As Marjorie stepped out on the stage, her heart fluttered. She was a main speaker at the NWA Beautiful Girls Retreat, with hundreds of young girls eagerly looking up at her. She smiled at God’s irony of speaking on the theme “Brave,” when in past years she had harbored so many of her own fears. But isn’t that what God is about, using the weak to overpower the strong and the simple to confound the wise?

During Marjorie’s trip with Covenant Journey to Israel, her roommate was the Covenant Journey alumni leader, who is called an Ambassador. A Covenant Journey Ambassador has gone on a prior Covenant Journey to Israel and is a good spiritual peer mentor and leader. This Ambassador recognized and spoke into Marjorie’s life about fear and helped her grow through it. “It was definitely a God set-up,” she said her roommate “had a profound impact and blessed me beyond that trip.” Now Marjorie is speaking into the lives of hundreds of young girls and sharing the lessons God’s taught her.

Marjorie’s impact is reaching far beyond one weekend speaking engagement. She is the author of two (soon to be three) published books: The Greatest Book You’ve Never Read: Why the Bible Is Not Only Exciting, But It Will Change Your Life! (2013) and Devoted: A Girl's 31-Day Guide to Good Living with a Great God (2017). Devoted was featured on YouVersion and was completed more than 5,000 times. Her upcoming book is The Devoted Life, which she wrote over Christmas break. It is scheduled for release later this year and includes a devotional for teen girls with journaling prompts, questions, and more than 60 coloring pages.

When asked how she got started as an author, Marjorie shares, with an easy laugh, “I was always the girl who -if a teacher assigned three pages- would hand in nine. Every loose-leaf page in my house has been covered with writing and doodling. My parents recognized this. When I started homeschooling, they challenged me to write a book in eighth grade.” That book assignment was joined by newsletters, a blog, and finally an offer from a literary agent.

Marjorie credits Covenant Journey with deeply igniting her faith. “Ever since my Covenant Journey trip, I can see God doing a convicting work in my life,” Marjorie said. “I had fear in my life, and He is calling me higher. He is asking me to trust Him in the details of my life and showing me that He is faithful. I am on this journey of discovering that, and now I’m able to help others work through that.”

This is just one of the many lessons God taught her through Covenant Journey in Israel. She especially loved how God took a small, seemingly ordinary country that He used to accomplish His purposes and change the world. “He chose them,” she said, “God can use anyone, not because of their ability, but because of His will.” She was impressed on her Covenant Journey trip by “How big God is, enriching us and guiding our spiritual walk. He cares about every detail.”

While balancing a calendar that most adults would find daunting, Marjorie will graduate this year with a degree in Graphic Design at John Brown University. The spunky 20-year-old displays her love for God and the special place in her heart for Israel through her class projects. She created a screen-print she named “Sea of Galilee Sunrise” that urges viewers to focus first on God, even though she readily admits to not being a morning person. 

Marjorie also loved how the itinerary of Covenant Journey cultivated the students towards leadership, “I already have an interest in politics, so that was a really important element.” Also, the emphasis on history left her awestruck. She said of her time at Caesarea Philippi,, “The complete meaning of how ‘the Gates of Hell will not prevail’ was so amazing! This trip was very impactful and has enriched my understanding.”

Marjorie feels called to Central America, in part because her mom came from Guatemala to attend college in the United States. Marjorie has taken missions trips to Guatemala and El Salvador, where she learned to share the good news of Christ in Spanish. She shares a passion for evangelism with the late Billy Graham. She is amazed by the response of so many people who were inspired by Graham’s life, especially across so many circles where he was known and respected and loved for being a man of God. “That is how I want to be known. He is one of my heroes of the faith along with Elisabeth Elliot.  I have no idea what God wants me to do, but I always want to be someone who is sharing the gospel, who is passionate about humility and encouraging others to live life to the fullest.”

This summer she plans to intern with Compassion International and hopes to bring the abundant life that she loves to so many others.

You can track Marjorie Jackson on her next adventure in the following ways:

Blog: marjoriejackson.wordpress.com

Facebook: facebook.com/marjorie.e.jackson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marjoriejacks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marjorie.e.jackson

Donate to help Covenant Journey make an impact in the lives of more people like Marjorie.