Jackie's Journey "Identity Crisis!"

Most of us spend a lifetime finding ourselves.  The world is filled with all kinds of self-help books, tapes, podcasts, sermons, therapies, etc.… that make an attempt to introduce us…to us!  Our little ones watch us with discerning eyes, wondering when we will ever grow up!

Years are spent coming to understand “self-acceptance” and “self-pity” before we realize it is God’s design for us to find a total dependence on Him, accepting our flaws as marks of ownership!  The imperfections allow us to understand His holy presence and purpose in our lives.  This awareness keeps us at peace with Him and initiates contentment in everything. It produces a gratefulness for our inabilities, limitations and failures and affects rejoicing in our weaknesses.

“Milton was blind, who looked on Paradise!

Beethoven, deaf, who heard vast harmonies!

Byron, the lame, who climbed toward Alpine skies!

Who pleads a handicap, remembering these?

Violet A. Storey

“Self-esteem” and a need for worth apart from God is an empty exercise that will leave us stranded in life.  “The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem.” Charles Spurgeon   Our “self-rejection” is expressed through conforming to current trends...daily self-criticism; self-evaluation; insistence on a particular peer look; over attention to diet; over-done hair and make-up are just a few of the multitude of other expressions.

These self- life pursuits originate in our “pride or self-righteousness” which is spending our time trying to be someone or something…that we are not!  Our “inferiority” is nothing more than a lack of understanding in how we are meant to fit into the scheme of life with purpose. “Those that know God will be humble, and those that know themselves cannot be proud.” John Flavel 

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people;

 and, of course, as long as you are looking down, 

you can’t see something that’s above you”

C. S. Lewis

We spend way too much time in self-consumption (our thoughts), self-consideration (our wants) and comparing those things which are “unchangeables”. Our parents, time in history, our race, our heritage, our gender, our birth order, our brothers and sisters, our physical features, our mental capacity and limitations, aging and death are all God-ordained and are unchangeable. 

It is time to accept what is God’s choice for us, 

to refocus on those in need, not ourselves, and move on…

Most of us are more than ready!

~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 "Empowered Women!"

Today is International Women’s Day.  Women’s empowerment is a coined phrase that pops up and is used to describe our potential of influence.  Have you thought about your power of influence, lately? It’s a prevailing and formidable factor when realizing the promise of its reach!

 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 be equipped with the character to be able to teach their own children.  Biblical wisdom will bring the fear of the Lord and the beginning of knowledge that will guarantee you and your child 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.

 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 positive influence. Proverbs 1:1-7  

 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??

~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 Roadmap to God's Heart!"

Who wouldn’t want a roadmap to God’s heart in this day and age?  I was typing this study for my husband this week and thought you might like to peruse it.  It certainly put the “rubber on the road” for me.  It is so easy to get caught up in the “tyranny of the urgent” and lose sight of the permanent!  Since we will all give an account one day, this “roadmap” was a “wake-up” call…

 If I want to come to you, Lord, I understand that I must deny my selfishness and pride, take up the cross and follow You. Luke 9: 23 These are the biblical terms of Salvation. My husband proceeded to define this verse in these 14 statements:

1.     I surrender all my future plans to Your will.

2.     I turn my back on all the plans and hopes I have made for myself.

3.     I will do whatever, go wherever and become whatever you have in store for me.

4.     I, totally, shut the door on my old life to submit to the plan daily You have had for me from the beginning of time.

5.     I give up comfort and convenience to focus on Your will and purpose.

6.     I will, as the apostle Paul did, die to myself and my desires, to serve You and others.

7.     I will submit to the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life and to allow Him to do Christian service through me.

8.     I will take my place, as a slave of righteousness, an ambassador, a priest… in service to the You, the King, to pray for others.

9.     Sin, then, is defined as “not having our heart set on seeking the Lord”.  II Chronicles 12: 1

10.  “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight”.  Psalm 119: 35

11.  Thank you for the secret of growth and maturity. “Counting it all joy when I am passing through troubles and trials, so that my patience develops and matures me, so I do not lack anything.”  James 1: 2-4      

12.  Thank you for recreating me and having a plan for my life that really fits my deepest longings for fulfillment and joy. Eph. 2: 10

13.  Thank you for the clarity of Your will: “to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbor, as we love ourselves.”

14.  I know your Word says, “You reject all who stray from your degrees (laws), for their deceitfulness is in vain.” Psalm 119: 118

 (His NOTE:  This”roadmap” is beneficial in helping me effectively make known to people where they are spiritually.  They sense the conflict between the two natures and see how much they are personally resisting God.)

 Where do you see yourself and your need?

~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 "Unexpected Changes!"

We have certainly experienced vacillating shifts this past year.

How well do you react to unexpected changes in life?

Have you ever thought about the collapse of time? From the days of the Lord Jesus Christ until about 1830, man could not travel any faster than a horse. In 1960, a man went into space and traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour. Look how far we have come in so short a time! Sometimes when I read the papers, I think we are trying to run the Space age with horse-and-buggy moral and spiritual equipment. Technology, you see, has no morals; and with no moral restraints man will destroy himself ecologically, militarily, or in some other way. Only God can give a person moral restraints and spiritual strength. While our world is shaking and crumbling, we need to realize that one thing will NEVER change and that is God. He is the same today as He was ten million years ago, and He will be the same ten million years from today. We are like grasshoppers; we appear and hop around a bit on the earth and then we are gone.” Billy Graham

  After Solomon’s death…there was division among the people because of their rebellion against God and the kingdom was divided into the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah… (sound like any nation you know?)

  “Then godly King Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he said, ‘O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens?  And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations?  Power and might are in your hand so that no one can stand against You…” II Chronicles 20: 5-9; 12b

 His prayer…Power and might are in Your hand, O God, and no one can withstand You…IF calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgement or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence and we will cry out to you in our distress and You will hear us and save us.”  He acknowledged, as we do today, that…

We have no power to face the unknown

We do not know what to do

BUT our eyes are on You, O God.

 When facing the constantly changing circumstances of life, we always have a choice.  Realizing change cannot be avoided and that it is not always comfortable or convenient is the first step.  Then understanding that God has a plan and that the fulfillment of His purpose comes when our trust is solely and confidently placed in Him alone.

 How will you deal successfully with the changes coming your way this year?

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper

 you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)

 The next time you find yourself in a bad situation or are perplexed by a difficult decision, remember…

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged…

there is a greater power with us.

This battle is only the arm of the flesh, 

BUT with us is the Lord our God to help us

and to fight our battles. 

 Our confidence is in God!” (II Chronicles 32: 7-8)

…The God who NEVER CHANGES!

~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 "Follow Your Heart...?"

“Today it is totally acceptable to trust and follow your heart.  In fact, we are taught that our heart can decide what is right for us. One man will leave a church and say, ‘I did not feel right in my heart there’. A man may leave his wife and children for a younger woman saying, ‘My heart was not in my marriage any longer’”. (Letgdbetrue) What about the young couple who is confident of a life-partner because they are “following their hearts”? The phrase “I’m going to follow my heart” is used regularly to validate violations of moral, ethical and scriptural principles when decision-making.

 I recently listened to an audio, sent by my granddaughter, Alexandra Grace, that was so on point regarding the use of the word “heart”. How often do we hear the advice, “just follow your heart” when facing difficult decisions? Or “You can trust your heart”…

 Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. It seems appropriate to address issues of the heart.  This blog is taken from Proverbs 28: 26 and “heart” is used as a metonym for affections, inclinations and thoughts.

 “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool:

but he who walks wisely…will be delivered.” 

 “Your heart is your internal set of desires and needs that affect your decision-making.  This is not your conscience.  This is your anti-conscience!  This is the set of passions that drives most men and women. God has spoken about our heart.   He said, ‘The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?’” Jer. 19:9 (letgodbetrue)

 The fact that our heart has an opinion and passion about everything and reacts instantly to what it wants, should be our first warning sign in decision-making.  “If you follow its direction, you are a fool! If you listen to your heart, you are a fool.  If you follow your heart, you are a fool.  If you make decisions even partially influenced by your heart, your are a fool.  You are submitting to the most deceitful, depraved and dangerous source of information on earth.”

 Now that we have stated the obvious…it is clear that  

we are our own worst enemy…

 What are we to do?

 At the fall of man in the garden, all affection for God, spiritual truth and wisdom died. Our desires became corrupted…no longer a desire to seek God, please God or obey God. We took on a new leader who is bent on destroying us; who came to do three things: steal, kill and destroy us.. (Jn. 8: 44)   Steal our joy, opportunity…; kill our bodies…; and destroy our relationships, vision and destiny.  He tells us our heart, which is led by feelings, lust and arrogance of our own thoughts, will lead us. We are fools to believe that plan, let alone follow it! “We do not have the right to our thoughts; we do have a responsibility to right thoughts”! (Letgodbetrue) 

  “True wisdom is learning to mistrust your heart, reject its voice, and make all decisions on the basis of absolute and objective truth. 

 Where is the source for such fabulous decision making?

 In the inspired words of the living God recorded in the Bible! It is learning God’s words and training yourself to make decisions based on them that you can be wise and saved from the deceitful impulses of your depraved “heart”. (letgodbetrue) Fearing God and asking God to direct our footsteps according to His word is the beginning of wisdom. (Psa. 119: 133) This is the key to being delivered from the pitfalls and obstacles that clobber and confuse those who have chosen to “follow their heart” … “The degree of your wisdom is the degree to which you can crush your ‘heart’ to submit to the words of God in the Bible”! (letgodbetrue)

 How wise are you?

Are you facing this New Year 

with a commitment to True Wisdom?

~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 "Vitriolic Age!!"

There is a command that echo’s our personal destiny…if, we belong to Him.  We never know when our time has run out and the imperative is non-negociable.  There are no exceptions…all of us will be held accountable..  

 In this vitriolic age, “we face a world that is more accessible through technology, with a nation that is more ethnically diverse, with the interreligious dialogue more at our doorstep than ever, with our faith’s historic values under siege, Christians are being closely watched.” Biola Magazine We are one click from chip technology that will bring global access. 

 “The world outside is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity,

 it is waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.”  Ravenhill

 This biblical directive is found in Matthew 28 and confirmed throughout the entire New Testament.  The charge is to make disciples… “you therefore, my son (and daughter), be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men (and women) who will be able to teach others also.” II Timothy 2:2

 We live in a world where our beliefs are questioned and our convictions are feeble, at best. We are living in a war zone and we can’t shelter warriors!  We train them to fight!  

We have two goals:

Save the lost in a darkening world and heal a broken world.

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants.  The question is:

What are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau

 Today is the day to live out the Great Commission. I’ve been told after women’s bible study groups that the word “discipleship” is offensive and the concept of “walking in brokenness” is antiquated. “Humility” is too negative. 

The command has not changed.  

The need is greater and

the resolve is pending our daily commitment…

 Will you fulfill your destiny?

~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 "Do I Have To? Why??"

  I have seen and lived three-quarters of a century of life on this planet.  I have observed the ebb and flow of my culture and Christianity over the years.  While reading through the Bible again this year and rehearsing the walk of humanity, specifically the plight of the Jews in the earliest of centuries, I got to chapter 17 of II Kings.  I found myself lost in this verse:

 “Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols.”

 This 17th Chapter is what I call a “summary” or review Chapter.  The Israelites had begged for a King.  God was their KING, but the people insisted on an earthly king.  God gave them their desire and what they deserved in Saul.  A man who proved that earthly kings are fallible and have a blindness to the reflection of our true God, as KING, perfect and infallible in comparison!  The evil heart of man revealed itself over and over as the kings came and went.  With few exceptions, these people were bent on their desires, they were unrighteous, disobedient, idol worshipers, murderers of their own children on heathen sacrifices to false gods of stone, rebellious to God’s will and ways, resistant to God’s purpose, His Wisdom…

 “…they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked

me to anger from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt

until this day.” (vs.14, Chapter 21)

 The nation divided and fought each other and the surrounding towns.  The kings were competitive and combative.  They strayed from God’s will, purpose, desires, wisdom, and righteousness.  They rejected the true God, lost the blessing of the covenant God had made with Abraham and David and in its place, experienced the penalty and its replacement…the curse of disobedience.  

 In Chapter 17 the culmination of many years of rejecting God and His ways are realized by the King of Assyria!  God sent lions to consume the rebellious generation… 

 “The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthuh, Avva, Hamath and

Sepharvaim (remember this group? They burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Drammach!!)

and settled them in the town of Samaria to 

replace the Isrealites.  They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.

When they first lived there, they did not worhip the Lord…

so HE (God) sent lions among them…” (vs. 25,26)

 When the report that the people were being killed by lions came to the King of Assyria, it was noted that “the people that had been deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE GOD OF THAT COUNTRY REQUIRES.”  The lions came because the people did NOT KNOW WHAT HE REQUIRES!  Sooo, what does this heathen king do?  

 “Have one of the Jewish priests who had been exiled from

Samaria come and live in Bethel and teach them how to worship the LORD!!” (vs. 28)

 We are that heathen nation that has forgotten 

how to worship and rejected our LORD God!

 When we gather with our family on Sunday nights or when we meet with couples or small groups, we are the old guard…the exiled priests, called by our living God to teach those in coming generation how to know and worship our GOD.

 We are a royal priesthood…called to be that beacon of truth so others 

“know what God requires” in a dark and needy world.

Are you busy living and teaching  your prince and princesses  

God’s will (not their own),

 God’s purpose for their life, 

God’s desires (no entitlement…only what is on HIS heart), 

God’s Wisdom

and Godly righteousness???

~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 "Got Purpose?!"

A New Year!   Another Opportunity!

 When you get to the end of this year, what do you want to look back on and say you accomplished…Personally? Professionally?  Spiritually? Relationally? 

 Would you like to make this year your most successful ever?

 How fruitful would you say you were this past year?  

Did you attain the goals you set? 

 How did you do with keeping Godly priorities?

 So often we think to be successful we need a sense that we are getting more out of life…more me time, vacation time, more quality time with our children, more opportunities to develop a more mature relationship with our husbands, more exercise, less weight…”its all about me”!  We are blinded by kids’ schedules (practices, meets, tournaments, tutors, recitals, award ceremonies and more).  We live in a maze of taxi driving (pick-ups and drop-offs), carpools, careers, vacations, parties, sleepovers, play dates, fears and circumstances that keep us from seeing the clarity of our designed purpose.  We are forever seeking balance…

 This is the opposite of what God envisions for us.  We are to live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility… not as (women) who do not know the meaning and purpose of life, but those who do…making the best use of our time, despite all the evils of these days…not being vague but grasping firmly what we know to be the will of the Lord.  Ephesians 5:15-17

 Fulfillment in life is not deciding what we want to do or become,

but discovering and completing the purpose for which God made us! (Gothard)

 True success in life is measuring what we are by what we could be (always seeking His purpose and meaning of life) and what we have done by what we could have done (by His grace).   “Faithful is He who calls us who (HE) will also do it (if we get out of the way, relinquish our will and yield to His!). It is achieving the full potential God planned for us. (ATIA)  We are destined with His purpose on our life. (Col. 1:28, 29)…”its not about me”!

 Are we focused on what God is focused on or are we hastily and thoughtlessly doing our own thing?  If we have not realized our life purpose and set eternal goals for this coming year, our present priorities to reach that goal are superfluous!  Our focus is blurred by the demands of the immediate on the altar of the permanent. 

 The key to a full and rich life is determined by our commitment

to pleasing God first! The alternative is failure…and I hate failure!

 When I was a young Christian I was challenged by Betty Scott Stams declaration of purpose.  She was a missionary to China and was martyred by Communists in 1949.

 “Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Your will for my life.  I give myself, my life, my all utterly to You to be Yours forever.  Fill me and seal me with Your Holy Spirit.  Use me as You will, send me where You will, work out Your whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

 While at the University, I stapled that statement of purpose inside the flap of my Bible and it is still there today…a reminder of my commitment to my God, who gave His ALL for me, to “die daily”.  “If anyone would come after me (Christ), he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23

 Taken from Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die (to my will, rights, ambitions, entitlements, etc.) is gain.  It has carried me through life and has been my comfort while serving in the jungles of Panama until this day…

 Where is your heart fixed?

 What is your declaration of purpose?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is 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 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 "T'was the Week Before Christmas!"

Well, here we are again…but no snow…one week 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 an 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.