Jackie's Journey It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

♫ It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas ♬

In life we cannot anticipate what our future holds but we know who holds the future.  In our just released Christmas book, “A Royal Christmas to Remember”, our 5 princesses and 5 young knights are blissfully busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas festivities.  Opening the castle doors over the holidays is a tradition that opens the hearts of the entire village to the message of Christmas.  In an instant all their plans are dashed when a message of imminent danger arrives at their front door! The King instantly leaves with his knights to protect their kingdom.  The real meaning of Christmas quickly comes into focus. The girls choose to seize the moment of turmoil changing their destiny and bringing joy to their father and the whole kingdom.

December has arrived here in California and the events and activities of the season are already in full swing.   Having our “castle doors” open to family, neighbors and friends is a tradition we welcome each year. 

♫ It’s truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. ♬  

In the midst of preparations and a very busy afternoon, I received an urgent call from Kim, my youngest daughter, who was teaching at an Elementary School a mile or so from our house.  The school had abruptly been put on “lock-down”!  There were policemen on campus and helicopters were swirling in circles overhead.   She was yet to be informed of the circumstances…was it a bomb threat, someone with a gun, …what??

Her daughter Megan Joy, my “pocket-baby”, was in the classroom next door huddled down behind locked doors and desks!  The teachers and students had been in this imposed silence and been inaccessible for almost two hours!   Frantic, my mind immediately went to pictures of Columbine in Colorado…

Now that… is a wake-up call!  In an instant my holiday plans took second place to the more important, as my priorities slipped back into a more realistic focus.  Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate!”  No chance of that happening here.  What could I do?  Where was I needed?  When would we know my daughter and granddaughter were safe? 

As I watched and listened to the helicopters circling, hovering overhead, my curiosity overwhelmed me.   A song that comforted me in the jungles of Panama immediately came to mind.  ♫ He is my hiding place, He always fills my heart with songs of deliverance whenever I am afraid, I will trust in Him … ♫   Psalm 32:7   “God is our strength and power and makes our way perfect.”  2 Sam. 22:33   Our sovereign God was in control and He brought His “peace that passes understanding” in the turmoil.  I began to pray “the God of hope fill you, Kim, with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!” Romans 15:13  

 Two weeks from today families will gather to rehearse and celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world.  Christians will pause to praise their blessed promise and hope fulfilled in a manger bed.  Many will kneel and pray together giving thanks for His coming, His life and His sacrificial death in our place and His glorious resurrection.

 Will you be one of these?

Somehow… this particular Christmas 2016

 is going to be a singularly outstanding one for our family…

 A Christmas to Remember!

                                    Megan Joy reading "A Royal Christmas to Remember"

~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: A Princess Miracle!

In life there are times when God’s heart stretches across time and space and touches us profoundly. 

Do you know what I mean?

This morning was one of those times.  My 9-year-old, youngest granddaughter walked into our room with her Bible and journal in hand.

Princess Megan Joy

Something seemed different about this little energy-giving princess this bright sunny summer day.  When Megan Joy walks into a room, a ray of light comes in with her…lots of it!  She quietly, even silently, opened her diary and began to read.  After just a few words, tears began to roll down her cheeks and she handed her journal to me to finish.

 “What is it, Love?” I asked, pulling her close to me. 

I began to read her written thoughts and realized I was being given a divine gift.  She had, transparently, recorded in detail, where she had read that morning.   It was in Matt. 24 where God is “going to return on the Day of Judgment”.   He had opened her heart to hear His voice through the verses.  She had been exposed to God’s Word for the last 8 years, but that morning she understood and acknowledged her desperate need to be claimed by the cross of Calvary’s truth and sought His forgiveness and had received the redeeming love of her waiting Savior!

Now both of us had tears streaming down our faces!  She looked up and said, “I want Jesus to be the boss of my life, Grandma.” 

Her concept of His Lordship was so clear to her and my heart was overwhelmed. Her new joy was infectious and her peace surpassed not only her understanding but also mine.  His grace is greater than my finite mind can comprehend.

It has been said that the humpback whale enthusiastically sings tunes that often last 20 minutes and resonate through the water for hundreds of miles!  (Achieving True Success, IACC)

 If I could I would do that this morning!   My heart is overjoyed, enthusiastically expressing with my spirit the joy of my soul!   

“Rejoice, I say rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: REJOICE”!  Phil. 4:4

“You, oh Lord, have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in Your presence.” Psalm 16:11

“It is the rightful heritage of every believer, even the newest in the family of faith, to be absolutely certain that eternal life is his present possession.  To look to self is to tremble.  To look to Calvary’s finished work is to triumph.

Larry McGuill

Jackie's Journey: "The World's Changed...Try to Keep Up!"

ll of us have the need to be relevant in every generation.  Something in us wants to make a difference. The effectiveness of all advertising is based on this premise.  We hear the younger saying,  “The world’s changed…try to keep up!”

As a young missionary in my 20’s, my children needed me, my husband needed me, the tribal people needed us, our ministry was consuming and fulfilling, etc.  I looked to those older than I was and saw the need to glean from their experiences.  I had an unpretentious sense of relevancy!

For 5 years in our 30’s we found our relevance in pastoring, evangelizing, teaching, mentoring small groups and “trouble-shooting” in our home church.

We weren’t in that “older” group yet!

Returning to the field, still in our 30’s, we were busy dorm parents to 15 young people at the Mission School.  We had the “big dorm”, and we were blessed with students from five families.  Our need to “turn the hearts of the children to their fathers…” (Malachi 4:6) and the ministry in the local Chame community kept us relevant... we were still viable!

In our late 40’s our girls were in their teens and would soon start college.  Christina attended Biola and would bring her friends from school and church to meet us.

We were becoming the “older” group that had more experience”!

When asked to mentor a group of young college girls, I excitedly responded believing God would give relevance through His Word.  Eventually a group of their prospective husbands took form, which my husband taught!  We were busy church-planting Spanish-speaking churches and over the next 15 years we saw God raise up seven young churches in Southern California, Mexico and Panama.                

God’s was still using us!

Still relevant to our culture and generation in our 50’s, even honored for our faithfulness to our God and His calling on our lives, we actively taught in English and Spanish. 

Now we were really in that “older” group and yet…

God continued to open up opportunities to serve Him.  We had 7 grandchildren and they were magic!  Still church-planting, called to speak, teaching multiple mentoring groups weekly, trouble-shooting with young couples, and writing The Princess Parable Series were all welcomed responsibilities! 

In our 60’s we watched our tiny grandchildren grow like my garden weeds (really fast!!) and they now stand taller than I do!

Keeping relevant is an absolute pre-requisite to maintaining the open hearts of your grandchildren!  Finding that conversational relevance in a “generation time warp” is a prayer-filled occupation of mine!

Now… here is the rub.  The world’s younger generation looks at “age” and determines its value.  Consequently, they, then, turn their attention to the more appealing relevance of younger mentors, pastors, and teachers, rather than the older generation.   

We are, after all, each expendable to the more like-minded, trendier, faster-moving and thinking generation!

Can’t you hear it?  “The world’s changed…try to keep up”!

God never changes…cultures do, ideologies do, and philosophies do…

Relevance is a basic need to stay connected.

It is tied directly to an understanding of God and His inerrant Word!

Our present day cultural insurgence has been saturated in a declining morality of divorce, abortion, pornography, social-acceptance determined by social tolerance, adoption of the “acceptable sins” (you know…demanding personal rights, entitlement - I deserve this!, wrong attitudes, anger, deplorable speech, actions etc.).

The young are bent on convincing their offspring to:

(1)  “Stand up for yourself; be more aggressive” – disregarding God’s command to follow His example of serving others… first.

(2)   “Look for your own path in life” –disregarding the instruction in the Word to look for the Will of God…first

(3)   “Claim your rights; you are entitled” – disregarding God’s command to yield all your rights to Him… first.  No anger for your personal benefit.

(4)  “Be first” at everything  - disregarding God’s command to make others successful…first!  

(5)   “Live in the Now” - disregarding kingdom teaching. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God….and all these things will be added unto you”. Matt. 6:33

In a day when our culture is being eroded from within, our godly history is being re-written and the Word of God is being ripped of its inerrant integrity, we need relevance for our day if we are to present truth that promotes change.  

What can we offer that people need?

We ask ourselves that question whether overtly or subliminally every time we come in contact with another person.  We are relevant when we discern the need of the individual we are speaking to and risk whatever it takes to meet that need for the other person’s success.

It is not age that makes us relevant…it is His life in us as we aggressively stand up with Godly conviction and step into the space He puts us in…wherever, with whomever that may be!

The purpose of relevance is to keep the truth of God’s Word alive in us for the benefit of others! 

Will you make yourself relevant today in the life of someone who is in need?

Jackie's Journey: Invisible...Who?

“Is not wisdom found among the aged?

Does not long life bring understanding?”

Job 12: 12

The “Mom Song” is the voice of the ever diligent, often-unheard invisible Mother.

However, there is another category of individuals that are even more imperceptible…grandmothers and great-grandmothers!

Regardless of our involvement in the lives of our children and grandchildren, they reach an age of development (if we have done our job) where their need for us lessens.  They now have their own friends and activities that occupy the time that was once ours!  Life is a whirlwind of academics, team sports, community outreach, horses, theater and musical practices and performances, tennis coaches and tournaments, swim practices and meets, church youth group activities, bible studies, revivals, camps, etc.…! 

Finally, one day… they get driver’s licenses!

Keeping pace with all of this is a tremendous challenge…for all of us!  I am a grandmother of seven; my mother is a great-grandmother of 25 great-grandchildren! She lives on her own, caring for herself, alert with a memory that would put an elephant to shame!  She gives new meaning to the verse in Job 12.  There are very few topics that have applicability to our everyday life, that if asked, she cannot wisely put in perspective, yet she speaks of her need to keep relevant.

I have thought about the statement made by Mom and Job’s proclamation and wondered why in our 21st century culture the advanced in age feel they are being set to one side, listened to less and invisible in a large group of the younger generation.  

These vital soldiers have earned their place among those who should be the most honored, respected and valued in our culture. Titus 2: 3-5 admonishes “the older” women to be reverent in the way they live and to train the younger.”  There is so much to be gleaned from these seasoned veterans that have gone before us, paving the way.  We will quickly step into the print they have left behind!

Our local churches defer to the younger generation. They fill the jobs in women’s ministry and teach the even younger.  The young no longer turn to the older generation.  They have been replaced with quick and empty answers found in the latest technology, social media and their peers.

BUT…“Is not wisdom found among THE AGED”?

While in Panama, our good friends, the Jenkins, a couple with perfect pitch and harmony put this definition below to music.  I have been humming it for years and sing it out loud when my natural inclination to think “I’m all that!” overrides what Scripture says should be the godly point of view!

“Reverence is acknowledging that God is using in my life, people and events to produce the character of Christ in me”.  It is wisely looking at life’s situations (all of them!) from God’s point of view, not my own,  

THEN… the warning:

So be wise my son (daughter), heed my instruction (instantly placing myself in harmony with Him and His will and directives), leave that road that leads to destruction, hallow my name (don’t walk in shame…Proverbs 23: 17,18)

The Word is rich with wise instruction concerning our attitude toward the “old”.  

Psalm 92: 14 gives us A PROMISE when speaking of the advanced in age that bear the fruit of the righteous:

“They will STILL bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming the Lord upright; he is my Rock and there is no wickedness in him”!

• Deut. 28:50 mentions “a fierce-looking nation without RESPECT for the old”…(Respect should be expected…this nation was noted for its disrespect!)
• The Third Commandment is devoted to the HONOR our parents are to receive from us!  (There is no designated age termination for this command!)  
• Joseph brought his father and his entire family to live with him in Egypt during the famine. (We are to be concerned for them and look for opportunities to meet their need)
• The Old Testament saints carried the dead bones (!) of their ancestors with them when God moved them to another country! (Talk about reverence!)
• Somehow the patriarchs of old wisely led nations for generations before dying a “good old age”.  “1 Chronicles 29:28”

Age does not define our relevance, but it often reveals our place of usefulness in our present culture.  All of us have the need to be connected.  You may be saying, “Well my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother (etc.) is not deserving of my honor and respect”.  We do not choose our place of birth but we do choose how we allow God to use our circumstances to produce His life in us! 

Psalm 39: 5 tells us what God thinks about age, spoken by David:

“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath”!

I have been told that it is not how old you are, but how you are old.  I agree with Bernard Baruch who said, “To me – old age is fifteen years older than I am!”  My Dad used to say “Growing old isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative”.

Life is inordinately SHORT!  There is always enough time “to heed His instruction”.  There are no exception clauses to obedience…just the command!

So be wise, my daughter, heed His instruction, leave that road that leads to destruction…hallow His Name, don’t walk in shame…”

How do you wisely show honor for those who have gone before you?

Do your little princesses and princes see and hear your reverence for “the aged”?

Will you commit yourself and “heed His instruction” to acknowledge, honor

 and encourage your mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers this week? 

Don’t hinder God’s work!

These “invisible” personalities are God-given with the divine purpose

of producing the character of Christ in us!

Jackie's Journey: Fairy Tales vs. Reality Part 1

Have you ever seen a REAL princess?

 Since the beginning of time there has been a battle of good against evil.  In our present day, we find our lives inundated with children’s books, novels, games, cartoons, T.V. programming and movies filled with magical fiction, romance, and fantasy with the all too predictable witchcraft theme and an evil, scary villain!  A point in fact is the new face of this fight found in the fairy-tale princess phenomenon.

The cry from the masses is met with a barrage of the supernatural and literary narratives brimming with dramatic imaginary story lines.  This particular genre with its fairy-like spirits in ethereal, heroic and monstrous forms is captivating to children, young people and adults alike.  Children are especially susceptible to its alluring charm because their worldview is literal, and this genre speaks to their inner understanding of spiritual reality.

In an earlier blog, “Character Marks the Life of a True Princess”, I talked about what a REAL princess looks like.  The mission of The Princess Parable Series is to introduce and encourage the disciplines necessary to step outside the fantasy and into the magical realism and authenticity of a loving and accepting God who teaches finding contentment in serving others, not in serving oneself.  Although written in fiction, each Princess story is based on fact.  It teaches a specific character quality in the name of its princess and takes the storyline from a Parable that was taught by the greatest teacher ever born.

All of us have spiritual needs (issues of pride, anger, rebellion, and selfishness, to name a few!) that are beyond ourselves, and we tend to try to fill the vacuum we feel with “make-believe”. We allow it to offer us a few moments of escape from the real battle (with good prevailing), if only momentarily.

Most of us acknowledge the struggle and know we are going to live somewhere forever, but have little understanding of the what, when, where, why and how.  The surge of fantasy-ridden books and films is an after-effect of this need and exposes a society, seemingly, without direction or defined purpose.

These five Princesses have been specifically created to put a functional tool into the hands of you, young mothers (urban, suburban, rural, stay-at-home, teen moms, single moms and married moms, grand-moms, aunts, and teachers) each with a different lifestyle, but all who share a similar desire to be the very best power of influence you can be! 

The passion to meet the need of every person desiring to cultivate what God has programmed into her “princess potential” has been a huge source of motivation for me. This passion allows each of us to nurture our little ones into genuine greatness.

As a grandmother, I carry a huge responsibility for the three princesses pictured above.  May I introduce you to Alexandra Grace, Megan Joy and Catherine? 

We, as women, have the power of influence, and God holds us accountable for representing Him and for our diligence in the success of these entrusted to us…our heritage.

What is your commitment to your heritage?

What steps of action are you implementing to see

your legacy live on

into the next generation?

Next Monday we will continue this challenge. Will you join me?

Jackie's Journey: Inspiring Imprints

As a young missionary mother reading to these two little ones sitting next to me in a hammock in the middle of the Panamanian jungle, my heart yearned for books that would introduce my girls to bible-based, character-emphasized prince and princesses that they could aspire to become.  I would take every book I picked up and purpose to impose these two principles into the pages in terms they could understand that had eternal values targeted.  My two daughters, Christina and Kim, are now grown and have given me seven grandchildren!  Christina encouraged me for years to sit down and put on paper what I did to the stories I read in those early years.  Her cry for these books for her four little ones was my primary motivation.

The opportunities are unlimited when it comes to God building His character in us, and then, into those we love.  Understanding the need and exercising the steps of action needed to see them implemented is our challenge.  When you look at your children where do you see their primary need?  Taking into consideration their temperament, maybe the need for them to be more alert or to respond more quickly in obedience?  Maybe rebellion is the issue or selfishness?  Where would you begin to help the little prince or princess in your home? 

 Values are based on the changing opinions of what people or groups of people practice in their principles or ideals.  Character is based on universal standards that are time-tested and recognized as being ethically correct.  Character is written on every person’s heart and conscience (Romans 2:15).  Even though the basic truth of a character quality is understood, it is important to know how to apply the truth in daily circumstances. 

I have collected positive character quality definitions for years because they describe pieces of the Godhead and assist in my personal spiritual exercise and transformation.  They equipped me to pragmatically instruct my girls as we walked through daily activities living in a culture very different than our own. In the village where we lived, the Kuna practice of polygamy and early marriages combined with witchcraft, including a village witchdoctor, opened up interesting teaching opportunities.

This past week the oldest of these two little princesses in the hammock saw her two daughters, my granddaughters (now 16 and 14), accomplish an extraordinary act of compassion in just a few days. I was asked to wrap a collection of gifts, gift cards and get-well cards with money that they had gathered to give to Alexandra’s teacher at school.  Her heart had been challenged to encourage this young single woman, who had recently left her parents and siblings on the East Coast to answer a call to serve in our community here on the West Coast.  She had taken a daily six-hour cancer treatment three months earlier and had quietly gone alone for the last six weeks, not wanting to burden or inconvenience anyone else.  During her follow-up appointment, the doctors found the cancer had returned…aggressively!   Alexandra tearfully shared with her sister, Catherine, the sadness she felt.  Catherine, who is the school’s “Kindness Club” director, immediately joined hearts and hands with her sister, their mother (Christina), and many who heard of the need. Within just a few days they had gathered a huge basket…full of encouragement for this teacher!  

We respond to life according to our character, good or bad.  Our wrong responses indicate our need.  Our correct responses validate our victories.  For me, this was a victory of gigantic proportion.  Three generations clasping hands to compassionately encourage a hurting heart! Princess Charity in our Princess Parable Series was faced with the same choice my granddaughter’s faced.  Webster’s definition of Compassion is  “together + suffering; deep sympathy, pity”.  1 John 3:17 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”  Compassion is doing whatever is necessary to heal the hurts and meet the need of another.  Christ is the greatest teacher that ever lived and our example. His compassion for us carried Him to the cross!  Living outside our own self-life, being alert to another’s pain and choosing not to walk by without lifting a hand is our “Call to Action” this glorious Monday. 

These are the same two princesses pictured in the hammock …today!