Jackie's Journey: Princess Faith Cries Out

We live up a narrow gorge that stretches from the valley floor with its ocean and sandy beach to the top of the hill overlooking the harbor.  Watching the birds ride the currents is a regular preoccupation. This spring I was watching a hawk sweep down across the pool in our backyard.  As he ascended high up into the sky above the valley below he screeched loudly, over and over.  I watched this magnificent creature ride the current up and down, back and forth.  A short time later he swooped down into our yard again…only this time… he was silent...  

He had a snake dangling from his talon!

It brought to mind what I had been reading earlier in Psalm 147:9:

“God provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens… WHEN THEY CALL”!  

I am that helpless raven that is found “crying out”, totally dependent on God, placing my faith continually on His promises and unfailing love!  Whether with no communication with the outside world in the jungles of Panama or here, in the U.S., with way too many ways to communicate, the most important line of communication to keep open is that with the “King of Kings”!

While in Bible School a young missionary student told me to allow the Word of God to “dwell richly” in me.  Not just read and journal…but dwell richly! 

In the book Princess Faith’s Mysterious Garden, Faith learned the importance of crying out to God, even though she didn’t understand why things happened to her, she learned God uses perplexing things to talk to us and grow our hearts, making us a benefit to others!

Taken from the Parable of the Sower in Matt. 13, Faith learns she can trust her heavenly Father to deeply plant His truth in her heart.  She learned to accept with joy the trials her garden brought her, plus every other circumstance that came her way!

We moms live in a hurricane with endless noise and activity.  Distinguishing between our “little chicks” that are “crying out” needing our immediate attention is a learned skill.  Daddies struggle with it!  Hearing the voice of God speaking to us is a cherished and coveted practice because He whispers in the quietness of our consciousness as His Word is read and dwells richly in us.

While writing Princess Faith, we were mindful of the desperate need moms have for those quiet teachable moments with their little knights or princesses. We included the lesson Faith learned through her facing trials of various kinds in her personal journal in the closing pages of her story (the Parable Thoughts).  It is clear that Faith learned to “cry out” and to see her prayers answered.

Most of us get lost in the harried busyness of one day to another.  Our hearts yearn for that moment when our little one looks up at us with total trust and silently cries out to us for our undivided attention. That moment when we take time to read and respond to their spirit and it tells us, as hard as it is at times, this nanosecond of oneness, peace and complete harmony is worth it all!   

Are we listening?

Time is short!   

Will you hear His silent whisper and allow the Word of God to daily “dwell richly” in you?

or

Will you miss the opportunity of His faithfulness being formed in you and your little one?

Faithfulness is not allowing busyness or adversity to cause us to be unfaithful to God’s Word and His calling or to be disobedient to His purposes.

~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. 

Making the Most of Every Opportunity?

My life verse is Ephesians 5:15 – 17  “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

If you know me, I run most of my life through this filter.

Am I making the most of this opportunity?

Am I wasting time or redeeming time?

Is this activity worth my time? 

Is it God-honoring?

There are so many good things in this world to spend my days doing.

But are they the BEST!?

I learned this saying years ago, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best!”

So this is my goal.

Do I always get it right? Nah.

But it is what I strive for and where I aim my arrow and shoot.

So as I was planning this summer, I used this filter.  We started off the summer in Mexico on a house build project.  After that the kids had a week of serving and attending VBS at our church.  We packed our bags for two weeks in upstate New York at a Christian camp my husband grew up at. At Camp of the Woods, God is the center each day.  The last two weeks of the trip, we have traveled down the East Coast on a history field trip.  We wanted to live out the history we had learned about this year. A hands on approach to studies about our founding fathers who loved God and built our country upon biblical principles.  Another goal was to fellowship with friends and family along the way.

I don’t tell you this to brag about what we did this summer, but simply to point out the thought and planning that went into each week.  The question asked, “Am I making the most of my time with my kids each day this summer? Am I being wise?”

These last days of summer will be spent at home more, as we are bringing home a souvenir puppy from our time on the Amish farm in Pennsylvania.  The kids will get an opportunity to raise and train another being.  Right now, he is very sick with "Puppy Strangles" so we are nursing him back to health.  God knows what our family needs. 

As I am looking to the fall, how can we make the most of every opportunity?  Looking at my children's schedules, why are we doing this activity?  Are the days too full?  Do we have at least 5 family dinners a week? Where are my priorities? 

The grid of Ephesians 5:15-17 helps me put things into perspective.

What about you?  How do you make the most of every opportunity?  I would love to hear different ideas on this topic.

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: The Calling of Princess Grace

I love the name “Grace”, don’t you?   I have a granddaughter named Grace.  I love it so much we wrote a book about a Princess named Grace who was willing to walk through the danger of the Black Forest and face her fears because of the value she placed on the life of her lost little kitten!  Phil. 2:13 gives us the definition of Grace.  It means the desire and power to do what is right.  God blessed Princess Grace with the willingness and power to keep in harmony with the instruction of her authority…even in times of trouble.  This is my prayer today for the princess in your life.

“LIFE is a stewardship, not an ownership; a trust, not a gift!

With a gift you can do as you please; but with a trust you must give an account”! 

“Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight!  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before HIS eyes and to HIM we must give an account”!  Hebrews 4:13

Personally, these have always been “call to action” words to me!  They have been a strong motivating force in my life.  Those of you who know me, know I am the “little much afraid” in the book,  Hinds Feet in High Places…I am the person who forces herself to walk through the door of fear to find God’s GRACE and freedom on the other side!

The fact that God is holding me accountable has driven me to take the stewardship of my life:  as a woman, author, missionary, pastor’s wife, mother, and grandmother very seriously.  This God of love is going to hold me accountable one day…and there will be no excuses, no escape!

Scripture tells us children are a gift to us that come from the Lord with stewardship.  They are a trust given for a short time and our responsibility for that life is enormous!  Our failure to take that trust and do it God’s way, not our own way in our strength, (which is our natural inclination) will, of course, result in total failure…

I hate failure!  I am afraid of failure!  I am a failure…apart from Him!

We, moms, are commissioned by God to guard our every word, thought, action, attitude and motive.

WHY???  Why can’t we just be “ourselves” and say and do what we want?  We are thoughtful and mature women!  Right? 

Could it be because we are bent on evil… apart from him?

We are NOT full of Grace… HE is!

We are to:

Watch our Thoughts, they become words.

Watch our Words, they become actions.

Watch our Actions, they become habits.

Watch our Attitudes, they become character.

Watch our Character for it becomes our destiny!

Children are the seeds of all our finest hopes in this life.  They are our heritage. Moms…our children are watching, listening, and learning…we are the first book they read…all the time!  We cannot allow the enemy any entrance into their lives.  They deserve the opportunity to grow in grace and to become all that He has predestined them to be for His glory and purpose.  

Are you a godly steward of the trust you have been given in the life of your child?

What are your children observing?

We all fail… but what is your pattern??

I still have the privilege of looking into the face of the most precious Mother that ever lived and I see her responsibility for me wasn’t just those first years until I went away to college…she still “sets the bar” for me at 97!  I continue to watch her words, actions, habits and observe her character… and I listen and learn!  Christina and Kim, my two daughters, are still holding my “feet to the fire” and looking for an opportunity to use me as an excuse for their wrong choices (It’s always mom’s fault, isn’t it?!).  And my seven grandchildren are watching their grandma to see if her God is real!

But most importantly, God has His eyes on me and is listening, and He is holding me accountable! 

Grace is an attribute of God.  All God’s attributes are active, not passive!

     ( Love – gives; Joy- refreshes and is the reward of giving; Peace- governs, etc…).

Grace IS NOT:

·      God’s passive indulgence in letting us do what we want!  (Our present cultural philosophy – everyone is entitled and we are the exception to every rule!).

·      God’s removal of consequence when His laws are broken! (We reap what we sow!  No escape!)

·      Freedom to reject God’s commands!  (God’s law’s are NOT a “Smorgasbord”…I like this command; it works for me; I’ll keep it!....That one does NOT work for me…throw it out!

Grace IS:

·      The desire, willingness and power to do what God wants!  It is ACTIVE!

 “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  2 Tim. 2:1 

Is God’s grace ACTIVE in you? 

Have you taken stewardship of your life? 

What about the life of your child?

When God calls you into account…will you be ready?

My prayer for you is that, like Princess Grace, you will fulfill your calling, take the stewardship of the trust God has given you in your children, keep in harmony with the instruction of your heavenly authority and lastly, that your little prince and princess will follow your godly example.

~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: Words and Wounds!

“Language is the dress of thought”. Samuel Johnson   I have two very precious friends who live in Tucson, Arizona.  I don’t get to see them as often as I would like but they are the eternal connection we all hope that we are fortunate enough to find just once in our lifetime of relationships.  While on furlough from the mission field these girls were eager to encouragingly nurse me back to health while I was crumpled on their living room sofa and they had just the right words that would lift my spirit and keep me going.  Most of all, they offered total and complete acceptance accompanied with a joy of just sensing refuge in their presence.  I recently found an encouraging note they sent me shortly after the first of our books in The Princess Parable Series was released.  This is the note…

I loaned your books to a friend, Jackie. Her granddaughters are named Daity and Caity Belle.  This was my friend's comment on them: 

‘Thanks for the loan on the books – they are GREAT! We had to reenact the Princess Birthday one – we baked a cake and invited the dolls—dressed up—it was quite a production.  Daity really liked it and Caity Belle liked the one about the dog—now when they dress up they have to be those Princesses.  So I would say they are a hit! I love that there is a great theme and then the stories at the end of the book—great illustrations and inspiring and encouraging.’ 

Thought you would like to hear another review.  Keep up the Lord’s work on your writing.  Love, Jane

There are many ways we express ourselves, but, as women, we are exceptionally prone to WORDS…all kinds of words… lots of words…soothing words…volatile words…we love words…

“The power of life and death are in the tongue.”  Proverbs 18:21  

Do you speak LIFE with your tongue… or DEATH?

“Speech is the index of the mind”. We have a nanosecond before every choice we make each time we entertain a thought…should I say this or should I not???  Often we disregard the warning at that point of decision and blurt out exactly what should have been kept in the “box of better timing” or not at all!

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…” Lu. 6:45

and too many meaningless words mark you as a fool!  Ecc. 5:3

In Proverbs 15 there are 21 references to words in only 33 verses!!!  There are cutting words, crude words, slanderous words, piercing words, biting words, poisonous words, burning words envious words, healing words, deceitful words, wise words, mocking words, cheerful words, timely words, prayerful words and….you fill in the blank!

Being a person of many words, I used to think if you isolate me in a remote jungle village with people who speak a different language then the tongue would be much less of a problem…How much damage could I do…I couldn’t speak the Kuna language…?

How many times have you been “ensnared by the words of your mouth”?

 Proverbs 6:2

“IF ANYONE CONSIDERS HIMSELF RELIGIOUS AND YET DOES NOT KEEP A TIGHT REIN ON HIS TONGUE, HE DECEIVES HIMSELF AND HIS RELIGION IS WORTHLESS”!  Jas. 1: 26

I am reminded of the old adage:

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.

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

“The power of LIFE and DEATH are in the tongue”! Proverbs 18:21

~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. 

How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 5

The following post is part 5 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Friday- Princess Joy’s Birthday Blessing

Our last day of camp was almost like a first day, since we had to switch rooms to accommodate another unanticipated event.  We stayed after camp for an extra hour and a half on Thursday, transferring all of our decorations and setting up our princess party room.  Here is a picture of the new room, which we ended up loving even more than our first room.  One thing that made it better was having a water fountain- or bubbler as we say here in WI- and bathroom right outside the door instead of down the hall.

Don’t you love the display shelf for our Parable Princesses books?

All week long, the girls had been anticipating our special dress up party day. All the girls were invited to wear their prettiest dresses, and we planned to paint their nails and faces and eat cupcakes and ice cream.

As they entered, we took pictures of each girl in front of the castle decoration.  Once everyone had arrived, we played Pin the Gem on the Crown.  We simplified our approach by drawing a crown on a big piece of paper and having the girls design and cut out their own gems.  Then, we blindfolded each girl and had the other girls safely direct her to the crown, where she stuck her jewel on with double-sided tape.

After our game, all the girls sat in the middle of the room for our story time.  Today’s story was about Princess Joy; it is actually the first Princess Parables book, but we saved it for last because of our party plans.  Joy is a lovely princess, and she is so looking forward to the party her sisters are planning for her, only none of the guests can come!  At first discouraged, Joy instead decides to invite all of the children from the kingdom, be they poor or rich.  She finds that it is indeed better to give than to receive.

As a group, we discussed how we can give without expecting anything in return, and the girls offered up answers about helping around the house, giving money to those less fortunate, sharing their toys, and the like. In that moment, I realized how much I would miss these special girls and their sweet hearts.  It was a busy week, full of fun and activity, but on this last day, I determined to slow down and just take time to enjoy the girls, and that is what I did.

We directed the girls back to the tables and distributed our party food.  The girls chatted happily as they ate their cupcakes and ice cream, fruit salad, and apple juice.  This Wilton Princess Cupcake Stand Kit (which includes the cupcake liners and crown decorations) was perfect for our party, and it is affordable and reusable.

After we got the girls all cleaned up, it was time for the beauty treatment!  Kira, Caitlin, and I divided up: Kira and I painted toenails, and Caitlin became the master face painter (I found a Princess Face Painting kit at Michaels on clearance from $24.99 to $9.99-hurray!)  Here are a few pictures of our pretty princesses:

The face painting took longer than our camp was scheduled, but the few remaining girls and parents were happy to stay a little longer.  As the girls left, we gave them each a gift bag (I just used clear cellophane bags with pink and purple tissue paper) filled with foam stickers, play rings, Ring-Pops (I got them for 30 cents on clearance at Walgreens!) , balloons, and these Princess Stationery Sets.  Those that remembered also took their fancy drinking glasses which I found for 50 cents each at Goodwill; it was so cute to see them acting so dainty with these as they drank their water and juice throughout the week.

Final Thoughts

So much of our week involved doing and organizing projects with the girls that it wasn’t until Friday that I finally knew everyone’s name without hesitation and got to really relax.  The one-on-one time I got to spend with each of them as I painted their toenails was a special blessing.

My highlight of the week came when we talked about Jesus being our best friend, and a few of the girls called out, “Jesus is my best friend!”  My prayer is that He will continue to be just that as these precious girls grow into godly young women who love and serve Him.

I hope you enjoyed this series and that it sparked some inspiration for your own princess party or camp plans.  I highly recommend the Princess Parables books.  Be sure to get one, or the whole set, for your special princess. They are a wonderful way to introduce them to being a daughter of the true King.

For more ideas that I didn’t get a chance to use (but wish I had), check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 4

The following post is part 4 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Thursday- Princess Charity’s Courageous Heart

When the girls arrived, they found a plain princess dress on card stock to decorate as they liked.  We then helped to cut out the dresses and provided them with princess cut-out dolls and more cut-out dresses to play with. Let me say that these were a huge hit, but they are also the most time-consuming thing we had to prepare.  Cutting out dolls and assorted dresses for fourteen girls takes a couple of hours, and I had my 7yo daughter, 9yo son and my two camp helpers assisting with the project over the course of the week. In my opinion, it was totally worth it, though.

We sent each girl home with a doll, which each of them named (Princess Grace was a popular choice, but I particularly liked Princess Rainbow Blossom and Princess Patience), and the dress they had decorated.  I meant to send an extra outfit or two along with them, too, but I forgot.  This craft alone took up the first 45 minutes of our day, and we had to coax the girls over to story time.

Our story involved Princess Charity, the youngest of the five sisters.  She is impetuous but has a big heart, and by saving a young boy who is hurt on the other side of the road- which is also the neighboring kingdom’s forbidden territory- she brings peace to the two kingdoms.  Her story echoes the familiar Good Samaritan story found in Luke 10:25-37.  We talked about who was the youngest in their families, if any had ever been horseback riding (Charity’s pet is a horse), and we covered some of the discussion questions available with the story.

We then made ribbon wands out of dowels, washi tape (I found sparkly dark pink and gold washi tape in the clearance bin at Michaels), and ribbon, along with these adorable sparkly styrofoam balls (I found a bag of them for 50 cents at Goodwill- score!)

This was a putsy project that required the three of us camp leaders to do all of the work; the girls simply selected the colors they wanted for their tape and ribbons.  Here’s a tip, though: instead of wrapping the tape around and around the dowel, wrap it once lengthwise around the dowel; you will save on tape, and it turns out much smoother.  It is an exact, tight fit around the thinnest dowel available at Michaels.

For snack, we had apple slices (since horses love apples) and pretzels (since all the girls like them).  The girls ended the day with their coloring sheets.

Tomorrow, we will cover the last day of princess camp, with Princess Joy’s Birthday Blessing and a party!

For more princess camp or party ideas, check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 3

The following post is part 3 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Wednesday- Princess Hope and the Hidden Treasure

Today, we started with our story.  Princess Hope, the eldest of the five princesses, finds her grandmother’s lost ring and is determined to buy it back.  She is willing to sell all that she has- even her pet lamb!- to reclaim it.  Once it is in the possession of the sisters, they discover a riddle inscribed on the band, which leads them on a treasure hunt through the castle.  The story is inspired by the parables found in Matthew 13:44-46.

Following our story, we embarked on our own treasure hunt.  We sent one table of girls at a time, while the girls at the other two tables remained and colored pictures from the story. Those hunting followed three, simple clues which led them to a special box (I just used a pretty photo box).  Inside, each girl received a “treasure”: a sparkly compact mirror (I bought them in pink and purple for $1.50 each at Michaels), a fancy plastic ring (like the ones in their sand dig from Monday), and a scroll featuring the parable verses (printed on plain paper and wrapped with ribbon).

The girls LOVED the mirrors!  I was truly surprised; in fact, I almost didn’t use them, thinking perhaps they were too young for such things.  I reminded them that when they look in that mirror, they would see one of God’s princesses, who is beautiful both inside and out.

We made ribbon necklaces for our craft, and again, our trusty glue gun saved the day.  The Mod Podge Acrylic Shapes did not all have holes to pull the ribbon through, so Caitlin (our summer camp intern) took the time to hot glue the ribbons to the back of the shapes while I took the girls outside to play on the playground. The necklaces turned out beautifully, and I am now in love with Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue and Finish (8-Ounce), CS15066 Extreme Glitz, although it did leave us with sparkly hands. :)

For snack, we made the most adorable fruit castles, which Kira (my other helper) assembled for me.  Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my phone, so I don’t have any pictures from the day, and Kira’s castles were even prettier than the one pictured here.  The girls ate them all up, along with pretzels and water.

Tomorrow, we will look at Day 4: Princess Charity’s Courageous Heart.

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp Day 2

The following post is part 2 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Last week, I had the special privilege- and challenge- of coordinating and leading Once Upon A Time Camp at our church.  For two hours each afternoon, I welcomed fourteen adorable girls, grades PreK-2, to celebrate being God’s princesses. You can read about the theme and outline for our camp, as well as our first day’s activities here.

Tuesday- Princess Faith’s Mysterious Garden

Today, when the girls arrived, they received a small clay pot, a disposable plate dotted with paints like an artist’s palette, a cup of water, and a paper towel.  They then set about painting the pots with great enthusiasm.  Caitlin and Kira (my helpers for the week) helped to paint small flowers on some of the girls’ pots, while I oversaw the project, cleaning up inevitable spills and replacing paper towels.

Pre-painting set up as the girls began to arrive.

We left our pots to dry and headed over to our story time area.  First, we reviewed Princess Grace’s story from yesterday, which the girls remembered with alacrity, before beginning Princess Faith’s story.  The mysterious garden is a parallel to the parable of the seed and the sower found in Matthew 13:1-23.  We chatted throughout the story about our favorite animals (each Parable Princess has her own pet), flowers (roses were a clear winner), and other topics related to the story.  We finished by reading the corresponding parable, which several of the girls were familiar with, before heading outside for our activity.

Here’s a few of our princesses ready for story time.

Today, we played Pass the Magical Wand (aka: Hot Potato).  We used bubble wands (one for each girl), and when the music stopped, the girl holding the “magical wand” got to take it and make bubbles in the yard.  The music we used for the week was a beautiful CD that set the tone perfectly.  It is called … such stuff as Dreams: A Lullaby Album for Children and Adults – 2 CD Set; I was fortunate to find it at our library.  We played it everyday, and both the mothers and the girls commented on how lovely it was.

Once all of the girls had a wand and were joyfully running around the yard making bubbles, Caitlin entertained them further with her giant bubble maker.  The girls took turns making humongous bubbles, even dumping out their own wands for more bubble solution.

As they tired of the bubbles, I gathered them in groups of four or five and helped them plant flowers in their painted pots, in honor of our mysterious garden story.  They dug out soil with small, plastic shovels and selected a flower from the packs I picked up at Stein’s.

We then headed back inside, where we colored our story pictures for the day and ate snack.  After yesterday’s disappointing effort, I kept it simple with Pepperidge Farm Princess Cheddar Goldfish(they are pink), pretzels, water, and carrots (I coaxed the girls into eating carrots by reminding them of Faith’s pet rabbit who loves to eat carrots- they were sold!)

Soon after the parents arrived, and the girls went home with their potted flowers and pictures.  It was a wonderful day and went without a hitch, making it one of my favorites.

Tomorrow, we will look at Day 3: Princess Hope and the Hidden Treasure

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 1

The following post is part 1 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Last week, I had the special privilege- and challenge- of coordinating and leading Once Upon A Time Camp at our church.  For two hours each afternoon, I welcomed fourteen adorable girls, grades PreK-2, to celebrate being God’s princesses.  Little did I know that ten hours of camp time equated to 30+ hours of prep time.  Basically, princess camp was my part-time job for the first two weeks of summer, but it was all worth it!

For those of you who might be considering such a camp for your own church or community, I thought I would share what I came up with, in hopes that it will help you save a little time on the preparation end of things.  So as not to overwhelm you, I will break up the post into five parts, each covering one of our camp days and the resources we used.  (FYI: There will be several affiliate items in these posts, all of which I used and highly recommend.)

The basis for our camp was a series of books our children’s ministry director came across months ago.  Called The Princess Parables, they feature five princess sisters: Grace, Faith, Hope, Charity, and Joy.  Right away, I loved that we would not be dealing with the standard Disney princess fare and that I could introduce the girls to princesses who embodied the character and beauty that comes from knowing God.

My general outline for each day included: a craft, story time (each book has discussion questions you can download off the site), an activity, a snack (of course!), and a coloring page from the corresponding Princess Parables Coloring Set.

Before I give you a daily review of camp, here are some pictures of the room I decorated for camp.  I found most of my materials at either Michael’s or on Amazon, along with a few scores from Goodwill. My budget was $325; each camper paid $25 to attend.

I ordered the princess tablecloths off Amazon. I found the poms at Michaels and the swirlies hanging from them at Goodwill.

This castle decoration was so pretty! It stands about 5′ tall and made a great backdrop for pictures. It is in two pieces that don’t align perfectly, so you have to line them up yourself. I used double-sided tape, which worked well.

Let Princess Camp begin!

Monday- Princess Grace and the Little Lost Kitten (The Princess Parables)

It was so fun that first day to hear the “ooh”s and “aah”s from the moms and girls as they arrived.  The decorations were a real hit and helped to create the right ambiance for princess camp.  Each girl sat at a table and decorated a name tag for their place.  I let them write their own names, in the spirit of Ramona Quimby from Beezus and Ramona, which we recently read aloud at home. In retrospect, I wish I had written their names on the cards (I just used pink and purple cardstock, folded in half lengthwise) ahead of time because some were unrecognizable, impeding my ability to remember the girls’ names quickly.

Then, we sat in our story area on the other side of the room, where I read Princess Grace’s story to them.  I stopped along the way to ask engaging questions, which they were all eager to answer.  At the end of each story, there is a personal note from the princess herself, followed by the scriptural parable the story is drawn from.  By the time I got to the scripture, though, interest was beginning to wane and it was hard to keep their attention.  We wrote down some of the words we learned to describe each princess on a dry erase board each day, and moved on.

Next, we decorated tiaras!! The girls had so much fun with this craft, and we had tons of jewels for them to glue on. I bought these tiaras, which are adjustable and come in pink, blue, and purple.  (One thing to note: the hot glue gun became our best friend this week; we used it almost every day.  Regular glue just didn’t do the trick keeping the gems adhered to the foam crowns.)

Here’s my little princess Skyler with her tiara and popcorn.

After the tiaras, we headed outside, where we played “Princess Says” (aka: Simon Says) and “Princess, Princess, Queen” (aka: Duck, Duck, Goose) and dug for treasure in a sand-filled basket (I added stickers, real coins, gems, and Fun Express Colorful Rhinestone Rings (6 Dozen)). The girls LOVED digging for treasures and asked if we could do it again.

Inside once more, we ate snack, which I was really excited about.  I made Princess Popcorn; it was so pretty and tasty! (I popped kernels on the stove, rather than using microwave popcorn- it’s one of the 10 worst foods you can eat.)  I also bought special juice (Ocean Spray 100% Cran-Grape and Cran-Raspberry).  However, I learned right away that simple is better than special.  Some of the girls did not like the sweet, pink popcorn, and even more of them did not care for cranberry juice- duh!  There is a reason the Sunday School teachers always serve apple juice and graham crackers: it works!  I still recommend the popcorn, though, as those who did like it, loved it (including me!)

We finished with the coloring sheets from the Grace’s story.

All in all, it was a great first day, but I have to admit, snack threw me for a loop.  Thank goodness for my amazing helpers: summer camp intern Caitlin and sweet, 12yo volunteer Kira.  I wouldn’t have survived without them this week!

For more ideas, you can also check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Tomorrow, we will cover Day 2: Princess Faith’s Mysterious Garden (possibly my favorite day).

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

Warrior Mom: You Are More Than a Soldier

We have been discussing being a warrior mom this week.  This concept has challenged me after reading the book, Girls with Swords, this year.  Am I a soldier mom or a warrior mom? 

First a warrior mom is called.

Second, a warrior mom is faithful.

Here are my last three observations as a warrior mom.

A Warrior Mom sees through God’s Eyes. 

As a warrior mom I have to focus on what God is doing.  I must desire to see the world through His eyes.  Am I following His plan or I am fighting it? There are only two choices.  When I spend time in God’s word, I know God’s heart, but it is impossible for me to know what He is doing if I am not connected to Him on a regular basis.  On the contrary, the soldier only sees what the enemy is doing and follows the General out of duty. 

When my kids were little, they wanted their own way.  Do yours ever what that? During these seasons, I could only see what I thought the enemy was doing. Yelling ‘no’ at the top of their lungs. Our child was being drawn away and lashing out at me.  I thought for sure I needed to “whip him into shape”. But if I took a moment to focus on what God was doing, I would have adjusted my expectations accordingly. Our child was just testing his boundaries.  All of our children are born sinners and it is my job to help them find truth and to help train them in righteousness. But if I can take a moment and see God’s perspective, then I could still be his mom.  Love him and not need to be his best friend.  He argues and that is not okay.  Setting boundaries and loving them is the best way to reach their hearts. Remembering God loves them and created them for greatness helps me see the my children through His eyes.

A Warrior Mom controls her thoughts.

I love the quote from Lisa Bevere, “All Warriors understand all victories begin in private.“ When we are all alone or just alone in our minds, here is where the true battle is fought and won.   Here is where our character is tested.

As a mom, if the evil one can get you to:

            Feel like a victim, instead of a mom

            Feel like a servant, instead of a mom

            Feel like a basket case, instead of a mom.

            Feel like a failure, instead of a mom.

            Feel like a prisoner, instead of a mom.

Then he has won.

I love what the books says, “Warriors learn to trust the whispered call deep within, while the soldiers feel pressure to respond to the noise that surrounds them.”

By capturing your thoughts and taking them captive, God voice comes through much clearer.  There is less of an attitude of looking around at what everyone else is doing or listening to the voices around us.  If we are taking our thoughts captive, then the small still voice comes through.  I often miss it!

It takes the heart of a warrior to live up to the character God expects from us.  What kinds of choices do you make in private?  Do they live up to our love for God?  Are we really sold out to him?

A Warrior Mom takes action in her home.

The book says “Warriors speak bold words of faith and take action; soldiers give status reports.”

I have a friend named Betsy who complains constantly about things that are happening in her home.  She is upset at how her four year old daughter talks to her and is disobedient; yet, she continues to spoil her without any discipline.  She complains about her marriage; how her husband doesn’t do this and doesn’t help her here; yet, she doesn’t spend her time taking care of him either.  She complains about her house, her family (or lack of), her marriage, etc.  She just gives status reports without EVER speaking words of faith or taking action.

I love mentors in my life that encourage me as a mom.  I am the MOM.  Say it with me. I am the MOM.  It means I have the power to do anything in my home.  I can make it life-giving or joy-sucking.  I can create an environment of love or of exhaustion.  I CAN.  Everyone, your husbands included, are looking for your direction, your plan. 

My dad used to always say.  “Happy wife, Happy life.”  While I agree that is a good saying for our husbands to adopted, we should be saying to ourselves “Happy Mom. Happy Home.”

I am also the protector of the home.  I am a warrior for my kids in this culture.  I am not always liked by them.  I protect them from culture, from food choices, from media, from pornography.  These are my areas to take action.  I am the Warrior Mom – changing the world one child at a time!

What are you doing to be a warrior mom?

*Ideas taken from the book Girls with Swords: How to Carry your Cross like a Hero by Lisa Bevere

~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!