Jackie's Journey: Have A Blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is this Thursday!  We have everything to be grateful for, don’t we?  Gratefulness is making known to God and others in what ways they have benefited our lives. I Corinthians 4:7    Thanksgiving Day is a perfect time to do this!

Thanksgiving weekend is full of traditions for our family, as I am sure it is in your home.  It is the official beginning of the Christmas season.  The Christmas trees go up, the Christmas C.D.’s fill the house with music, the wreaths are hung on the front doors, the garlands are placed around the house with care, and the lights from the bannister shine out from the second story as a welcoming beacon for all who enter over the coming days of celebration.

 My bulging gift closet is opened up after a year of accumulating its secret chattels and the “to do list” is formally inducted into the hustle of Christmas giving.  The stacked boxes full of gifts, just waiting to be wrapped, are pulled out and the forgotten person, item or the missing piece of a waiting gift is duly noted and one by one will be addressed and added to its appropriate package over the next few weeks.

“Making a List and Checking It Twice…”

In the book “A Royal Christmas to Remember” the princesses and young knights are busy checking off all that must be accomplished with all the activities that come with planning and preparing for the Holiday Season.   Unexpectedly there is a disruption at the castle door.  Fear silences their demanding schedule.  Abruptly frozen in their tracks, their thoughts are focused on the pending danger and Christmas preparations are lost in the newly presented event at hand…

Who is knocking at the door?  What could it be?  What has happened?

 Organizing activities requires lists!  There are many kinds of lists.  They can be the organizer that keeps us on track.  They are the reminders that sustain us on our trek in a time crunch.  They put our weekly menu together and they assure us that everything is packed in a lunch bag or backpack.  They maintain our priorities.  Lists are good things…Fresh reminders, motivators to keep us keeping on…

I have been thinking about a list that has been in a notebook next to my Bible for years.   It accompanies my journal and is the key of the day and the lock of the night.  It is a list of names and needs of …family members, missionaries, church families, people we are witnessing to, people we are mentoring, church leaders, leaders of our great nation, prayer requests…

“Watch and pray…”  Matthew 26:41

“God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven…”  II Chronicles

“So we fasted and petitioned our God about this and He answered our prayer.”  Ezra *: 23

 “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.  And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.” C.S. Lewis

“If you are a stranger to prayer you are a stranger to power”.  If we are too busy to pray…then we are too busy!  Hurry is the death of prayer!

 “Satan laughs at our toiling but he trembles when we pray.

Will you join me this busy time of year to take time to enter your “War Room” with your prayer list and talk to God?

~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 discipling 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: What do You Value?

We demonstrate what we value by what we give our attention and affection to.  Dedicated moms know where their children are all the time.  If one is missing, while Christmas shopping, even for a moment…panic sets in.  We value our little ones!  

The object of our devotion reveals what is important to us.

 I walked into the Mall over a month ago and was greeted by sparkling lights, festive music, fully decorated Christmas trees of every size and color, and the warm scent of cinnamon and pine wafting in the air…it was October 1st!   Thanksgiving was six weeks away!   Christmas was two months away!

The materialistic focus had begun and the most celebrated event of the year was lost in a world of themed decorations, color coordinated ornaments, hearth garlands and welcoming wreaths ready for our front doors...an obvious demonstration of what the world values.  I looked in vain for a Nativity scene.  Where was the real object of our celebration...“the reason for the season”…Jesus Christ? 

“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all!”

 In our newest release “A Royal Christmas to Remember” the princesses found that although the entire village had been ransacked by a band of marauding outlaws, they were amazed to find that the nativity scene had been left unscathed.   They stood gazing down at the baby Jesus and thanked God that He had come into the world and that no one was injured in the attack.   Their focus was on the Savior who had come to bring peace.   Regardless of the circumstances around them, their hearts were captured by the wonderful gift God gave us in His Son!  They were filled with unspeakable joy!

“Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream.  It is a glorious reality.  It is a time of joy.  Bethlehem’s manger crib became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God.  From that manger came a Man who not only taught us a new way of life, but brought us into a new relationship with our Creator.  Christmas means that God is interested in the affairs of people; that God loves us so much that He was willing to give us His Son.”  Billy Graham

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given…and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 Isaiah 9: 6

Who is the object of your attention this holiday season?

~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 discipling 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 Said I'd Never Eat a Rodent!

There have been many things I have thought, and sometimes verbalized, that I never wanted to do in life.  Like:

Ø  Never again will I lose my temper…

Ø  Never again will I let my fear control me

Ø  Never again set a bad example in speech, attitudes, actions…(everyone would be watching! I can’t protect His reputation that way!)

Ø  Never again be a complainer (life is complicated and challenging…get with the program, Jackie, think opportunity!)

Ø  Never again think “me first” (followers of Christ can’t be selfish!)

Ø  Never again put anything before my time in the Word…(I know how a normal day rolls and there simply has to be time!... Right?!)

 What are the “I said I’d never_________”  in your life?

While living in the jungle we learned to cook with what was available in the jungle! The Kunas would bring us meat in rainy season in exchange for the use of our rifle and three bullets.  They rarely failed to take those three bullets and bring home enough to divide up among the entire village!  We welcomed the protein from any and all forms of meat that they offered us.

One day they returned the rifle with a quarter of white meat that looked unfamiliar, but proved to be sweet and delicious.  Curious, I asked what it was and when could they find it again!  They called it a Neki.  “What does a Neki look like?”, I inquired.  From the description I thought it must be some form of very large rabbit or small deer???  Years later, while visiting the San Diego Zoo,  I met the Neki… it is a Capybara…a member of the rodent family!

As moms, we know we should never say “never or always”!  Those promises just don’t pan out!  We don’t even hear it when we say it!  We do it to our children:

Ø  I always tell the truth (You cannot have that cookie until after supper …..)

Ø  I never discipline in anger…(I told you …for the third time!...)

Ø  I never use a condescending tone of voice that belittles (What’s wrong with you?!…)

Ø  I will always be a mom who encourages first before correction (Uh, huh?)

Ø  I will never make excuses for my disobedience or my child’s (“I’m sorry…I was up with the kids and didn’t sleep last night…I don’t mean to be cross!”  Or “She’s fussy because she needs a nap, diaper change, food…she didn’t mean to do it”….)       

We are forever in a theater of war with what we know to be true and what we want others to think of us. .  Moms are the leaders in the march through the attitudes and activities that make up our day in the home.   We are giving it everything we’ve got, after all!

Finding authenticity with God and within ourselves is an exercise worthy of our time and attention.  While we have good intentions and are committed to a standard of personal integrity, we often are deceived by a lie and self imposed expectations (and our failure to meet those expectations).  Realizing the absolute necessity of living transparent before God and man is our only hope of escaping the “nevers and always” in our lives.

Children are the most susceptible to our expectations and they listen to our, ‘Never do that again!’; I told you to “always put your toys back! “ They want to see the Christ of the bible we teach alive in us.  The balance of acceptance, loving discipline with firm admonishment, encouragement, forgiveness, instruction with understanding of consequence and right and wrong…keep us alive in Him…totally dependent.   The opportunities are unending.

There is always the guilt when we fall short.  We don’t aspire to set ourselves up as “pack leader”, but there is no denying its reality when we see our little ones doing and saying exactly what we do and say!  They are mute to our verbal instruction but alert to reading us and becoming carbon copies….

Christina, my first daughter, giving her doll a firm admonition

 that came right out of my mouth!

Have I faced the “always and nevers” in my life successfully?

My children and grandchildren will totally answer that one honestly!

What kind of influence am I?

 How about you?

Are you the leader He is looking for to guide your children into truth

Or are you the excuse your children use to do as they please?!

~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 discipling 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: Wise in your own Eyes?

As moms we have the ultimate privilege of having little innocent ones look up to us, think us wise, copy our every move and watch our pattern of responses to life’s situations. 

We nurture them and delight in the fact that we are so needed and well thought of at our young age.  To our little ones everything is new and learning about the world outside is an adventure we readily take with them, carefully exposing tiny hands to the beauty of flower petals, cautiously moving furry caterpillars and catching the wind blowing leaves.  We experience the joy of living through the eyes of these that see only the splendor…then reality hits!

We don’t live in that world anymore.  We are fraught with the truth of our own reflection in their innocent eyes.  We are in the adult theater of war with the manifestations of our self-importance!  The enemy has blinded us with a pursuit of self-recognition and self-exaltation and a desire to control.  We have become complainers; mothers who pass judgment on God (by judging others!); women of bad attitudes and angry looks; contentious; perfectionists; chatterboxes about ourselves; women consumed with what others think; unteachable; sarcastic; devastated by criticism; defensive; disrespectful to our husbands; self-sufficient; irritable; jealous; envious; full of self-pity…you know you best…you fill in the blank! 

All of these and more are marks of arrogance in the life!  Being wise in your own eyes!  Don’t give approval to your child with a lower standard than God gave us in His Word regarding pride.

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”  Proverbs 16: 5

 “There is one character quality that will enable us (to be the moms we are called to be) and all Christ wants us to be.  We cannot come to God without it.  We cannot love God supremely without it.  We cannot be an effective witness for Christ without it.  We cannot love our children or husband and serve others without it.  We cannot (be that model or) lead in a godly way without it.  We cannot resolve conflict without it. We cannot deal with the sin of others without it. 

In short, we must embrace and live out humility in order to truly live and be who God means for us to be.” (Stuart Scott…emphasis added) It is for this reason that God exhorts us through Paul:"Therefore, I the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all HUMILITY and gentleness…"Eph. 4:1-2

 “We can have no power from Christ unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own.” (John Owen)  We cannot be humble without realization of our areas of sinful pride; calling it by name, repenting in brokenness and reflecting glory back to God. As difficult as the battle between pride and humility seems, the provision to live triumphantly is possible only by His promise and delivery of grace made available to the humble.  “Humility creates the vacuum that divine grace fills.” (John McArthur)  Moment by moment decisively walking a life absent of self opens the door to all the grace needed for humility to grow.

God’s most powerful illustrations have been in the lives of men and women who knew their weakness, but who learned how to draw on God’s strength!

Charles Spurgeon taught “every Christian has a choice between

being humble or being humbled”!

Which will it be?

~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 discipling 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 the Little Things that Trip Us Up, Isn't It?"

Everything from magnificent orchid flowers to jumping spiders are supersized when you live in a rainforest!    Catastrophes like tsunami’s, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcano’s keep us on our toes, but it’s the chiggers, roaches, sandflies, mosquitos, ticks and ants that test our endurance.

My husband has very few fears, but army ants swarming a million strong are way up on the top of his short list!  The drug cartel, the National Guard accusing us of being CIA spies, the untamed animals, poisonous snakes and lethal frogs…none bothered him like the threat of army ants marching across the jungle floor consuming everything in site, leaving a wide path in their wake.  As a point of interest, a whole colony of army ants can consume up to 500,000 prey animals each day!

We had one cardinal rule that was for our jungle living protection.  We would never take food into our beds!  Even though we slept under mosquito netting, we needed to protect ourselves from the noisy mosquitos and the marauding population that roamed while we were sleeping. 

         The joy of a typical evening with Ralph teaching in our jungle home

Most nights our house would fill up with our Kuna family and we would put our girls to bed and continue teaching by way of a kerosene lantern, swinging from the center of the room.  One particular evening, I slipped behind the parachute walls to tuck the girls securely under the netting.  We were always very careful they had no open gaps…much more so than we were with ourselves.

A few hours later, after turning in for the night, we heard Kimberly Joy rustling about, moaning and rolling in her sleep.  In the next few minutes she cried out for us.  Ralph bolted upright, grabbed the flashlight and darted out the open door only to find his “worst fear had come upon him”!  With one fell swoop he had Kim out from under the net and was frantically brushing large jungle ants off of her.  Handing her frightened frame to me, he turned to grab Christina in the bunk above her, who had awakened and was screaming at the invasion! 

The swarm was a foot wide and moving at nano speed!  In their haste they were crawling all over each other to reach their pending goal!  Just their momentum was terrifying…nothing was going to deter them!  They had come up through the cracks in the floorboards and were in a mad rush to reach the cookie crumbs that Kim had left behind… in her bed!!! 

Keeping focused and realizing the severity of our circumstance, Ralph grabbed the powdered poison purchased just for this event and began to kill the creepy crawlers that had assaulted our peace!  Time seemed to stand still as the persistent attackers were redirected and eliminated.

The next morning we awoke to find our pet rabbit had been attacked and his hollowed out furry skin was all that remained. The ants had killed our fluffy friend and they had carried off all of their dead!  Ralph sprinkled the poisonous powder down the path they had cleared through the jungle into our home…they never returned!  

Sometimes in life difficult circumstances begin to rule in our hearts.  Whether big or small they are the very opportunities given by a God who knows our needs and is specific in His teaching and purpose.  For days it occurred to me that if those small creatures could enter once, twice would be even easier.  Sleeping became a tiresome nightly adventure as my imagination began to capture the other night crawling inhabitants that were possibly lurking on the other side of our mosquito nets and bark walls!

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me:

even at night my heart instructs me”.

Psalm 16: 3

I knew the large jungle cats, hairy spiders and enormous scorpions would give me pause, but I did not count on a swarm of ants!  It was the “little things” that tripped me up!

Knowing God is supreme and there is purpose in every plan He chooses for us puts it all in perspective.  Our job is to focus on His life-lesson in the teaching through the circumstance.  We will be in this “school” of life until He calls us home.  Surrendering to however and whatever He choses to “grow us up” are all part of the adventure.  One of the exciting things about the Christian life is that the adventures are endless, if we have eyes to see from His perspective!

The most common thief to rob us of the blessings of God is our refusal to learn from the “little things” in life.  Listen girlfriends…

“…the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations.  Psalm 33: 11

 "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

~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 discipling 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: "Kidnapped and Killed!"

“Afflictions are but the shadow of God’s wings.”

George MacDonald

In the tropics the challenges are relentless. I recently read, ”The Darien Gap, a large swath of undeveloped swampland and dense forest with no roads, is dangerous due to incidents of kidnapping, murder and drug-running by Colombian guerillas and paramilitary groups who have crossed the border into Panama.”  

This is the very place where God chose to locate us.

After leaving our field of service, three new families moved into our village and into our homes to continue the work among the Kuna’s.  Those three New Tribe Mission families were put to the ultimate test when their husbands were kidnapped by a Colombian paramilitary group (FARC).The horror of their capture and disappearance into the dense Darien jungle was unthinkable

.“When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below…How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no God like you and there is no God but you…”

Joshua 2:11 and 2 Samuel 7:22

 My heart was lost in the “inconceivable”.   It was my worst imaginings while living interior and it had become reality just a few years after we returned to the U.S.  What would happen now?  Will our Kuna family go on? How would these wives and their children continue?  These three brave missionary women would later learn their husbands had been murdered shortly after their capture!    Lawlessness prevails in the Darien…

“The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

I did not do a lot of research on Panama, the Darien or any investigation of our area prior to entering our tribe.  It was deep into the jungle by way of a maze of rivers past all civilization.  It was magnificent in beauty and scale, but intimidating with threatening unknowns.  My husband and I were on the adventure of our lives and our zeal to reach these remote people for Christ was indescribable.  They needed the story of God and mankind from the beginning and we were challenged by the opportunity.

The Kunas could not imagine why these foreigners were living among them.  What did we really want?   Our goal was to share the gospel with these tribal people who had no background to understand God’s Word.  Their god, after all, was an Earthmother!

The arduous task of learning a completely foreign language and culture to communicate the Gospel clearly was set before us and we had been prepared well.  Through Boot Camp and Language School we came to understand academically and spiritually the job at hand and we were anxious to get at it.  We did not allow ourselves to entertain the possibility of turning back or what it might cost or the price that we might be called upon to pay!

I am grateful I was unaware of all the potential dangers that lurked in our geographical area.   When the news came to us of the men and their families that followed us, it was shocking.  God’s timing is not ours, His ways are not ours and His ultimate purpose is not always obvious or easily read.  His sovereignty, however, is ours to claim and is the place where we find peace in utter confusion and turmoil.

 I am eternally grateful to those women in different pockets of the world, who stood with us during our time in Panama.  The prayers of the faithful sustained us as they “held the ropes” at home. Those who joined hands with us to reach this remote group of Kunas in the Darien Gap confirmed His calling on us and they were the continual source of encouragement that we needed to “keep on keeping on”. 

The next time you think you are having a “bad” day,

Will you pray with me for those moms who are still in remote areas involved in “reaching the unreached?”

 ”I know you can do all things (God).

And that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Job 42:

~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 discipling 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. 

Are You a Christmas Procrastinator?

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If you go to my house right now and open any drawer or closet, you will most likely find a mess.  Some of them might be clean, but not all.  I am naturally a procrastinator.  I work best under pressure!  Fully owning this part of my personality, I approach many areas of my life under duress. I used to approach Christmas in the same frantic manner, until I was challenged to rethink the whole season.

Because the old me would run crazy through Christmas so busy that I could barely hold my breath.  I was terribly rushed through the beauty of this lovely time of year because I was a Christmas Procrastinator.  My time with the Lord suffered, my relationship with my husband and kids suffered, my life was just one blurry mess and then it was over and felt depressed because I never got to “enjoy” it.  Does anyone else feel that way?

Many people encourage us to simplify the holiday, but alas I cannot do that well.  I just love the many traditions and lessons Jesus' birth brings with it. I am a party planner at heart so December is just one big party. So how could I save myself from running into the ground? I was encouraged to begin early and plan well. Today I am here to share that it does work and you can breathe in the midst of Christmas!

Years ago when my children were little, I heard a lesson on "Making Christmas Doable". The speaker gave us a list of ideas on how to plan out the season.  Most of us sat in awe as she introduced her material with throw-up on our shirts and diaper bags filled the brim. She encouraged us to take one or two ideas from the seemingly hundreds of thoughts and implement them. Some of them even start in October! She didn't want to overwhelm us, but instead give us a target to shoot for. So I did! Here is a example of a Christmas checklist from RealSimple.com that is similar.

As I am making my to-do lists, I need to remember my priorities.  First and foremost, I need to spend time thinking about everyone and everything that is important.  For me, I want to spend time daily with God, work out in the morning, spend time with my husband at night and have face-to-face time with my kids.  These are non-negotiables for me every day. So they can’t change during December.  This is why I make a Christmas plan!

What are your priorities during the holiday season?  What can’t you forget or what event can’t you miss?  Plan ahead to know those things.  For God is a God of order as we find in 1st Corinthians and not of confusion.  He lays out his plans in Genesis and references us doing the same in Luke.  So this idea is not mine, it is God’s idea for us to be thinking ahead.

Seizing the season means that you are taking back control of the things that you have control over so that God will be able to interrupt you will HIS plan!  Nothing is worse then for God to have an assignment for you in the BIG PLAN and you or I don’t have time for it!

This lesson reminds me of the Princess Parables newest story, "A Royal Christmas to Remember".  The girls are frantically decorating the castle, but are really missing the reason for Christmas in the first place. Only when the town and castle are captured by evil merauders do they see what they have been missing.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss anything this Christmas!

Won't you join me! I have ordered our Christmas cards and bought a couple of presents just this week. My goal is to help you with a plan to tackle this year as best as possible. The real reason is Jesus, not the to do list.  Give ourself attainable goals to insure we are ready and not just flying by the seat of our pants!

How do you "plan" for Christmas?

~Jeanna Young - When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey "A Royal Christmas to Remember"

“A blanket of powdery snow covered the castle walls.  The princess sisters found themselves in a scene right out of a fairytale.  The most remarkable winter in years has arrived.  Christmas is only a night away.  Princesses Joy, Grace, Faith, Charity and Hope are surrounded by glittering gifts, a huge Christmas tree in the parlor, sparkling candles, and a dramatic night sky with one star bigger and brighter than all the others.  A sudden rap at the door of the castle puts the kingdom on immediate alert!  Will a marauding band of outlaws ruin the princesses’ perfect Christmas Eve?”

This is an exciting day for Jeanna and I!  Tomorrow, our newest seasonal release, 

A Royal Christmas to Remember hits book stores and will be available through Amazon.com, christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, your local Christian book store… 

This is the second of our seasonal books.  Its appearance before the holiday season is perfectly timed to arrive before the Christmas crunch.  Its story is timeless, taken from Luke 12:15-21, the Parable of the Rich Young Ruler.  It is dedicated to the parents who strive to rescue their children from the materialistic focus of this time of year.  It is for those of you who desire to introduce your child to the person who is the “reason for this season”…Jesus Christ.

Celebrate with us in grateful praise

as we acknowledge His enabling, leading and direction.

                                  Princesses Joy, Grace, Faith, Hope and Charity

In Sally Clarkson’s recent book “Ministry of Motherhood” she wrote:

“Children need the authentic strength that comes from the true foundation of a biblical worldview and a proper understanding of the real Christ who is worthy of their worship!  They need an unwavering moral and spiritual compass that will help them weather today’s storms and will guide them for the rest of their lives.  They also need to see what a real faith looks like when lived day in, day out, so they will have a pattern to follow.”

The Princess Parables have been written with God’s worldview that teaches biblical character, eternal values and is designed to cultivate a desire to be a child of the true King of Kings!  The Series is bible-based on a parable taught by the greatest teacher that ever lived.  They encompass character-emphasized prince and princesses and eternal values are targeted.  A Royal Christmas to Remember is written with these principles imposed onto every page. 

           Jeanna and I are blessed with the privilege of working together

 to make this Christmas book available to you.

Faithful is He who called us who has also done it…  I Thessalonians 5:24

Rejoice with us!

~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 discipling 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. 

The Days are Long, the Years are Short!

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As I walk into my laundry room, pencil lines mark the time. We have measured each of my kids over their lifetime on the door. Some of the rough lines are over my head now. I gaze at the ones at my knees. Remember when?

My children are all growing up . . . little by little . . . day by day. The wall shows me the progress – the years are represented.

When they were little, people used to say, “Enjoy this time! It goes by so quickly!”

Somewhere between the dirty diapers and sleepless nights I heard “them”, but it seemed so impossible to revel in those days. For I don’t function well without sleep and I am more of a task-master than a lover of all. So motherhood with all of its daily challenges became more of a checklist of things to do than a season to enjoy.

As more children came, the minutes were swallowed up by the fleeting hours of the day. My to-do list became longer as they grew from toddler to child.  We continued to mark their growth with pencil marks on the wall.

And now some of them beginning to drive. One of my children is just about to bloom into a woman. I spend my days driving all four from activities to classes and shuffling through the many needs each has. After all these years, I am only doing the best I can with this parenting job. I have certainly not arrived. I have learned to love more and be more patient. Is it enough?

But sooner than I think, our home will be an empty nest.

Yes, it has gone by . . . quickly.

“The days are long, but the years are short”, one wise woman told me once.

I can feel just the slightest feel of remorse and sadness, if I ponder these truths.

“Am I doing the best I can?”

“Have a cherished enough of the moments?”

“Did I miss too many working or in ministry?”

“Should I have . . . ? Could I have . . . ?”

Do any of you feel like this? I haven’t always gotten it right. I have been selfish and had my own agenda. I can look back and think of all the mistakes I have made.

But when I stop and ask God about it, He reminds me they are His children. I have been given them for a season. I will not be perfect, but I am who my children need. I feel more and more these days that parenting is really more about me growing to be more Christ-like than it ever was about raising them up in the first place. God’s got them in the palm of His hand.

For now, I will remember to appreciate the little things, like reading a book to my youngest two before bed. I was consistent with my first two, but with busy days my younger two haven't enjoyed this staple routine. I do know those are moments they will remember. Traditions passed from one generation to the next helps me gather memories, too, like our Advent of Books in December.  

We have a new book coming out next Tuesday that will be great for both of these endeavors - A Royal Christmas to Remember. 

My goal is to be able to look back and not feel guilt. I am the queen of “should haves” my husband says. However, I don’t want to “should” all over myself when my children are grown.

So today – with days I have left - I will take each thought . . . each “guilt thought” . . . every “not good enough” thought and ask the Lord His opinion. If I need to change, He will tell me. If I need to rest or let go, He will tell me. But in every moment, I want to enjoy.

Because the days are long, and the years are short!

What do you do to remember and make memories?

~Jeanna Young - When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Who do We Think We are Fooling?

As women, it should startle us to realize our power of influence.  Even though we are more than acquainted with the call to “walk our talk” and not be an excuse for bad behavior in our little ones (and big ones!), we should sense the intense obligation.

We never know who is watching!  Pressures to “walk our talk” are those continuing opportunities for others to observe our true character.  (II Corinthians 4: 17)   A hypocrite willfully lives in conflict with his or her mind, will and emotions.  He or she is motivated by a desire for the appreciation of men rather than the approval of God.  (Proverbs 27: 21)  It is an incredible responsibility when you stop to think about it!

Can you pass the test for a “Walk your Talk” mom?

1.     Do you get in the Word of God daily? 

2.     Do you keep a record of the things God brings to your attention, as He teaches you, so you are continually fresh and ready to share with others?

3.     Do you understand how to maintain a consistent “walk in the Spirit”?

4.     Are you presently witnessing to someone who is in need of our Savior?

5.     Are you mentoring at least one person at this time?

6.     Do you know you are born of God…no doubts?

How did you do? 

Our Western culture is consumed with an attitude of “I deserve this”, I am entitled to this!”   “Give Me!”.  The quality of spiritual life we are going to address in this blog is rarely experienced because we are so busy demanding personal rights.  We have learned to call “our rights” by acceptable, “politically correct” terms.  But rights, nonetheless, are the separators of us from spiritual reality.

Here are some acceptable signs (oops, sins!) that tell us our “best” has been compromised and our “walk “may need some attention:

• “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1Thess. 5: 18  

Do you give thanks in everything? Or are you selective in the area of gratefulness…maybe you’re a complainer or worrier…

• “Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think.” Rom. 12: 3

Are you proud of YOUR accomplishments, YOUR talents, and YOUR family?  Do you fail to see others as better than yourself, more important than yourself in your relationships in the body of Christ?

•  “Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”  Eph. 4: 31

Do you find fault, carry a grudge, anger easily, hold people to your expectations and speak unkindly about people when they are not present?  
Do you enjoy listening to gossip?  Do you pass it on?

•  “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” 
  Col. 3: 9

Do you ever lie?  Exaggerate? Do you tell things the way you want them rather than the way they are? 

• “Even so ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”  Matt. 23: 28 

Do you smile self-righteously during the sermon on Sunday but live in your bad attitudes all week?  Are you the same person in your home, as the one who is trying to impress people outside your home? 

 We are fooling no one!  We are a book… known and read by all men … especially, children… they read our spirit!

How authentic are you?

 What is your demonstration of truth?

What is your fruit?

 Will your young knight or princess say you

are an unpretentious, genuine mom that 
“walks her talk”? 

~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 discipling 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.