Jackie's Journey "Where Do We Focus in all this Muddle?"

I’ve been thinking this past week of the myriad of issues that we, as mom’s, are being challenged with and the decisions we are being asked to make, both for ourselves and our children.  How are we to know what is best, not just expedient?  

With social media giving unprecedented direction into every area of our lives, where should our focus be?  The supreme court is arguing this morning over “mandates” regarding some of these issues and what should be Federal Law?  With the turmoil in our world and the global world spinning out of control, where do we go to get grounded?  Where is the hiding place of refuge? 

“He (She) did EVIL because he (she) did not set his (her) heart to seek the Lord”. (2 Chron. 12: 14)   For moms, the thought of “missing the boat” with our children is pre-eminent!  We only have one short span of opportunity with them.  To seek the Lord is a present progressive verb…meaning… ongoing, never-ending action.  We are to connect with Him daily. (Romans 6:18 )  We are “freed from sin and forgiven… to do right”.  New Focus!

This is the most concise definition of evil found in the Bible.  It says that we are robbing God and ourselves by not living in that way.  “Setting our heart” is fixing it on the Creator, the one in total control. We are created to fulfill what we, with Him, are to do.  Our designed purpose is “to do the will of God on earth, even as it is being done in Heaven”. (Matthew 6:10)

We are “created for a life of good works that He has prepared before-hand for us to do”. (Ephesians 2:10)   He has given us the equipment we need to face the disorder and to step up to the plate, with God-confidence that we are not hindered by “evil” in our lives and can face the future without fear.

 “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (and all these things mentioned above v. 27-32) will be added to you”. Matthew 6:33    This is the section in Scripture on why we, moms, do not need to worry! He wants to supply for His family, like any good father, as His family yields to His will and ways.

Evil is doing our own thing.  We have two choices:  “Wisdom from above”, as described above or “wisdom from below”…Satanic, that which is selfish, proud, and envious. (James 3:13-15)   We cannot separate selfishness from Satan or pride.

 Sacrificing our will and desires means surrendering to God’s will, bringing us into His will and our purpose. (Romans 12:1,2) In Matthew 7:21,22, there was a group of people doing their version of God’s will, but doing it their own way.  He said, “depart from me, I never knew you.” They were doing, what appeared to be the same as the apostles, but it was in self-motivated satanic power.  

Who discerned that?  The Lord Jesus did!

What is His will in general for all believers?  Fish for men. (Matt. 4:19); Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16.); Seek Him in the Scriptures daily to understand His heart.  It always involves service.  He came to serve, not to be served.  He lives in the believers to continue to do just that.  He is the same today, yesterday and forever.

 “The eyes see what the heart loves.  If the heart loves God and is single in this devotion (focus), then the eyes will see God whether others see Him or not.” Warren Wiersbe, Live Like a King

Let’s be wise moms this coming year and stay God-focused…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Don't Waste Your Life!"

Two days ago, we celebrated the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ…”a Name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12 “But indeed, all the earth was filled with the glory of the Lord, for the earth was full of the knowledge of our God…” Num.14: 21; Isa. 11:9   This Lord will be “king over all the earth and on that day there will be one Lord, and his Name the only Name.” Zecharaih 14: 9

The best part of Christmas is the promise that “everyone who calls on that Name will be saved…” Rom. 10: 13-15  The climax of the ages with its ultimate victory is encompassed in our taking the Christmas message, as the cross-bearing family of God, and making the Name of Jesus known by word and deed.  

In 200 A.D, Tertullian said, “Go on, rack, torture, grind us to powder; our numbers increase in proportion, as you mow us down.  The blood of Christians is their harvest seed.”  “The Calvary road is where all the riches of the glory of God in Christ are found. All the sweetest fellowship with Jesus is there.  All the treasures of assurance.  All the ecstasies of joy.  All the clearest sightings of eternity.  All the humblest affections.  All the noblest camaraderie.  All the most earnest prayers.  These are all on the Calvary road where Jesus walks with His people.  

 Take up your cross and follow Jesus.  On this road and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain!  We don’t make the name of Christ famous by our strength, our financial success, our outward glamour.  No, His strength is made perfect in our weakness!” John Piper

How will they hear without a preacher?  The lack of denying self and an unwillingness to bear the shame of His name hinders the Christmas promise from becoming reality in someone’s life.  Most of us are not satisfied with the permanent output of our lives.  “Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within His followers except the adoption of Christ’s purpose toward the world He came to redeem.  Fame, pleasure, and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of His eternal plans.

Those who are putting everything into Christ’s undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards.” J. Campbell White

 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ 

 Then I said: ‘Here I am, send me.’”

Isaiah 6: 8

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Significance of Christmas Past!"

Christmas is nearly upon us.  There will be parties to attend…food to prepare, guests to entertain, gifts to purchase and greetings to send…all wrapped in a whirlwind of activity.  During this busy time of tree trimming and family gatherings, we have an opportunity to rehearse and learn the lessons from the birth of Christ.

 Let’s look at Mary’s Willingness…  “And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and you will call his name JESUS.” Luke 1:30-31 On that very first Christmas Mary, the mother of Jesus, exemplified how WE should live our lives!  Always willing to trust God first… no disbelief, no fear, no panic.  Always willing to be used of God, no matter what He asks us to do!

 Then there was the Star’s Brightness! “There came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, ‘where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen HIS star in the east and have come to worship Him.’” With everything going on around us, we are instructed to “let our light so shine (sparkle with the hope, love and peace of Jesus Christ) before men, that they will see our good works, and glorify our Father, which is in heaven”, regardless of our “hustle and bustle” and harried circumstances.

 Of course, we can’t forget the Hastiness of the Shepherd’s, “as it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, ‘Let us NOW go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.” Luke 2: 15,16   How quickly do you follow HIM?  Are you consistently God-conscience or consumed with the chaos of the day?  Have you paused long enough to know if your will is in harmony with HIS?

 Lastly, the lesson of The Wise Men’s Unselfishness.  “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matt. 2: 11 The wise men found Him, fell before Him, worshipped Him and gave Him the very best that they had to show their love, devotion and adoration.  This is exactly what we should do! 

 We celebrate this time of year because of the incredible gift

God gave us in the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son!

 Will you join me in celebrating the TRUE meaning of Christmas?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Dry Bones!"

If there was ever a day when our families, country,

and world call for Revival…this is the day!

My grandsons are in college, but they call me every week to fill me in on their busy lives.  This past week, as I am reading through Ezekiel, I asked them both to read Chapter 33 and be prepared to share with me next week.  Ezekiel was a prophet, a priest, and a faithful servant of God who was sent to give God’s message to a wicked and rebellious nation,not unlike our own! 

In Chapter 37, he speaks of his vision of a “valley of dry bones” and in verse 11 cries out,” Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off”!  Spiritual deadness is a frightening position to be in and falling into the hands of an angry God is a dreadful thought. The absence of the fear of God reveals itself in our moment by moment life practice…

 Are we dedicated to comfort and convenience,

claiming personal rights, doing our own thing 

or are we dedicated to Calvary’s road 

and a God that calls us into holiness!

Jesus says: Putting anything before me reveals spiritual deadness.

Our dedication determines how alive we are spiritually, or if we are a mass of “dry bones”.  There is a quality of spiritual life that is rarely experienced among believers in the West because we are so busy…living in entitlements. The anger and rage seen all over America is the mark of entitlements!

Where are you living this moment?

Stephen Olford in Heart Cry wrote, “O that God would teach us that it is just as important to be spiritual, as to be sound in our approach to the Bible; just as vital to be obedient, as to be orthodox; and that the purpose of revelation is nothing less than transformation of human lives.”

Revival is the power of the Holy Spirit transforming God’s Word in our souls.  While in Bible School a fellow student introduced me to a small paperback book, The Calvary Road by Roy Hession.  Revival’s clear definition and seeing my need for personal application has been a constant reminder of God’s promise to set us free from sin and self…continually!

Revival does not begin with our nation or someone else. 

 It begins with me…and you.

Understanding our desperate need initiates the promise that “surely God will cause breath to enter into us and we shall live!”  Christ did not come into this world to make bad men good…He came to make dead men live!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Watch Your Tongue!"

Thanksgiving is this week and families will be gathering together to celebrate.  In 2008, a sweet South Carolina friend sent me this reminder to not get so busy with my life that I forget to control my often-frazzled thoughts, not realizing the tremendous impact words have on others.  As women, we often have the idea that God should control our thoughts and we go on auto-pilot, disregarding the sharpest weapon we have in our arsenal.…our tongue!

 “The power of life and death are in the tongue”! Proverbs 18:21

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life.   What you speak about, you can bring about. 
If you keep saying you can't stand your job, you might lose your job. 
If you keep saying you can't stand your body, your body can become sick. 
If you keep saying you can't stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating. 
If you keep saying you're broke, guess what? You'll always be broke. 
If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman, you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you. 
If you keep saying you can't find a job, you will remain unemployed. 
If you keep saying you can't find someone to love you or believe in you, your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs. 
If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then you might end up with it. 

Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action. “Guard your hearts and minds, rejoicing always.  Don’t be fearful or anxious about anything, but let the gentle control and peace of God rule your life.” Philippians 4: 4-9  “Even a fool is thought to be wise when she keeps silent (shuts her mouth)…” Proverbs 17: 28  “The woman who guardsher mouth, protects her life and the woman that opens her lips invites her own ruin.” Pro. 13:3

Watch your Thoughts, they become words. 
Watch your Words, they become actions. 
Watch your Actions, they become habits. 
Watch your Habits, they become character. 
Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny.

 Thank you, Angela Ramsey for bringing to mind

our responsibility, regardless of our harried circumstances!

We will all be held accountable one day…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Life is Not What Happens to Us...!"

I am a woman, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, American, politically conservative, Christian, an author, teacher, bush-nurse, missionary, pastor’s wife…These are what I call myself in my head; the tags that I attach to myself to describe the person I think I am.  They become the boss of my thoughts.  

 Who are we without a title, right?

 I have sundry labels, but the one that is shouting the loudest these days is that I am a Christian conservative American woman that has sat quietly on the sidelines, too long. I am fighting mad. The Afghanistan fiasco is the last straw and has challenged my tolerance for futility!  I am the mother of two strong woman and most recently, my oldest granddaughter, who have called me up short with their bold personal involvement regarding our country’s current need.  

 As women, we have been harassed and divided. We have experienced betrayal and disloyalty.  We have been silenced and shamed by the blind leading the blind!  Our homes, schools, churches, cities, counties, states and nation are in dire straits.  Our children are being taught, as fact, concepts and ideas regarding history, sex and health that contain terms that are not even in our vocabulary!

 The border crisis, the debacle and humiliation in Afghanistan (that was a result of a disastrous dyslectic plan), coupled with the recent flood of 9/11 memories with 3,000 sacrificed lives and the multitude of young soldiers wounded and lost here and on foreign soil, the abortion issue in the forefront again…are just a few of the many challenging topics of conversation we are hearing everywhere.  Strangers in a grocery store line are discussing the confusion and ineptness all around us.  

 Masks on one day…no masks another day!  The ever-changing vaccine issue! Two vaccines, vaccine cards, then…boosters in 4 months…then 6 months.  Mandates galore!  Businesses closing, ships stalled in port, not enough trucks to get food and goods to us once unloaded off the ships, Americans that don’t want to work, and the defunding of our police! Not to mention…the assumed positions of power and disregard of rule and law that has served us and our country well for over 200 years. We are becoming unrecognizable!

 No one seems to have an answer that resonates truth.  Our focus is lost on the peripheral, sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate, grappling with issues that do not address the core of our ailment, as individuals or as a nation. We are being led by incompetence and directed by worldly philosophies. Whatever your personal beliefs, we all have a voice and we do not need to all agree.  This is America. 

 Let’s bury our fear and step up to the plate…all of us can agree that the families of our young men and women that were put in harm’s way in Kabul, need our support now more than ever.  We agree that all lives matter, including the unborn, and that division and hate will ultimately defeat us! Let’s agree where we can and not back down where we can’t!

 As American women, our time has come to claim yet, another title… “Warrior”!

 We fight for truth, righteousness, and like mama bears, we protect our own…

 Life is not what happens to us, but what we make happen…

 Just saying…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Life is Not What Happens to Us...!"

I am a woman, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, American, politically conservative, Christian, an author, teacher, bush-nurse, missionary, pastor’s wife…These are what I call myself in my head; the tags that I attach to myself to describe the person I think I am.  They become the boss of my thoughts.  

 Who are we without a title, right?

 I have sundry labels, but the one that is shouting the loudest these days is that I am a Christian conservative American woman that has sat quietly on the sidelines, too long. I am fighting mad. The Afghanistan fiasco is the last straw and has challenged my tolerance for futility!  I am the mother of two strong woman and most recently, my oldest granddaughter, who have called me up short with their bold personal involvement regarding our country’s current need.  

 As women, we have been harassed and divided. We have experienced betrayal and disloyalty.  We have been silenced and shamed by the blind leading the blind!  Our homes, schools, churches, cities, counties, states and nation are in dire straits.  Our children are being taught, as fact, concepts and ideas regarding history, sex and health that contain terms that are not even in our vocabulary!

 The border crisis, the debacle and humiliation in Afghanistan (that was a result of a disastrous dyslectic plan), coupled with the recent flood of 9/11 memories with 3,000 sacrificed lives and the multitude of young soldiers wounded and lost here and on foreign soil, the abortion issue in the forefront again…are just a few of the many challenging topics of conversation we are hearing everywhere.  Strangers in a grocery store line are discussing the confusion and ineptness all around us.  

Masks on one day…no masks another day!  The ever-changing vaccine issue! Two vaccines, vaccine cards, then…boosters in 4 months…then 6 months.  Mandates galore!  Businesses closing, ships stalled in port, not enough trucks to get food and goods to us once unloaded off the ships, Americans that don’t want to work, and the defunding of our police! Not to mention…the assumed positions of power and disregard of rule and law that has served us and our country well for over 200 years. We are becoming unrecognizable!

 No one seems to have an answer that resonates truth.  Our focus is lost on the peripheral, sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate, grappling with issues that do not address the core of our ailment, as individuals or as a nation. We are being led by incompetence and directed by worldly philosophies. Whatever your personal beliefs, we all have a voice and we do not need to all agree.  This is America. 

Let’s bury our fear and step up to the plate…all of us can agree that the families of our young men and women that were put in harm’s way in Kabul, need our support now more than ever.  We agree that all lives matter, including the unborn, and that division and hate will ultimately defeat us! Let’s agree where we can and not back down where we can’t!

 As American women, our time has come to claim yet, another title… “Warrior”!

 We fight for truth, righteousness, and like mama bears,

we protect our own…

  Life is not what happens to us, BUT what we make happen…

  Just saying…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Regret's?"

Many years ago, I read “Tortured for Christ” by Rev. Richard Wurmbrand.  It profoundly challenged me to purpose to follow Christ and cheerfully ‘count the cost’.  Over the years of service as a missionary, I was sometimes characterized, as ‘out of sync’ with the world, foolish (by the worlds standards), wasting my time in the jungles, robber of a “normal” upbringing for my two daughters, suffering needlessly with no running water or electricity (the world clamors for comfort and convenience), etc.…

 Yet, to this very day, I hold the awesome privilege of being a part of a very few who have lived without regret, counting the cost, determined to burn out serving and pleasing my God, first and foremost.  The life that comes from a vibrant, functioning God-consciousness in turbulent times is a tribute to the reality of the value of counting the cost, which could and usually does, include…suffering.

 “Suffering may help one to arrive at truth. ‘Tears, tears, bitter hulls but with such a sweet kernel,’ wrote the much-persecuted Romanian Christian poet, Traian Dorz.  Most people have an unjustified phobia against suffering. Unnecessary tragedy should be avoided, but we should also realize that there is much good in suffering.  

 Milton wrote his finest poetry after he became blind.  Beethoven composed his most beautiful music only after he became deaf.  The German philosopher Kant, who suffered from an incurable sickness wrote, ‘I have become master of its influence on my thoughts and actions by turning my attention away from this feeling altogether, just as if it did not at all concern me…’

 Solzhenitsyn wrote, ‘Blessed be thou, prison.’ The seven years in a Soviet prison made him the most powerful opponent of communism.  Richard Wurmbrand said about himself, ‘My 14 years in communist prisons were the most fruitful of my life.’ He knew of no great character formed apart from suffering. 

 A world without suffering would consist of weaklings.  What kind of love endures without painful sacrifice?  He who counts the sufferings involved will never be a daring hero.  Jesus made himself perfect through suffering. (Heb. 2:10) When Pope Alexander VI criticized by Savonarola for his unworthy life, offered him the position of cardinal in order to keep him silent, Savonarola answered, ‘May God keep me from being unfaithful to Him.  I do not desire any other red cape than the crown of a martyr colored with my own blood.’

 The highest state of a Christian is to be Christ-like.  Christ was called a ‘Man of Sorrows’ (Isa. 53: 3) and ‘the lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Rev. 13: 8) To be a Christian means to become a co-sufferer with Christ.  The more of His pain we are ready to share, the more truth we will receive.

 Someday we will sit with Jesus Christ and the Father on the heavenly throne from which universes are administered. (Rev. 3: 21) Our merciful God ‘will wipe away every tear’ from the eyes of His saints, and all will be able to rejoice whole-heartedly (Rev. 7:17; 21:4)” written by Rev. Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001) 

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Are You Quarreling with the Process?"

“Sometimes God lets a stinging blow fall on your life. The blood spurts. The nerves wince.  The soul cries out in agony. The blow seems to you an appalling mistake.  But it is not, for you are the most priceless jewel in the world to God.” J.H. McC   All of us have lived to experience one or more of these times.  But when I recently read this quote, my youngest daughter came to mind. It’s her birthday on Wednesday. 

 She is a perfect example of a child of God that does not quarrel with God’s process in her life and is continually responsive with gratefulness.  “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”  Gratitude is the memory of the heart. She takes the blow and welcomes the pressure, disappointment and pain, and simply and quietly…matures! She understands God’s extended grace. She has always been able to walk into a room and fill it to the brim with enthusiasm and energy! She can, without any effort on her part, entertain us for hours.  Her presence consistently brings joy wherever she is.  I cannot imagine my life without her in it!

 “The grace of God is equal to…the most unfavorable circumstances.

Its glory is to transform a curse into blessing and show

men and angels of ages yet to come that where sin abounded,

grace did much more abound.” A.B. Simpson

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIMBERLY JOY!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey " Alexandra's Allegory"

Miss Dana Point and my real Princess…

“Now, it was roughly 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I was experiencing a deep midday slump. I had hustled to the gym earlier that same morning and then proceeded to aggressively attack homework assignments into the afternoon. I was feeling overwhelmed with the craziness of life and found myself trapped once again in a mindset I fight so hard to overcome. 

I sat on my bed thinking to myself, “When will I know what my career will be?, When will I feel like I am living life to its fullest?, When will the love of my life propose?, Does everyone have days where they feel a lacking of purpose?”. As I wallowed in discontentment with where God currently has me in life.  I heard a bold knock on my bedroom door. Before I could gather the words to say “come in” the door had already flung open, and “Patience” stood there glaring at me with a peaceful smirk. 

“Quiet down!” she said as I stared back at her. “I’m not making any noise!”, I shouted. She chuckled, “Your thoughts are so loud I could hear them echoing through the hallway!”. Patience then took a seat on the end of my bed and proceeded to ask me why I’m feeling overwhelmed when I know that I am living amid God’s plans. She took me by the hands, and I began to explain to her the mindset that overtakes me; this constant race to ‘what’s next’. 

Patience smiled great big and said, “Although you are praying for God’s plans for the future, you forget that you are currently living out what you prayed for in the past”. She added, “Only a heart of gratitude will yield contentment with current circumstances”. 

Suddenly, the gloomy cloud of anxiousness passed over me. Patience reminded me that when I focus only on the future I miss out on the present and ‘time’ is something that I can never regain. 

So, from that point on I went about the rest of my day praising God and seeking out ways to better express gratitude for the present and all its unknowns”. 

This Blog was recently written as an allegory by my granddaughter, Alexandra Grace.

The prayer of the “comfort and convenient” seeking American woman is, “Dear God, I pray for patience. And I want it right now!”  In Bible School, the standing joke was, “never pray for patience because that’s when the trials come!”  Of course, as moms, we see that the struggle is the opportunity to accept it with joy and grow.  The trial is our friend.  Our anger is best controlled when our choices include exercising patience!  John Dewey said, “Patience is the most useful of the virtues.”  

Go out this week and choose, as my granddaughter did in her allegory…

to rest in God’s perfect timing …

and start giving thanks for yesterdays answered prayer 

and enjoying the contentment of todays present…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.