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?

View fullsize

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!

View fullsize

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. 

My Dad's Parenting Secret

My dad always made me think I was the sunshine of his life.

He always told me he was proud of me and that I could do anything I set my mind to. He never let a day go by without telling me he loved me (even when I was an adult). When he was around, I always felt cherished and adored. My picture of God has been established through my father's devotion to me.

When I was a grown woman, I asked my father, "How do you think you made me feel this way?" He let me in on a little secret . . .

"I smiled at you and sighed big as if I had waited hours to see you", he told me.

"I practiced entering a room with you there and smiled every time. It took work, but eventually it became natural".  He continued to explain that the world's troubles would overtake him and he would be grumpy and upset often. He saw he was taking it out on his kids so he decided to practice smiling and sighing happiness when we were around.

It worked. The Bible says in Proverbs 15:30 "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart".

Smiling! Such a simple act has so much power.  

Who knew? In fact, much research has been done on the subject. I have felt convicted myself to smile more at my children and husband too.

Smiles are the first building blocks to a healthy relationship with your baby.

Smiling at your baby plays a part in bonding and helps them feel safe and secure. Chemicals released during smiling and laughing help grow the brain and the nervous system, researchers say.

As children grow, their circles widen, but their parents’ approval still is central to their development. One researcher said, “Smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanisms in a way that even chocolate, a well-regarded pleasure-inducer, cannot match.” When we smile at our children, we make them feel like they are eating candy!  It makes them happy and relaxed. They quickly point out real smiles are required, not fake ones. You know the grin that brightens your face and makes the edges of your eyes rise? This is the smile to bring comfort to your children. My dad sighed to let us know he was really happy to see us. Fake or not, it worked on me!

When should we smile at our kids? When he enters a room . . . when he leaves the house . . . when we come home from being away . . . when he wakes in the morning and as he goes to bed at night!

So much smiling, you say?

Here is the deal. Not only will this one act help us raise a calm, intelligent and confident child, but it has benefits for us too.

Smiling is important for our health. It can lower blood pressure, improve digestion and regulate blood sugar. Smiling can lead to laughter, which helps you sleep better. When we delight in another person, we trick our minds into believing we are really happy, even if we are not. Endorphins are released, creating a "feel-good" sensation.

More importantly, we are God's smile to our children.

He is a good father and delights in us. How much more should we show this to our children? Just as my picture of God is a direct result of my relationship with my father, so I am painting a picture for my children of who God is. Let me remember to smile as I see them, delight in the things that delight them and remember to play.

As I type this blog, I am reminded myself to smile at my children as we begin a fresh school year with no surgery to get over or pain to muddle through. I think I have forgotten this very important lesson my dad taught me. Life makes it easy to frown sometimes.

I love this quote from Mother Teresa:

"Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other—it doesn't matter who it is—and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other."

How will you "smile" more this year?

~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: Is It Worth It?

In the Princess Parable Series, Princess Hope is the oldest of the five princesses and carries the responsibility of setting a good example and leading the way for her four younger sisters who are watching and learning from her.  She experiences first-hand what it takes to “count the cost” when she sees her grandmother’s priceless ring in a store window in the village. She has to get it back…but how and at what cost?  

How many of us understand what it means to “count the cost” for someone or something that is so important we cannot not hesitate to boldly step up to the plate?

Before you commit…count the cost!  Luke 11:28

Before leaving for the shores of Panama I was cognizant of the cost it might take to leave the U.S. and live in a foreign country, but it was not until Christina, my first daughter, was born that I became acutely aware of the expanse of what it might actually demand.  I was leaving my homeland with my parent’s first and only two year old grandchild. After arriving in Panama, it would take us two days by three different means of transportation to land on the muddy banks of the river Pucuro.  It would include living in an “off the grid” bark-walled house with no running water, electricity and an outhouse that screamed “unfriendly”. 

Would the cost be too great?

Our jungle house was located in an extremely dense and remote area of the jungle. There was malaria and T.B.; there would be harry eight-legged creatures, not to mention venomous insects and reptiles of every kind the imagination could conjure up and worse!  We would be called to cook, eat and drink unidentifiable “chichas”, mammals, reptiles and even rodents!  We would be on the Colombian border where drug runners passed through our village.  My neighbors would speak a different language and have a strange culture; there would be no privacy; there would be no hospital or urgent care facility, no contact with the outside world, except for an unreliable two way radio …and on that first trek in, I would have our second daughter, a tiny three month old nursing baby on my lap…

Getting the picture?

An aerial view of our house with the tin roof in the foreground
Would the cost be worth it?  

I would be the first to admit that life brings serious unknowns, struggles, doubts, fears, and temptations from the enemy, even if you have “counted the cost” in all the light you have.
 
On one of the many rainy days in the rainforest I began to share my heart and woes with a seasoned missionary who was listening intently.  To every comment of comfort she gave me I inserted, “BUT you don’t understand; I know God says that but what about…?”

When I paused to catch my breath, she asked me if, “I thought God’s grace was sufficient enough for me for today?”  

Well, what???… I’m a missionary living in the jungle…I could hardly say “No”!  Of course, I answered, “Yes!” 

She followed up with, “Then… would His Grace be sufficient for tomorrow?!” 

She had firmly and graciously admonished me to keep my BUT on the appropriate side of the word GOD!  Not,  “Ok, GOD, BUT…”(we always have a good excuse for not trusting Him); rather, this is my situation, BUT GOD is more than sufficient and faithful.  He has proven Himself over and over again when I keep my BUT on the correct side of God.

II Cor. 12:9

As a mom, is living for God, demonstrating genuine Christianity, being a “cross-bearer”, and claiming Christ as Lord and Master of my life for His glory too much?  I ask myself:

Can I trust Him for today?  Then, I can trust Him for tomorrow!

A wise woman counts the cost… 

Recapturing a stolen ring and moving into a dense jungle do not, on the surface, seem comparable; yet, the point is, what do you treasure enough to pay, even and possibly, the ultimate price to achieve?  What is important enough for you to “count the cost” and plunge into whatever sacrifice it takes to see it accomplished?

There was no call to the jungle; BUT GOD did call us to respond to the need in that jungle…to open up a work among an unreached group of people who had yet to hear His Name spoken even once, nor His wonderful redeeming message.

“The house of the righteous contains great treasure”! Pro. 15:6
Moms, your house is full of eternal treasure…treasure that will spend eternity somewhere.

It will be worth it all…!

When all is said and done and we have reached the end of this life…what will be said of us?  Did we choose the most important?  Did we succeed in our calling?  Did we “count the cost” for what was on His heart in His perfect will for us or did we do our own thing and hope for the best?  

How does the fruit of your commitment look so far?  
We only pass this way once!

~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.