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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Story lived through us!

 Have a great week!

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

Jackie's Journey: Christmas Pledge

Christmas Pledge

Inspired by the September 11th attack on the United States, the Groenewalds moved to Afghanistan in response to God’s call to serve the people who had purposely killed thousands of our own! They lived and served and were martyred by Taliban fighters, as their obedience to God’s call was greater than their fears.   The only surviving member tells the story and it profoundly touched my heart.  The testimony of that horrific day of murder with AK-47’s and the self sacrificing bomber who obliterated their home is a wake-up call to my commitment to His directing and leading in my life.

“Some give Him a place; some give Him Prominence:

but what Christ wants in our lives is pre-eminence.”

In my spiritual journey, I was a “nominal Christian”, a fan of all things spiritual for the first 18 years of my life.  I was the proverbial good girl with this huge longing hole in my life that I had no idea how to fill.  How would I find meaning and purpose in a world that was full of others in the same state I was? 

Who had an answer?

While reading this testimony of this mother who had lost her husband and two teen-age children, I was again struck with the mandate that “counting the cost” is an imperative, not an option, regardless of our geographical location.   When the three men from our village in Pucuro were captured and killed by FARC, a militant group from Colombia, I was reminded of a time in our missionary training when we were challenged to “count the ultimate cost” as a possibility of our decision to be followers of Christ and not just enthusiastic fans!

Being a follower means their will be a price to pay.  Salvation is free but it cost you your life!  “If Jesus Christ died and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”  C.T. Studd

“For me, on the field, it was a life of sacrifice, difficulty and struggles,

and in that the Lord gave us the reward of His presence,” Hannelie said.

“He revealed Himself to us, who He is.” (Hannelie Groenewald)

The reward of His presence, ears to hear His voice and a sense of who He is, is my truth also.  A total dependence on an all-knowing God whose plans for me are to prosper me, not harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.  Jer. 29: 11   When God walked into my life at age 19, I found the reason for my existence!  There was no more longing; there was completeness with purpose and destiny. 

As a busy mom is your life filled with Him, His thoughts and His ways?  Do your little ones see the Christ that lives in you?  Are you struggling to integrate Christ into your demanding life or is He the master of your course…leading, directing?

“There are two kinds of people:

Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done',

And those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way!’”

 C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

~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: Fairy Tales vs. Reality Part 2

My oldest and youngest princesses, Megan Joy and Catherine

“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”. Romans 14:12"

What is it about a little girl that screams “Princess” at us?

And how is it we visualize “Protective Knights with Honor” in our little boys?

Destined for royalty, our little princesses and knights are designed with

destiny and eternal purpose…

From their earliest memories, our little ones are swamped with a prince and princess stories that introduce them to an unreal world filled with wizardry and lacking strong moral themes with eternal values.  They are asked to define love and romance by standards that are not true to life representative of clearly defined biblical standards.  Our children are needlessly exposed to the illusion of love through the many Prince Charmings that are so readily available to our princess counterparts in most storylines; however, they are not exposed to the truth of genuine love.  Society has blurred the lines between love and lust.

They are caught in a quagmire of choices that offer them temporal values but not eternal ones.  Their personal identification with a fantasy character is deceiving on many levels because the charge to discern the good and evil is often obscured by wrong motives and intentions on the part of the “hero” in the story line.

Often the attitude of the leading characters is questionable and the continual interjection of clairvoyance and magical fantasy is confounding.  The child is left to choose between bad and really bad, instead of good and bad.  Neither choice is particularly clear, but the medium being used (book, film, animation…) is “thought-captivating” and attention binding.  Both of these goals are shortsighted and not fulfilling for the long term.

Living in a post-Christian era, we seek to carve out a more excellent and realistic milieu for our children…these little ones that are so literal and entrusted into our keeping for so short a time.  Christian parents are seeking an alternative to the present prince and princess culture trend in books and films presently available.  The reason: our worldview influences all areas of life and every exposure a child has (visual or auditory) is adding to their life experience and their worldview. 

Presently, how would you describe your child’s worldview?

Articulating a biblical worldview within our sphere of influence is what The Princess Parables Series is all about.  These books are written to strengthen the belief that God made our little princess special and designed her with destiny and purpose.

The innocent imagination of a small child is a book yet to be written.  When the exposure to truth is clouded and “synergized” with fantasy, the images of truth, hope, loyalty, joy, grace, charity and faith are but a few of the myriad of opportunities lost.

Jeanna , my co-author, and I have had the privilege of placing in your hands five real princesses that will delight your little girls and teach them a biblical parable they will fall in love with.  Our five young knights are being introduced in our Easter and Christmas Books coming soon!  Take a peek…