Jackie's Journey "Did You Watch the Royal Wedding?"

We mom’s that are in Christ “… are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that we should show forth the praises (virtue) of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” I Peter 2:9

Virtue is used four times in the Bible and it identifies and calls us to excellence, moral purity, integrity, and alertness to what is right.  People with true virtue are the one’s that positively influence all those around them.  Who wouldn’t want that?  These women have strong patterns of honesty, loyalty, gratefulness, and purity in thought, conversation, attitude and actions.  Because these people are so far and few between, they are easily recognizable.

These are the women we want to be like.  We watch them with their husbands and children and want their way of speaking and attitude.  Our children are drawn to these women. They are sincere, truthful, forgiving, hospitable, generous, encouragers and bold with their faith. They are the “endurers” with gratefulness in trials.  This characteristic is a deal breaker when finding a trusted friend. 

We really like these girls!

Personally, I thought the splendor of the chapel, the simplicity of the bride’s gorgeous gown, the magnificent flowers, the obvious respect the couple had for each other and the occasion… all added to make the Royal Wedding magical.  This young bride will be under the spotlight for the rest of her life.  Some will watch to see her excel and others will watch to see her fail.

Who is watching us?

Certainly my sphere of influence is significantly smaller, but no less important!  It is… after all…my “sphere” and I’m responsible for it (I own it!).  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. (for sure…He is watching!)  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account”. Heb. 4: 13   Mothers of little prince and princesses have been called with purpose “out of darkness into His marvelous Light to show forth His virtue”.  What do other’s see when they see us?  Is His virtue shining through us?  How much “light” do they see?

My three granddaughter’s…Princess Alexandra’s 18th Birthday

with Catherine and Megan Joy

Do they see Him in me??

 We never know when someone is watching and our moment of “royal” influence will be counted on to make a difference.  We belong to the most Noble, Magnificent and Regal King who has ever lived and who has told us that “If we keep His royal law, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ we’re doing right”. James 2: 8    “Do not merely listen to His word and so deceive yourselves but do what it says!” Jas. 1: 22   We cannot love our neighbor as “our self” and be self-sensitive, complaining, dissatisfied, gossipers, slanderers, entertainers of bad thoughts, encouragers of others to do wrong by our example, rationalizers, deceivers, woman addicted to social media or anything else…

To see “royalty” in me, He has to walk in me!

I don’t produce “light” apart from Him…He is the light!

John 1: 1-5

~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 "Life's Pressures!"

We live in a culture where being a “bully” is not only acceptable behavior among many but is also admired.  Recently a high school baseball team was involved in a “knockdown drag- out” fight on the field.  The coach stood and cheered the “bullies” on and then punished the team payers that refused to participate in the angry event calling them weak!  Needless to say, my blood began to boil as I rehearsed the multitude of basic life principles that were being violated and the life lessons lost!

Our little prince and princesses face a world that is nothing like the one we grew up in.  They require exceptional preparation in defining right from wrong and exemplary assistance in forming personal warrior convictions.  No pressure, mom’s…right?  How many parents do you know that are struggling with one or more of their children over issues presented to them from our perverted culture?

Living in our present world, if you live by sound theological convictions, you are likely to be called a “zealot”, “Jesus freak”, a "bible thumper" or even a cultist!  The opposing sides in this spiritual battle are becoming clearer and clearer.  Rejection is to be accepted, even welcomed, if you stand for something. 

 Where do you stand?

To torment another person you have to violate that little voice inside that helps us discern right from wrong.  Slowly, like the frog in the heating pan of water, we have been desensitized into thinking wrong is right and right is wrong!  The culture is dictating its perspective and peer pressure stands firm, pulling harder than ever!

Scripture describes a bully by its many synonymous terms.

Ø  Tormenter

Ø   Intimidator

Ø  Oppressor

Ø  Persecutor

Ø  Tyrant

Ø  Aggressor

Bullies threaten.  They terrorize.  They attempt to alarm us.  They frighten and scare us.  They endanger our society by endeavoring to represent those of us who know better and are struggling to get our voice out there!

Be reassured that “right and wrong” was established in Bible times and first recorded in the book of Genesis and the current culture does not define it, change it or alter its course…it can only work at desecrating it.  Knowing what is right by God’s standards and acting accordingly frees us from societies domination.  Our biblical convictions give us courage to stand against the onslaught on every side.   And to those who use the rationalization, “well, it must be acceptable because everyone is doing it”, as an excuse to be participants in what is clearly known to be “wrong”, you will find yourselves in the same line in the end with the cultural idols of our day (Hollywood, comprimising Christians, double-minded believers…). 

Israel was exiled for following false gods and the practices of other nations.  When warned by God they “would not listen and were stiff-necked.  They did not trust their God”. II Kings 17:13-14   They followed worthless practices and themselves became worthless (losing their salt).  They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do”!

Are your convictions and practices based on what is scripturally true

 or what is presented to you by a corrupted culture??

Who are you imitating?

 “But the people who know their God

shall stand firm and take action.”

Daniel 11:32

~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 Subtle Disease"

There is a very subtle disease among the women in our Christian communities.  Most of us aren’t even aware of it but it is killing us!  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was a man that scripture says had the mark of excellence. Yet, he had this terrible disease and he is a warning to those of us who have ears to hear.

The disease is called…”Spiritual Decay”.

The process of this virus is nearly imperceptible.  Slowly, almost intuitively, certain things are accepted that were once rejected without question.  Sort of like the chemistry experiment where the little frog was placed on the stove in a pan of cold water.  As the heat increased slowly, the frog remained calm and seemed to enjoy its tepid environment.  The water continued to get hotter and the little frog found the now boiling water prohibited him from jumping out of the pan!

Corruption is the steady process of dissolution to which all of us are subject!  The instances are exceedingly rare of man immediately passing over a clear marked line from virtue into declared vice and corruption.  “There are middle tints and shades between the two extremes; there is something uncertain on the confines of the two empires, which they must pass through, and which renders the change easy and imperceptible.” Edmund Burke

Things once considered rude and hurtful are now openly tolerated.  At the onset the “subtle” appears harmless.  But the wedge it brings leaves a gap that grows wider with compromise and ultimately, moral erosion joins hands with spiritual decay.   

Soon the gap is a canyon and our salt becomes salt less!

This disease is also contagious.  There are warning signs to avoid for the wise:

Be careful about changing your standard if it corresponds with your desires.

 (Rationalizing that it is acceptable and using the current culture as your excuse…)

        Be careful about becoming inflated with thoughts of your own importance.

("I can handle this"…pride always lies!)

Be alert to the pitfalls of prosperity and success.

What area of thought, word or action

have you begun to tolerate?

 A woman of conviction takes the commands of Scripture and purposes to follow them whatever the cost.  No compromise…no rationalizing…no thinking she can live in the “grey” areas. There are no grey areas!  There are only two standards:  Black or White…Good or Evil…that’s it!   Following godly convictions bring godly influence!  Your children are counting on that…remember Daniel?  “Daniel resolved (before being tempted!) not to defile himself…” Daniel 1: 8

Which will it be?

 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desire you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do…”  I Peter 1: 13,14

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

When we first returned from the mission field I was asked to be the speaker at a weekend retreat for young mothers.  Being a young mother myself, I began to take note of what I did with my own time!  Each of life’s seasons is clocked by the way we use or lose our time. 

We don’t only lose our time by doing nothing or by doing what is wrong, but we also lose it by doing something other than that which we ought to do, even though what we are doing is good!  We allow the good to take the place of the better or best, sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

By virtue of our roles as: wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, teachers, chefs, taxi-drivers, career women…our time is swallowed-up, compartmentalized and distractedly divided.  We are constantly making a choice with our time based on what is most demanding, aren’t we??

We, moms, are strangely ingenious in seeking our own interest with our time! What “worldly souls do crudely and openly, we do more subtly with the help of some pretext which serves as a screen and stops us from seeing the ugliness of our behavior.”

What’s up with your time??

How do we reach the point of responsible use of our time without guilt?

Do we even want to?

On the cross, Jesus said three words at the very end of His life on earth.  He uttered, “It is finished!”…… Not all was complete that needed to be done, but all that the Father gave Him to do was finished.

If there are 99 things to do and He tells me to do 9,

 then for me,  it is finished…

Jesus could leave the blind, crippled and lost because He had done all He was commissioned to do on earth.  Martin Luther said, “ I spend three hours daily on my knees in prayer with the purpose of getting my priorities in order so I can live at peace with myself knowing I had heard the Master’s voice and my job was finished for that day!” (Paraphrased)

Do we stop and seek His instruction or do we blindly jump up

in the morning and take off on a dead run …

in our own strength, without consulting the Master

for His assignment…

How many of us pause and pray daily for God’s priorities for the day?

Reviewing our priorities ought to be one of the basic reasons

for prayer…not petitioning!

Do your little prince and princesses have a sense

that you are operating out of divine purpose?

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

“Whose Shoulders Do you Stand On?”

T. L. Cuyler said, “God made mothers before He made ministers; the progress of Christ’s kingdom depends more upon the influence of faithful, wise and pious mothers than upon any other human agency.”

 Who has had the most influence on your life?

Is it not your Mother?!

We are all a reflection of our mothers and their powerful influence!

Abraham Lincoln once said, “All I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

 When my father left us for heaven five years ago at 93, my brother-in-law wrote a tribute that ended with the question, “Whose shoulders are those upon which you stand?’   It comes from the Latin, “Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes” which translates, “Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants”!

 Well…my mother is a giant! 

She is an incredible human being.  She is a motivational force to be reckoned with that has always been a beacon for me when I have wanted to falter.  She is my hero.  I confidently step into the footprint she leaves behind.  Her vision for my success has been constant and her sacrifice on my behalf over our years together is more than praiseworthy.  Her loyalty and encouraging words, “You can do it, Jackie”, have been a consistent inspiration. 

My mother is noble and has learned God-control and the blessing of surrendering to Him.  She is the woman my father had confidence in all the days of his life.  She is resourceful and no one can out-shop, or in her younger days, out-walk her.  My wise Mother influenced some of the most important decisions my Dad ever made in business.

She is tenacious and never gives up if the cause is worth fighting for!  She is generous and compassionate and still looks over all of us with intense personal interest and care.

She is clothed in strength and dignity.  Her courage these last years with my fathers passing, after 72 years of marriage, has been exemplary and a wonderful testament of her patient endurance.  Her stretching toward the cross in times of deep loneliness, speaks to each of her four daughters of her immense capacity to trust her heavenly Father.

Her back door humor is renowned in our family and we can always count on her to make life fun for us.  She is soft-spoken and gentle in nature, but bold as a mama bear, if you touch one of her babies, grandbabies or great-grandbabies. 

Proverbs 31 speaks of a virtuous woman.  We don’t know her name or what she looked like or her personality.  We learn of her inner character.

My mother is being praised today for her inner character, not her activities or physical beauty (although she is beautiful, as her picture declares!).   I am addressing the eternal accomplishments of her soul and the heritage she carries and leaves behind for us to follow. 

Words fail me when it comes to expressing my gratitude for my mother… she is so much more than words…I cannot imagine my life without her!  My journey and the power of her influence on my life will be a forever blessing.  I am honored and privileged “to stand on her shoulders”.  Look down there, under your feet…

                                      On whose shoulders do you stand 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 "What Time is It?"

We just finished another tax year. If God were to audit our account with Him, what would He find?  Let’s take a moment of spiritual inventory this morning, want to?

(Just the tone of the question has failure written all over it, doesn’t it?!)

 If God were to ask us for an explanation of how we use our time,

 how would we respond?

“The term “busy” comes instantly to mind.  It’s the generic term for “Mom”.  Time is the devourer of all things.” Ovid. 43 BC   There is never enough of it!  “We are eternity’s hostage; a captive of time”. Pasternak   We know procrastination is the thief of time. And we poetically talk about the “footprints on the sands of time”. 

It must be important because… think of all the times “time” is referred to.  Time eases all things…Time heals all wounds…Time is the subtle thief of youth …Time lost can’t be recovered…Time is money...Time is the least thing we have…Time is the school in which we learn…

“The time that we have at our disposal every day is elastic; the passions that we feel expand it; those that we inspire contract it and habit fills what remains”!  Marcel Proust   As we walk through the corridor of time we realize that it does not relinquish it rights.  Misuse of our time is self-suicide! 

Time is the wisest of counselors.  There is a time for peace and war; a time for singing of birds (spring!); a time to love and to hate…a time to be born and to marry… to dance and to die…a time to heal…a time to keep silent…to speak… to laugh…to weep…to plant…to forget…  Ecc.9   Time is the most valuable entity a woman can spend.   Jesus acknowledged time, when He said,  “My time is at hand”.

“Do you love life? 

Then do not squander time because

that is what life is made of.” Ben Franklin

What are you doing with your time?

Our time is in HIS hand…Psa. 31:15

And He will hold us accountable one 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 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 "As a Woman Thinks in her Heart..."

This little woman-in-the-making is Olivia…her thoughts are being formed!

“As a woman thinks in her heart so is she” encompasses the whole of our being and touches every condition and circumstance of our life.  We are literally what we think!  In the armory of thought we forge the weapons by which we make or break ourselves.  We women are looking for a way to control…well, here is a good one…take control of your thoughts!  Become the master of your thought life.

Good thoughts never produce bad consequences; bad thoughts never produce good results.  “…a prudent woman gives thought to her steps.” Pro. 14:15 

The mind is like a spring garden.  When cultivated and cared for or allowed to run wild with little thought or attention; either way… it will produce fruit.  Fruit that reproduces after like kind.  Olivia has a mommy (my niece) whose thoughts produce good fruit and she is watching her mommy.

What are the thoughts of your heart?

Selfishness, envy, jealousy, competitive spirit

or service, love, joy, peace?

What fruit are you reproducing in the lives

of your prince and princesses?

Until our thoughts are linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. Absence of purpose leaves the door wide open to fall prey to fear, worry, and self-pity, all of which lead to failure, unhappiness and loss.  Maintaining “thought-control” frees us “to think with purpose and hence, to enter the ranks of those who only recognize failure as one of the path-ways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.” James Allen

“…the Lord knows the thoughts of man.  For the Word of God… judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight”. Psa. 94: 11; Heb. 4:12

He knows our thoughts!

He judges our thoughts!

Are you hiding or making an attempt to?

 I don’t know about you, but my earnest prayer this morning is…

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.” Ps. 139: 23

                      Oops, the book dropped!  Can you guess her princess thoughts now?

~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 "Arachnids...Scared But Not Defeated!"

Washday in the jungle was an event, not just a necessity!  It required a trip to the river with two little ones in tow, a washtub (like great-grandma used) full of clothes, diapers, sheets, etc., soap and a washboard.  Finding a rock that wasn’t already being used was the next challenge after descending the 12’ bank!  The swirling river was the agitator and the most difficult part of the whole exercise was wringing the clothes tight enough so they would dry after being hung.

The Kuna women would laugh at me, while their little ones entertained mine by chasing, splashing and diving around us..  Those were the “good ‘ole days”.  One blessing, and their were many, was that my girls learned to swim like little fish very early, against the current!

If it was dry season, the wash would dry in 2 hours.  During rainy season we might hang the clothes two times or more in one day.  Most garments were mildewed and never really dried completely until dry season returned!

One spring day my clothes carried an unwanted visitor inside the house. We had open wooden shelves and as I lifted the last clean sheet, I caught something moving in my peripheral vision.  Now…let me be clearly understood…I will take a snake, any size, over a spider any day! 

 This particular spider was a creature of undeniable presence!  I screamed so loud that half the village came streaming through my front door.  One look at the intruder and my husband and Arturo, our closest neighbor, told us all to get out!  Apparently, this venomous arachnid was dangerous!  I could not understand their hesitation in just eliminating it.  I wanted that spider dead…I did not want him alive for an encore another day…

 Earlier that month our cat had found a huge, and I mean huge, scorpion under our bed.  I picked up my husbands size 14 army boot and squashed its 12” body dead, in one fell swoop, as our 8 month old daughter came crawling into the room!

Now, “hear me roar”…I’m not kidding…I REALLY wanted that spider dead!

Fear is our friend…it is an emotion induced by a threat, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior.  “Courage is being scared to death…and walking through the door of fear to victory”.  (R. J., my husband)  In the book “Hind’s Feet in High Places” I would clearly be little “Much Afraid”. 

Shortly after being challenged to carry the name of Christ to unreached tribal people, I read in Luke 10:19 where Jesus sent out the seventy-two with the promise, “I have given you authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you”!! 

That verse immediately came pounding into my consciousness and I claimed that promise, given to those who take the gospel into uncharted territories.  As jungle living became my daily experience, I would often return to those precious words that brought peace that day.  Over and over again during those years of the unexpected until today, I continue to claim its truth when I am tempted to yield to panic.

Whatever you are facing today…

let’s hear you roar…

take courage!

~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 "Another Milestone!"

My 75th Birthday Party!

Meet Alexandra Grace, my beautiful granddaughter, standing with me…

My Dad used to say, “Growing old isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative.”

To me…old age has always been fifteen years older than I am…those more seasoned and accumulated wisdom years.  My mother, who is 99 this year, has always said, “Old age is not for sissies!”  I should have married an archeologist because the older I grow, the more he would appreciate me!  I guess I agree with the words above my bed that say, “Age is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”!  I’ve had a multitude of those moments…and look forward to many more, should the Lord tarry.  He has my days numbered.

I want to take this opportunity to pen the gratitude I have in my heart. Missionaries have the privilege of meeting people from all over the world and connecting with a common eternal objective. Whether on the foreign field, in local churches in rural and urban communities or in the highways and byways…friendships, fellowship and eternal connections soon follow. 

This blog is for those of you who have reached out for me from all over the globe on the many ways available to us in this day and age.  I recently found messages on the Princess Parable website and I am sure you have been wondering why I have not responded to all your kind words and encouragements.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, especially those of you who regularly take the time to encourage me, and tell you how much I appreciate hearing from each of you and to urge you to continue to communicate what’s on your heart.  I will do my best to check the different mediums to find you.  Thank you for your patience with me and…

Thank you for all the birthday greetings

and so many reassuring words!

"Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older.

 Keep me from being too talkative, and thinking I have something

to say on every occasion.

 Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.

 Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible

that I may be mistaken.

 Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful, but not bossy;

for You know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end!"

Anonymous

~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 "Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

Why do bad things happen to good people????

My compassionate mother is 99 years old and she has asked this question on more than one occasion.  I always answer her the same way…

It only happened once and He volunteered!

“There is none good…no, not one.” Rom 3: 23

“The real problem is not why some pious, humble,

believing people suffer, but why some do not”!    C.S. Lewis

“We are not at our best perched at the summit; we are climbers at our best when the way is steep”.  John W. Gardner   Stretching, growing, struggling, striving, writhing, to become mature and to be equipped to be a benefit to others is at the core of trials and suffering.  After all, it is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed.  John Calvin said, “We must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy”.

“He who fears to suffer cannot be His who suffered.”  Tertullian  Wanting to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering… Phil. 3:10 and entering into the insulated growth cocoon in good times…and bad (the difficult “saint perfecting” times) is the key to walking in His strength and the fullness of understanding true gratefulness.  Victory over whatever this life brings and seeing through His life-changing perspective makes suffering bearable and profitable, not depressing, disarming and debilitating.

Before this last Thanksgiving I fell coming out of the market and tore a ligament in my knee.  I was relieved to learn that it would not require surgery.  I used a walker and wore a brace for weeks; graduating to a cane and then after three months I was able to take off the brace.  Every step was painful and I began to think maybe the limp was permanent.  God saw fit to touch that knee.   I certainly do not consider myself a good person, however; most of my youth, the entire time spent in the humid jungles of Panama and the many years up to this date in 2018, I have had severe migraine headaches. 

Early in my Christian life, while in Bible School, I was exposed to the truth of welcoming trials and pain as a friend.  James 1: 2   It is God’s fastest road to patience, perseverance, joy, hope, gratefulness, faith and love… MATURITY!  Given with divine purpose suffering is a valuable tool for my personal growth and the success of others. 

“I do not believe that just sheer suffering teaches.  If suffering alone taught, then the entire world would be wise, since everyone suffers.  To suffering must be added mourning, gratefulness, understanding, patience, love, openness and willingness to remain vulnerable.”  Anne Morrow Lindbergh  

“In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit.  And so you became a model to all the believers…”  Here we have the formula for growth and it includes trials and suffering.

Trials + acceptance with joy = Growth

What to others are disappointments are to believers intimations of the way and will of God.  Nothing demonstrates what we are more accurately than the way we meet trials and difficulties.

Are you struggling today?

“Afflictions are but the shadow of God’s wings”…George MacDonald

“When God wants to bring more power into your life,

 He brings more pressure.”

A. B. Simpson

~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 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.