight of the ages.

My husband tells me conflict is “confessing another’s sin instead of your own!”  It happens more often than we want.   It often comes when least expecting it.  It can be planned and contrived for personal benefit.  It is unspeakable if entered for selfish purposes.  It speaks its own ugly language.  It brings with it a sense of rejection.  It leaves a taste of loneliness if unresolved.  It defies common sense.   It strengthens selfish resolve.  It denies truth.  It stands in the way of peace and unity.  You have to sacrifice your peace with God to be a participant in it.  It divides friends and fellowship.  It has no godly purpose or end.  It separates all that is good and emphasizes the negative.  It wounds the Spirit.  It brings with it depression and failure.  It lies to us about our value.  It leaves us discouraged… 

Ever been there?

Who hasn’t?  What causes conflict and how can we avoid it? 

If everything has a purpose…what is the purpose of conflict?  Is there anything redeemable in a clash of wills?  The Word of God is filled with conflicts and resolutions.  I don’t have to look far to find God’s mind on the subject of conflict.  Psalms 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, records David’s prayer in the midst of conflict.  The first four verses express a promise and a goal.  “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.  Blessed are they who keep his statues and seek him with all their heart.  They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways.”  Then comes the conflict.  “You (God) have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.  Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your degrees!  Then I would not be put to shame...”

Conflict is a direct result of not fearing and obeying God.  His Word clearly records my responsibility (vs. 12-40).  My failure to follow His instruction results in conflict.  My response to a conflict reveals my true character and my relationship with God(Verses 41-48).  Conflict is my signal that I have violated a very simple scriptural principle.  I have ceased to fear and obey God!

There are varying types of conflict from wars among societies to crossed wills with a two year-old child!  We are specifically addressing conflicts in relationships with an emphasis on how can I avoid a conflict!?

While at Bible School someone asked me if I believed in “personality conflicts”.  It was certainly a common phenomenon on campus and in the dorms and the question was thought provoking.

What do you think?

If I am walking in the Spirit in all the light I have and you are also, can there be a conflict?  Not likely.  There will instead be deference and understanding of one another.  However, if one of us, or both of us, is not walking in the light of God’s Word we can count on conflict!  Both of us want our own way!  We have sacrificed our peace for conflict!  What a destructive exchange!  Harmony is the absence of unsettled offenses. “A genuine confession is explaining how I have failed so that God will not be blamed for the consequences”. 

Years ago Ralph gave me a verse that I quote to myself often when tempted to enter into conflict…It goes like this:  ”Great peace have they that love Thy law and NOTHING shall offend them (or make them stumble)”.  Psa. 119:165   That means that NOTHING (or no one) has the power to bring offense that I would choose to accept.  There is no excuse for anger, self-protection or division.  “Great peace have they…”   The choice is to maintain my peace and walk in the light or choose all the negatives that come with conflict!

Which do you choose most often?

As Moms, our children are busy reading us while we are communicating with one another.  What do they hear?  The purpose of conflict is to teach us the power of the peace of God in our lives.  To sacrifice peace for conflict is disobedience against our Creator and demonstrates the lack of fear we have of the consequence that comes with every act against His will. 

The next time you are given a choice, which will you choose?

“… my heart will be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame…I put my hope in your Word.” ! Psa. 119: 6-11.  

~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: Sloth!

I saw my first sloth while traveling down the potholed Panamanian Highway!   It was pitiful…my heart ached to pick it up and lift it into the tree it was approaching.  Toiling with every move, I wanted to hurry its journey along, be a good servant and speed him on his way.  He sluggishly lifted his head and peered up at me…I imagined he was beckoning my help.  However, his long claws and musty smell made him unapproachable.  His matted greasy blanket of a greenish colored coat made me hyperventilate in the heat and humidity where we stood.  His slow motion gave new definition to idleness! He seemed so needy.  I just wanted to fix it all!

Have you ever been there?

What do you think of when you look at this mammal? 

I envisioned something creeping up on this sleeping animal and his not being able to defend himself.  The sloth, I understand, sleeps 15 hours day and night!  This motionless mammal is so still that the moths move into his thick hair!  He hangs upside down 90% of his life cycle and eating is his primary occupation. When food becomes scarce, he goes hungry…a sloth will die of starvation if food is not always within grasp!!  

“Slothfulness brings deep sleep; and an idle soul

will suffer hunger” Proverbs 19: 15.

 I love to study the world of nature for insights and analogies.  As I watched the mild mannered sloth struggle to move, I realized there is a lesson to be learned.

In extraordinary times God looks for extraordinary men and women that He can count on.  This remnant does not need great intellect, talent, or resources.  But they do need to be obedient channels through which God can show himself strong. II Cor. 12: 9-10

For most of us the enemy of disobedience is the willful rebellion of crippling slothfulness.  It is crippling because its subtle characteristics are usually unrecognized until the pattern of laziness is set!

Would you consider yourself a lazy person?

As moms, we don’t like to think of ourselves as being lazy! Our lives are busy from sun-up to sundown….

Listen to the 6 symptoms of a slothful mom:

• She hears God’s Word and walks away with no change
• She does not seek the Lord with her whole heart (guilty of little surrenders)
• She does not diligently examine her life for growth and transformation
• She does not consistently engraft the Word into her mind, will and emotions
• She does not earnestly share the truth with others
• She forgets where she came from and is self-deceived Jas. 1:22-24.

Life is a race against time.  We are called to be “doers of the Word”.  We will win the race if we realize the following truths about respecting time:

• It is limited! (Make the most of what is left!)

 Do you procrastinate, live for the moment and let the future take its course?

• Death is certain!   What will your legacy be?

Are you a person of example or excuses?  Are you spiritually prepared?

“It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment…” Heb.9:27

• Christ’s return is even more certain
  • Are you counting the days, aware of His return?
• God determines our days and time is short!
  • Are you busy with the task on God’s heart?  Are your children prepared?

“The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass and we fly away”  Psalm 90:10

We are moms with a destiny!  How productive are we? 

Days must be counted. (1 week has 168 hours!)

How much time do we spend eating, sleeping playing, on social media?

              How much is left for productive work? Meditation, Reading the Word, Prayer…? 

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

• Our time requires accountability.  (1 week has 168 hours!)
  • Do you rationalize your need to be held accountable?
• Time is given with purpose for God’s Work.

Are you busy with the task on God’s heart? Or are you preoccupied with your own busy life?

“…The night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9: 4 

We cannot recover lost time!

Are you winning the race?

~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: A Royal Easter Story!

The Princess Parable Book Series is designed to inspire noble thoughts and actions.  We have been blessed in so many ways by those of you who buy them, read them and use them as a teaching tool to minister to the spirit of your little girls.  We have a Princess Parable Prayer Book for Toddlers and a Devotional Book coming soon.  Our A Royal Christmas to Remember is due out this fall, just in time for Christmas. We have recently been asked by our Publishing House to submit a proposal to bring you another series of books for the little princesses who started with us six years ago and are now ready for Chapter books.  We humbly seek God’s Word for inspiration and His heart for leading.

Will you pray with us?

The first of our two seasonal princess books arrived the 26th of January, 2016!  We are excited it made its arrival in time for Easter.   It is not too late to get one!  A Royal Easter Story is taken from Luke 11.  We are introducing our five young knights in this book for those of you who have patiently waited for them to arrive.

A Royal Easter Story reveals the truth of a caring and selfless good Father who not only gives us good gifts, but also answers us when we seek Him. The princesses’ life-lesson is that a TRUE princess must learn to lose her life serving “Others first”— no “Me first” attitudes.  While in carriages racing the young knights to the annual Easter celebration, the girls come upon a lost little girl who desperately needs their help. They terminate their contest with the boys to give their attention to the more important needs of little forlorn Alina. Her name means “light” and she opens the eyes of the princesses to see the real race in life.

Easter is the celebration of our heavenly Father and King, who is “The Light”. He is noble and always focuses on others and what is eternal and matters most … US!  He never sacrifices the permanent on the altar of the immediate!  Our Father’s devotion caused Him to wage war against principalities on our behalf. He gave the ultimate sacrifice (His life for ours on the cross!).  Not only did He die for us, but He is alive and is available to all who ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK!                               

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Lu. 11:9-13

 Please visit Amazon  or Barnes and Noble to find our “hot off the press” A Royal Easter Story.   Also available are the Princess companion pieces (Princess Dolls, Princess Sticker and Activity Books, Princess “I Can Read” for the emergent readers, A Treasury of three Princesses or a Collection of all Five Princesses and much more…).

We are so grateful to each of you and the encouragement you give us as we continue to step into the print HE leaves behind…

Won’t you give thanks with us?

~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. 

Celebrating Passover Seder Dinner

The table was set with gilded table linens and pillows to recline. 

The lamb was roasted and the Seder plate full.

Our children dressed in costume to make it a full experience.

Last year, we invited another family over with kids the same ages on the Thursday before Easter.  We took all the leaven out of our house and began to decorate.  We put tables on the ground with pillows to sit on so we could “recline” like Jesus did in the Last Supper.  We dressed in traditional-feeling clothing for an added effect.  We ate lamb, read the Haggadah, drank the “fruit of the vine” and ate the bitter herbs.

Ever since I was in my twenties, I have enjoyed hosting and attending Seder dinners during Easter week.  Keeping “the ordinance in its season from year to year” (Exodus 13:10).  As a mom now, we have incorporated the Seder dinner into how we celebrate the Resurrected King. So much imagery and scripture fulfillment make it a “must” for our family.

Now some of you may be wondering what is a Seder dinner?

The Seder, a festive Jewish holiday meal, actually means "order." It is called this because the meal is done in a certain order, which takes us from slavery to freedom. The Haggadah—which means "the telling"—is the book used at the Passover Seder. The Haggadah explains the foods on the Seder plate, recounts the highlights of the Exodus, and includes songs, prayers, questions and vignettes. A Christian Seder dinner shows the fulfillment of the Messiah and how Jesus is our Passover lamb.

The dinner is full of faith lessons and connects the Old Testament with the New.  One can easily see how Jesus came to fulfill the prophesies of old when one participates in the Messianic Seder dinner.  I love how the tradition incorporates our children by asking these four questions during the Seder dinner:

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Once we were slaves in Egypt, but now we are free.  God asked us to set aside this night each year to remember—just like Jesus did at the Last Supper. We are to remember we are free, but bought with a price.

On all other nights we eat either bread or matzah, but why, on this night, do we eat only matzah?

The yeast represents sin. So we have cleansed it from our house.  See the stripes on the matzah? They remind us how Jesus was beaten for us and we break the bread to cherish how He was broken for us.  We were delivered from slavery and given new life.

On all other nights we do not dip our vegetables even once, but why, on this night, do we dip twice?

As they wept for their lives as slaves, so the salty parsley represents their tears.  But they also painted blood on the doorposts of their home with hyssop branches so the angel of death would pass over that fateful night.  They were miraculously delivered because the Passover Lamb, Jesus, has become the sacrifice for our sins.

On all other nights we eat either sitting up straight or reclining, but why, on this night, do we all recline?

Before we were slaves, but now we are able to recline as free people.  The price has been paid for our lives. We are no longer bound and chained.

Can I encourage you to celebrate the Seder dinner with your family this year?  You can find it at a local church or Messianic Jewish temple. You can also look online to find everything you need to create the experience at home.

I hope we can all celebrate next year in the New Jerusalem!

~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: Thorns and Thistles!

“By His wounds we are healed”.  Isa. 53

The cross is the center of our commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His selfless and sinless sacrifice in our place is our reason to celebrate and praise His Name.  We call the holiday Easter and for a moment in time we stop and rehearse His ultimate sacrifice…His life for ours on that thorny and thistled  “old rugged cross”.  Not only did He die for us but also on the third day He rose from the dead and gave us the promise of a resurrected life after death! 

This deliberate and divine act of love was to give our lives promise, plan and purpose.  We are destined and programmed to serve others first, not ourselves.   In our new release to the Princess Parable Series, A Royal Easter Story, we introduced five young knights who present a challenge that draws our young princesses into a chariot race which ultimately reveals the truth of what the cross teaches. 

Do you live a life selflessly and sacrificially serving others?

 We cannot be consumed with a life that seeks its own and find life abundantly.  It is an impossibility.  Local churches open their doors on Good Friday to give us the opportunity to take a personal account of our commitment to our first love and renew our loyalty to live as Jesus challenges us to live…Holy!  We are reminded to live serving others, as He did, with eternal values and purpose in view.

As moms, we are dedicated to teaching the character of Christ into our little princes and princesses.  We focus on drawing their attention to the importance of serving, helping and caring for others.  That is why we find ourselves saying, “Can you comfort your little brother” or “Will you help mommy?”  Teaching by example, without excuse, is the most powerful tool in our toolbox!  We are “known and read” by these little eyes and ears.  They know if the cross is real in us, or not.  We don’t fool them, but we do confuse them when our life message does not speak the reality of Christ in us!

Are your little ones confused? 

“Then said Jesus to his disciples, IF any man will come after me,

 let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Matt. 16: 24

The cross holds the hope of humanity.  Denying self-life (our pride and selfishness in all its ugly forms)…and taking up His cross (His desires and His perfect Will for us)…  authenticates His life in us.  Living life consistently with no unconfessed sin and nothing between another person and myself enables me to follow Him.  “His crucifixion is the key; His resurrection the door…it is only by His death that we have the mandate to enter into the gates of eternal life.  His door is open always.  Christ is King.”  Isrealmore Ayivor

 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;

yet not I, but Christ lives in me:

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Gal.  2: 20

“There are no crown-bearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

~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. 

Slowing Down this Easter

We live in such a fast paced world. As I write this article, Easter is just around the corner. Holidays seem to bring out the “hurry” in all of us. There are usually plans to make, meals to prepare, activities to organize, errands to run, and on the list goes. Busy! It’s hard to be purposeful about slowing down. 

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. There are so many wonderful things to celebrate as a Christian! New life! Forgiveness! Grace! Love! Eternal Life! I’m sure I could come up with quite a list here.

This Easter season I was so blessed as I sat down to read a new story to my kids. I purchased the newest book in the Princess Parables series, A Royal Easter Story, at a conference I recently attended. The story is a perfect example of the blessing we can be to others when we take the time to slow down. I really love are all the conversations I’ve been able to have with my girls about why serving others is so important.

3 Ways to Teach Kids the Importance of Slowing Down this Easter

For me, slowing down started by taking a break from all my busyness to read to my littles. It’s so easy for me to put it off. I’m trying to get better at saying “yes” to my kids whenever they ask me to read to them. Here are a few more ideas for slowing down.

1) Take time to sit down as a family and think about the blessing of the cross. There is so much focus on Jesus, the cross, and His tomb at Easter. Do our kids really understand the importance of Jesus dying for us? Sometimes we become so comfortable with seeing crosses everywhere that we forget to slow down and truly remember what Christ did for us on that cross on top of Calvary.

2) Looking to the needs of others and not what we are trying to accomplish. It’s easy to hurry by and not notice the needs of others around us. Maybe there is someone who needs a little extra love and encouragement this Easter. Just like the princesses in the story who decided to make helping a lost little girl more important than winning a race.

3) Make Easter your time for rebirth! Forget about the resolutions of January that may or may not have made it to March. I love taking time at Easter to really do a heart check and see what things God may be asking me to lay down. This is such an important lesson for our kids, too. Teach them to allow God to really search their hearts and bring anything that needs to be repented of to light. Sometimes even our prayer time gets hurried. Take time this Easter to slow down and listen for His still, small voice.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting!
–Psalm 139

Fun Easter Basket Gifts…& a Giveaway!

My girls have enjoyed their Princess Parable books so much. I’m a huge fan of them! The character, virtue, and the biblical life lessons that are incorporated in each book is so refreshing. Ashlyn and Caitlyn have loved looking through the pages. Honestly, I just love the character and modesty aspect of the books. There is always a biblical lesson to be learned. For that reason, one idea I had for this year was to tuck a Princess Parables princess into my girls Easter basket. I think they would really love them.

…OR you can enter to win a FREE Princess Parables Easter Basket!

The giveaway ends in a few days–March 20th! So, be sure to sign-up! Just click the picture above or HERE and you’ll be entered into the contest. This giveaway is hosted by Princess Parables. I’m just excited to be able to tell you about it! 

May the Lord bless you and your family this Easter! 

Kristi Clover is homeschool mom of five blessings ranging from teens to tots. She spends most of her days watching over her "castle" and attending to the needs of her loyal subjects. She is married to her Prince Charming and resides in southern California. She records her royal adventure in motherhood at www.raisingclovers.com. You can also find her at YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, — &Periscope as @RaisingClovers!

Jackie's Journey: Bunnies, Baskets, and New Beginnings!

Ah…Spring!  Don’t you just love it?  Martin Luther wrote, “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.”

In Panama we had only two seasons…Dry Season and Rainy Season.   I used to miss spring in the jungles.  With the introduction of spring comes Easter, refreshing the garden and the promise of new life everywhere! 

 As Moms, we try to make every holiday one that will commemorate the occasion and create a family tradition.  We decorate and plan special family gatherings with a menu that is reminiscent of the day being celebrated… Christmas Dinner, Fourth of July B-B-Q’s, and Easter Brunch with Easter baskets filled with colored eggs!  Our homes become “show pieces” for enhancing the lesson of the season. Easter affords us one of the most amazing opportunities to rehearse again the enormous sacrifice of our Savior and His Resurrection that is our living hope after death!

 Easter reminds us of the Life the invisible Creator has given us. Rom. 1: 20   The barren ground exploding with magnificent splendor, as far as the eye can see.  The magic of new life bursting from the earth bringing forth flowers of every imaginable color and size…tulips, lilies, lilacs, daffodils… Tiny bunnies, fluffy chicks popping out of eggs, foals, fuzzy lambs and every other living being confirm the wonder of revival of life after a long winter. 

Revival can also be personal and immediate.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit transforming God’s Word into our soul.   There has never been a need, as great as today for revived lives, revived families, fellowships, communities and nations. The desperate need is there but the realization of our personal need is not!  And revival starts with us!   

“For revival is not a green valley getting greener, but a valley full of dry bones being made to live again and stand up an exceeding great army. (Ezekiel 37)  It is not good Christians becoming better Christians—as God sees us there are not any good Christians—but rather Christians honestly confessing that their Christian life is a valley of dry bones, thus qualifying them for the grace that makes all things new”! (Roy Hession)  For the Christian, death is a promotion!  New Life springs from our continual choosing to die to our pride and selfishness.

 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,

which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1

Some give Him a place; some give Him prominence; but what Christ wants in our lives is pre-eminence.  The fruit of His being pre-eminent in our life is a spiritual renewal that restrains the anger of God, restores our God-consciousness and reveals His continual activity in us.

For those who have humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God at that place where sin is washed away, it has meant revival of their Christian lives in the truest and simplest sense of the word.

As we look forward to celebrating our Savior in the coming days, let’s use this time to revisit our need for personal and continual revival.  His death and resurrection came with plan and purpose.  It was to give us life from death.  New life does not begin with someone else.  It begins in each of us!

Let’s exchange dry bones for New Life!

 “If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.”  Col. 3:1

~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: A Treasure Found!

This little dolly is the granddaughter of a dear friend.  She is reading her Princess Parable Grace book and clutching her Princess Grace Doll.  I was reminded of the message of the parable in this book and challenged again to live in the blessing of God’s pursuing love, understanding that grace “is the will and power to do what God desires.” Phil. 2: 3   Not my desires with my will in my power!

What is it that God desires?  What is His will?  Do we care? 

I certainly know what my will is!  I am tempted daily, multiple times to give in to the cry of what my will wants!  We live in an age where entitlement and personal demands are rampant.  We see it in our homes, relationships, schools, churches and communities.  We saw it in the jungles of Panama.  The human heart is wicked and deceived.  Deception believes a lie that begins when our mind and emotions agree on an error and it is fulfilled when we will to do it.  The world is screaming for personal rights…we hear it every day when one of us is complaining!  Contentment is elusive and unattainable by the ungrateful heart.  Whining and “woe is me” has become an acceptable sin!

As moms, God’s desire is for us to learn to walk in His way and to teach our little ones His way.  They learn our way by watching and listening to us!   We will be held accountable for the spiritual teaching our children receive from us.  Seeing that they are nourished from God’s Word and given godly instruction is within our sphere of responsibility.

Many years ago, I sat in a hammock deep in the middle of the Panamanian jungle with my two little princesses, reading to them. Each book I picked up presented a unique challenge.  It told a story but did not introduce my girls to a biblical worldview or a character quality they could incorporate into their young lives.  I would purpose to impose these two principles into the pages of every book I picked up in terms they could understand that had eternal values targeted. My heart was burdened for just such a book, not just for myself but also for other young mothers who needed a tool that would give their little princesses both of these elements with a clear application and a pragmatic understanding of the Word of God.

My two little jungle princesses!

My friend’s little granddaughter is being given the opportunity at a very young age to fall in love with a biblical parable. She will be challenged to respond to God’s pursuing love in the diary of Princess Grace at the end of the book.  Her heart will be inspired to live outside herself and to adopt attitudes that will bring blessing on her life.  This is the book I dreamed of as a young mom living on the Colombian border!    Jeanna, my co-author, and I are blessed to be able to make The Princess Parable Series, plus our newest release, “A Royal Easter Story” available to you and your little princesses.  

I am an 18” Princes Grace doll!  I am a Limited Edition and available at

www.theprincessparables.com

~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.