Jackie's Journey "IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY!"

Illustration  from “A Royal Christmas to Remember” from The Princess Parable Series

 There is a story of a little princess who anxiously waited for the day of the Christmas pageant.  She was so excited about her part that her parents thought she must be one of the main characters, though she had not told them what part she would play. 

 The day finally arrived and her parents enthusiastically entered the auditorium and watched as each of the children was called to take their place.  The shepherds nervously waited in the corner of the stage holding two sheep.  Mary and Joseph were placed near the manger.  In the back were the three Wise Men eagerly waiting with a small camel.  Each and every child was placed in position…except for the little princess.  She contentedly sat quietly.

 The music started and the director began the narrative.  “A long time ago, Joseph and Mary went up from Galilee to be taxed. It was there that Mary and Joseph had a baby and they named Him Jesus,” the narrator began.   “And when Jesus was born a bright star appeared over the stable.  That was her cue!  She quickly jumped up from her chair, picked up a large, sparkling star and walked behind the manger, holding the star up high for everyone to see.  It flickered in the lights and all eyes were drawn to baby Jesus in the manger.

 The story continues and finds the shepherds in the field with their sheep.  That was her cue…the little princess moved into position on stage, wiggling the shiny star to show the shepherds where to arrive at the manger.  When the director mentioned the Wise Men…the little princess quickly moved to meet them and lead the way to the Christ child.  Her face was beaming as bright as the star she was carrying!

 The play ended with a round of applause and a standing ovation.  In the car on the way home, the little princess was happily chattering, “I had the main part, did you see?”   “You did?” her mother questioned.  “Yes” she said enthusiastically,

 “I showed everybody how to find Jesus!”

 This could not have been truer!  Showing others how to find Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and to be the light that would draw them to Him has got to be the finest role we can play in life!

 May the Light of the Christ Child be your focus

this Christmas Season and throughout the New Year…

Payton, Jackson and Alexandra, Ralph and I, Catherine and Nikita, Christina and Philip, Philip’s parents, and Christopher

~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 "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas1"

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

My granddaughter, Megan Joy reading “A Royal Christmas to Remember”

 In life we cannot anticipate what our future holds but we know who holds the future.  In the Princess Parable Series, our Christmas book, “A Royal Christmas to Remember”, finds our 5 princesses and 5 young knights 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 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  

 One week 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… that particular Christmas a few years ago

 was a singularly outstanding one for our family…

 A 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 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 "Personal Preparation!"

While living in the Panamanian jungle I clung to a promise in II Peter that encouraged me to keep on regardless of my sense of failure.  It says, “His power has given me everything I need for life and godliness through my knowledge of Him who called me.”  Running the medical clinic, delivering babies at night, learning to clean and cook strange rodents, fish and meat, washing in the river, dozens of diapers and no dryer, learning a new language, meeting the needs of my husband and two little girls and acclimating to 90-degree heat with 99% humidity, etc., I found my level of spirituality severely challenged.  Exhausted daily I found the verses in II Peter to be a fresh breath of air on my dripping, overheated soul and with it came a promise I intended to claim!

 I wanted to implement that promise He gave.  The provision was there to lead a godly life!  I needed to tap into “His power” and as I kept reading, I realized His very great and precious promises were attached to verse 5.  They were given with clear and present instruction IF I was to participate in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires…like giving in to my anger, impatience, frustration, and believing the lies regarding my inability to accomplish the task He had called me to. 

 “For this very reason, I had to make every effort to add to my faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if I possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep me from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ.” 11 Pet. 1: 5-9 (Personalized)

Always looking for a functional definition to put the “rubber on the road”, I found these marks of Virtue:

   “Virtue is the moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiate from my life as I obey God’s Word”.  II Peter 1: 5   It is learning to build personal moral standards that will cause others to desire a godlier life.  It is reproducing Christ’s character in my life first and then in others.

  Virtue is the fruit of grace as we are given light.  There is no excuse not to exemplify God’s character in my life.  I am to be an example, not an excuse!

Virtue is the Godly influence my life has on others regardless of past failures.

 The opposite of virtue is hypocrisy.

·      Hypocrisy is the practice of a person who is willfully living in conflict with their soul (their mind, will, emotions)”.

 Virtue is not made in crisis; it is only exhibited.  Crisis reflects our virtue.

Proverbs 24:10 says that we demonstrate what we really are spiritually in time of adversity, not when things are going smoothly!

 I was teaching a group of college girls in our home and one of the girls asked my daughter if she considered me to be a virtuous woman.  She hesitated…way to long, and I became acutely aware of my need to take another look at the qualities that comprise the virtuous woman in Scripture!

 Do I consider myself a woman of virtue…of Godly character?

 DO YOU?

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

Throughout the Word, we see God doing mighty works through ordinary people.  Imperfect people…weak individuals…slow to action…reticent to respond initially, because there is always someone more qualified, eloquent or skilled than you or me.  Then, too, there is always the battle to walk through that door of fear that often stymies us.

 While on the mission field, Sue Gunsteens (pictured below) and I ran a medical clinic.  Sue was qualified and skilled and did the job well.  On the other hand, I was just a simple “bush nurse” with basic training and understanding of the human body.  Yet, on every occasion that Jay and Sue and their family were NOT in the village, there would be some catastrophic event that I was called upon to “fill in”.

For example, the 8-year-old girl that fell out of the mango tree and the entire village came screaming through my front door holding her arm with the sharp bone protruding through the skin!!  In my panic, I could hear my husband, Ralph, saying behind me, “God could use a stick, Jackie, but He’s chosen you!” Taking a quick glance, I realized no X-rays were needed to see if it was broken!  And in the jungle, of course, none was available! 

 Setting that arm and casting it was excruciating for both this little girl and myself!  Stepping up to the plate …because there was no one else, and I guessed that I was one step up from no help at all…I proceeded to cry out to God, first, with all my inadequacies… and then, through my fear, took the arm in my hand and pulled it quickly toward me to set the broken bone.  To my amazement the bone snapped right back into place!  That was God!  The astonishment could be read on both of our faces!  Together that little girl and I, repaired the damage and fashioned a cast that would keep that arm immobile for it to heal.

 Years ago, I was given a list of simple people called to do extraordinary things.  It was sent my way to encourage me to “keep on keeping on”.   Consider these:

 Moses stuttered!

Jacob was a liar.

Noah got drunk.

Abraham was too old.

David had an affair.

David was too young.

Solomon was too rich.

Jonah ran from God.

Sampson had long hair.

Elijah was burned out.

Naomi was a widow.

Esther was a hiding Jew.

Gideon and Thomas doubted.

Moses, Peter and Paul had short-tempers.

Lazarus was dead!

Peter was fearful of death.

John Mark was rejected by Paul.

 Because God is God, He does not need to rely on you or me.  Actually, we have nothing to offer God!  His power made perfect in our yieldedness to Him is all we have. I was reading the book of II Corinthians this morning.  In Chapter 12, I read, “My grace is sufficient for you, Jackie, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  I certainly qualify! 

 SOOO, then, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power can rest on me.  That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong”!

 Are you encouraged? I am…

~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 "Harried and Hectic Holidays!"

Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving week-end?

 These are busy days, are they not?  Friends and family gathered recently for Thanksgiving  and Christmas is just around the corner, lapping at our heels!  Preparation time, decorating, planning… is all-consuming and there is a thief that is also busy and focuses on robbing us of the best.

 Time in the Word can be lost to the immediate demands of responsibility and the whirlwind of activity around us. Finding a “War Room” where we can read and pray, uninterrupted, is imperative to maintaining our walk.  Little things can begin to bother us and when people “bump” us, we react selfishly.

 Sound familiar?

 One day away from the Word and I am aware of my desperate need and its crucial impact in my life.  Two days of skipping a time of allowing the Word to dwell richly in me and my husband, girls and grandkids are intensely mindful of my desperate need!

 The test:

What is my response when:

·      I am evil spoken of

·      My loyalty has been betrayed

·      My will is crossed

·      I am forgotten or neglected

·      My friends forsake me

·      I find compromise more inviting than maintaining claimed convictions

 My reaction reveals the REAL me:

  Am I a virtuous woman or a woman of hypocrisy?

                   (Hypocrisy is the practice of a person who is willfully living

                      in conflict with their soul (their mind, will, emotions).

 Which are you?

 We choose...

~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 "Thanksgiving is this Week!!"

“Think about the events of your day  today or maybe yesterday.  Consider all the disruptions, disappointments, delays, delights,  diversions, dangers, and more.  No doubt you were thankful for some events and not so thankful for others.  What may surprise you is that  the Bible says you should have been thankful for all those events.

 To be more accurate, Scripture says to be thankful IN everything, not FOR everything!  That means to be thankful IN the midst of a circumstance,  whether pleasant or unpleasant, not necessarily FOR the experience itself.

 God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for an illness, a car accident, or losing a job, BUT it is ‘the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ to be thankful in the midst of those circumstances.”  (David Jerimiah)  REJOICE ALWAYS, pray continually, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES…” I Thessalonians 5: 18. We have been a most favored people.  “We ought to be a most grateful people.  We have been a most blessed people.  We ought to be a most thankful people.”  (This was the Thanksgiving Proclamation of Calvin Coolidge).

 Are these same thoughts not ours 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 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 "Truth Don't Lie!"

Truth is a universal topic.  Today, we hear much about each person having “his own truth”.  There is an ideological warfare confronting us, as we face the issues of knowing truth and speaking truth in our day.  Truth has been confused with lies camouflaged in opinions.

 Lions don’t lie! They clearly speak their intentions with their ears, the posture of their tails, the shape of their mouth, the sounds of their roars. Their very presence is intimidating.  There is no doubt what their next move will be.  Lions clearly reveal their objectives. Truth of his target and goal is not hidden or disguised.  This massive predator is coming after me, if given a chance!

 “ Does a lion roar  in  the thicket when it has no prey?

Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?”

Amos, the  prophet who carried the burden on God’s heart

and the plight of God’s people states these words

in the first Chapter, verse 2 …”The Lord roars…Amos 3:4

 Telling  a lie is like pounding a nail in the wall of one’s character.  Telling the truth removes the nail, but leaves the mark.  No man ever puts a stumbling-block in the way of others by telling the truth”. Oswald Chambers  Truth is the foundation upon which anything that stands is built.

 We find unchanging truth as we acquaint ourselves with the mind and heart of God in His Word. For example:  “ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”! Jn. 1:8 or “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Or Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jn. 14:6   In the continuing conflict between good and evil, truth is the weapon that wins the war.

 One of my husband’s favorite verses is John 8:44 which says, “He(Satan) was a murderer from the beginning and not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” In case I was negligent in telling you where lies come from, John 8: 44 very clearly states the truth.

 Do  you exaggerate when talking to others?

Do you lie or tell only part of the truth to escape the consequence of your actions?

Do you misrepresent the Lord with inconsistent or negative attitudes?

Do you give damaging reports of others?

We lie in many culturally “acceptable” ways.

Let’s take a stand against dishonesty and deception on every level this week…

Only truth sets us free.

~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 "I Can Do It Myself!"

Shortly after daybreak, an arctic explorer stood at the base of an eight-thousand-foot mountain.  The temperature was thirty below zero.  He was about 600 miles from the North Pole, when suddenly, a strange feeling overcame him and he considered turning back.  His uneasiness was heightened  by the unusual pattern of tracks in the snow.  He quickly recognized that most of the prints belonged  to arctic wolves!

 As he continued up the mountain, the wolf prints disappeared. However, he still sensed an eerie presence.  Something was watching him. Pulling himself up to the next snowy rise, the man was stunned by a rush of fur that flashed by his face! Wolves??  Polar Bear??

To his amazement it was a Musk Oxen.  The shaggy animals swiftly formed a circle, standing shoulder to shoulder, horns lowered and their young calves tucked inside the wall of protection.

 The ravaging wolves had no recourse but to retreat.  There was power in numbers.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another wolf that was now coming right for…him!  Only five feet away stood the huge wolf pack!  The wolves were no match for the combined protection that the musk oxen gave each other.   BUT the wolves were fearless against one man who tried to make it on his own…(condensed Bill Gothard material)

 Do you know anyone who says, “I can do it myself?”  I think there is a little of that independent spirit in all of us.  We forget the danger of trying to make it on our own. Most of us are convinced we have it covered…no help needed in our decision-making process. The savage wolves in life are just waiting to pounce…they come in different forms, but the end result is all the same.  There is self-rejection, rebellion, guilt, bitterness, anger,  purposelessness, habits and addictions, peer dependence, financial bondage….

 Understanding that the only safe place on this complex and confusing planet is to be wrapped inside the circle of the perfect will of God, walking in the light and truth of HIS Word.  This is our only hope. Facing the tomorrows independently of HIM is to invite the inevitable, like the arctic explorer.  None of us can do it alone…

 Which wolves are after your soul?

~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 "Busy Bees!"

Bees…bees…bees!  Buzzing busy bees!  These little creatures have taken over my house…again!  They burrow into a tiny entrance and come in a swarm once a year in the spring.  Tiny, over-active little furry insects with a hum that is continual and high pitched.

 They are efficient and they store, clean, repair, guard, nurse and scout for the Queen Bee!  She, by the way, lays 2,000 to 3,000 eggs a day!  Bees make a moaning sound that travels through the hive when threatened.  All the bees throb as though they were afflicted with fever which signals each bee to quicky adapt…even change role…in an effort to re-establish balance in the hive.

 Bees show us what loyalty is all about by their commitment to common goals and their amazingly accurate system of inter-communication for the benefit of the good for all.  If the bee rebels, the whole colony suffers and collapses.  This intriguing bug is the epitome of unity…the bonding  of individuals in a commitment of sacrificial support and defense. We could learn from the little bee!

 Loyalty is using difficult times to demonstrate our commitment to God and  those He has called us to serve. We are a Christian Colony. How loyal are you?  Do you ever doubt God’s sovereignty during trials or do you draw closer to Him? Are you double-minded or divisive?  Do you speak well of your authorities when in turmoil or do you murmur?  What’s your protective ratio?  Are you tempted to “throw others under the bus” to protect yourself?  The opposite of loyalty is infidelity.    

 God wants us to be reliable messengers for Him with common goals that glorify Him.  He wants us devoted to Him first, His Word, His commands, His people, His plan and His purpose. Like the Honeybee that rebels and the hive suffers and collapses, we have the same result if our loyalty is to the world and not a committed fellowship to God.  Do you know who you are loyal to? 

 We are facing difficult days ahead…are you ready?

~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 "Decisions...Decisions!"

Once upon a time there were three bear cubs romping in a field. They stumble across a caribou  that the wolves had killed.  They energetically begin to sniff and help themselves to the warm meat, thinking the wolves were gone.  But they were hiding…waiting to attack!  Wolves run in packs and the littlest bear took the worst of the beating. Mama bear hears her cubs howling and instantly comes to the rescue.   The littlest cub, bleeding and yet determined, ignores the call of mom and runs back toward the meat again! Decisions…decisions…

 For the second time, the mama bear exposes herself and the other cubs to danger.  The lead wolf draws mom away so the rest of the pack can attack the two cubs left alone.  The Mama bear, now furious, swings her paws in defense and with some fury pushes her three cubs into the thicket and down into the stream.  The smallest cub is now dripping with blood.  With all the bears in the water…they wait until the wolves no longer pursue them.

 The wounds were a lasting reminder of the consequence of not following the instruction of the one responsible for him (his mom, in this case!) Witchcraft is a devastating sin.  One which we saw in our village in the Darien. God states that rebellion is just like the sin of witchcraft! II Sam. 15:23 Disobedience  against our authority will always define the extent of our rebellion. 

 God places everyone under authority…parents, government, church leaders, employers, etc.  Every human authority is under the authority of God and the Bible. We are either safe under the protection of the one responsible for us or we are in rebellion.  (Ultimately against God)

 It’s a choice  we make consistently during a 24-hour period.  If we get out from  under the protective covering of our authority,  we expose ourselves to the realm and power of Satan’s control.  We choose to follow God’s clear instruction or we choose to follow the one who is out to kill, steal and destroy us. Jn. 8:44  Rebellion comes with a consequence…just as the littlest bear did, as he stood in the stream… bleeding!  Decisions…decisions! 

 What is your decision?

Who are you following ?

How’s your attitude, your words, your countenance, etc?

 We all make choices that affect everyone around us.

Know your authority and listen carefully and quickly obey…

~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.