Jackie's Journey "Unbearable Pain!"

I am writing this blog through tears.  I am reminded this morning of the gravity of life, time and opportunity.  My heart grieves for the child left behind, as she stands on the threshold of her life alone. She faces the inevitable future without the joy of being accompanied by her mother, her cheerleader and friend, who left us abruptly, this morning!  Yesterday, this 50-year-old mother was active, vibrant and healthy.  A mother that understood giving, serving and sharing.  It is unthinkable to realize she is no longer with us.

 In the night her heart stopped and she was quickly taken.  We all stand here, confounded and in deep pain, but none like the daughter who was left behind.  January 15th is the day this young college student was to fly to the other side of the USA and enter University.  Her mom was excited to accompany her and get her settled into the dorm, meet her new friends and share in this new step of her daughter’s life. How can this be?  In an instant…all lives have changed. “

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

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

 What now?

 Life is more than Covid-19, masks, elections and consuming daily activities.  Although these are important, death makes us cognizant of the eternal aspect of all life and re-aligns our perspective.  It seems to be the great leveler, if we are brave enough to face it.  “There is nothing permanent but change”! We are not always prepared for the unexpected.  We are often overwhelmed by the shock.  The goal is to keep in harmony with His will and direction through the maze. 

 We see things not as they are, but as we are.  How we respond to the unexpected or the seemingly impossible reveals the all of us.  We can alter our life by altering our attitude of mind. To see God in everything makes life the greatest adventure there is!  Someone once said that living is like “licking honey off a thorn” …I think death is like this.  We cannot see what God has in the future and often it includes the desperation of our loss to get us in perfect harmony with His plan and purpose for our lives. It reminds us of His control and care and calls us to grab hold of His hand and follow even more closely. The promise and prayer for this family…

 “You removed my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.  I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul…My future is in Your hands…” (Psalm 30:11&12; 31:7)

This is young Bella and my grandson, Payton

~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 "Hope Reigns!"

This past fall I watched my once thriving garden fade away, the vibrant plants had languished… dry from the extreme weather.  The days were hot and the nights were cold.  Thanksgiving brought the bright orange leaves and pumpkins.  The wind and rain had brought death; the ground was parched and all that once lived now lay, limply on the barren ground.  Another season had come and gone.  It was time to grab the rake and pull the dead leaves and brush away.  

 As I cleared the garden floor, I was astonished to find underneath the mass of debris, sandwiched between two decorative stones, one tiny plant, standing tall, reaching up for the sun.  While the world was falling down in ruin all around this diminutive flower, she stood, stretching with determination to live.  Her leaves were bright green and her colorful face turned upward.  I carefully uncovered her and dug a small, shallow well around her, to ensure her water supply would be sufficient to catch the coming rains.

 As I contemplated this brave, yet seemingly insignificant plant, I, again, saw the truth of God’s plan to use His creation to teach us.  The birds had planted this one…she was a surprise!  Despite it all, she had not only survived, but she had thrived. She had weathered extremes and watched everything around her perish, yet she persevered!  She was not a quitter.  She was just who she was, carving life out of God’s time frame for her.  I was inspired by her.

 How often do I aspire to find satisfaction in “whatever”, other than my Creator and His plan for my life?  How do I face disappointment and trials? Is my face stretched upward? Am I found totally dependent on Him or am I running ahead, disregarding His leading?  Do I accept His timing in life’s situations (that little flower was found out of its expected season!) or do my expectations lead me astray?  Do I accept my uniqueness or aspire to be more or do more apart from Him?  How do I handle the challenges of life when the wind and rain are whipping about me?  Do I quit or do I accept the challenge and fearlessly “keep on, keeping on”?

 That glorious, petite flower that caught me unaware, has no idea how wonderfully she was used to cause me to stop, take a self-look and listen. We do not realize, Moms, that we are the flowers our children and others are watching.  They are reading us all the time and learning how to relate to God, us and the world.  

 Will you join me in these unsettling times… choosing to stand tall… 

face upward, courageously persevering…?

~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 "Do I Have To? Why??"

  I have seen and lived three-quarters of a century of life on this planet.  I have observed the ebb and flow of my culture and Christianity over the years.  While reading through the Bible again this year and rehearsing the walk of humanity, specifically the plight of the Jews in the earliest of centuries, I got to chapter 17 of II Kings.  I found myself lost in this verse:

 “Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols.”

 This 17th Chapter is what I call a “summary” or review Chapter.  The Israelites had begged for a King.  God was their KING, but the people insisted on an earthly king.  God gave them their desire and what they deserved in Saul.  A man who proved that earthly kings are fallible and have a blindness to the reflection of our true God, as KING, perfect and infallible in comparison!  The evil heart of man revealed itself over and over as the kings came and went.  With few exceptions, these people were bent on their desires, they were unrighteous, disobedient, idol worshipers, murderers of their own children on heathen sacrifices to false gods of stone, rebellious to God’s will and ways, resistant to God’s purpose, His Wisdom…

 “…they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked

me to anger from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt

until this day.” (vs.14, Chapter 21)

 The nation divided and fought each other and the surrounding towns.  The kings were competitive and combative.  They strayed from God’s will, purpose, desires, wisdom, and righteousness.  They rejected the true God, lost the blessing of the covenant God had made with Abraham and David and in its place, experienced the penalty and its replacement…the curse of disobedience.  

 In Chapter 17 the culmination of many years of rejecting God and His ways are realized by the King of Assyria!  God sent lions to consume the rebellious generation… 

 “The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthuh, Avva, Hamath and

Sepharvaim (remember this group? They burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Drammach!!)

and settled them in the town of Samaria to 

replace the Isrealites.  They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.

When they first lived there, they did not worhip the Lord…

so HE (God) sent lions among them…” (vs. 25,26)

 When the report that the people were being killed by lions came to the King of Assyria, it was noted that “the people that had been deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE GOD OF THAT COUNTRY REQUIRES.”  The lions came because the people did NOT KNOW WHAT HE REQUIRES!  Sooo, what does this heathen king do?  

 “Have one of the Jewish priests who had been exiled from

Samaria come and live in Bethel and teach them how to worship the LORD!!” (vs. 28)

 We are that heathen nation that has forgotten 

how to worship and rejected our LORD God!

 When we gather with our family on Sunday nights or when we meet with couples or small groups, we are the old guard…the exiled priests, called by our living God to teach those in coming generation how to know and worship our GOD.

 We are a royal priesthood…called to be that beacon of truth so others 

“know what God requires” in a dark and needy world.

Are you busy living and teaching  your prince and princesses  

God’s will (not their own),

 God’s purpose for their life, 

God’s desires (no entitlement…only what is on HIS heart), 

God’s Wisdom

and Godly righteousness???

~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 "Troubled Waters!!"

Troubled times? New Covid outbreaks?  This is all we hear!  

Fear everywhere!  What is the truth?  What can we believe?  

What can we tell our children? 

 I was raised a Lutheran and attended parochial school until the eighth grade.  I have wonderful memories growing up surrounded by pastors and teachers that opened up the Word every morning in class and introduced us to the simple principles of knowing God.  When it came to “faith”, I struggled to understand how it worked.

“Faith is not what some people think it is.  Their human dream is a delusion.  Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith.  ‘Faith is not enough’, they say. ‘You must do good work’s; you must be devout to be saved.’  They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, ‘I believe.’  That is what they think true faith is.  But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and rebirth doesn’t come from this ‘faith’, either.

 Instead, faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. Jn.1: 13 It kills the old Adam and makes us completely different people.  It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers.  It brings the Holy Spirit with it.  Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith.  Faith cannot help doing good works constantly.  It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing.  Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever.  He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith and good works are.  Yet, he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.

What will we tell them?

FAITH is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it!  Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures.  The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith.  Because of it, you freely, willingly, and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise God who has shown you such grace (no entitlements or expectations!).  Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire.  Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools.”

Genesis 6:5 gives us a clear understanding of our desperate need for faith and regeneration.

“The Lord saw the the wickedness of man was great on the earth,

and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

 During this time of Thanksgiving and rehearsing the birth of our Lord and Savior,

will you ask God to work FAITH in you…?

(This text was translated for Project Wittenberg by Robert E. Smith

and was written by Martin Luther and found in his German bible of 1522.)

~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 "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!"

Our young knights being welcomed by the King and princesses for a celebration at the Castle

 Thanksgiving is this Thursday!  We have everything to be grateful for, don’t we?  Gratefulness is making known to God and others in what ways they have benefited our lives. I Corinthians 4:7    Thanksgiving Day is a perfect time to do this!

 Thanksgiving weekend is full of traditions for our family, as I am sure it is in your home.  It is the official beginning of the Christmas season.  The Christmas trees go up, the Christmas C.D.’s fill the house with music, the wreaths are hung on the front doors, the garlands are placed around the house with care, and the lights from the bannister shine out from the second story as a welcoming beacon for all who enter over the coming days of celebrating our Saviors birth. 

  My bulging gift closet is opened up after a year of accumulating its secret chattels and the “to do list” is formally inducted into the hustle and bustle of Christmas giving.  The stacked boxes full of gifts, just waiting to be wrapped, are pulled out and the forgotten person, item or the missing piece of a waiting gift is duly noted and one by one will be addressed and added to its appropriate package over the next few weeks. 

 “Making a List and Checking It Twice…”

 In the Princess Parable Series book “A Royal Christmas to Remember”, the princesses and young knights are busy checking off all that must be organized and accomplished with all the activities that come with planning and preparing for the Holiday Season.   Unexpectedly, there is a disruption at the castle door.  Fear silences their demanding schedule.  News of marauding robbers heading toward the castle gates has immediately reached the King.   Abruptly frozen in their tracks, their thoughts are focused on the pending danger and Christmas preparations are lost in the newly presented event at hand… 

Who knocks at the door?  What could it be?  What has happened?

  Organizing activities requires lists!  There are many kinds of lists.  They can be the director that keeps us on track.  They are the reminders that sustain us on our trek in a time crunch.  They put our weekly menu together and they assure us that everything is packed in a lunch bag or backpack.  They maintain our priorities.  Lists are good things…fresh reminders, motivators to keep us keeping on…

 I have been thinking about a list that has been in a notebook next to my Bible for years.   It accompanies my journal and is the key of the day and the lock of the night.  It is a list of names and needs of …family members, missionaries, church families, neighbors, people we are witnessing to, people we are mentoring, people with special needs during the holidays, church leaders, leaders of our great nation, prayer requests…

 “Watch and pray…”  Matthew 26:41

“God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven…”  II Chronicles 

“So… we fasted and petitioned our God about this

and He answered our prayer.”  Ezra 

 “The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.  And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.” C.S. Lewis

 “If you are a stranger to prayer, you are a stranger to power”

If we are too busy to pray…then we are too busy!  Hurry is the death of prayer!

“Satan laughs at our toiling but he trembles when we pray!”

Will you join me daily this busy time of year to take time

 to enter your “War Room” with your prayer list and talk to God… first?

~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 "What Marks TRUE Character?"

Character determines our actions! Character marks the life of a TRUE prince or princess!

 A Biblical worldview should influence all areas of life.  Articulating that worldview within our sphere of influence is what the Princess Parables are all about!  While surface problems (Covid-19, hate, riots, murder, anger, addiction…) attract media attention, they merely reflect and are symptomatic of the deeper need we have as people…the need for godly character!  

 Character determines our responses, regardless of the circumstances presented to us in life.   It defines us and tells others who we really are!  Character is written on the heart of every person.  It is universal and transcends culture, race, age, social status, religion, gender and nationality.  

 Godly character marks the life of a true prince or princess!!  For years Princesses Joy, Grace, Hope, Faith and Charity have been a large part of my life and I have grown to love each of them, as distinct and separate personalities, with unique engiftments and an adventurous story to tell.  They form a cohesive body of work that speaks to the need for early development of godly character in our little prince and princesses in a pragmatic way, that they can relate to, with Biblical terms attached. 

  I recently read, “A dear old Quaker lady, distinguished for her youthful look, was asked what she used to preserve her appearance.  She replied sweetly, “I use for the lips, truth; for the voice, prayer; for the eyes, pity; for the hand, charity; for the figure, uprightness; and for the heart, love” (Jerry Fleishman).  

 The Princesses are designed to inspire godly thoughts and actions.  The key to this wise “Quaker lady’s” answer and the challenge to us is to maneuver victoriously through this new day and its many opportunities… each revealing our TRUE character through our moment-by-moment responses!  

 Who am I really?

 My daily response to life situations 

brings to light the REAL me!

~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 "Life's Enquiries!"

I am the mom of two princesses, who now, each, have young knights and princesses of their own.  It was important to me, as a young mom, that my girls understood the Four Imperative Life Enquiries (Ravi Zacharias) that demand a response.  All creation cries out for an answer to these four crucial questions about life. 

My two great-nieces, Princess Emma and Princess Olivia

Most young moms are so busy and preoccupied with the “success” and safety (riots, shootings, child trafficking, internet interruptions on school study websites with pornography, false teachings, etc.) of their child that these four are often not addressed and when they leave home their young knights and princesses are ill-equipped to survive the worldly pressures, let alone lead the way, as a prepared soldier for a lost generation.

 We are inundated with social media and a multitude of ways that will readily educate our children incorrectly, and the home values are side-stepped by influences that are strategically programmed to the detriment of our young, impressionable heritage. 

 Have we dropped the ball??

 Young men and women of this generation are gasping for air, as they face the uncertain road ahead…unprepared and unaware.  So much emphasis has been placed on the temporal, rather than the eternal. The fruit we discern in the lives of our young prince and princesses is the obvious revelation of our neglect.  

 What do you see when you look around?  What do you hear?  Do your children listen to you with kind respect when you speak or do they roll their eyes and look for an escape? Are your children an inspiration or a discouragement to you?  Do they respond to their siblings with the purposed intention of making their brother or sister more successful or is there blatant competition, belittling and discord?  Is there a joyful attitude or a demanding one in your home?  Do you find your prince or princess interested in eternal things or focused on temporal values?  

 I am observing this new generation that will one day lead with the cross of Christ or will be lost to follow the world in discontentment.  Have the four life enquiries been addressed in your home?  Are the questions that all of us seek been answered to satisfy and settle our souls?

 1)    What is the origin of the universe, the world and us?

2)    What is the meaning of Life?

3)    What is morality and does it concern us?

4)    What is our destiny?

 Has your prince or princess found a safe place in you to easily talk about these imperatives?  Do you have the answers?  The Word of God is very explicit in the clarity of explanation to satisfy these probing questions. Is your child alert to the importance of implanting the truth and answers from God’s Word? Have you talked about these four goals and some thoughts on how to address and reach them?  How do you see the need of your child? 

 How do you see your need?  

How do your children read you when they witness

 the way you address life and these four imperatives? 

Will they be ready?

Are you?

 Will you join me in preparing yourself and this next generation 

with the answers for the obstacles of life they will encounter?

~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 "Gratefully Disillusioned!"

Since my mother’s passing in June, I, along with my three sisters, have had the privilege of walking through her thoughts, getting her Estate in order.  I am finding a wealth of information about her “seasoned” heart and my heart has responded to the love expressed in her times of trial, rejection and failure!

 C. S. Lewis once defined history as “the long terrible story of man trying to find happiness apart from God”.  The secret of a satisfied heart is NOT the pursuit of satisfaction or happiness…they are the by-products.  Discovering God, HIS path of obedience and HIS love in actual practice is the basis of genuine growth, absolute gratefulness and joy in life.

 Discouragement often accompanies times of trial, rejection and failure. “For you have tried us, O God; you have refined us as silver is refined.  You brought us into the net; you laid an oppressive burden on us, you made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet YOU brought us out into a place of abundance.” Psa. 66:10-12

 I am reminded of the way God works to bring new release,

greater fulfillment, abundance and growth.  It is usually wrapped in the package of truth…

The more desperate the trial, the greater the growth!

 A while back, my life was completely disillusioned by a person very close to me that had always demonstrated loyalty and trust.  My attention was instantly drawn to the distress and directness of the accusations against me. I felt that “ person riding over my head”! 

 I kept hearing the words…God is not interested in helping us maintain 

a sense of worth  independent of HIM.

 I accepted temporarily an “oppressive burden” and knew the “fire and water” was surely inevitable. God “arranges” circumstances…(even, and especially in our failures), to break through our resistance until we honestly acknowledge and accept our need for HIM alone! Every other love, than God’s, is limited by some degree of distance, hesitation or distrust.

 I was then, and am still now, daily challenged to focus on how HE sees me and the treasure chest of truths on what delights HIS heart and NOT on the disillusionments and disappointments of life.  

Greater growth…greater trial.

 Trials come to help me reach my chosen goal, even though it sometimes frustrates my surface desires…therefore, I’m going on record to say…I welcome it!  Tribulation is God’s fastest road to patience, character, hope, confidence, genuine love…etc.!  In these days of confusion, riots and unrest, I continue to rest in a simple quiet purpose of heart…asking God for a celebration in the form of exuberance! (Antselvania)

 God continues to answer my prayer…I am not too old to serve, too seasoned to teach, too stubborn to learn, too weak to lead, too confounded to be productive…etc.  

 I am in perfect position for growth!!

 Will you grow with me?

~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 "Victim or Victor??"

Someone mentioned to me recently that the angels don’t read minds, but they do hear what we say and being “fellow servants” with us for doing God’s will, they listen for assignments that will glorify God, as we speak. Since I am a chatterbox and love words, I started thinking about what comes out of my mouth!  

 An example… How do I receive a complement?  A few days ago, a kind lady in Costco said, “I love your hair.” Now…a smile and simple “thank-you” is a polite and sane response.  However, that was NOT my response… I answered, “Oh, really? I appreciate that because the rain and humidity today has turned my hair into Raggedy Annie!”  Did I encourage this lady with my gratefulness? Not likely!  We can tame Shamu, the whale, but we can’t tame our own tongue!  

 “See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  

And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity;

the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles

the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life…!” James 3

 Did you know that the tongue holds the power of life and death? Pro. 18: 21   Your words, your dreams and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life.  What you speak about, you can bring about!

 If you keep saying you can’t stand another day of lockdown, you might find yourself in a much worse circumstance.

If you keep saying you can’t stand another day of homeschool and noisy kids, be careful what you wish for.

If you keep saying you can’t stand your body, your body can become sick.

If you keep saying you can’t stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating.

If you keep saying you’re broke, guess what?  You’ll always be broke.

If you keep saying you can’t trust this person or that person, you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you.

If you keep saying you can’t find a job, you will remain unemployed.

If you keep saying you can’t find someone to love you or believe in you, your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs.

If you keep talking about a divorce or break-up in a relationship, then you might end up with it.

 Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action!  Phil. 4: 8

 We are not victims (unless we choose to be!); 

we are Victors!

 Watch your Thoughts…they become words.

Watch your Words…they become actions.

Watch your Actions…they become habits.

Watch your Habits…they become character.

Watch your Character…for it becomes your Destiny.

 Take Note:

Watch how your circumstances change when you change the way you speak.

~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.