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

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

 Who are we without a title, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Just saying…

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

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

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

 Who are we without a title, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

we protect our own…

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

  Just saying…

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

Jackie's Journey "I Am Never Wrong!"

“Our insistence in proving that we are right is mostly always

an indication that there has been some point of disobedience.”

Utmost for His Highest

  My wise Grandmother loved barn owls and when I was small and stomped my feet demanding my own way she would say, “Little Jackie, don’t you know that pretty is, as pretty does!”  The point, of course, was that I was acting “pretty ugly” and I needed to change my attitude.

 As willful as I am in insisting “my own way” and that I am “always” right, God’s simple two-fold purpose for my life has not changed since 1963.  (1) Maintain a right relationship with God and (2) Be rightly related to my fellowman with the intent and purpose of seeing them rightly related to Him!  I’m to be the stepping-stone for another’s success…whatever the cost, personally.

 Pragmatically, to do this, by necessity I need to “choose for myself this day (and every day) whom I will serve.” Joshua 24: 15 This requires that my will is dedicated to only one Master…no divided loyalties…

 The Will has been defined as the whole man active!

 I cannot give up my will.

I must exercise it.

I must will to obey and die to my selfishness.

I must die to the pride that protects it.

I must will to walk in the light.

 When God reveals more light, it is never a question of what He will do, BUT what I will do.  My focus should not be on “where is He leading me, BUT where am I in relation to Him!  I must will to be loyal to Him…

it’s a choice!

 There are only two choices:  God’s way or Satan’s way.  I always thought there was another choice…”MY WAY”!  Spoiler alert…There is no “my way”! The truth is: I choose with my will whom I will serve on any given day. My will submits to God’s will or Satan’s will.  “The right choice manifests a huge dividend in God’s grace and blessing.   The woman “who does not desire the highest state of grace, does not desire any”.  It all hinges on the Master you choose to serve…

 Which master will it be today?

~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 "More Obstacles?"

Meet my backyard squirrel and the obstacle he faces daily!

The world is facing a number of obstacles from which no one is exempt. Wildfires, hurricanes, and health crises (with baffling mandates galore here in California) have forced all of us to face the current challenges. These are big tests, but not bigger than God’s drive to see lives changed. 

 As women, we face the ultimate challenge of practicing our convictions, sharing with those in conflict and comforting those around us who are struggling with how to handle it all.  Abraham’s life demonstrated that even the heathen around him recognized the difference between their lives and his. Gen. 21:22 Abimelech spoke to Abraham saying, “God is with you in all you do”!  God told Gideon, “there is a might in you so powerful it can save Isreal, and that might is MY PRESENCE.”  

 The Isa. 43:1-5 verses confirm that when God’s presence abides on us, we can go through any fire, pass through any waters, through rivers that overflow us (Pucuro, in the jungles of Panama) and know His presence is all we need abiding in us. We are responsible to choose to “practice His presence”.  As we do this, God will guide our steps, open doors of ministry, move obstacles, lift cares, remove fears and abide in us!  “Fear not for I am with you” is the promise and comfort we all need to combat the steady barrage of disorder.  

 God’s abiding presence brings peace and victory.  The presence of the Spirit-controlled life, directed and trusting only God, is the key to laying hold of the power of God. God attaches a condition to having His presence in our lives. It is useless to attempt any endeavor apart from God, which can only be maintained in our lives, as we choose to confess sin and not allow any unresolved relationship to hinder it!

 “God works through holiness, not a dirty cup.”

Roy Heisson, Calvary Road

 When the Isrealites were in the wilderness, God manifested His presence to them in a cloud. This cloud was a pledge.  They never had to figure out their direction or future because their confidence was in that visible cloud of the Lord’s presence.  Today, the cloud of God’s presence hovers over our secret closet of communion with Him through His word and prayer. 

 Peace is the prize and it will lead us, empower us, and keep us in harmony with God in every area of our lives, regardless of the turmoil.  “The continual pursuit of God’s presence will direct us into a revelation of Christ’s glory. ‘God’s presence will go with us and He will give us rest.’” (Moses, Exodus 33:13)  

 Our guide through this perplexing maze is waiting 

to give us that peace and rest.

 Are you finding rest in Him these days?

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

Jackie's Journey "Regret's?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jackie's Journey "Having a Bad Day?"

“I believe that every right implies a responsibility;

every opportunity, an obligation;

every possession, a duty.”  John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

 As women, we are forever being confronted with a sense of our worth and usefulness or a lack of it, are we not?  If someone asked you what your treasures were, how would you answer?  

Our usefulness is generally wrapped in the package of what we do with what we value.  What would your list look like?  Would you list…Parents, husband, kids, faithful friends, life-lessons, influence, experiences, relationships, personality, money, salvation…?  

 What have you done with what you have been given?  Invested it?  Buried it?  Lost focus?  Been too busy for it? Counted on others? Made excuses? Procrastinated?  Been fearful of failure?

The value of a life is measured by how much is given away with eternal purpose.

 “After a long time, a man returned from his trip and called his workers to him to give an account of how they had used the money he had left with them.  The servant who had been entrusted with five bags of silver came forward with five more and the man said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now, I will give you many more responsibilities.  Let’s celebrate together!”  Matt. 25: 19-21

 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said,” Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.  I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth.  Look, here is your money back.”  But the Master replied, You wicked and lazy servant.”  Matthew 25: 24-26

 God has given each of us exactly what we need to equip us (women) to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ (starting with our nuclear family).  We will be mature…no longer undeveloped and useless.  We won’t be tossed and blown about.  We will not be influenced when other’s around us try to trick us with the lies of this world and our current culture.  Instead, we will speak God’s truth in love (because the Word has been read and implanted in us!), growing in every way more and more like Christ.  As each part does its own unique work, it helps other parts (our husband and children) grow, so that the whole body (beginning with our own family) is healthy and growing and full of love.”  Eph. 4: 11-16

 How am I to use my treasure to build my family and the body of Christ; to cause other’s to speak well of God because of us; to invest in relationships that will multiply; to translate life-lessons into tools to benefit others; to influence my children to seek the heart of God above all else…etc.…? 

My children are grown and I have seven grandchildren.  They carry the truth of those verses in Ephesians…or they don’t! Being responsible to build a healthy, growing family is an intentional challenge and it is never over until they are throwing dirt on our coffins!

BUT GOD has given us everything we need to do the job He has called us to and HE will do it, if we get out of HIS way, stay dead to our selfishness and pride and allow HIM to live through us…. Phil. 4: 13

 We, then, become valuable tools in HIS hands

With a huge sense of worth…

 HAVE A GREAT DAY!

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

Jackie's Journey "Where is My Life Going?"

In 2012, a few months before my Dad unexpectantly left me to be with the Lord, he asked, “How have you invested your life, Jackie?”  I was caught off-guard and his always “Chatty Cathy” daughter was at a loss for words!  I was speechless. I was so busy living my life, I never stopped to think how I had spent my life up to the moment of that question!  It was definitely worth reflection and I began to jot down a few ideas after thanking him for the thought-provoking request.  My thumb-nail sketch began the year of my encounter with God at the University of Arizona.

 It is a challenging question

and if I were to ask you the same thing…

how would you respond?

 I began to mentally line up my priorities.  We have such a short time here on earth and what we do for Him is the onlyeternal investment that carries value or goes on after we leave this earth.  “Only one life will soon be past; only what’s done for Him will last!”  We are to be busy about His work, which is exactly what Jesus would do if He were in my situation. Matt. 6: 10  

 We are women with massive responsibility and job descriptions.  We are stewards of the time allotted to us and accountable one day to a sovereign God who is trusting us to find Him sufficient in all areas of our lives. No excuses or rationalizations for our commission and duty.  No blaming, laziness or procrastination for what we know we are called to do as women of faith, mom’s, grand-mom’s, professional’s, aunts, etc.…  Because He has given us everything we need to lead a godly life and made every provision for His living His life out of us, we have no justification for walking any other way!

 Many of us have reason to double down and find that path of peace in turbulence, contentment in chaos, wisdom in the battle with our natural inclinations; authentic love over “me first!” selishness; gratefulness over unfulfilled expectation’s; humility over arrogance; self-control over self- indulgence; joyfulness over self-pity; meekness instead of anger; etc…. As women, we are prone to live in the “I am going to survive this” mode (there is certainly enough controversy and activity in it!) and not in God’s focus…the “what is going to count for eternity” mode. 

 How have you invested your life?

 We can be inspired to get “on point “

with what is going to withstand time and space

and put our energies there… what do you think?

Just saying…

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

Jackie's Journey "Whose Story Is It, Anyway?"

“Grace is when God gives us good things we don’t deserve.  Mercy is when He spares us from bad things we do deserve.  Blessings are when He is generous with both.” Ralph Johnson Truly, we can never run out of reasons to thank HIM…He is good ALL the time!  “Gratitude is the memory of the heart”.

Recently, my husband shared these seven points with our family after dinner out of Romans.  All four of our oldest daughter’s college age students were packing up to move into Universities. With Covid, masks, vaccinations and the controversies surrounding on campus living, etc., it seemed appropriate to re-focus on God’s ultimate plan in the individual life.

 1.     When we were born again, we were in God’s continual cross-hairs, created to be what He has designed us to become.  The story is NOT about me, but about Him in me.  It is HIS story. 

2.     We are fearfully and wonderfully made in HIS image. Psalm 139 “We are a letter; known and read by all men” …II Cor. 3: 2-3 

 3.     Our lives have destiny and purpose that God designed specifically for each one of us individually for this exact time in history…we have an assignment.  He will, one day, hold us accountable. Rom. 3:19; Ezek. 3:18; Luke 7:23; Romans 14: 12

 4.     The Cross has the final Word.  Our declaration is to live in victory.  HIS victory, found in HIS will and HIS purpose. Rev. 2: 26

 5.     We serve at the pleasure of the King…from death to life; from darkness to light. We are commissioned servants to righteousness. Romans 6: 19

 6.     Jesus is Lord, King, Ruler, Owner… One day every knee will bow and confess HE is Lord. Romans 14:11

 7.     Our God turns ashes into beauty…Wait on the Lord…He has the last word.

 His grace is sufficient, His mercy is everlasting.  If God could close the lions mouth for Daniel; part the Red Sea for Moses; make the sun stand still for Joshua; open the prison door for Peter; put a baby in the arms of Sarah and raise Lazarus from the dead…then He can certainly take care of us, regardless of the circumstances around us!  Nothing we are facing today is too hard for HIM to handle in our life.  

Our only focus should be on the purity of our walk and

our commitment to His will and purpose…not our own!

His Story lived through us!

 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 "Beware of Batting Your Wings!"

My husband has an office in the garage and occasionally a tiny hummingbird will fly in and spend two days fluttering frantically to get out!  We have both tried to gently coax its darting frame out the door, fearful that it might break its flickering wings, but it persists in batting itself higher and higher against the ceiling, until we finally give up and it drops to the floor exhausted!  Its continual struggle to get free is heart-wrenching to watch…but they are little soldiers…they never give up!

 Our current world-wide disorder, confusion and contradiction clearly defines the obscure position we are finding ourselves in.  Like the hummingbird, our brains struggle to make sense of it all and we look for a way out. With the national chaos in Afghanistan and local talk of “defunding the police” in various cities across our nation, I am curious to know how we will govern our country, homes, schools, churches, communities and lives.  We are at war and don’t even know it!  The greatest battle we are facing is in our minds.  It is easy to think we are just victims to our circumstances, BUT WE HAVE A CHOICE!  The panic, disrespect and anxiety that has over-taken our thinking is running amuck in the rhetoric of lie after lie. 

When I mention the terms “Law, Statutes, Commands, Ordinances, Judgements and Precepts” …what comes to mind?   Do you bristle at the thought?  Ever wonder what these are for or why God counts them important?  Are they necessary?  They are referenced all through scripture.  Lawlessness is becoming common place in California, with permission to steal as much as you can carry up to 900.00 dollars with no consequence.  Marijuana is legalized! There are is no law protecting the homeowner from breaking and entering, criminals are walking out of court and released from serving time and child trafficking is off the charts…need I go on?  

 What am I to think?  It’s all so negative and toxic!  How are we to cope with all the turmoil and uncertainty?  It doesn’t help that from the very beginning in Genesis, the fall brought broken fellowship with God and man, broken thinking, broken emotions, fear of death, rebellion, lies and much more.  We are told by self-help guru’s that “we are awesome”; this or that medication will take the edge off the mayhem and “we are beautiful and the world is getting better”! 

SAY WHAT???

 “All stress and anxiety can be traced back to three basic lies: (1) I am helpless (2) I am worthless (3) I am unlovable.” 2 Thess. 2: 9   There are more suicides among young people than ever before.  They believe one or all of these lies!  Scripture answers those lies with: (1) the power of the Godhead dwells in us…we are not helpless! (2) I was worth dying for…I have great value! (3) I am accepted in the beloved…I am VERY loved!  

 We are at war.  “Transform your thinking and you will transform your life.”  We are to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” II Cor. 10:5     This is the battleground.  It’s a war.  We are warriors.  The choice is ours.  We are not victims. 

 Get to know these terms…they frame our thoughts…they are the remedy…

Line your thoughts up with God’s truth…

 “The law of the Lord is perfect…restoring the soul (the mind, will and emotions); the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right…rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure…enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord (fearing the consequence of sin) is clean, enduring forever; the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous.  Your servant is warned, in keeping them there is great reward.”   Psalm 19: 7-11

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

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

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

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

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

Its glory is to transform a curse into blessing and show

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

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

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIMBERLY JOY!

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