Jackie's Journey "What's the Target?"

“What’s the Target?”

“Education is the knowledge of how to use the whole of oneself.  Many of us use but one or two faculties out of the score with which they are endowed.  A man is educated who knows how to make a tool of every faculty…how to open it, keep it sharp, and how to apply it to all practical purposes.”  Henry Ward Beecher

We would not disagree that we need to target “making a tool of every faculty”, but when we talk about our children’s education we are entering “holy ground”.  America’s founding fathers did not intend to take religion out of education.  “Many of the nation’s greatest universities were founded by evangelists and religious leaders; but many of these have lost the founder’s vision and become secular institutions.  Because of this attitude, secular education is stumbling and floundering.” Billy Graham  (i.e. young fraternity pledge that died during hazing recently in Pennsylvania!)

If you are home schooling or have your children in a public or satellite school, or even a prestigious private school, you are aware of the effort, time and money it takes to educate young people today.  Our progressive culture and the technological world have swallowed us up with their demands and the need to excel in every area if you want to triumph in this competitive world.

After all, we want the best for our children, don’t we?

As a young mom I wanted“the best” for my two princesses while living in the jungles of Panama.  My choices were, however, limited, in that I knew I could not send my little girls to a mission school for months at a time and be able to focus on the job we had been commissioned to do among the Kunas.  My hat is off to those who successfully pull this off!  Home school curriculum was limited to ABeka and I was so grateful for this provision.

Jungle school with Christina in Kunaland Kindergarten!

Maybe some of you young moms are busy looking to the future for the education of your child and considering the multitude of options out there today.  For those of you who have set your goals for your children’s education and are preceding as our culture sets the standard, might I suggest an additional target that you can add to your consideration?

As moms, our pursuit is “to find His purpose and make it our goal to please Him first”…because one day “we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us will receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  II Cor. 3: 2,3 Our focus, so often, separates academic schooling from the instruction of our spirit and soul.  We, frequently sacrifice the spiritual aspect to make sure our children will academically excel.

We want to achieve the full potential God has planned for our children…

and us.

We, so often, compartmentalize academic schooling from the instruction of the spirit and soul, relegating the responsibility of the spiritual aspect to our local church, a good bible teacher or the weekly Sunday school class.

“(God’s) purpose is that (our) children be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they have the full riches of complete understanding (applied wisdom), in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (learning to see life’s situations from God’s point of view and acting in harmony with Him, His will and His purpose for our life) and (lastly) knowledge (familiarity gained by insight to truth, experience, accumulated facts and reports). Col. 1:28, 29

Taking time to educate the soul (mind, will and emotions)

and the spirit of a child is the heart of where

the success of true education really lies.

The instruction of the spirit and soul cannot be taught well from any other place but a godly home from godly parents and it trumps all other forms of education.  It takes personal commitment, learning to be a good student of the Word, time, “walk your talk” determination and dedication to teach the Words of God to an eager little prince or princess…but the reward far out ways anything this world, Christian or otherwise, has to offer.

Which will it be…?

What’s your target?

 His will and purpose found in quiet times of rich Bible reading and then,

teaching your little one, introducing the eternal hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge

 or

The secular education being fostered in most churches, homes and schools

across America 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 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 "Things We Never Graduate from..."

I have three graduating grandchildren this month.  Catherine, my first grandchild, is graduating from high school and Christopher, her brother and Maverick are graduating from eighth grade.  Eighteen years gone…like the snap of a twig!

Most graduates tend to stop thinking, reading and learning when they finish high school or college.  The important part of education is to take what you learn and make personal life-applications that will better prepare you to face the world out there. The goal is to make you successful and a benefit to others in the process.

I was a graduate that went directly into Missionary Training after leaving college.  We entered Boot Camp in Wisconsin and then a year and a half later we graduated again and left for Language School in Camdenton, Missouri to gain understanding on how to break down a tribal language.  The following year we graduated, received all our shots for a foreign country, packed our bags and we were in Panama before I knew it and learning Spanish in the little town of Chepo, while waiting for Kim to be born and building our house in the jungle. 

Still thinking, studying, reading and teaching, we headed interior with the intent of learning Kuna and developing an alphabet for this particular group of people.  I had a six-month-old little girl on my lap when I first started my linguistic box.  I had finished teaching my 4 year old to read and she was sure she was now ready for kindergarten!  So far, no break in the studying, teaching and learning…the thinking part was on overload, but we just kept on…

“Pressing on toward the goal…

Forgetting the past

Reaching toward what is ahead…

The prize for which God has called us

Heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Phil. 3:12-14

Of course there was a huge need to acquire the language of this group if they were to hear the words of God in their tongue and there was much time-consuming effort put into listening, pointing to objects and note taking, studying phonemes and learning speech patterns…I saw no light at the end of the tunnel!

Before the linguistic work was done we had opened up a small clinic with medicine donated from compassionate Canal Zone doctors who took pity on us and periodically flew in to help us.  More studying, learning and reading!  I loved helping the people when they were hurting and the clinic gave us an open door into their homes and hearts. 

Returning to the US because of my health, we immediately were asked to help pastor a church in Gardena, California.  We trusted the Lord for His timing to return to Panama and began to open the Word, study, teach and disciple in this very special church, as the Lord opened doors. 

It’s been many years and ministries later and we have yet to stop learning, studying, reading, discipling...!  We have pastored and planted churches here in the U.S., Mexico and Panama.  We have worked in retreats, small groups, camps and dorms.  We have seen God establish his work just about everywhere we have been and we have yet to find a place where we finally graduate and have no need to study, read or teach…

Life is the school and trials and struggles are the best teachers,

not the only ones, but the best!! 

We will never graduate from a daily time in the Word.

We will never graduate from a daily conversation with God in prayer.

We will never graduate from the need to “walk in the light, as He is in the light”,

instantly obedient to His will.

We will never graduate from hearing and following His leading, as we reach out to

present the truth of His birth, death and resurrection to a dying world.

We are never meant to graduate!

We will never finish until the curtain closes the final time…

~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 "10 Little Reasons Why..."

The New School Prayer

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene.

The law is specific; the law is precise

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone we must meditate

God’s Name is prohibited by the state.

We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the “unwed daddy”, our Senior King.

It’s “inappropriate” to teach right from wrong,

We’re taught that such “judgments” do not belong.

We can get condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

It’s scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the schools a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

My soul please take!

Amen.

This was written by a teen in Bagdad, Arizona and it speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

There are 10 little reasons why I choose to:

1.     Offer Hope… “Children desperately need someone to believe in them, to encourage them, and to help them see the future optimistically and positively.” Wm. T. Weathers, M.D.

2.     Be and example and not an excuse by modeling forgiveness and respect for others…”Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another…Forgive, as the Lord forgave you.”  Col.3: 13

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

4.     “Pray twice as much as I fret and listen twice as much as I speak.” Max Lucado  Little ones need our time, patience and a kind listening ear.

5.     Teach dependence on God’s presence.  Isa. 40:31 Oswald Chambers

6.     Demonstrate the character of God by walking in HIS attributes.

7.     Discipline fairly…”A child who lives with consistent, fair correction learns that you value him or her…well-loved yet justly disciplined children…mature to be more productive, secure adults than those raised in ultra-permissive environments.”  Chuck Swindoll

8.     Teach personal responsibility.

9.     Love deeply with undivided loyalties.

10. Yield my rights in deference to those I am called to serve with a joyful heart.  Patterning humility is more powerful than teaching it.

We are the only Bible our children know for those first few years

and we have a privilege and responsibility “to walk in the light” we have

and serve God faithfully in all He chooses to trust us with.

The “New School Prayer” gives us a glimpse of the world

that our young people face and live in. 

These are the leaders of the next generation. 

Our work is cut out for us and the pace to keep up is daunting.

We are blessed with a greater power in us…

than the power that is in the world!

~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 COMING THIS FALL!"

We have been blessed to have had new releases to The Princess Parable Series every year since 2011.  But this year we are abundantly blessed to bring you TWO NEW books!  “Princess Prayers” was just released a few weeks ago in time for this Easter!

“Princess Prayers" includes fifteen sweet prayers for little girls who want to live like princesses.  This padded glittered cover board book will help your toddlers engage with Scripture and open their hearts to God at night time tucked into bed, in the morning devotion times or anytime!  Taking time with your little one to thank God for all the blessings of the day…but especially for each other is a privilege all mothers can enjoy.  “Princess Prayers” is available now at www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com or a local bookstore near you.

Our second book this year and our newest addition;  “Daughters of the King Devotional” is due out this October 2017! 

Please rejoice with us as we reflect glory back to God for His faithfulness!!

~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 is a Mother?"

“What is a Mother?”

If this had been presented to us this way, I don’t believe any of us would have volunteered to participate!

POSITION AVAILABLE

Mom, Mother, Mommy, Mama, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION

Long term, team players needed, for challenging,

permanent work in an often chaotic environment. 

Candidates must possess excellent

communication and organizational skills and be willing to work

variable hours, which will include evenings and

weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips to

primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and

endless sport tournaments in far away cities!

Travel expenses not reimbursed.

Extensive courier duties also required…

RESPONSIBILITIES

 Commitment for the rest of your life.

Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.

Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule

And be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat

In case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges…

Author Unknown

My mother turned 98 this past January and I am so grateful that she not only, signed up for the position but is still on the job, is my best friend, and is my most encouraging cheerleader.  She is a hard act to follow and I will be forever grateful to God who has allowed me to walk through my life with her.

                                                   My Mother on her last birthday...!

Celebrate Your Mother today...and everyday...

~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 "Look What's NEW...!"

“Look What’s NEW…!”

Our newest release, “The Princess Prayers”, is a marvelous new opportunity for the five princesses to accompany your toddler in prayer from a princess point of view. Princess Joy, Grace, Faith, Hope and Charity are found rehearsing the truth of the verse being taught in the form of a heartfelt prayer in her own words. 

Sometimes prayer seems distant and impersonal…with words that seem empty.  “Princess Prayers” takes God’s words from the verse and prays them back to God.  It’s a loving tribute to a caring and loving God who listens for us to take time to spend precious moments in earnest communication with Him. 

As moms we are looking for an opportunity to hold our little prince or princess close and lead them into understanding an open communication with God.  They watch us and listen as we talk to an unseen God with the faith of a mom that intimately knows Him.

We are a letter…known and read by all men (II Cor. 3: 2), and our prince and princesses are reading us with intense interest when we humbly bow our heads in prayer before our Almighty God.  “Princess Prayers” reveals a mom’s heart that is yielded to God and with joy and brokenness is praying God’s words aloud with her little one.

We are so grateful and pleased to be able to introduce you to the

 latest book in “The Princess Parable Series”.

“Princess Prayers” is available now at www.Amazon.com,

www.BarnesandNoble.com or at a local bookstore near you.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is 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 "Still on the Fence?"

The fence in my backyard is a kaleidoscope of color and buzzing with activity.  There is new life in my garden…rabbits, with fluffy bunnies, squirrels and their scurrying offspring, raccoons, crows, coyotes, deer …and none is more captivating and entertaining than the assembly of fluttering birds…hummingbirds stopping on their long trek north, tiny yellow finches, chirping red robins, nesting swallows… all come in droves to eat from the sumptuous feeders that my tiny backyard provides.

While living in the jungle we expected to be awakened by the town rooster or by a flock of colorful parrots squawking loudly in the surrounding Quipo trees. Birds have habits that make them good studies for life lessons.  We live in a community that anticipates the arrival of a small bird that returns every year on or around March 19th and that little creature never fails to migrate within 48 hours of this appointed time!

The Cliff Swallow and its most notable characteristic is mentioned in Scripture four times.  “The swallows observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.”  Jeremiah 8:7   The distinguished characteristic of the swallow is its predictable return every year in the same month to San Juan Capistrano.  We have a nest outside our bedroom window and this tiny bird returns every year and entertains our Ragdoll kitty for weeks!

Just as there are fixed times for the arrival of the swallow, there are fixed times for God’s judgment.

Do you find your walk is wrapped in His presence

or is your “up and down” spiritual life inviting God’s correction?

 “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young…a place near your altar.” Psalm 84:3   

Is your home a place that makes room for Him in your pursuits of life? 

Is your life drawing those around you closer to His presence?

The prophet Isaiah, in his many warnings to the “easily forgetful Israelites” (not unlike us!) notes Hezekiah’s anguished cries and the persistent chatter of this little bird in Isaiah 38:14  “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter:  I did mourn as a dove…” I, somehow, take comfort in this petite, yet tenacious little bird as I step near my bedroom window and appreciate her gentle and non-intrusive echoes.  It resonates protective, yet nurturing.  The sound is quiet…like the wooing of the Holy Spirit. 

Can you hear the Spirits voice when He speaks to you?

Elijah did when he heard the “gentle whisper” on the mountain in I Kings 19:12.

I love the reference to the swallow in Psalm 26:2.   “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.”  An undeserved curse is as unpredictable as the flight of the swallow and returns to the one who spoke it without affecting the one who is cursed.  The swallows’ flight pattern may be unpredictable but their destination and arrival time can be precisely set!

Is your speech predictable?  Do you speak truth with kindness?

What does your husband and your children hear?

The arrival of our Savior was predicted, appointed and His mission was undeniable.  In life there are few certainties, but many variables.  However, settling the course of our eternal future is a given…it’s predictable…we will die.   As predictable as the return of the tiny swallow, death is inevitable!

What we do with Jesus Christ will determine our eternity! 

 Does His humility draw you to Himself and His way of life (Philippians 2: 1-5)

 or…are you still on the fence?

~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 Helps the Medicine Go Down?"

“What helps the Medicine go down…?”

 I am a mom and as a mom I am continually challenged with the need to communicate clearly.  First, I have to get past the typical and prevalent counsel of the world outside Scriptural truth, finding the path that will lead my girls and grandchildren to understand the only true and absolute values in life that will free them to know themselves, their children and the ultimate plan and purpose God has for them.  This is often over-shadowed by worldly pressures and ideologies.

The challenge of communicating in a foreign language with my neighbor and friend, Mikaela

We all want to be heard.  We want our little ones to listen to us.  After all, our job is to make them successful!  Fortunately, our children are a face-to-face venture.  We are looking into cherub faces and reading what prompted their attitude or wrong response. 

Communication is a forever challenge.  There are so many “impersonal” ways to dialogue in this day and age.  A response of more than three words with an emoji of some sort is usually all that is required.  There is no face-to-face, no reading of their expression, no sensing their heart and understanding the attitude that is pre-empting their response.  Judgments are made based on guessing the heart of the person responding. 

Was I misunderstood?  Was I heard?

Was I clear and kind in my communication?

With technology as it is, one never knows for certain what is being communicated or how it is being received.  You presume the high road and trust the person on the other end of the e-mail, text, tweet, FB, etc. is open to doing the same.  We all need help and correction and the people who love us enough to tell us where and how we would be more successful if we would “grow up” in an area of our life are to be commended, specifically if the help comes with a right motive and attitude.

It’s more difficult to receive a messenger who is angry; however, it is important to listen, nonetheless.  We don’t choose the messenger God sends!  It doesn’t “make the medicine go down” easier, but if received, the benefit and blessing is the same.

As a wife, it certainly goes a long way in helping the “medicine go down” when my husband takes the time to express his understanding my response toward him, rather than just taking the issue on.  Men are programmed conquerors and the temptation is usually…just let me solve the problem, without attention to validating the personal need we have to be heard.

“Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19

Every challenge we face today will either lead us

into the victory of gratefulness

 or the trap of bitterness.

How are you communicating 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 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: "The Finished Work"

“The Finished Work”

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection,

not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” Martin Luther

Springtime, after 10 years of drought, has displayed its beauty as never before!  The parched California ground has been flooded with life-giving rain and the mountains and valleys have exploded into the most spectacular and abundant colors and fresh new life! 

Revival has come to a dry and thirsty land!

The death, burial and resurrection of Christ, which we celebrated yesterday, was the revival of revival!  Easter is the annual reminder to us of the desperate need we have for revival in our lives daily.  Revival is the power of the Holy Spirit transforming God’s Word into our soul.   There has never been a need, as great as today for revived lives, revived families, fellowships, communities and nation. The desperate need is there but the realization of our personal need is not!  And revival starts with us!  

“For revival is not a green valley getting greener, but a valley full of dry bones being made to live again and stand up an exceeding great army. (Ezekiel 37)  It is not good Christians becoming better Christians—as God sees us there are not any good Christians—but rather Christians honestly confessing that their Christian life is a valley of dry bones, thus qualifying them for the grace that makes all things new”! (Roy Hession)  For the Christian, death is a promotion!  New Life springs from our continual choosing to die to our pride and selfishness.

 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

holy and pleasing to God,

which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1

Some give Him a place; some give Him prominence; but what Christ wants in our lives is pre-eminence.  The fruit of His being pre-eminent in our life is a spiritual renewal that restrains the anger of God, restores our God-consciousness and reveals His continual activity in us.

For those who have humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God at that place where sin is washed away, it has meant revival of their Christian lives in the truest and simplest sense of the word.

As we celebrated the finished work of our Savior yesterday, let’s use this reminder to revisit our need for personal and continual revival.  His death and resurrection came with plan and purpose.  It was to give us life from death.  New life does not begin with someone else.  It begins in each of us.

Let’s exchange dry bones for New Life!

 “If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,

where Christ sits on the right hand of God.”  Col. 3:1

~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'sJourney: "Praying God's Words"

“Praying God’s Words”

Would you like to inspire greatness and godly ideals in your little princess?

“Prayer is the preface to the book of Christian living,

the text of the new life sermon,

the girding on of the armor for battle,

the pilgrim’s preparation for his journey;

and it must be supplemented by action

or is amounts to nothing.”  Anonymous

“Princess Prayers” is the latest of our books in The Princess Parable Series.  This charming hardbound book introduces your child to the wonderful world of communicating with God.  As you read the pages, your little one will be listening to God’s words from the verse that is intertwined in a delightful rhyming prayer. It has been carefully written with your child’s perspective in mind.  Your princess will be caught up in the sincerity of the melodious tone of the words.  The illustrations are captivating and will visually invite your child to listen and participate with you.  Crystal Bowman penned the thoughtful content and we are thrilled to be able to bring Princess Prayers to you and your little one.

Arriving just in time for Easter, “Princess Prayers” is available on www.Amazon.com, www.Barnesandnoble.com  or at a local bookstore near you.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is 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.