Jackie's Journey "Fairy Tale or Reality"

Since the beginning of time there has been a battle of good against evil. In our present day, we find our lives inundated with children’s books, novels, cartoons, T.V. programming and movies filled with magical fiction, romance, and fantasy with the all too predictable witchcraft and the evil, scary villain! A point in fact is the new face of this fight found in the fairy-tale princess phenomenon.

 The cry from the masses is met with a barrage of the supernatural and literary narratives brimming with dramatic imaginary story lines. This particular genre with its fairy-like spirits in ethereal, heroic and monstrous forms is captivating to children, young people and adults alike. Children are especially susceptible to its alluring charm because their worldview is literal and it speaks to their inner understanding of spiritual reality.

 We do have spiritual needs (issues of pride, anger, rebellion and selfishness, to name a few!) that are often beyond ourselves and we tend to fill the vacuum with “make-believe” to make up for the difference we feel we lack. We allow it to offer us a few moments of escape from the real battle with good prevailing, if only, momentarily.

 Most of us acknowledge the struggle and know we are going to live somewhere forever, but have little understanding of the what, when, where, why and how. The surge of fantasy-ridden books and films is an after-effect of this need and exposes a society, seemingly, without direction or defined purpose.

 From their earliest memories our little girls are swamped with a princess course that introduces them to an unreal world filled with wizardry and lacking strong moral themes with eternal values. They are asked to define love and romance by standards that are not true to life or a representation of clearly defined biblical standards. Our child is needlessly exposed to the illusion of love through the many Prince Charming’s that are so readily available to her in most story lines; however, she is not exposed to the truth of genuine love. She is caught in a quagmire of choices that offer her temporal values, but not eternal ones. Her personal identification with a fantasy character is deceiving on many levels because the charge to discern the good and evil is often obscured by wrong motives and intentions on the part of the “hero” in the story line. Often the attitude of the leading characters is questionable and the continual interjection of clairvoyance and magical fantasy is confounding. The child is left to choose from bad and really bad, instead of from good and bad. Neither choice is particularly clear, but the medium being used (book, film, cartoon, etc.) is “thought” captivating and attention binding. Both of these goals are shortsighted and not fulfilling for the long term.

 Living in a post-Christian era, we seek to carve out a more excellent and realistic milieu for our children, these little ones that are so literal and entrusted into our keeping for so short a time. We have found that Christian parents are seeking an alternative to the present princess culture trend in books and films presently available. Their main reason is that worldview influences all areas of life. Every exposure a child has (visual or auditory, etc.) is adding to their life experience and their worldview. Presently, how would you describe your child’s worldview?

 Articulating a biblical worldview within our sphere of influence is what The Princess Parables series is all about. They are written to strengthen the belief that God made our little princess special and designed her with destiny and purpose.

 The mission of The Princess Parables series is to introduce and encourage the disciplines necessary to step outside fantasy and into the magical realism and authenticity of a loving and accepting God who teaches finding contentment in serving others, not in serving oneself. Although written in fiction, each Princess story is based on fact. It teaches a specific character quality in the name of its Princess and takes the storyline from a Parable that was taught by the greatest teacher ever born. It has been specifically created to put a functional tool into the hands of young mothers (urban, suburban, rural, stay-at-home, teen moms, single moms and married moms), grandmoms, aunts, and teachers, each with a different lifestyle, but all who share a similar desire to be the very best power of influence they can be! The passion to meet the need of every person desiring to cultivate what God has programmed into her Princess potential has been a huge source of motivation and it allows parents to nurture their little ones into genuine greatness.

 The innocent imagination of a small child is a book yet to be written and images of truth, hope, loyalty, joy, grace, charity and faith are but a few of the myriad of opportunities lost when the exposure to truth is clouded and “synergized” with fantasy.

~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 Silent Cry"

     “…and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp

           how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love

           surpasses knowledge…”  Ephesians 3: 18

If you are struggling this morning in some way

that you do not understand…this blog is for you…

 Recently, a stranger placed in my hand a small book written by Amy Carmichael (a missionary to India 1867-1951).  Immediately, upon hearing her name, a vivid memory came knocking at the door of my heart.    

 While we were in Boot Camp in Fredonia (make that "Freeze-don't ya"), Wisconsin!), preparing for missionary service I became so sick that I wasn't sure we would be able to finish the course.  Yet, my husband and I knew God had brought us this far.  There was a tribe, deep in the rain forest of Panama that had never heard the name of Jesus Christ and they were waiting for someone to come and bring His Name to them.

 We had been seeking local medical help for over two months.  I was in my first trimester with our first child.  My physical symptoms were severe, I had lost six weeks of missionary training and I was lost in my understanding of it all when diagnosed with an unyielding case of pneumonia!  The infection was suffocating my compromised lung and I would have to take a drug that could adversely affect my unborn child!  The choice was my recovering or possibly both of us not going full term!  I was confused and consumed by fear.  

 Have you ever been there?

Faced with impossible decisions and lost in your imaginations?

 At this juncture of my journey, someone gave me a quote of Amy Carmichael that stopped me in my tracks and I realized I had the concept of my Father's love and means of communication to me all wrong!   

 “If I cannot catch the ‘sound of the rain’ long before the rain falls, and going to some hilltop of the spirit, as near to my God as I can, have not faith to wait there with my face between my knees, though six times or sixty times I am told ‘there is nothing’ till at last ‘there arises a little cloud out of the sea’ then I know nothing of Calvary love!"

   I Kings 18: 41 says, “And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there

Is the sound of heavy rain’.  So, Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah

climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face

between his knees.  “Go and look toward the sea”, he told his servant.

And he went up and looked.  “There is nothing there’, he said.  Seven times

Elijah said, ‘Go back!’  The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as

  small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea’…The sky grew black with

clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came…’”

 I felt a little like Elijah may have felt when he was in danger for his life. Why didn’t I understand?  I should, shouldn’t I?  I was a missionary candidate (soon to be deployed!), I had spent a year at the University of Arizona, 4 years of Bible School, 2 yrs. of Boot Camp and Language School...I was completely committed to God with everything I knew, in all the light I had …But God always has much to teach me about Himself. I waited for Him at the front door of my heart and He silently entered through the back door and shattered my concept of Him and His promises!  He came with new light, new peace and new understanding of His divine nature. I re-focused, solely, on the author and finisher of my faith…

 “There are times when something comes into our lives which is charged with love in such a way that it seems to open the Eternal to us for a moment...it may be a small and intimate touch, as the touch of the dawn wind or it may be the pain experienced in the storm of life along the way... But we know it is our Lord.  And then perhaps the room where we are, with its books and furniture and flowers, seem less ‘present’ than His presence, and the heart is drawn into His sweetness… Can we ever cease to wonder at the love of our companion?  And then suddenly we recognize our Lord holding us in a new way?  Dimness seems to be more wholesome for us here...not understood by us.  After all, how little we see!    Confounded and abased, we continue to hold fast to the Rock and hide in the dust, before the glory of the Majesty of love--the love whose symbol is the Cross.  

And the piercing question then:  What do I know of Calvary love?”

 I am praying for you, this morning, for your sensing the whisper of His Presence in that "cloud out of the sea" in a new way and for the power of His healing.

 Have a great week!

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

Jackie's Journey "Character Markers!"

A Biblical worldview should influence all areas of life.  Articulating that worldview within our sphere of influence is what the Princess Parables are all about!  While surface problems (hate, prejudice, murder, anger, addiction) attract media attention, they merely reflect and are symptomatic of the deeper need we have as people...the need for character!  Character determines our actions.  Character determines our responses, regardless of the circumstances presented to us in life.   It defines us and tells others who we really are!  Character is written on the heart of every person.  It is universal and transcends culture, race, age, social status, religion, gender and nationality.  

 Character marks the life of a true princess!! For many years Princesses Joy, Grace, Hope, Faith and Charity have been a large part of my life and I have grown to love each of them, as distinct and separate personalities, with unique engiftments and an adventurous story to tell.  They form a cohesive body of work that speaks to the need for early development of godly character in our little princesses in a pragmatic way they can relate to with Biblical terms attached.

  I recently read, “A dear old Quaker lady, distinguished for her youthful look, was asked what she used to preserve her appearance.  She replied sweetly, “I use for the lips, truth; for the voice, prayer; for the eyes, pity; for the hand, charity; for the figure, uprightness; and for the heart, love” (Jerry Fleishman).  The Princesses are designed to inspire godly thoughts and actions.  The key of this wise “Quaker lady’s” answer and the challenge to us is to maneuver victoriously through this new day and its many opportunities... each revealing our TRUE character through our moment-by-moment responses!  

 Who am I really?

My daily response to life situations brings to light the REAL me!

~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 "Jungle School"

Christina’s Early Schooling Interior

“...Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”  Deut.4: 3

 Good-morning, Mom’s!  I have two princesses who have lived to tell the story of their educational process as tribal missionary daughters.  From Home Schooling to graduating from college, they have been in every type of school and curriculum available at one time or another! Furloughs from the field and sickness made academic flexibility an imperative and a household word for us.

 Both girls have their Bachelors and our youngest daughter her Master’s.  I say this to encourage you, young homeschooling mothers that God is faithful beyond our circumstances and He has trusted us and is faithful to do what He calls us to do.

 I was told that a good teacher causes learning and to accomplish this there are two pre-requisites:

 1)    A teacher must know the child’s need …spiritual first and then academic…for the child to learn.

 2)    The girls would need to be under my authority to receive from me. 

 I did not always feel like a “good teacher”. 

My sense of failure was forever present.  

Would it be enough…is it going to allow them the opportunity

to find their way in life?  Would they be prepared?

 I was teaching school in the jungle before the term “home-school” became popular!”  I was given the choice of sending my little ones three days journey to live at our Mission boarding school for the school year or being a home school pioneer.  It was not a hard decision, but it was a tremendous step of faith and a huge commitment.

 We lived in very primitive conditions where my job description included many already time-consuming activities.  There was no running water or electricity.  Cooking was an experience in itself, as many of the animals I was preparing were unknown to me!   There were no computers, Google, Youtube, phones, radios or T.V.  There was no written alphabet in the Kuna language so linguistics occupied hours each day (oh, for an I pad).

 In time, literacy became a necessity.  Sue, my partner, and I ran a medical clinic in the mornings for treating malaria, T.B., parasites, bat bites, open wounds, even setting broken bones, delivering babies, colds and flu… etc.   We joined the women weekly to sweep the village with palm leaf brooms (yes… imagine!).  There were remarkable teaching times, prayer meetings and lots of needs and visitors all day long… every day.  My girls were small; one was still nursing when we moved into Pucuro, our village on the Colombian border.  Time was a precious commodity…days were short… darkness came early.

 Teaching the girls was a blessing I loved.  These two girls, my heritage…are the only thing that will go on into eternity and carry on—our beliefs, our character, our philosophies, etc. into the next generation.  They are a commanding responsibility and the most important investment I wiould ever make.  You, mom’s, face the same imperative today in this asphalt jungle, as I once did as a tribal missionary mom tucked away in the tropical jungles of Panama.

 As a parent we have an unequaled opportunity with each child.  We want our child to be wise, truthful, grateful, honest, mighty in spirit… etc.  It is important that our heritage has the godly character necessary to produce success in life.

 My question this morning is threefold:

      1) Are you satisfied that you know how to take advantage of that

 opportunity for the benefit of your child?

 2.     What is the cost to your children and to yourself if you fail to properly complete the task? 

 3.     Is there a system that we can know for sure is going to work and we can utilize to obtain the right results? 

Scary, I know!!

 If there was ever a time in history when today’s youth must become God’s men and women for the world tomorrow…. THIS IS THE TIME!

 Isn’t it true, Moms, that our success comes from making our children successful?!

 I believe Scripture gives us a system we can use with confidence.  It focuses on building Godly character and uses very simple tools to accomplish that purpose.  Many parents spend hours teaching the “do’s and don’ts” that instruct the soul…but building character trains the spirit of the child.  Our involvement in actively and aggressively developing character meets a desperate need in our child and our society.

 Character is developing right attitudes that produce right actions habitually!

 Do you know how to do this?

~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 Price of Freedom!"

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: 

That all men created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator

with certain unalienable rights,

that among these are life, liberty

and the pursuit of happiness.”

 We are all familiar with these words but, not so well-known, the concluding words of the Declaration of Independence reads, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor.”  Fifty-six signatures of great patriots follow these profound words. These were the American heroes to the core!

 And what did they get for pledging their lives, fortunes and honor for our country? 

·      Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

·      Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

·      Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

·      Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.  He sold his home and property to pay his debts and died in rags.

·      Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.  He served in Congress without pay and his family was kept in hiding.  His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward.

·      Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

·      At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwalls had taken over his home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire.  The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.

·      Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.  The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months.

·      John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying.  Their 13 children fled for their lives.  His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste.  For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.  A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.  Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

 Such were the stories and sacrifice of the great Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.  These great men were not wild-eyed, rebellious ruffians.  They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security…but they valued liberty more!

 So… this July 4th, as we celebrate our freedoms

with family and friends,

take a few minutes to silently thank these founding fathers

who paid such a great price for America’s freedom?

 Freedom is never free!

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

Jackie's Journey "My Dad!"

Proverbs 17: 6 says “the glory of children is their father.”

My Father was a Missouri farm boy, transplanted in California after the 1929 Great Depression, when there was no work and people were in soup lines for lack of food.  He stood tall and was strong. He was a man of few words (a wise man).  He married my mother and while pregnant with me was in a horrific car accident that instantly killed his best friend and threw him through the windshield 40 feet down an embankment on the Missouri river.

 Severely injured and broken, the doctors rebuilt his face, arms, legs, and repaired his internal injuries. He spent a year in the hospital and barely survived.  He nursed, in pain, an almost completely severed leg the rest of his life. Going against all odds, my Dad lived to preserve for his heritage an exceptional example of courage, discipline, integrity and excellence of character.  His allegiance to God, country and family; his instant obedience to what he knew was right; his endurance through years of pain without medication; his sense of order and efficiency; his generosity; his deep love for my mother and the four of us girls made him a man that was “respected at the gates” and securely treasured in our hearts.

 His personal victory over crushing obstacles throughout the years has been an inspiration to all who know him, especially his family, who basked in the shadow of his fierce loyalty and determination.

 I recently found this inside his Bible. It was written by my Dad.  It is his statement of faith and a firm testimony of who he was and what he believed…

 “Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  He is the breath of Life within us; the fountain that refreshes us; the Grace that frees us; the truth that renews our minds; the love that fills our hearts; the fullness that gives us joy.

 Jesus Christ is the light of the world for all people.  God so loves this world that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins.  Yes, yours and mine…we are all sinners.

 Learn to be wise by making wise decisions.  Good decisions come from experience.  Experience comes from working at it.  Bad decisions come from carelessness.  Do you want to spend your life or invest your life?  My continual prayer is ‘what can you do with my life, Lord?’

 Yield yourself to Him completely.  He will continue to unfold more for you to invest.

I will do-go anywhere…what do you want me to do?

Lord, here I am…do with me what you desire.”

I’m thinking Daddy left this for us, knowing we would all want his Bible after he was taken to his heavenly home.  It certainly reveals his character and evangelistic heart.  I never heard my Dad complain and his exemplary life has called me to a higher standard.  I am so blessed to have had him in my life for 76 years! He is not only a “hard act to follow”, but an honored man that won this daughter’s heart and earned my deepest love, respect and gratitude.

 There will never be another like

 my Dad…. and I miss him…

Married 72 years…

~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 "Overwhelmed!"

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Ayers

I have been a long-distance runner for 6 years now. I run for the physical benefits, but even more for the mental benefits, a complete and total escape from my own thoughts. As I set off on my run early Tuesday morning, I found myself crippled with thoughts of uncertainty. As I began to feel like I couldn’t breathe, I walked a bit and then sat down in the sand.

My mind raced between focusing on the music playing loud in my ears and the beauty of the crashing waves in front of me. A woman walked past me, grinned, and then sat in the sand to my left. She introduced herself as Deception and proceeded to say, “I can see you are overwhelmed; it must be tough feeling like you can’t catch a break; everything just keeps going wrong.” I looked at her in disbelief. I thought to myself, “what an intrusive comment to make”. I then said, “you’re right, I am feeling overwhelmed, but I have so much good I can be focusing on.”

The silence was deafening as I began to mentally list out the ways God has blessed me greatly.

A few minutes passed and another woman came walking up the shoreline. She too smiled at me and then parked it in the sand to my right. She introduced herself as Peace and then proceeded to say, “I can see that you are overwhelmed; you must find so much comfort and rest in knowing that God’s plans are currently at work and that even though you feel this way, you are exactly where He wants you to be.” I looked at her and smiled, “Thank you!

That is the reminder my soul was craving to hear.”

Then a third voice rang through my head, “Trust me”, it said, with complete and total calmness. I leaned forward expecting to see a third person coming to sit, but I saw no one. As I shifted my gaze from the ocean to my left and right sides, I saw no one.

Deception and Peace were not physical beings but rather the voices in my head. One fostering a mentality of self-pity and the other empowering me to lean into the Spirit. But who was the third?

The voice of God. A voice so calm yet so powerful

that the other voices residing in my head were now silent!

This is an allegory written last year by Alexandra Grace Ayers,

my 21-year-old, newly married, granddaughter.

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

Jackie's Journey "I Want to be Just Like YOU!"

“What if God should place a diamond in your hand and tell you to inscribe on it a sentence which should be read at the Last Day and shown there as an index of your thoughts and feelings!  What care…what caution… would you exercise in the selection! 

(The diamond is your child!)” Russell  Payson

 This is the month we dedicate to Motherhood and our focus, Mom, is asking our “self” … What kind of Mom am I?   Being a mom is a massive responsibility.  Is there a test we can take to know if I we are on the right track?  I don’t want to get to the end of the road and realize I have been on the wrong trajectory!  Little feet are stepping into the print I leave behind… 

What should my life look like?

 Let’s take a look…Here’s a little test…A godly woman is clearly defined in Proverbs 31…    She is:

 PURE.  “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” Vs. 10 Virtue is the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiates from a life that obeys God’s word.  Are you a virtuous woman?

 TRUSTWORTHY. “The heart of her husband has confidence and safely trusts in her, so that he lacks nothing of value.” Vs. 11 Being consistently truthful earns future trust from your husband, when you accurately report past facts.  Are you a faithful and truthful woman?  Can he trust you?

 COMMITTED.  “She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.”  Vs. 12 Being committed means we are using difficult times to demonstrate our dedication to God, family and to those 

DILIGENT.  “She seeks wool and flax and works willingly with her hands…She rises also while it is yet night and gives meat to her household…with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.” Vs.13-16   When we are visualizing each task as a special assignment from God and using all our energies to accomplish it, we are being diligent.  Are you a diligent woman?

 INDUSTRIOUS AND OPTIMISTIC. “She girds her loins with strength and strengthens her arms.  She perceives that her merchandise is good: her candle does not go out by night.  She lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.” Vs. 17-19   Knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of our work or words if neglected, contributes to the completeness of the task at hand.  Are you a woman of gratefulness that doesn’t quit when the job gets tough?

COMPASSIONATE.  “She stretches out her hand to the poor; she reaches forward her hands to the needy.  Are you a woman who invests whatever is necessary to meet the need and heal the hurts of others?

 GENTLE.  “She is not afraid of the snow for her household…she makes fine linen…strength and honor are her clothing…she opens her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” Vs. 21-27   Are you a woman who is fearless, demonstrating wise and gentle assurance with kind concern in meeting the needs of others while eagerly doing what is right with transparent motives?

 HONORED.  “Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her…Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that fears the Lord…she will be praised.  Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” Vs. 28-31    Do you want to be praised and honored by your family?  Ask yourself…Am I a woman who fears God by my obedience to His Word …literally terrified of the consequence of compromise and sin in my life?

Did you take the test?

How did you do?

Those little footsteps behind you are counting on you passing the test…

“But the wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, 

 and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,

 without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” James 3: 17

~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 "Mother's Understand Sacrifice"

Christina, my oldest daughter and my beautiful Mom

at her 101 year old birthday party…

 Love is not a passion.  It is the pulse of sacrifice”.

 This Sunday is Mother’s Day! For seventy-seven years my Mother taught me about genuine love and Motherhood. She was 101 years old when God took her home.  I watched her as she maneuvered through life.  She was strong and courageous, especially in the latter years without Daddy.  She faced life with grace each day with acceptance of God’s Hand and timing.  She had no fear of old age which is the assumption that we still have many years of life ahead of us. “The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, IF we have the strength; yet this span is but trouble and sorrow and passes quickly and then we fly away”! (Psalm 90:10)  

 She learned to be “satisfied in the morning with His unfailing love. She did not sing for joy out loud but she was clearly grateful and glad for every day.”  And she looked forward to any, or all of us coming and visiting with her as often as we could.  She was the best listener and I can remember my high school friends coming home with me to talk to her, not me!  

 She was wise… my precious Mama.  She taught me, by example, to number my days, to be deliberate with my heritage, to think generations and to see how short and quickly life passes.  I am paying attention.  So, you see…your job has been well done… 

 Thank you for leading the way, leaving a print for me to step into 

and showing me the pulse of sacrificial love…

I love you…I miss 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 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 "Wait a Minute!"

The year 2021 has come and gone!  Year 2022 is precipitously on its way to the half-way mark!  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.  Thank you to those of you who continue to follow my journey with the King. 

 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.”

 Spring is a wonderful time to put our busy lives back in Scriptural perspective. We celebrate the sacrifice 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 my new Savior, Jesus 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??  That can’t be right…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!   

  Grace is doing His will with His power! Phil. 3:10

 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 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.