Jackie's Journey "Betrayed!"

“…for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet,

 but you know, Oh, Lord, all their plots to kill me.” Jeremiah 18:23

 Has anyone ever set a snare for your life?

 Shortly after we returned to our village in the remote jungles of Panama after a two-month absence, a young Kuna man came to our door, obviously troubled.  He faltered and then blurted out with no care for his terminology, that Aquileo, the town representative to the Panamanian government, was plotting to kill us!  

The only word that would describe my shock was…INCONCEIVABLE!

Where can we run?

How do we …ESCAPE!

Our isolated village made any getaway… IMPOSSIBLE!

 In my traumatized state of mind, a verse in Jeremiah raced into my consciousness…  Jeremiah was facing his plotting antagonists and said, “But the Lord is with us like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail…” Jer. 20:11   This plan had taken Aquileo two years to put together and why were we now…TWO YEARS LATER…being informed that the time had come to eliminate us!  I knew we were expendable…but….

 My first thought…my two little girls…what could I do?  

Would we be disposed of in the river?  

No one would find us…ever!

 This had to be a nightmare…this could not be happening!

 My heart was stunned, on the one hand, because Aquileo and his wife had been consistently friendly to us, visiting in our jungle home, laughing and sharing with us. The terrifying reality was, they were planning to kill us at the same time!!  I was terrified… I felt betrayed because so many in our Kuna family had known of this plan and no one, until now, had told us.  I felt indebted to the young man who had risked his tribal reputation to protect us. 

 When?…Where?…How would this be carried out??  

What should we do?  

What could we do! 

 Ralph, took one look at me and instantly, reminded me that I should “joyfully” be giving thanks to God that for the two years of planning I had been spared the stress of knowing about this development!  He had recently given me a mathematical “formula”, as a reminder, for just this kind of situation.   It went like this:

 Trials + Acceptance of the Trial with Joy = Maturity

 I asked myself these 6 questions:

 1.     Could I trust God’s Sovereign plan?  Romans 8:28

2.     Did I believe God would never give me a trial too big?  1 Cor. 10:13

3.     Would He give me a way of escape? 1 Cor. 10:13

4.     Is every trial given with divine purpose and benefit?  Rom. 8:18; 11 Cor. 4: 17

5.     Am I convinced the Holy Spirit will help, comfort and carry me through this trial? Rom. 8: 26

6.     Do I believe that testing will produce Godly character in me?  Job 23: 10

 For the formula to work growth and maturity in me

 I would have to answer each of these questions with a resounding… “YES”!

 Ralph’s response was, “This is preposterous, Aquileo is my friend!”   Denial was never an option in my thinking!  Ralph immediately stood up and bolted out the front door, swiftly crossing the village… to confront his nemesis!  

 In that talk Aquileo shared a verbal wound that he had received from my husband when we first moved into Pucuro.  He felt he had “lost face” among the men in our very tight community.  Ralph had no idea that the result of his jesting had caused such pain and immediately humbled his heart and asked forgiveness. 

 In the days to come, I found that accepting the trial (even this one!) with joy proved to be a life-lesson that made a permanent imprint on me to this day, as I face life daily.  Accepting not just the formula, but also its applied truth with a joyful and resounding “YES” has changed my life!  The struggles continue to come, but accepting God’s purpose, provision and control with joy is the quickest path to peace, growth and maturity. 

 JOY is not the absence of suffering but the presence of the Lord.

C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is never in our power, it is the fruit of accepting God’s provision in difficult circumstances!”

 Well…we waited to see what would happen to us.  Days passed slowly, the nights were even longer (!), and then, one bright morning, Aquileo and his entire family arrived at our front door… smiling!  

 I cannot put into words the delight and relief

I felt as I opened the door and invited them inside!

 “Consider it PURE JOY whenever you face many trials 

of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith 

develops perseverance.

 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be 

MATURE AND COMPLETE, not lacking anything…!”

James 1: 1-4

Are you finding joy in your times of difficulty?  

 How do you respond to distresses, trials, rejections and betrayal’s?

~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 Empowerment Issue!"

Each year I read the Bible through.  I read a Proverb of the day…there are 31 Proverbs…so in a month I have completed reading the book of instruction in Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment, Discretion, Understanding, Righteousness, Justice, and Equity.  The purpose would be that understanding comes from increased learning which allows me to acquire Biblical wise counsel in knowing how to live as a godly mother with the power of influence. Proverbs 1:1-7  

 Because we are mom’s, we have the biggest responsibility and privilege of schooling and equipping our children in how to maneuver through life and one day teach their own children.  Worldly wisdom will bring their destruction.  Biblical wisdom will bring the fear of the Lord and the beginning of knowledge that will guarantee protection and success in life.  Proverbs is a textbook for truth regarding a person’s relationship to God, Oneself and Other’s.  It supersedes personality type and is designed to teach us to contemplate the fear of God and what it is to live by His wisdom.

 When the Author and Creator of All that is…gives me a manual or workbook, you can bet I’m in…and I’m on it!  My course was set many years ago and the simple comparisons between common, concrete images and life’s most profound truths has challenged me to look at life through another-worldly lense.  “Proverbs are simple, moral statements (or illustrations) that highlight and teach fundamental realities about life.” (John MacArthur)

 As chaotic and divisive as our world is at this moment, there is still a book that is packed with help, instruction and teaching! The author, Solomon, gives insight into the tricky issues of life facing us today. I love this book because it clearly addresses the importance of imparting a pattern of undeniable absolute truth from generation to generation.  That speaks to this Mom!  

 What will I leave behind?

Did I do a good job with what was entrusted to me?

 My heritage (children and grandchildren) is “my truth”, to coin the popular phrase today…

How did I use “my empowerment” for the success of my heritage, to coin another popular phrase…?

 In the end it will ONLY be:

 Did I seek and find HIS TRUTH?

and was I EMPOWERED by HIS Spirit??

 My Heritage

~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 Cross Me...I have my Rights!!"

Would you consider yourself an angry person??  

 1. Does your family (or whomever you live with) ever see you lose your temper?

 2.     Are you able to quickly admit when you are wrong?

 3.     Do you complain about how others treat you (when you’re slighted or get 

your feelings hurt)?

 4.     Do you grumble when things don’t work out the way you planned?

 5.     Do you demand prompt attention from family members, friends, teachers, employers, etc.? (Do you feel hurt when others get more attention than you do!)

 All five questions reveal patterns of anger that are not uncommon to all of us!

 The best functional definition I have ever found for anger is: 

 “Someone finding a right that I have not yet yielded to God.” 

  Someone crossing my already decided will!

As a young tribal missionary wife and mother, I felt I had a right to be understood.  Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?  I was living with so many unknowns. Knowing my husband understood how hard I was attempting the impossible was important to me. It seemed like a legitimate right…don’t you think?  It was imperative to have someone to talk to in my heart language (English).  Poor Ralph…he was it!  He is not a detail guy and I speak in paragraphs!  My anger would reveal itself in various forms demanding his attention. 

 “A Right”…

is a legal demand of our will that we impose on each other–

something, someone, or some attitude apart from God’s will.

It has its own authority with no power

It produces anger or hurt feelings

It assumes God and everybody owes us something

It refuses humility (the key to the Christian life!)

What rights do you claim?   

My anger popped up in the jungle more often than I care to admit.  I had an unprincipled habit of making excuses or blaming others for:

 Ø  My Pride – reserving the right to make the final decision 

Ø  My Insecurity – structuring my life around temporal values

Ø  My Reputation- projecting the image I wanted others to have of me

Ø  My Expectations

 While living in the jungle I jotted down a “few” of my rights in my journal!

·      To a normal standard of living

·      To ordinary standards of good health

·      To privacy

·      To hold others to their responsibilities

·      To be angry

·      To make the final decision on a matter

·      To judge others

·      To do it my way 

·      To be understood (self-justification)

·      To be envious or jealous

·      To be uninterrupted

 Do you identify with one or any of these as a daily occurrence?

 By making excuses for my anger rather than tracing my “anger” to a violation of one of my personal rights, I failed to live in victory.  

 By calling the “right” by its name and repenting, I found freedom in a consistent Christian walk…No more excuses.  I exchanged them for gratefulness and found peace!   

 What is the hardest right to give up?

Answer: The right to make the ultimate decision!

 I continue to learn to stop before yielding to my demand for my way and put my will in neutral, acknowledging His control and His will (not mine or my husband’s).  It brings harmony into my life in the midst of unknowns and confusion.  My demanding to be understood has become my friend and my signal to yield to Gods Will by giving my “demand” to HIM and giving thanks instead! 

 In the New Testament Christ gave up:

His Rights- “did not consider equality with God”

                                   His Reputation – “Made himself nothing, becoming a servant”

                                          His Ego – “Humbled himself”

                             His Will - “Obedient unto death”!

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross.” Philippians 2: 6-8

 How can we do less?

 An independent, willful and demanding spirit will keep us from living in victory.  Let’s choose to agree with God, call anger the sin that it is and walk as He walked, honoring the cross and remembering the price He paid for our Victory over sin!  No more excuses…

~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 "It's February Already...How's it going?"

There are five keys to Success in life…

Finding the Will of God, His Desire, His Purpose, His Righteousness and His Wisdom!

 We can grab the key and walk in the light or Isaiah 50:10 talks about the Darkness…that unknown future that God desires to guide us through…you know, those mine fields of life. God’s goal for us is to lead us into our destiny…the life He has marked out for us. Heb. 12:1   Verse 11 of the same chapter is the other choice when we persist in finding our own way in the dark… and the promise is failure and torment!

 GOD’S DESIRE WILL LEAD TO OUR PURPOSE.

HIS PURPOSE WILL LEAD US TO HIS WILL.

HIS WILL WILL LEAD US TO HIS WISDOM.

THIS WISDOM WILL LEAD US INTO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HIS ABUNDANT SUPPLY AND PROTECTION.

“Wisdom is seeing life’s situations from Gods point of view and acting in harmony with Him.

So be wise my son and heed His instruction, hallow His Name, don’t walk in shame…”

HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL FILL US WITH HIS SPIRIT AND KEEPS US FROM THE DEPTH OF SIN AND RUINATION.

HIS SPIRIT WILL PRODUCE ALL OF THIS IN US AND ENABLE US TO PLEASE HIM.

 WHATEVER WE SOW…WE REAP!

 WHY IS PRAYER SELDOM ANSWERED??

WE WANT GOD TO CHANGE HIS DESIRES AND BLESS OURS!

WE WANT GOD TO CONSIDER OUR PURPOSE AND MAKE IT WORK!

WE WANT GOD TO BLESS OUR WILL!

WE WANT GOD TO USE OUR WORLDLY WISDOM!

WE WANT GOD TO GIVE UP HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR OUR SELFISHNESS!

God requires an initial denial of self, daily death to selfish desires and a determination to follow Him. Luke 9:23   If this is not our daily practice, then there is no need to pray for our desires, wants and longings.

IT IS GOD’S RIGHT TO RULE OVER HIS PEOPLE AND HIS UNIVERSE!!

 This is why it is important to pray biblically…

BECAUSE:

 PRAYING BIBLICALLY IS SOWING GOD’S PURPOSE

INTO WHAT THE 

NEXT GENERATION WILL REAP… 

! PETER 1: 3

How’s your prayer life going??

~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 33 Club"

Years ago, my father would take the four of us to Disneyland and around noon time we would find ourselves standing in the New Orleans sector at a private door with a gold -plated small emblem, emblazoned with “The 33 Club” Crest.  The marker was nearly hidden completely.  The New Orleans street was bustling with noise and activity.  The door would open and stepping over the threshold, there was an instant premonition that silence was compulsory!  I had forgotten all about this until our pastor mentioned this exclusive club in his sermon on Sunday morning.  In those early days I had no idea that this was a personal and private restaurant for Walt Disney and his friends. 

Welcome to The 33 Club…

My initial recollection is that my mother was exceedingly over-joyed for the opportunity to teach the four of us…all girls… how to manage 5 forks, 3 spoons and multiple plates of varying sizes, two or more goblets and numerous knives…slight exaggeration!  We always had a sense that we were, in that moment, very special.  Looking back, Dad was very brave to have included us in these adventures! 

 Once the kind, princely dressed man allowed us entrance, we were escorted into a secluded elevator…unlike any I had ever seen.  It was dazzling…and lifted us a flight above the park and its noise and activity.  When the elevator door opened, we were ushered into a plush foyer with crystal chandeliers, massive floral arrangements and velvet curtains stretching two stories into the air!  The private dining room was elegant with white table-cloths, sparkling silver everywhere, more fresh flowers on each table and soft music wafting in the air. The fireplace was glowing and the silence was deafening!  The whole place screamed slow down, relax and just revel in the exclusivity!

 Men in tuxedos were careful to greet us and pull out beautifully upholstered, over-sized chairs to see us comfortably seated and by then, thoroughly delighted!   In an instant they had placed our napkin on our lap and with a smile had handed us the menu.  Upon first glance, we could see that a hot dog and fries had been omitted, but they would “love to accommodate each guest and would surely bring us a hot dog, if we so desired”!  Seriously, my mother had to be in paradise!  Four excited girls, that couldn’t wait to get back on the rides…and here we were…experiencing a reprieve, to let Dad and Mother rest a minute. 

 At the University of Arizona, I became a member of another elite “club” of girls called Kappa Alpha Thetas.  I loved this club and its accountability and camaraderie.  But the best was yet to come when I was nineteen, I became a member of an even more select and exclusive club than any of these.  “It’s a 2,000-year-old club and God calls it His body…the church”. (Pastor Mike)  As impressed as I was with Club 33, it pales in comparison to what is mine and what is waiting for me one day.  His body is comprised of us…those of us who follow Him.

 Fellowship and service are the reward of being a part of this club.  God’s peace and leadership bind us here and give us a taste of what is to come. His love compels us to reach for those who are not yet members of this exclusive society and His love draws us closer to the cross and the repentance that unlocks the door to this eternal fellowship. 

 If you have not, would you consider

the need to be a member of this

private and privileged club?

If you have joined, would you consider 

reaching out for those who have not yet heard 

and compelling them to join?

~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 a small book in my hand 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 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 wasconfused and consumed by fear.  

           Have you ever been there?

Faced with impossible decisions and lost in your worst  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…

~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 "Never Sacrifice the Permanent on the Altar of the Immediate!"

I had never had a website, a Facebook page, Pinterest account, Instagram, tweeted or read a Blog until January of 2015!  I officially welcomed a new world of technological communication with the opening of all five at once!  With its availability came a huge responsibility to use them wisely…they can become time consuming! 

 “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting

the urgent things to crowd out the important.”

 Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.”  

 Everyone receives an equal supply of time.  The only difference between us is in the way we spend it.  Each week brings us 168 golden hours.  We spend approximately 56 hours for sleep and recuperation.  We spend approximately 28 hours for eating and personal duties.  We spend approximately 40-50 hours for earning a living. We have 30-40 hours left to spend just as we wish.  But how do we spend them?  How many hours for recreation?  How many hours for family communication?  How many hours for the regular worship of God (devotion, fellowship, meditation, etc.)?  How many hours for personal service in the name of Christ? 

 Will we rob God?  

We can and we do!

 Perhaps we may be very busy with good things, yet too busy for the best things.  The real question is: 

 Have we made wise use of our time as good stewards of Christ? 

Henry Clay Trumbull said, “Today is, for all that we know, the opportunity and occasion of our lives.  On what we do or say today may depend the success and completeness of our entire life struggle.  It is for us, therefore, to use every moment of today as if our very eternity were dependent on its words and deeds” …

 I know for me with this new year 2020, I am so challenged to be circumspect with the “Steps of ACTION” I am setting for myself to stay focused.

 Here are my first two:

1.  Define my goal and set the priorities necessary to hit the mark. This will fill my life with godly purpose and direction.  My commitment is to your personal success each Monday morning and my first priority will be to set a defined amount of time to reach that goal.  That will entail allowing the Word of God to “dwell richly” in me during my daily devotional and worship time with Him (Matt. 6:33).  My goal is to please Him first!  Gal.3:3 is my monitor for it admonishes and asks me “…Are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Never!…it cannot be done with eternal purpose!

2.  I am taking some of that time given each week to ask myself some important questions. 

  When I get to the end of this year, what do I want to look back on and say                        

 I accomplished?

  Did I give personally with my service to God, with my family, friends,                                     

  professionally…?  

 Who did I glorify…myself or my God?

How can I reach the full potential of what God has planned for me this year?

 “We are to press on toward the (set) goal,

forgetting the past (no bitterness)

and reach toward the future…  Philippians 3:12-14

~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 "A Bright Star"

There is a story of a little princess who anxiously waited for the day of the Christmas pageant.  She was so excited about her part that her parents thought she must be one of the main characters, though she had not told them what part she would play.  

 The day finally arrived and her parents enthusiastically entered the auditorium and watched as each of the children was called to take their place.  The shepherds nervously waited in the corner of the stage holding two sheep.  Mary and Joseph were placed near the manger.  In the back were the three Wise Men eagerly waiting with a small camel. Each and every child was placed in position…except for the little princess.  She contentedly sat quietly.

 The music started and the director began the narrative.  “A long time ago, Joseph and Mary went up from Galilee to be taxed. It was there that Mary and Joseph had a baby and they named Him Jesus,” the narrator began.   “And when Jesus was born a bright star appeared over the stable.  That was her cue!  She quickly jumped up from her chair, picked up a large, sparkling star and walked behind the manger, holding the star up high for everyone to see.  It flickered in the lights and all eyes were drawn to baby Jesus in the manger.

 The story continues and finds the shepherds in the field with their sheep.  That was her cue…the little princess moved into position on stage, wiggling the shiny star to show the shepherds where to arrive at the manger.  When the director mentioned the Wise Men…the little princess quickly moved to meet them and lead the way to the Christ child.  Her face was beaming as bright as the star she was carrying!

 The play ended with a round of applause and a standing ovation.  In the car on the way home, the little princess was happily chattering, “I had the main part, did you see?”   “You did?” her mother questioned.  “Yes” she said enthusiastically,

“I showed everybody how to find Jesus!”

 This could not have been truer!  Showing others how to find Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and to be the light that would draw them to Him has got to be the finest role we can play in life!

 May the Light of the Christ Child be your focus

this Christmas Season and throughout the coming New Year…

~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 "Christmas Eve is tomorrow!!"

 Well, here we are again…one day before Christmas Eve…in the throngs of chaos and deadlines!  The Nativity is center stage in every room, trees are dressed, the wreaths are hung, gifts are wrapped, the oven has not been turned off in days and music fills the house.  Friends and family are arriving from distant places, guest rooms have been readied and excitement is already in the air.  Expectations are high and time left is short and slipping precipitously by the nanoseconds.   The countdown has begun!  The blessing of fellowshipping with family and people we don’t have an opportunity to see all year makes it worth it all.

 With the hustle and bustle of the holidays in full swing, we become acutely aware of our limitations.  Opening our home and believing God to use us to make others successful is the goal of hospitality.  It has been our joy over the years to have a home that is available to those God would bring our way.  Christmas is a lonely time for many who have not experienced the joy of His Coming.  

 As moms, this time of year offers a multitude of opportunities to make ourselves accessible to others.   It starts in our homes with our husband and children.  The Christmas time of year brings the perfect training ground to introduce our children to the “real reason for the season”.  We, as parents, have the example of the One who left his home and dwelt among us.  He set the standard…

  “Each of you should look not only to your own interests,

but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ:

Who being in the very nature of God,

did not consider equality with God to be something to be grasped,

But made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death

Even death on the cross”!

Philippians 2: 4-8

 An open home means a heart that is wrapped in the needs of others before our own.  It is that life in opposition to comfort and convenience.  It is welcoming and finding joy in a life of servitude, humbly listening to His voice and instantly obeying.  It brings with it the blessing of experiencing His promise of grace with its power and the continual fascination of watching Him faithfully do it!  Philippians 2:13 and I Thessalonians 5: 24

 The dictionary defines hospitality as the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of visitors or strangers providing food, drinks, etc. for people who are guests.  We are commanded in Scripture to be hospital women. To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to our God who made a home for us!

 “Be hospitable to one another without complaint”.  I Peter 4: 9

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, 

for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it”!  Hebrews 13: 2

 At our front door, we have the words “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”  As a mom with young children it was a challenge to keep it all in balance when the house was already full of noise, continual movement and the regular activities that keep the ship afloat!  The joy of youth is that there actually is enough energy to do it all, if the attitude is that of a grateful, obedient and humble servant! 

 From our house to yours,

 Have a Blessed 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 "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"

♫ It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas ♬

In life we cannot anticipate what our future holds, but we know who holds the future.  In our Christmas book, “A Royal Christmas to Remember”, our 5 princesses and 5 young knights-in-the-making are blissfully busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas festivities.  Opening the castle doors over the holidays is a tradition that opens the hearts of the entire village to the real reason we celebrate Christmas. 

 In an instant all their plans are dashed when a message of imminent danger arrives at their front door! The King instantly leaves with his knights to protect their kingdom.  That real meaning of Christmas quickly comes into focus. The girls choose to seize the moment of turmoil, changing their destiny and bringing joy to their father and the whole kingdom.

 December has arrived here in California and the events and activities of the season are already in full swing.   Having our “castle doors” open to family, neighbors and friends is a tradition we welcome each year.  

 ♫ It’s truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas ♬  

 In the midst of preparations and a very busy afternoon a few years ago, I received a hushed and urgent call from Kim, my youngest daughter, who was teaching at an Elementary School a mile or so from our house.  The school had abruptly been put on “lock-down”!  There were policemen all over their campus and helicopters were swirling in circles overhead.   She was yet to be informed of the circumstances…was it a bomb threat, someone with a gun, …

WHAT…??

 Her daughter Megan Joy, my “pocket-baby”, was in the classroom next door huddled down on the floor behind locked doors and desks!  The teachers and students had been in this imposed silence and been inaccessible for almost two hours!   Frantic, my mind immediately went to the pictures of Columbine in Colorado…

Now that… was a wake-up call!  In an instant my holiday plans took second place to the more important, as my priorities slipped back into a more realistic focus.  Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate!”  No chance of that happening here.  What could I do?  Where was I needed?  When would we know my daughter and granddaughter were safe?  

 As I watched and listened to the helicopters circling, hovering overhead, my curiosity overwhelmed me.   A song that comforted me in the jungles of Panama immediately came to mind. 

 ♫ He is my hiding place,

He always fills my heart

with songs of deliverance

whenever I am afraid,

I will trust in Him … ♫   Psalm 32:7 

  “God is our strength and power and makes our way perfect.”  2 Sam. 22:33   Our sovereign God was in control and He brought His “peace that passes understanding” in the turmoil.  I began to pray to “our God of hope that He would fill Kim, with all joy and peace as she placed her trust in Him, so that she could overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!” Romans 15:13  

 This happened two weeks before Christmas Day when families gathered to rehearse and celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world.  Christians paused to praise their blessed promise and hope fulfilled in a manger bed.  Many kneeled and prayed together giving thanks for His coming, His life and His sacrificial death in our place and His glorious resurrection. 

 Are you one of these?

 Somehow… that particular Christmas 2016

 became a singularly outstanding one for our family…

 definitely… A Royal Christmas to Remember!

~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.